© Photographer: Ramonakaulitzki | Agency: Dreamstime.com
The human skin perspires everyday, but during summers due to the heat many people face the problem of body odour.
Body odour is due to two reasons
1) Body odour due to unhygenic conditions.
2) Body odour due to sweat glands.
1) Body odour due to unhygenic conditions-
Body odour is not due to perspiration alone. The sweat that is screated is odourless, it develops the offending odour due to the action of bacteria on the sweat. These bacteria are present on everyone’s skin but they are most active in warm and moist surroundings.
You will notice that the skin on our whole body perspires everyday. The skin on our body parts doesnot smell as bad as the skin in body folds(underarms and other body folds), this is because the sweat evaporates easily from the skin. Only the skin in the body folds is unable to evaporate perspiration. This warm and moist environment is a happy home for bacteria.
2) Body odour due to sweat glands-
Some people have peculiar body odour, lets know why. Not all bacteria are responsible for body odour. The sweat glands are of two types, eccrine glands and apocrine glands, which secrete different types of body odour. Eccrine sweat glands are present all over the body skin. They regulate body temperature by perspiration. They produce clear, salty sweat and donot cause an odour problem.
Apocrine glands are present in the underarm area and in the private parts. The sweat secreted by the apocrine gland and the action of bacteria on the sweat leads to body odour.
How to control body odour
1) Bathe twice a day.
2) Keep your underarms and private parts hair-free. Hair traps dead skin cells and bacteria thrive on them so they smell bad.
4) Wear clean, washed clothes everyday.
5) Drink enough water to flush out the toxins from your system. When toxins are present in your system because you drink less water they make your body smell bad.
Follow all these steps and if you still suffer from body odour then you need to check for other factors. Certain drugs or medicines give a peculiar smell to the body when you are taking them. Too much garlic and onions also cause body odour. Hormonal disorders or metabolic disorders can lead to body odour.
