Throughout much of our day, we usually burn up a lot of calories on average. This isn’t a surprise when we’re exercising all the time, zooming in and out from work, and being productive with whatever we plan on doing. Naturally, our bodies will also react when we are burning off calories, usually in the form of sweating.
However, sweating it out can cause a variety of changes to the body. This is especially true when sweat contains salt and other nutrients that microbes need to thrive on your skin, resulting in body odor. Although sweat can cause body odor, there are various causes to it, ranging from poor hygiene to the inability to pre-existing health conditions.
The good news here is that if you’re suffering from poor hygiene and excessive sweating, there’s still a way of feeling confident about your body. In the market, many commercial products are specifically designed to counter body odor. Remember: nothing can ruin your day (or someone else’s day) like having a bad body odor.
What Causes Body Odor?
But before we get into what we can do to remove body odor for good, we have to know what causes body odor in the first place.
Although body odor can be a symptom of various problems, it’s usually caused by sweating. If you’re prone to sweating, then there’s a good chance that you’re also prone to the effects of bad body odor.
However, sweating is not entirely a “bad” process; it has many uses integral in keeping our body’s temperature stable. There are two types of sweat glands:
- Apocrine — This type of sweat gland is usually found in areas of the body that have a lot of hair, such as your scalp, your armpits, as well as your groins.
- Eccrine — Compared to apocrine glands, these types are located on the usual surface of the skin.
The major downside to sweating is that this can naturally occur bacteria on the skin to produce body odor. Although medical experts would also say that body odor is just a natural process for both males and females. Hormones will play an important role in stimulating the sweat glands in hairy areas, which can cause body odor.
Here are some tried and tested ways of removing body odor and excessive sweating, regardless of your age and gender.
Getting Professional Help
First and foremost, one of the most important ways of stopping body odor in its tracks is by getting professional help. Although sweating is a natural part of your body’s process, excessive sweating, on the other hand, can be a problem. Hyperhidrosis is a health condition where a person will experience excessive sweating in certain areas, especially in the armpits, soles, and palms. In some situations, this can happen in areas without hair.
Although this isn’t necessarily a “serious” health condition, it can still be quite annoying, and many people are left embarrassed if they sweat too much. Fortunately, recent advancements in medical health and technology have come up with various medications to help. If you’re experiencing sweating in these areas, you might want to consider contacting a professional regarding this situation.
It’s important to note that hair will also play a role in body odor. This is especially true for apocrine glands on your armpits and groin areas, known for causing excessive sweating in these regions. Most experts would suggest keeping these areas clean through proper hair removal since hair is known for producing odor when it comes in contact with sweat. Fortunately, laser hair removal services can help remove hair from these areas. Not only will this stop body odor, but this is also one way of having good personal hygiene.
Botox Treatment
Another effective treatment against body odor is botulinum toxin injections, mostly known as Botox by much of the public. Some studies show that this can help stop excessive sweating, especially in armpits. The general premise of this is the Botox will prevent chemicals from producing sweat.
Sympathectomy
one of the most effective ways of stopping sweating and body odor is through surgery. Sympathectomy is known as a process of blocking off signals by cutting off certain nerves of the body. This is one way of stoping sweat glands from “operating” despite certain environmental factors in play.
Although body odor might seem like a mild annoyance for many individuals, this can rob most individuals of their confidence and make interactions with others awkward. Still, it’s important to be mindful if you have excessive sweating. Consulting a health professional and making interventions is one of the best ways of preventing problems that are related to body odor.