Body Odor
Body Odor
12 Ways to Feel Fresh and Clean
Some scientists believe that body odor, like the appendix, is a vestige of our evolution. That is, the smells we give off from certain areas of our bodies—primarily our armpits and groin—may have once served to advertise our sexuality, says Nathan Howe, M.D., Ph.D., a physician with the Department of Dermatology at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine. "Of course," he adds, "whatever purpose was served by body odor then, to many Americans, it's plain objectionable now."
About this last point, there is little disagreement among doctors, or anyone else for that matter. If you want to win friends and influence people—don't stink.
Easier said than done? Actually, there are quite a few ways to take on body odor and come up smelling like a rose.
Scrub-a-dub-dub. The most basic way to hold body odor at bay is to scrub yourself with soap and water, particularly in those areas of the body that are most likely to smell, such as the armpits and groin, says Kenzo Sato, M.D., professor of dermatology at the University of Iowa.
Body odor is most often caused by a combination of perspiration and bacteria, he says. Scrubbing with soap and water will wash both culprits away.
The best type of soap for a body odor problem is a deodorant soap because it will hinder the return of bacteria. How often you need to scrub will depend on your individual body chemistry, your activities, your mood, and the time of year. If you're not sure if you're washing enough—ask a friend. Remember that perspiration glands and bacteria both work night as well as day shifts, which could mean you need to shower both morning and night.
Wash more than your body. You can wash till your skin puckers like a prune, but you'll still smell bad if your clothes aren't clean. Seven days in the same undershirt is a sure way to give offense to others, says Lenise Banse, M.D., a dermatologist with the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. How often do you need to change your shirt? It depends on you as an individual. A daily change should suffice for most. On hot summer days, more than once a day might be in order.
Choose natural fabrics. Natural fabrics such as cotton absorb perspiration better than synthetic materials. The absorbed sweat is then free to evaporate from the fabric.
Play doctor. Sometimes, if you perspire a lot and have a tendency to smell bad, regular old deodorant soap may not be good enough. In this case, try an antibacterial surgical scrub, sold over the counter in most pharmacies, says Dr. Howe. Ask your pharmacist where to find them.
Antiperspirants attack best. Commercial deodorants are effective at masking underarm odor in most people, says Hridaya Bhargava, Ph.D., professor of industrial pharmacy at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. They leave chemicals on the skin that kill off odor-causing bacteria. But if you have a body odor problem known to friends and enemies alike, you may need an antiperspirant. "They're basically drugs," says Dr. Bhargava, that reduce the amount of perspiration the body produces. Many commercial antiperspirants combine antiperspirant with deodorant. But deodorants themselves cannot control perspiration.
Don't get irritated. If you can't use commercial deodorants or antiperspirants without developing a rash, you might try a topical antibiotic cream, sold in any drugstore. "It does the same thing as deodorants do, without any irritating perfumes," says Randall Hrabko, M.D., a dermatologist in private practice in Los Angeles, California.
Make the French connection. Another option if you can't tolerate common deodorants and antiperspirants is a product from France called Le Crystal Natural, says Dr. Hrabko. It's a chunk of mineral salts, formed into a crystal, that helps keep bacteria under control without irritating the skin. Le Crystal Natural, a product of the Burlingame, California-based French Transit company, is available in many cosmetic departments and health food stores.
The Alternate Route
Close Up the Sweat Shop People with exceptionally strong body odor may find relief in an electronic device called Drionic, that can actually plug up overactive sweat ducts and keep them plugged for up to six weeks. Zapping your armpits isn't nearly as uncomfortable as it sounds, and clinical tests done at three universities prove its effectiveness at turning off faucetlike sweat glands. The Drionic costs $125 but will save on the cost of antiperspirants and the wear and tear excessive sweating inflicts on your clothes, notes Robert Tapper, president of General Medical Company, which manufactures the device. For more information you can ask your doctor or contact the company at 1935 Armacost Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90025. |
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Take a walk on the wild side. Forget the latest perfumes from Paris. Hunters have a way of coming up with their own fragrances. The name of the game in hunting, according to some, is to mask all trace of body odor lest the deer or bear being stalked catch wind of trouble and flee for cover.
How do hunters do it? One popular odor mask is pine soap, available in most hunting supply stores, says Dave Petzal, a veteran hunter and the executive editor of Field and Stream magazine. Pine soap not only masks human odor but "leaves you smelling like a pine forest," he says. If pine forest isn't your style, some hunters are using plain old glycerin soap.
Watch what you eat. Extracts of proteins and oils from certain foods and spices remain in your body's excretions and secretions for hours after eating them and can impart an odor. Fish, cumin, curry, and garlic lead the list, says Dr. Banse.
Keep calm. "Getting sexually excited or feeling anxious and nervous will make you perspire more," says Dr. Bhargava. If you anticipate a situation that is likely to upset you, no matter how much you're meditating or practicing deep breathing, consider using an extra dose of deodorant that morning.
Try the old dog trick. You've tried everything, and nothing seems to work? Maybe you haven't tried everything. An old folk remedy for a dog that's been skunked is to deodorize the poor pup with tomato juice. And guess what? It works for humans, too, says Alice Kilpatrick, R.N., a staff nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Fort Lyon, Colorado.
Kilpatrick tried it first on her dog and then on a particularly odoriferous patient. And then on another. "It works 100 percent of the time!" she says. You don't need to fill your tub with pure tomato juice, "just pour a couple of cups in with your bath water and sit for 15 minutes," she says.
PANEL OF ADVISERS
Lenise Banse, M.D., is a dermatologist in Detroit, Michigan, where she is director of the Mole and Melanoma Clinic at the Henry Ford Hospital.
Hridaya Bhargava, Ph.D., is a professor of industrial pharmacy at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston. He is a consultant to groups such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
Nathan Howe, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician in the Department of Dermatology at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine in Charleston. He was formerly a zoologist with a special interest in how animals communicate using chemical smells.
Randall Hrabko, M.D., is a dermatologist in private practice in Los Angeles, California.
Alice Kilpatrick, R.N., is a staff nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Fort Lyon, Colorado.
Kenzo Sato, M.D., is a professor of dermatology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
