Bonveda's Blog

Being a brit means that I spell things correctly and the true spelling is odour. But lets not argue about it. I will slip in the odd bit of body odor here and there to keep you non british readers happy. This is a flippant way to start an article that deals with a serious problem. Back in the seventies there was a TV ad that was for an antiperspirant. It had people whispering the words "B. O" in hushed tones about someone else in their social group. Being very young I had yet to find out that B O stood for body odour. I also hadn't yet found out the associated problems. The point of the ad was to say that the product on offer would solve all the body odor problems.

This as many of us know is an over-simplification of what can be a quite complex health issue. Different people have varying degrees of odour depending on how much they perspire and how they deal with their sweat problem. It isn't the sweat that causes the odor but the associated bacteria. To treat the odour you have to go for the bacteria. The only problem with that is that some bacteria is good for you. If you completely eliminated it you would create a different set of health problems

Masking your body odour problem

Deodorants mask the problem by covering it with a different more pleasant smell. The do not try to deal with the cause of the problem. For people who only have a mild problem this can be sufficient but for most you need something stronger. This is where anti-perspirants come in. They close of the pores of the skin in various ways. There are quite a range of prescribed and non prescribed types. These products are pretty good if you can find one that suits your personal body sweat and odor problem. It can take quite a bit of trial and error.

Washing and body odour

Another way to treat the B O is to wash with anti-bacterial soaps and shampoos. These are nearly all freely available over the counter from a chemist. Again it is a matter of trial and error to find one that suits you. You cannot wash too frequently however because this can increase the excess sweat problem. When someone is having a real heavy sweating day it can be tempting to keep jumping in the shower but this could make the problem worse.

Diet and body odour

For just a few sufferers the cause can be clearly linked to their diet. It usually involves identifying spicy of strong flavoured foods that are setting their sweat glands onto overdrive. The classic example is a hot vindaloo curry but this would cause most people to sweat too much. Other types of food are spices and food additives that seem harmless but cause a reaction in some people.

The solution to your body odor problem will probably come from a mix of these methods. It will be tailored to your own self knowledge about what you think sets off your sweating and body odor.