Smelly feet - the medical name is bromodosis - can affect anyone. It can be embarrassing and uncomfortable. The main cause is sweaty feet and there are simple steps you can take to help prevent this.

What causes sweaty and smelly feet?

The function of sweat glands is to keep the skin moist and therefore supple, and to regulate temperature when the weather is hot or while you are exercising. There are more sweat glands in our feet than anywhere else in the body. However, unlike sweat glands elsewhere in the body, the sweat glands in the feet secrete all the time, not just in response to heat or exercise.

Feet smell when bacteria on the skin break down sweat as it comes from the pores. A cheesy smell is released as the sweat decomposes.

The main causes of sweaty and smelly feet are:

Wearing the same shoes every day. Feet become smelly if sweat soaks into the shoes and you wear them again before they are dry.
Poor personal hygiene.
Hormonal changes can cause feet to sweat more, so teenagers and pregnant women are especially prone.
If you are stressed.
A condition called hyperhidrosis, which causes you to sweat more than usual.
Not letting sweat accumulate inside your shoes is the most logical way of preventing smelly feet.

Preventing smelly feet

The best way to prevent smelly feet is good personal hygiene and not wearing the same shoes 2 days in a row. It's important to wash your feet every day and dry them thoroughly, especially between the toes. Teenagers especially should be discouraged from wearing the same pair of trainers all the time. You should also wear clean socks every day. Cotton or wool socks are much better than nylon.

If you're particularly prone to sweaty feet, you could:

Use a spray deodorant or antiperspirant on your feet. A normal underarm one will work just as well as a specialist foot product.
When you have dried your feet with a towel after a shower or bath, dab between your toes with cotton wool dipped in surgical spirit.
Put detachable medicated insoles in your shoes. These have a deodorizing effect.
Try foot-fresh socks. These are impregnated with chemicals to discourage the bacteria that break down the sweat and cause a smell. Some sports socks have ventilating panels to help keep feet dry.
Wear leather or canvas shoes. In the summer, wear open-toed sandals. Go barefoot at home if you can safely.
Sweaty feet can be treated with an antibacterial foot scrub, but avoid using these scrubs if you have broken skin or eczema.
These steps to prevent sweaty and smelly feet will usually help. If they don't, or you are worried about how much you sweat, seek medical advice.

Athlete's foot can also cause your feet to smell. You can treat this yourself with antifungal treatment available from a pharmacy. Seek medical advice if you're concerned or if the problem is not clearing up.

Causes and Prevention of Smelly Feet

Excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis occurs due to the presence of extremely sensitive sweat glands in certain body portions. It is a condition in which you sweat more than the normal amount and this can be attributed to temperature, anxiety levels and daily routine.

Symptoms: If the excessive sweating is limited within the underarm, the feet, the face and the palm of your hand, then it is diagnosed as primary focal hyperhidrosis, which is relatively harmless in nature and does not presuppose any serious medical condition. However, excessive sweating might cause severe mental and emotional problem for the affected person. In most of the cases of primary hyperhidrosis, the person suffers from a very early age, but is too embarrassed to check it up by a doctor. Primary hyperhidrosis can also be part-hereditary in nature. However, an early diagnosis might eliminate Primary Hyperhidrosis completely.

But, if excessive sweating occurs at a later stage and all around your body that interrupts your daily schedule, then you should check up with your doctor, as that might be a warning sign for far more serious medical conditions like cancer, malaria, diabetes, heart attack, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, thyroid problems, serious nerve and hormonal anomalies, etc. Also, if you experience excessive sweating at night and that too all of a sudden, you must go for a check-up. This form of Hyperhidrosis, known as Secondary Hyperhidrosis is sometimes accompanied by symptoms of nausea, giddiness in the head, the sudden rise of temperature up to 40 degrees Celsius and an intense pain in the chest.

Treatments: Primary Hyperhidrosis is diagnosed with antiperspirants which have high aluminum salt content like Drysol, Xerac AC; these are to be applied to the affected regions at night with a suitable prescription from the doctor. A prescribed dosage of anti-depressants and Botulinum toxin injections can be used to treat excessive sweating. Surgical procedures like removal of sweat glands can be applied, if excessive sweating occurs only in the underarm regions. You can also opt for nerve surgery if Hyperhidrosis is limited to your hand.

Excessive Sweating - Know the Signs!

Body odour is a problem faced by a lot of people from all walks of life. It usually arises from the combination of sweat and living bacteria that naturally dwell in the human body. There are certain factors that are usually responsible for triggering it. Thick fabrics, stress, dietary habits that include excess caffeine intake, use of onions and garlic in the daily diet, or excess fat in the body are just a few to name. The most annoying of all body odours are smelly armpits! However, it is usually possible to keep the odour at bay. Here s how we can control it.

Daily habits to practise

Stay hydrated throughout the day. It allows the body to free itself from the toxic products, which contribute to the chemical formations that arise as a foul smell.
Eat a lot of green vegetables and less amounts of onions, garlic and chillies in the diet, which will obviously increase sweat secretion.
Avoid too much of caffeine and alcohol, which contribute heavily as stimulants of the sweat glands.
Try to remain stress free; practice yoga and meditation as daily habits to keep your mind at a balance.
How do we recover from it?
The people, who generally do not have a healthy dietary or living habit, have to start living by the rules to get rid of this problem. Groom yourself:

Start exercising to release your body from that extra load, remember to shower after exercising, as accumulation of sweat will again form an ally to the problem.
Keep your underarms shaved. Although it is still not conventional for the men in the society to do so, it is very important, as there is more aggregation of bacteria around places where we have hair on the body. So shaving or trimming your armpit hair will definitely prove to be worthy.
Maintain hygiene. Keep yourself clean and wear fresh clothes.
Wear perforated fabrics that let your skin breathe, like silk and cotton.
If all the above mentioned steps have been followed, and the problem still persists, do not hesitate to see a doctor to strike a list of diseases off the list which also manifest in this problem, like hyperthyroidism, diabetes, Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), leukaemia, tuberculosis and others. Maintain a healthy environment around you, follow a few simple steps, and enjoy a happy living.

Smelly Armpits - How To Prevent & Control It?

Deodorants and antiperspirants are items of regular use all over the world. You would never want to smell bad or have sweat stains under your armpits. Hence, after using a deodorant or an antiperspirant you usually stick to it and keep on using it continuously. There is a major confusion regarding deodorants and antiperspirants, and it is important to know the major difference between these two similar items of everyday use.
Deodorant-
Deodorant serves the function of preventing unwanted and unpleasant odour from our body. Deodorants do not prevent sweating. Body odour is caused due to the bacterial breakdown of sweat. The ingredients of a deodorant are designed especially for the elimination of the smell caused by bacteria.
The common ingredients of a deodorant are :
Water
Sodium stearate
Organic aloe vera juice
Witch hazel water
Glyceryl laurate
Fir needle oil
Chamomile flower aqueous extract
Hops [CO2] extract   helps eliminate the odour
Caprylic/capric triglyceride
Ascorbic acid
Silica shell
Organic Lemongrass Oil
Antiperspirants-
Antiperspirants are different from deodorants, and they are designed in such a way that the body produces lesser sweat. This is done by blocking sweat from reaching the skin. The ingredients present in antiperspirants, especially aluminum, block the pores on the skin and do not allow sweat to pass through them. When an antiperspirant is applied to the skin, the aluminum salts get dissolved in the sweat under the armpit. The dissolved aluminum forms a gel, which acts like a plug on the sweat glands or pores on the skin. This stops sweat secretion. Aluminum is, however, a cancer-causing factor and may also lead to Alzheimer s disease. Several forms of aluminum present in some antiperspirants leave yellow stains on clothes as a result of mixing with sweat.
The primary ingredients of antiperspirants are:
Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex.
Dimethicone.
Tribehenin.
Artificial fragrance.
C18 36 Acid Triglyceride.
People are often confused as to what to use among deodorants and antiperspirants. This depends totally on your personal choice, but it is recommended to use a product which incorporates natural ingredients instead of using chemicals such as aluminum. Hence, deodorants are considered to be safer for everyday use. However, several artificial dyes and fragrances are used as ingredients in both deodorants and antiperspirants, which cause reactions on the skin. Allergies and skin irritation also occur sometimes as a result.


What is the Difference Between an Antiperspirant and a Deodorant?

Everyone is familiar with the causes of body odor from sweat. Sweat itself does not have any odor; it is when it interacts with bacteria (underarm pits or groins), the sweat gives out a body odor. Although body odor brings a downslide during social interactions, the sources of body odor can be more serious than a person might consider and may not go away with regular baths or by applying deodorants. The article discusses a few sources of body odor other than sweat.

The Fish Odour Syndrome

Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) is a common body odor disease due to a genetic disorder. It is also commonly known as the fish odor syndrome and might be inherited in nature. The rare metabolic disorder does not allow the production of Flavin-containing Monooxygenase 3 (FMO3), an enzyme which generally converts trimethylamine (TMA) into trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) by the process of N-oxidation. This results in building up of TMA, which releases a fish odor smell through sweat and mouth. TMAU can be treated naturally in the following ways  

Keeping distance from foods, which have choline, carnitine, nitrogen and sulphur. For example, salt-water fish, eggs, etc.
Reducing the doses of antibiotics taken.
A medical study also suggested that in 85% of the cases, taking in charcoal or copper chlorophyllin helped to reduce the body odor.
There is also secondary trimethylaminuria (TMAU2), a type of TMAU where it is not hereditary.

Rotten Apple Smell

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a diabetic disease when untreated. When the body is not able to compose enough insulin, there is a metabolic disorder which makes the body burn or break down excess fat for fuel. This causes the person to exhale breath with a sweet but disgusting aroma similar to the smell of rotten or decomposing apples. This is the reason why doctors, specializing in body odor, ask the patients to go for a urine or blood test, to determine whether the patient has diabetes. Treating diabetic ketoacidosis is same as managing teeth disorder  

Brushing teeth regularly and flossing daily.
Drinking plenty of water to keep the mouth moist.
Following all the medical prescriptions to regulate the sugar level of the body as given by the doctor.
Stress Disorders

It is also reported by medical clinics that body odor can result from emotional stress disorders causing excessive perspiration. It is common among teenagers who are in the phase of developing hormones.

Conclusion

A man or woman who is looking completely healthy and fit from the outside can too have body odor disorders. This will affect their social relationships, and so it is always better to seek advice from the specialists so that effective actions can be undertaken as soon as possible. A doctor can prescribe appropriate medication and advise some natural measures to restrain the problem.

Body Odour - How It Indicates Your Health?

Sweating during warm weather is very common, but if a person wakes up from bed soaked in sweat, it is not a pleasant feeling. It does not allow for a sound sleep, and may not always be related to warm weather.
There is no serious underlying medical issue, but it is always advisable to see a doctor to get this corrected. The following are some common reasons that could lead to night sweats.

Menopause: The hot flashes that are so popularly associated with menopause is one of the main reasons for night sweats. The presenting factors (woman, age, and other symptoms) should help arrive at this diagnosis. Hormonal levels can be checked to confirm if required. Even puberty and pregnancy can cause night sweats, due to hormonal level alterations.
Infections: Most infections present with fever and night sweats are very common. Tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, influenza and even HIV can cause night sweats and hamper a person s sleep. Most infections cause an increase in temperature, which is worse at night.
Obstructive sleep apnea: The walls of the windpipe get narrowed, and the person might have short periods where the breathing just stops. These people are three times more likely to develop night sweats.
Hypoglycemia: One of the most common symptoms of low blood sugar is night sweat. When the sugar drop happens during the time the person is sleeping, it is very common for the person to wake up soaked in sweat.
Cancer: For some cancers, night sweats are one of the first warning signs. These cancers include lymphoma, and presence of symptoms like unexplained weight loss, fatigue, etc. should be addressed to rule out the possibility of cancer.
Side effect of medications: Antidepressants, psychiatric drugs, anti-pyretic drugs, anti-virals, steroids, anti-diabetic medications, hormones, etc. can lead to night sweats. Suspected cases of night sweats should have their medications reviewed to see if any drug is causing the night sweats.
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease: GERD, as it is popularly known, can cause night sweats in addition to heartburn. They would also have other symptoms of indigestion, which will help in identifying the problem.
Neurologic disorders: Stroke, neuropathy and anxiety disorders can cause night sweats and would require psychotherapy in addition to medications.
Idiopathic: And despite all these possible reasons, if there is no identifiable reason, it is known as idiopathic hyperhidrosis (increased sweating). The person produces too much sweat without any known underlying cause and can even wake up at night soaked in sweat.
Management: Identifying the underlying cause is the first step in treatment. It may require hormonal corrections, changing or withdrawing the causative medications, treating associated conditions, etc., as the case may be.

Sweating While Sleeping - 9 Reasons Behind It?

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