Body Odor. It’s one of those unfortunate things often associated with young people. Suddenly, your 9-year-old—who never smelled as if they rubbed themselves down with onions—comes in from a football game or from playing in the yard, and they stink. So, the adults in their life start pushing deodorants and antiperspirants. Problem solved, right? Not necessarily.
There are many people in this world who unknowingly offend others because they have body odor. You might work with an adult or be in a relationship with someone who seems completely unaware that they have a problem with body odor. Some people, regardless of how well or often they bathe, still struggle with stinky feet, bad breath, and body odor resulting from sweat. Dealing with body odor, whether it’s your own or someone else’s, is one of those issues in life that challenges both politically correct thinking and common manners. Do you just tell someone that they smell bad and have a problem? Or do you continue to ignore and avoid this smelly person? And, would you want people to tell you when you stink?
Understanding the Causes of Body Odor
Body odor is actually a physiological occurrence that is innate to humans. Just as animals use their sense of smell to detect pheromones for finding the perfect mate, humans do as well. Over time, however, the natural smells of human body odors have become offensive, leading to the creation of numerous hygienic products aimed at eliminating the problem. Many body odors, such as stinky feet, bad breath, and underarm funk, are a result of bacteria buildup, which often gets trapped in the hair follicles of the body. Essentially, when you smell bad, it means that the body part producing the odor is a breeding ground for bacteria. And it is usually these stinky body odors that are offensive to others.
How to Deal with Body Odor
To address body odor personally, you should remain aware of your own smell. It’s easy to overlook the odors from your own body because you become used to them. Proper hygiene is essential for eliminating body odors. When you sweat a lot, bathing is important. If you work out or know you’ve been sweating, keep in mind that it takes the body about an hour to digest the proteins in our apocrine sweat glands that produce odors. So, washing the sweat away as soon as possible is the best way to eliminate odors. You should use a body soap with antibacterial properties and a coarse sponge or bath cloth to scrub away the enzymes that cause the smell. Additionally, keeping your underarms shaved and free of hair is important for eliminating odors, as bacteria and sweat can thrive in hair follicles.
If you know you smell, try taking a weekly bath using apple cider vinegar, a bit of alcohol, or witch hazel. You can rub these products gently on your underarms or soles of your feet or add about ¼ cup to your bathwater and soak. Another way to eliminate body odor is to dust baking soda on the smelly areas. If over-the-counter deodorants don’t work for you, try using pure rosemary oil as a deodorant instead of traditional ones. Another tip: make sure the deodorant you use has both an antiperspirant and deodorant component, which will help reduce sweat production. Taking a daily chlorophyll supplement can also help.
You may have noticed that certain foods can affect body odor. Spices and foods like onions and garlic release enzymes through your sebaceous sweat glands, changing the way your sweat smells. Avoiding these foods, especially if they make you stinky, is a good way to prevent body odor issues.
If you know someone who smells bad, you might not know how to tell them. The truth is that if your coworker, neighbor, best friend, or even mom has the worst breath or body odor you’ve ever smelled, you have a moral obligation to let them know. Assume, first, that they don’t realize it, and then offer them products like deodorants or perfumes to see if they “get the hint.” The best approach is to bring up the subject as nonchalantly and privately as possible, especially at first. Also, don’t assume they don’t bathe. Some people may have health issues or be unaware that their body odors are offensive. Consider how well you know the person before you speak to them. If they are just a casual acquaintance, you might want to get help from someone who knows them better. Realize that what you say may hurt their feelings, and try to be as compassionate as possible without presenting the situation as if you’re the “victim.” After all, they may not know they have a body odor problem!
Interestingly, in recent years, attention has been brought to body odor in the workplace, and human resource departments are being trained to handle such issues. If body odor is an issue in your workplace, talk to your supervisor or HR department first, ensuring you aren’t seen as the “attacker.” It’s also likely that most people who smell bad don’t realize just how bad they smell. And if YOU were one of these people, you’d want to know. So, speak up—but speak softly.
The truth is that people just stink sometimes. Often, there is no excuse for the smell other than bad hygiene and a lack of personal respect. But more often than not, people have stinky feet, bad breath, underarm smells, and even odors from private areas due to physiological issues with their bodies. In other words, they might not be able to help it.
