How To Get Rid Of Onion Smelling Armpits In South Africa
What is Smelling Armpits?
Smelly armpits occur when bacteria break down the otherwise odorless sweat on your skin. Some people sweat more than others and have a condition called hyperhidrosis. This excess sweating can lead to body odor. While it might cause people to be self-conscious, there are many solutions that can help
What causes smelly armpits?
Your body is covered with sweat glands because sweating is an essential function that helps us cool down.
There are two main kinds of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine:
- Eccrine glands: These cover much of your body and open directly on the skin’s surface.
- Apocrine glands: These occur in areas that contain a lot of hair follicles, like the groin and armpit. Instead of opening up to the surface of the skin, apocrine glands empty into the hair follicle and then open up to the surface.
When your body heats up, eccrine glands release sweat that cools your body. It’s typically odorless until bacteria on your skin start breaking it down. Certain foods and drinks you’ve consumed, as well as certain kinds of medication, can also cause eccrine sweat to give off an odor.
Apocrine glands work primarily under stress, secreting an odorless fluid. This fluid begins to develop an odor when it comes into contact with bacteria on your skin. These glands don’t start working until puberty, which is why that’s usually the time people start to notice body odor.
While this is normal, some people sweat more than usual. This condition is called hyperhidrosis. People with hyperhidrosis sweat excessively, especially from their hands, feet, and armpits. If your doctor thinks you might have this condition, they can complete tests to confirm a diagnosis and provide treatment.
How To Get Rid Of Onion Smelling Armpits In South Africa
How to manage smelly armpits depends on the severity and underlying causes of the body odor. The odor might be present due to ineffective hygiene or not using the right products, or there may be an underlying medical condition that needs treatment.
When hygiene is behind smelly armpits
Using an over-the-counter (OTC) antiperspirant or deodorant (or a combination antiperspirant-deodorant) after your daily shower can help remedy armpit odor. Sometimes, you need to try different kinds to see which one works best for you.
Antiperspirants help to reduce the amount of sweat produced by temporarily blocking the pores that release sweat. As less sweat comes to the surface of your skin, less odor results.
Deodorants stop sweat from smelling but don’t stop sweat itself. These products are often alcohol-based, turning your skin acidic. This prevents the odor-triggering bacteria from forming.
When hyperhydrosis is causing armpit body odor
If OTC deodorants aren’t effective, talk with your doctor about prescription-strength deodorant or Botox injections.
Although many are familiar with Botox for its use in smoothing facial wrinkles, it has several other practical applications. A Botox injection into the sweat glands can decrease both sweating and odor. This is a common treatment for people with hyperhidrosis.
Botox isn’t a permanent solution, though. The effects of the injections only last a few months, so you’ll need to repeat the procedure as often as necessary.
How do you get rid of body odor naturally?
If you want a more natural approach to treating armpit body odor, there may be options that work. Talk to your healthcare provider about:
- Baking soda: Make a paste using baking soda and water. Apply the paste to your armpits and let it dry. Baking soda balances the acid on your skin and reduces odors.
- Green tea: Put green tea bags in warm water. Place the soaked tea bags under your armpits for several minutes a day. Green tea may help block your pores and reduce sweating.
- Apple cider vinegar: Mix apple cider vinegar with a small amount of water in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture onto your armpits. The acid in vinegar helps kill bacteria.
- Lemon juice: Mix lemon juice and water in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture under your arms. The citric acid in lemon juice kills bacteria.
How to prevent smelly armpits
You can take some measures to prevent underarm odor from developing in the first place.
- Taking daily showers with soap. Regularly showering after strenuous activities like working out or playing sports gets rid of the bacteria and sweat that cause odors.
- Wearing loose-fitting, breathable fabrics like cotton, linen, and moisture-wicking blends. This is especially important if you sweat a lot. These will allow your body to stay cooler better than constricting clothes made from nonbreathable fabrics.
- Removing hair. A 2016 study found that shaving or waxing the armpits significantly reduced armpit odor. This is because cleaning is more effective on shaved or waxed skin.
- Relieving stress. Since the stress reaction can cause sweat glands to produce sweat, stress management and anxiety-reduction techniques can help you modulate your stress reaction and minimize your physiological sweat response.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I make my armpits stop smelling like onions?
The best way to prevent smelly armpits is to wash daily and after sweating. Using antiperspirant or deodorant and shaving the armpits can also help. Avoiding alcohol and certain foods, such as onions and garlic, will also help prevent smelly armpits in some cases
What does it mean when your armpits smell like onions?
When the bacteria break down the sweat they form products called thioalcohols, which have scents comparable to sulfur, onions or meat. “They’re very very pungent,” says Bawdon
How do I permanently get rid of underarm odor?
Home remedies to get rid of smelly armpits
- Use rocksalt. Put some rock salt in a bucket full of lukewarm water.
- Spray apple cider vinegar. Take 1 cup of apple cider vinegar and mix it with 1/2 a half of cup of water.
- Use potato.
- Apply baking soda with lemon.
- Use tomato juice
Why do I always smell like onions?
Bacteria that live in the mouth can make compounds that have sulfur. These compounds are especially stinky. They can smell like rotten eggs or onion, for example. If bad breath isn’t cleared up by brushing your teeth or using mouthwash, it may be a sign of another issue.
What does diabetic sweat smell like?
A person living with a health condition such as diabetes or kidney disease may also have sweat that smells like ammonia. A person can try antiperspirants to reduce the amount they sweat, and deodorants to cover up any odors. A doctor can treat any underlying health conditions to help reduce the ammonia smell in sweat.
Why do my armpits stink even after I shower?
“When somebody feels like they’re still smelly after the shower, typically it’s someone who is more prone to sweating, and may have a buildup of bacteria on the skin in conjunction with the sweat,” Marisa Garshick, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Cornell-New York Presbyterian Medical Center, tells.
Why do my armpits still smell after deodorant?
Research has found that the salts in antiperspirants can cause an imbalance of bacteria. The aluminum compounds kill off the less smelly bacteria, giving the smellier bacteria more opportunity to thrive, causing more body odour
Why do I have BO Even after a shower?
Changes to body odor may be due to puberty, excessive sweating, or poor hygiene. Sudden changes are typically caused by the environment, medications, or foods that you eat. However, body odor, especially sudden and persistent changes to your normal odor, can sometimes be a sign of an underlying condition.
Does shaving armpits reduce smell?
Underarm sweat has a direct link to body odor (BO) since it’s the result of bacteria breaking sweat down. When you remove hair under the armpits, it reduces trapped odor. A 2016 study involving men found that removing armpit hair by shaving significantly reduced axillary odor for the following 24 hours
Does lemon juice help with underarm odor?
This wonder ingredient that’s readily available in every kitchen helps lower the pH level of your skin, thus killing bacteria that produce body odour. Cut a lemon in half and rub your underarms with the halves, squeezing them a bit as you go. Let it air-dry to prevent underarm odour.
How do you keep your virgin clean and smelling good?
DON’T douche or use any sprays to cover up the smell as these products can irritate your vagina. Try bathing or showering every day with a mild soap and warm water, and wear cotton underwear. If your discharge continues to have an odor, you may have bacterial vaginosis (BV).
How come when I open my legs it smells male?
Hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes excessive sweating. Men are especially vulnerable to this in the groin area due to testicles that can rub against their skin, creating friction, and increasing sweating. The extra sweat can attract fungus and bacteria, which leads to bad smells.
Why does my boyfriend smell when sleeping?
Because men tend to have more hair on their bodies, including the armpits. There may be more bacteria in these hair follicles. When the body sweats, the bacteria that is present in those areas will feed off the sweat released from the body causing it to smell worse than other areas of the body.