Body Odor

Q: um.. I have body odor. I wash my armpits daily and load on the deodorant but I still STINK! And don't try to suggest some new product- I've tried 'em all! It's affecting my friendships... people don't want to be around me. Come on- I'm clean!! I'm thinking about staying in my house all the time and just sitting in my own stank. What do you think??

-wafing in Quebec


A: Dear Wafing,

Before I begin, I would like to note two things. One, staying in your house wallowing in self-pity because you think you smell is really not a good way to live. Two, if your friends don't like you anymore for a silly little thing like BO (which everyone has), they're probably not very good friends anyway. Now, on to advice.

There are a lot of things that can affect BO, including consumption of meats, onions, garlic, spicy foods, coffee, alcohol, and tobacco products. You might try cutting down on these things and see if that helps at all (try to get a friend or family member to be your judge, since smelling yourself is often inaccurate). Another thing that makes BO worse is stress, although we would probably all get rid of our stress if possible, so I won't bother trying to suggest you cut all the stress out of your life.

One thing you want to do is make sure you scrub your underarms thoroughly and dry them completely after you take a shower and before applying deodorant. Wearing loose clothing, of course helps, because your skin can breathe better and consequently doesn't breed bacteria as well. Natural fabrics, such as wool and cotton, are said to help.

You could try using rubbing alcohol, apple cider vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or baking soda in place of deodorant. Chewing alfalfa or parsley or other leafy plants is said to help as well, possibly because of the chlorophyll. You could also fill your bathtub with water, add three cups of tomato juice, and soak for fifteen minutes (it works on BO as well as on skunk spray). You could take zinc tablets. I've heard it said that rubbing your underarms with peeled potatoes is helpful, although I'm a bit skeptical about that.

Try some of these ideas, and ask again if there's no improvement in a week or two. Good luck!

-The Chief