Have you just finished a tiring exercise or eaten a burger tucked in onion, most likely after your body will emit an unpleasant body odor in a room.
In most cases, a simple shower, deodorant friction, or fresh minty toothpaste can improve the situation. But in other cases, it’s not that simple.
That’s because your body odor can actually tell you a lot about your health. Actually, some diseases can produce unique and different smells, according to a recent Swedish study.
Here are 5 general body odors that might indicate a serious problem, and what you should do if the stench appears.
1. Fruit-smelling breath is a symptom of diabetes
A diabetes complication called diabetes ketoacidosis or diabetic
ketoacidosis (DKA), which occurs when your body runs out of insulin and
spikes your blood sugar, said Robert Gabbay, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical
officer at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. People with type 1
diabetes generally experience more than type 2 diabetes.
This is what happens: Your body cannot create the energy needed to function properly, so it starts breaking down fatty acids for fuel. This creates the formation of acidic chemicals called ketones in your blood. One of the main acetone acids (the same component found in nail polish remover) – can leave the smell of fruit on your breath, Dr. Gabbay.
You might not realize it until someone else says it, but your doctor can smell your breath as soon as you enter a room.
The effects of DKA can be serious, even deadly. This can make you vomit and urinate frequently, and cause your body to lose fluid at a dangerous level.
DKA generally occurs with other diabetes symptoms, such as fatigue, blurred vision, and unexplained weight loss, but in many cases, people do not include all of them, which delay diagnosis and treatment.
So if you notice the smell of fruit on your breath and those symptoms – especially if accompanied by fatigue, dry mouth, difficulty breathing, or abdominal pain, go to the emergency room as soon as possible, the American Diabetes Association recommends.
After your doctor tests your blood for ketones, he will work to replace lost fluids and make your sugar levels return to normal with insulin treatment.
2. Foot odor is a symptom of moldy skin
Your shoes smell? fungal infections in your feet may be blamed. If you
see dry and flaky skin around your toes, redness, and blisters, maybe
your feet are moldy, according to the American Podiatric Medical
Association (APMA).
Your feet may also give off a bad smell, which is caused by a combination of bacteria and fungi that erode your skin and toes, said Cameron Rokhsar, M.D., associate professor of clinical dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
If you ignore moldy feet, the skin between your toes becomes very soft and moist, making it vulnerable to bacteria.
So if you experience symptoms, try an antifungal spray. If the problem persists after two weeks, go to the doctor. Because there is one of the bad skin conditions after sweating like after exercise. Avoid using dirty shoes after being used for sports. Because fungi tend to thrive in moist environments, try using talcum powder to keep your feet dry if you tend to sweat.
3. Does your stool smell bad? it’s a symptom of lactose intolerance
When your small intestine does not produce enough enzymes called
lactase, it cannot digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products,
said Ryan Ungaro, M.D., assistant professor of gastroenterology at Mount
Sinai Hospital in New York.
So your small intestine directs lactose directly to your large intestine — instead of your blood flow where your intestinal bacteria ferments it. This can cause flatulence and foul smelling, said Dr. Ungaro.
Lactose intolerance is quite common in fact, an estimated 65 percent of people have difficulty digesting dairy products, according to the National Institutes of Health. But the reactions, including painful abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, and farting odors and foul smelling feces can vary from person to person, said male health advisor Alan Aragon, M.Sc.
For most people, it only takes 12 grams of lactose — about 8 ounces of milk or a cup of ice cream to eliminate troubling symptoms.
So if your gas stools or feces are very pungent after drinking milk, you may need to see your doctor,
Doctors can diagnose this problem, or even get rid of more intestinal problems, such as Crohn’s disease (inflammation of the intestine), as the culprit behind the stench. Then, your doctor can help you determine how much lactose you can consume per day without causing problems.
4. Urine smell is a symptom of urinary tract infection
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can produce sharp-smelling urine, almost
chemical odor, said Jamin Brahmbhatt, M.D., a urologist at Orlando
Health. This occurs after the most common bacteria E. coli, enters your
urinary tract and urethra. Then, they multiply in your bladder to cause
infection.
UTIs are more common in women than men because of their urethra — a channel that drains the bladder shorter. So, men often ignore their diabetes, because they think they are not at risk of getting the disease.
But not so: “Usually, people get infected if something doesn’t let their bladder flow” Dr. Brahmbhatt explained.
This means that your UTI can indicate a bigger problem, such as kidney stones, diabetes, or an enlarged prostate gland, which can require surgery to treat it, he said. So if your urine smells bad, check with your doctor.
5. Bad breath is a symptom of sleep apnea
If your morning breath is consistently smelly, even though you brush
your teeth regularly. It can be caused by undiagnosed sleep apnea, a
disorder that causes your breathing to stop sporadically when you start
sleeping.
Sleep apnea can cause excessive snoring, causing you to breathe through your mouth throughout the night. This can make your mouth very dry, which is a common cause of bad breath, said Raj Dasgupta, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California.
This allows bacteria to multiply more easily and when some of them produce rotten egg-smelling gas.
If you ignore the cause of bad breath, but still wake up with a smelly mouth and you experience daytime sleepiness and snoring, you should schedule a doctor’s appointment.
Important Sleep Apnea is diagnosed quickly, sleep conditions are strongly linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, so restoring it faster than later can give you long-term health effects.
Once you are diagnosed, it is recommended to use a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) device, a mask placed on your nose and mouth to help keep the airways open when you are going to sleep.