Why does one armpit smell more

Type:A deodorant never fails to keep me smelling fresh in both pits through any day spent in the heat. We use cookies on our website to give you the best shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies. Shop All. Bar Soap. Hand Care. Special Offer. Browse Posts by Topic. By contrast, apocrine glands 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.

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. 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, there are tests they can do to confirm a diagnosis, ensuring it gets treated properly. Treatment for smelly armpits depends on the severity and underlying causes of the body odor. The odor can be caused by poor hygiene or not using the right products. Or there may be an underlying medical condition that needs to be treated. Using an over-the-counter OTC antiperspirant or deodorant or a combination antiperspirant-deodorant daily, after your 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. The less sweat that comes to the surface of your skin, the less odor that results. These products are often alcohol-based, turning your skin acidic. This inhibits bacteria from forming — which is what causes sweat to smell. Although many are familiar with Botox for its use in smoothing facial wrinkles, it has several other practical applications.

Botox injected into sweat glands decreases both sweating and odor. You guessed it: fishy. One of the unfortunate things that holds true about body odor is that if you're prone to sweating more, you're also likely to smell more. It's just the nature of the beast. And one particular thyroid issue, Grave's disease, is associated with excessive sweating. Grave's disease is basically a case of an overactive thyroid , where the thyroid reacts to an immune system malfunction by going into overdrive.

Thyroids are responsible for regulating the metabolism, so one going the speed of a race car can contribute to shakes, rapid heartbeat, poor sleep, and, yep, buckets of sweat.

Thyroid-related sweating often tends to happen at night, which, incidentally, is also associated with serious infections , located most commonly in the heart valves or bones. The equation of more sweat making more odor is, unfortunately, pretty foolproof, and the sweat can also be caused by medication side effects. Some analgesic pain medications, SSRI antidepressants, hormonal medications, and heart-based drugs have excessive sweating as part of their known catalogue of side-effects, so you'll have to be prepared for a bit of body odor increase if you're on a course of any of those meds.

Hormonal shifts are a big cause of sweating increases, from perimenopause the period right before menopause to the early teen years.

This hormonal change then leads to excess sweating, which can contribute to body odor. Other common symptoms of hormone fluctuation, like hot flashes and night sweats, can also contribute to excessive sweating and increase body odor. People who are pregnant frequently report waves of sweatiness in response to the massive hormonal upheaval of conception and carrying a fetus, so if you're at any point in your life where hormones are rampant or you're on medications with hormonal side-effects , you may have found your culprit.

In some cases, though, consistent or sudden body odor can indicate a chronic problem, like a metabolic condition or a more serious illness like yellow fever and typhoid fever, which can have distinct scents," says Dr. If your body odor has suddenly changed and there's no clear reason why, you should schedule a doctor's appointment; it could be a sign of something more serious. Unfortunately, there are no MedExpress centers in this area.

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