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How to Get Rid of Body Odor –Stop, Prevent, or Eliminate

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If you are wondering how to get rid of body odor, then this article was specifically written for you. We’ll highlight not only the various ways to stop body odor but also various ways to prevent its occurrence In the first place. And if you are a fan of natural remedies then we have as well got you covered with our “how to body odor naturally section. Read on to get on the fast track towards the fresh smelling you.

How to Get of Body Odor

Also referred to as bromhidrosis, body odor is an irritating phenomenon that anyone would rather do without. It can steal your self confidence and in more severe cases it can cause social exclusion. Here is how to get rid of body odor:

How to Get Rid of Body Odor
Deodorant

Bathe at least one every day: Sweat is the number one culprit for body odor. Although sweat is itself odorless, the bacteria found naturally on our skin usually breakdown the compounds in sweat and give off foul-smelling products (especially acids such as isovaleric acid and propionic acid) that are responsible for body odor.

Bathing however washes off the bacteria alongside sweat, a step that is paramount to getting rid of body odor. While bathing pay close attention to your groin area and armpits since they are usually abound with apocrine glands whose secretion (sweat) is closely linked to body odor for its high amounts of proteins and fatty acids that bacteria like to feast on.

Other options to get rid of body odor are:

  • Use antibacterial soap for bathing
  • Change clothes at least once daily
  • Wash clothes thoroughly to remove the sweat and bacteria accumulated in them
  • Use deodorants and antiperspirants
  • Reduce intake of spicy foods and strong scented foods such as onions. You may also want to limit your intake of cruciferous veggies such as asparagus and Brussels sprouts
  • Shave your armpits regularly

How to Get Rid Of Body Odor for Men

How to Get Rid of Body Odor for Men
How to Get Rid of Body Odor for Men

Men tend to sweat more than women and are more likely to get a sweat-induced body odor than women. Proper personal hygiene and use of deodorants and antiperspirants can however help with the problem.

Ban’s Shower Fresh is a great deodorant choice for men.  You may also want to try Secret’s Clinical Strength Antiperspirant and Deodorant. The Nivea line also has numerous deodorants and antiperspirants that I personally like e.g. Nivea Men Dry Impact Plus Extra Protection Anti-Perspirant

How to Get Rid of Body Odor in a Room

Wondering how to get rid of body odor in a room? Well your first line of action should be to open any windows and doors to let in fresh air. Having a fan on can also help, otherwise wafting a clean piece of clothe can also help with air circulation. Spraying with an air freshener such as Febreze can also help. You should also get all dirty clothes and beddings out and spray the mattress with the air freshener. Vacuuming the carpet is also important.

How to Get Rid of Garlic Body Odor

So you have had too much garlic and you are now wondering how to get rid of that garlic body odor that keeps hanging around. Your first course of action should be to eliminate garlic from your diet. Exercise can also help to get rid of garlic body odor which is released through sweat. Drinking lots of fluids is also important.

Proper personal hygiene e.g. brushing after every meal and bathing daily is also important. You will also want to rinse with a mouth wash, floss your teeth and clean your tongue. Chewing a gum, especially the kind that contains cinnamon can also help.

Mustard can also help to get rid of garlic body odor: simply swish 1 teaspoon of mustard in your mouth and then spit it out before swallowing ½ teaspoon of mustard.

How to Get Rid of Body Odor on Clothes

What about getting rid of body odor in clothes? Well, your safest bet would be to wash the clothes with a good laundry detergent. If the body odor is persistent and can’t go away even after washing, mix some baking soda and water in a basin and then soak the clothes for 3o minutes before washing again with water and detergent.  It is also advisable to hang the clothes after washing rather than to fold them in a wardrobe.

 

How to Get Rid of Strong Body Odor

If you are struggling with a strong body odor and none of the numerous ways to get rid of body odor discussed in the above section seem to help, you should consider seeing your doctor. Maybe it could be the result of an underlying medical condition such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or trimethylaminuria. Medication, Botox and keystone surgery are some of the medical treatment options used to get rid of body odor.

How to Get Rid of Female Body Odor

Before we look at specific ways to get rid of female body odor, let’s start by saying that women get body odor for the same reasons as men, that is, sweating, eating spicy and strong-scented foods such as garlic, stress, medical conditions such as trimethylaminuria, and hormonal changes. Perhaps the only cause that is unique to women is menopause.

Proper hygiene comes top in getting rid of body odor. Using deodorants and antiperspirants can also help. Suave Everlasting Sunshine Clinical Protection PROsolid is a great deodorant option for women. You may also want to try Secret’s Clinical Strength Antiperspirant and Deodorant which has great rating and reviews as at the time of this writing.

How to Stop Body Odor Naturally

So you are not the kind of person to be left behind in the craze about going natural (for all the good reasons) and you are now probably wondering, “how do you stop body odor naturally?” Well here is how to stop body odor naturally:

Chlorophyllin

Taking Chlorophyllin supplements is a great way to stop body odor naturally. As the name suggests, Chlorophyllin is a water soluble derivative of the green coloring matter that your high school biology teacher talked about – Chlorophyll.

Chlorophyllin works by binding the compounds responsible for body odor. The use of Chlorophyllin dates back to the 1950s and is used to not only get rid of body odor but also breathe and foot odor. A dosage of 100-200 mg daily is generally recommended to stop body odor.

Other options to stop body odor naturally:

  • Dab some diluted 3 percent hydrogen peroxide on your armpits
  • Rub some alcohol e.g. isopropyl on your armpits with a cotton ball
  • Sprinkle some baking soda or cornstarch powder on your armpits
  • Learn to manage your stress using yoga, meditation and other relaxation technique

How to Prevent Body Odor

Preventing body odor revolves around avoiding and managing the common causes of body odor such as sweating and eating spicy food and caffeinated beverages among others. With that in mind here are specific ways to prevent body odor:

Observe proper hygiene: The easiest and the most effective way to prevent body odor is to keep the areas of your skin most prone to sweating clean and free of bacteria. Keeping your whole body clean is paramount to optimal health but you will want to pay close attention to the armpit and the groin areas which have high numbers of apocrine glands.

These glands produce fatty sweat with lots of proteins and fatty acid which bacteria break down to give off offensive smelling acids, namely, isovaleric acid and propionic acid.

You should bathe and change clothes every day.

How to Get Rid of Body Odor Naturally- Shave Armpits
Shave Armpits

Other ways to prevent body odor are:

  • Avoid too much spicy foods. You will in particular want to avoid eating too much garlic and onions.
  • Shave your armpits every now and then since hair in the armpits can trap in sweat and create a favorable environment for bacterial activity.
  • Use deodorants and antiperspirants every day

How to Eliminate Body Odor – Treatment Options available

There are various treatment options available to eliminate body odor. These are particularly helpful for body odor cases that have failed to clear with the use of the simple interventions discussed in the sections above. The choice of a treatment option depends on the degree or severity of body odor.

The first line of treatment is use of medications such as Oxybutynin, Clonidine and Glycopyrrolate.

More sever cases of body odor are usually treated using Botox (injection with small doses of botulinum toxin to control excessive sweating), surgery (to kill some the nerves that regulate sweating), and iontophoresis (treatment with a mild electric current to control excessive sweating).

Treatment of underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and trimethylaminuria is also often necessary to eliminate body odor.

How to Control Body Odor with OTC Medications

There are various over the counter products available to control body odor and you may want to consider using them if the above interventions don’t help.

The first medication you may want to consider is Chlorhexidine 0.05 percent solution which is an antiseptic and antibacterial solution. Talk to your chemist about using it. It is normally applied topically and can significantly reduce the number of bacteria on the skin which is a great way to control body odor.

Aluminium chloride 20 percent solutions are yet another great over the counter remedy. These are available in most pharmacies under brand names such as Anhydrol Forte and Driclor. Unlike the chlorhexidine solutions that kill bacteria, aluminum chloride solutions work by reducing the amount of sweat.

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