Re: help, my career and social life is threatened by my extreme body odour.
Hey Bud,
Hope you're doing well (beside the
Body Odor I mean, I know how bad it can be for your social life, career, and self-esteem :/ ).
I haven't cured myself of this condition yet but I've made some improvements in the last couple weeks that may be able to help you...
First, know that it's going to require a good amount of effort, but if you're like most people that have beat this thing, the more you see improvements the more motivated you will be.
Second, you will not be able to take care of this in a matter of days. If you try something for a day and realize that you still get reactions, don't give up. The solution to this problem is a process - making the right moves each day until your body starts to heal.
Ok, to heal properly you have to determine which category your
Body Odor falls under:
Autoimmune disease- This is any medical condition caused by something going wrong in your body (for example kidney, lung, thyroid problems). If this is your problem there's a good chance that
Body Odor isn't the most troubling of your problems. For the most part, you'd be able to tell if you had a serious autoimmune disease. I'm talking change in skin color, swollen body parts, pain, vertigo, serious rashes, things like that. If this is the case get to a doctor's office quick. Doctors make mistakes A LOT more than most people think, especially when it comes to body odor, but they're usually pretty good at identifying serious dysfunctions. This doesn't sound like your problem based on what you said, but it's still good to know.
Physical occurrence - Ok, this covers two separate categories:
- Something may be physically wrong in your body (ex. your anal sphincter doesn't close correctly, you have colon prolapse, you have a large open wound, you have food stuck in your sinuses, etc) Chances are you'd also know if this was the case, especially for something like an open wound haha :P but it's good to rule these things out before moving along. I know that for me, a small degree of rectal prolapse contributes to my body odor. It's not the main cause, but it definitely contributes by making it easier for intestinal gas to escape. Think about any issues you may have that are similar to these and try to address them. But again, this doesn't sound like your problem....
- Environmental problems - This one is fairly simple to consider and fix. Is there mold in your home? do you own pets? That kind of thing.... I'm not going to talk about this too much because I'm sure you know how to take care of your living space, and I know it pisses me off when people tell me I might smell because I didn't wash my clothes right or something like that.
My goal is to list every possible reason that someone may smell bad... If you know you're keeping your area and belongings clean, just keep on doing what you're doing and disregard anyone that tells you to check yourself. One of the reasons this condition is difficult to deal with is people are ignorant and full of themselves. There will always be some smartass telling you to "just shower" or "clean your house" f*** em, seriously.
Digestive issues:
This sounds more like what's going on with you. Your diet or digestion aren't set up to work well with what your body's needs. In all honesty, it can be extremely hard to find the perfect diet for you. Everyone is different. While some of us feel great after eating yogurt, others cramp up and stink to high heaven after consuming any dairy products. Same for meat, bread, veggies and any other foods...
This is where my story begins I guess.... my digestion was and probably still is horrible. Even after going vegan (no meat or dairy) I still stunk and was never able to poop right. About a week ago I restricted my diet to literally the minimum needed to function. This is now my diet:
Water - So I can stay alive.
Tea - Different kinds of tea: green, oregano, peppermint, chamomile, cinnamon, Rosemary, cumin, garlic... many more. Really get interesting with your teas, they have antioxidants,
Antibiotic and antifungal properties, and substances that help your immune system and kidney function. Digestive smells are really just bacteria being all out of whack. Teas help your body kill the bad bacteria.
Extra virgin coconut oil - I take a few spoonfuls throughout the day. Coconut oil has the fats that your body needs to live. Also, the Lauric acid in it has antibacterial and antifungal properties. This has been an important part of my diet... my sweat smells like coconut oil... it's an amazing, delicious aroma.
Broth - Rather than eating veggies (or meat if you eat it) boil them, throw away the solids, and drink the broth! It gives you the flavor of the foods, some of the macromolecules and nutrients, and none of the digestive stress!
Spinach and kale blended in water and ran through a mesh - Plain old liquid leaves.... proteins that your body needs to live. Add chia seeds if you feel like the spinach and kale juice alone isn't enough protein.
Ricemeal and oatmeal blended in water and ran through a mesh - Again, good old liquid carbohydrates. Your body needs carbs to live ;) Make sure that the oatmeal you buy is gluten free.
Fresh orange juice with no pulp - Only one glass a day for the
Sugar and few carbs it has.
Vitamins - Take multivitamins, but only half a pill a day and make sure you take it with the coconut oil and rice/oatmeal water. If you take it by itself it isn't good for your stomach.
That's it. You may have noticed that it's a 100% liquid diet. I heard a lot of bullshit about how liquid diets just aren't healthy or possible to maintain, but I plan on following through with it for as long as I can. This is literally the only thing that has greatly reduced my intestinal body odor, sweat odor, and
improved my health all around. Not only do I not feel hungry or tired, I feel AMAZING. The best I have felt in years. I always heard that liquid diets weren't the way to go but the body doesn't lie, and my body is very very happy with this change. I repeat, I feel and look amazing!! My smell has been greatly reduced and every single day I see improvement. No more bad breath in the morning, no more smelly bowel movements, no more headaches, I'm a changed man!
This diet has everything the body needs to live: carbs, fat, protein (drink a lot of that spinach juice... seriously, a lot) nutrients (don't forget to add salt to the broth or to a glass of water if you're not having broth that day) vitamins, antioxidants,
Sugar (Orange juice, or add some plain
Sugar to water if you feel like you aren't getting enough) and minerals (iodized salt has iodine, kale and spinach have iron, etc. the multivitamins also help with this) The trick is to get the right amounts of each thing.
I know this diet isn't for everyone. A lot of people don't want to give up food, others don't think its healthy. I have no regrets giving up solid meals because suffering with body odor is 1,000 times worse, and like I said, I notice my health improving each and every day. Also, I don't really crave solid foods anymore. I crave a spoonful of coconut oil or a big glass of rice meal water. Teas are also delicious, my favorite being honey-vanilla chamomile tea.
Infection - Ok, lastly, you may have a skin, intestinal, or systematic infection that is causing your body odor. For me, my body odor was a combination of digestion issues, systematic infection (probably caused by the bad digestion) and a little bit of rectal prolapse (probably contributed to the bad digestion).
Drinking teas and coconut oil will help take care of whatever infections you may have in your intestines. You can also take probiotic capsules if you feel you need them. I will start taking probiotics in a week or so once I feel live I've gotten the bad bacteria down [you want to give the good bacteria a fighting chance. Otherwise, it's like trying to beat an army with a few good soldiers. Noble, but you don't stand a chance. Kind of like Leonidas and his crew of Spartans ;) ]
The most extreme way of killing bacteria in your intestines are of course
Antibiotics , but unless prescribed by a doc for very specific reasons they aren't a good idea. Also, if it turns out that your infection is fungal, it will just do more harm. Teas attack both bacteria and fungus.
As for bacteria on the skin, alternate between bathing with a little bit of vinegar, chlorine, and again.... teas. Read up on antibacterial properties of teas and spices and decide which ones you want to use. For the chlorine, don't overdo it. I'm talking a couple cups of chlorine to a full bath of water. Try out different amounts and see how much your body can handle without getting irritated. Also, if you can get your hands on tea tree oil and benzoyl peroxide, these two chemicals work wonders.
Benzoyl peroxide is a great antibacterial, probably the best out of anything I've mentioned. Read up on how to use a BP wash properly.
You can add a little tea tree oil to your bath water too if you want, but I use it mostly for brushing my teeth. Two drops of pure TTO on the brush, brush away, rinse and repeat a couple times throughout the day.
Alternate between these substances from day to day. If your skin gets irritated, use only natural teas for a day, and the next day use less BP or chlorine or vinegar or whatever it was that irritated your skin.
I also apply antifungal creams. Buy two different types and apply a thin layer each morning and each night. The next day use the other type. I use clotrimazole and tolnaftate cream.
You don't need to do all this. Some people have gotten better just using vinegar, others with just Benzoyl peroxide, others with just antifungals creams. Decide what you want to try and adjust as you go!
And don't forget to listen to your body my friend, explore the possibilities, and pay attention to how your body reacts.
That's it, I hope I didn't just say a bunch of things you already knew. I'm not an expert, and I realize that what works for me may do nothing for other people. I can only give advice based on what I think I know, and there's a possibility that I'm just an idiot :P haha. But anyway, I really do hope you find a way to fight your body odor, good luck and stay positive!
Have a good one bud,
Joel
PS - Don't hesitate to message me, I'm always down to make a friend... this smelly life gets lonely you know :/