B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highl

[Arun Nagrath]

nycegirlx
Member

Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 56


B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
This is in response to one member claiming that his b.o. problem was eliminated when he stopped using scented products. I was incredulous when I first read this earlier this year and, now, I am even more so. If somebody had dealt with horrible ongoing body odors for years, I can't believe how it would simply "disappear" because the "sufferer" merely changed hygiene products. I wish I could be so miraculously and easily "cured." Either people who make this sort of claims never had a serious b.o. problem or they are delusional. There was a man from overseas who also claimed he was free of odor and making giant strides in his personal and professional life. I couldn't understand it yet I was happy for him...till I found it was all a complete fabrication. Wouldn't we all like to believe we were cured...
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#2
5th December 2010
Lisa M.
Moderator

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Hot Springs
Posts: 103


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
I also got a lot of improvement from using unscented products and cutting out many chemicals, and when I switched from using bar soaps to body wash and unscented deodorant. I thought at one time that it was something like a topical skin allergy. I know now that my odor is caused by the inability to digest sugars, but for some reason certain products especially perfumes, mixes with the odors coming out of the poors and sweat and makes it 10 times worse. I can see where this person would believe they were cured, but he will find out that it's not a cure, although the difference it makes can be a huge improvement. And let's face it, any improvement in this condition is welcome.

#3
5th December 2010

nycegirlx
Member

Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 56


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
Hi Lisa,

What kind of body wash do you use? As for unscented deodorants, I bought one but found it still had a scent. You mention odors coming from your skin and pores but as I also have digestive odors, I don't know how avoiding unscented odors would help me much. I do know avoiding heavy perfumes is a good idea even if it doesn't help me overall.

How did you find out that your odors were caused by your "inability to digest sugars"? I am curious as I have suspected Hereditary Fructose Intolerance as a potential cause for myself. It's important to know for sure as it can cause liver damage. Thanks for your input.

#4
5th December 2010
Lisa M.
Moderator

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Hot Springs
Posts: 103


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
Hereditary Fructose Intolerance is a very serious deadly disease and is usually diagnosed during infancy. However, Fructose Malabsorption is much more common and is caused by a deficiency or dysfunction of the liver enzyme I told you about earlier, Aldolase B. It causes IBS symptoms but normally does not cause body odor and it usually does not involve the simple sugars like monosaccharides and Sialic Acid, so for us there is more to the story.

Fructose Malabsorption seems to be part of the problem, and my theory is that we also inherited ONE of the genes responsible for Trimethylaminuria (Fish Odor Syndrome) and the Fructose Malabsorption is triggering symptoms. Normally a person has to inherit both genes, one from each parent, in order to have symptoms of Fish Odor Syndrome, but I have heard of cross-over reactions if a person inherits only one of the genes AND has a similar disorder, in this case a similar liver enzyme disorder like Fructose Malabsorption. I know it all sounds confusing and right now it's just theory. If I get accepted at the NIH's research program hopefully these questions and theories will be answered.

I use Sure unscented deodorant and Body Essence body wash with Tea Tree Oil. Since getting the odor under control I have been able to use other products without a reaction, but still use the body wash and unscented deo since they seem to work the best for me. You can get both at Wal-Mart.

I also suspected I had Trimethylaminuria about 10 years ago, although I tested negative, because the low-choline diet helped me more than anything else I ever tried, but it wasn't 100%. A couple of years ago I discovered quit by accident that it wasn't choline I couldn't digest, but sugars. Personal research and experimentation has lead me to the conclusions I now have, AND a complete remission of symptoms as long as I stick to the diet. Also, the low-choline diet reduced the odors, but did not reduce my symptoms of IBS since I was eating a lot of fruit. When the odors and IBS symptoms went away, then I knew I was on the right track.
Last edited by Lisa M.; 5th December 2010 at 06:12 PM.

#5
5th December 2010
William
Senior Member

Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 249



Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
I'm skeptical and cautious; even when my odor seems to have altogether vanished for days or weeks, only to come back again. Regardless of how conscientious I am with my personal hygiene. Even the low choline diet isn't a cure; it's a type of control measure. I believe that the actual percentage of people who have been cured is extremely low. My definition of cured being; eating anything you want without fear of how it will make you smell later on.

#6
5th December 2010
Lisa M.
Moderator

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Hot Springs
Posts: 103


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
I agree, William. That is the true definition of "cured". Unfortunately, we have one of those disorders that is incurable, like diabetes. It can be controlled, however, with proper diet. Maybe someday in the future, when all the research is completed and this disorder is fully understood, we can hope for a treatment that works. We have to be very careful of charlatons who play on our desperation and try to rip us off.

#7
14th January 2011
hewetti
Junior Member

Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: chester
Posts: 2


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
Hi Lisa,

I am new to the site, however I have been dealing with a fecal musty odor for the last 5 to 7 years of my life. I am now 37 years old and have tried every hygiene product on the market. I had a TAMU test done about a year and a half ago. It came back negative. I also was diagnosed with a fructose intolerance about 3 months ago and told to cut out fruit products and any foods with fructose in it. I just wanted to know if you have any suggestions or insight from the info I have given so far. I followed a very high protein diet for years, so I don't know if that ties into the body odor. I apologize if you may have already addresed some of the issues I have and please let me know if you need additional information on my situation. I appreciate your time.

Hew

#8
13th April 2011
Mr. Stinky
Member

Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Dublin
Posts: 32


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
I originally thought my odor was caused by chemicals on my skin such as soap and deodorant. I thought this because when I was taking one of my 2 or 3 daily showers the smell would become stronger. I have concluded that the hot rising air in the shower made it "easier" for me to smell my foul breath.

#9
18th April 2011
Jax.the.Max
Member

Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: MIAMI
Posts: 86


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Stinky
I originally thought my odor was caused by chemicals on my skin such as soap and deodorant. I thought this because when I was taking one of my 2 or 3 daily showers the smell would become stronger. I have concluded that the hot rising air in the shower made it "easier" for me to smell my foul breath.
Are you saying that you smell worse after you have taken a shower or that you could smell yourself when you were taking a shower. The reason why I ask this is the fact that hot showers can open up the pores in your skin and the water that your showering with, believe it or not, has chemicals in it ex.(flourine, chlorine) which could be absorbed in to your skin. So maybe it's not the rising air but the hot water(with chemicals) that you're showering with that is making smell worse.

#10
30th April 2011

Carmen
Junior Member

Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Groningen
Posts: 5


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
What kind of body odor is it when it doesn't help if u take a shower? A musky smell

#11
4th May 2011
Lisa M.
Moderator

Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Hot Springs
Posts: 103


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
Hewetti, I'm sorry I didn't see your post sooner. If you haven't already, do as much research as you can into fructose malabsorption because there is a lot more to it than fruit. Most sugars are fructose or sucrose based, so that would eliminate almost everything that's sweet. Now personally, I can eat a little fresh fruit excpet for apples and bananas, but can eat some fresh fruits, like oranges and tangarines. The citrus fruits have the least fructose. The only sweetener that doesn't flare up my odor is aspartame, so I can drink diet cola's. But most "sugar-free" foods contain sweeteners that I can't digest.

Carmen, if you still have an odor after scrubbing with soap in the shower, then the odor is probably a digestive disorder like TMAU or Fructose Malabsorption. And there are other digestive disorders that could be the cause that haven't been discovered yet.

#12
8th May 2011
tcox
Junior Member

Join Date: May 2011
Location: blackwood
Posts: 4


Re: B.O. "cured" by avoiding scented products? I highly doubt it.
The last two years, i have "investigated" different type of soaps in order to be able to help wash away my bad scent. I've found out that a lot of soaps are reall.y just "deodarant", therefore, adding a film on our bodies that smells good. Not really "cleaning" our skin. If you suffer from TMAU, think about it. We cannot digest certain foods properly. And those foods have to exit our body somehow. If we're not digesting it, then it is not coming out in the bowel movement. Therefore, it is leaving our body through our sweat, pores, urine. So soap is an important part of helping with the BO. If we are not washing it away, with the soaps that simply "deodorize" us, then what is it doing? Building up, building up, building up, contributing to our ongoing BO.
Our bodies need a soap with a PH of 5 or 6. The soaps are not labeled what their PH is. And even when trying to reasearch the PH of different brands of soap. it is difficult to find that information.
Baby soap. The liquid baby soap has a very low PH. It is "tear free" for babies, because it does not have the deodarant in it, or harsh chemicals. I have found relief from using baby soap. I would highly recommend it to anyone suffering with BO. If yout think about it, it is used on babies for a reason. Even my hair gets a odour. And the baby wash, like Johnson and Johnson, I use on my hair. And I feel confident, after two years of buying every soap imagniable, that the baby soap is the only thing that helps.

[awkwardorganism]

I cannot claim to be cured by any means, but avoiding fragrances has reduced my body odors 99%. It would be 100%, but for some reason I will get body odors upon consumption of certain foods. For instance, eating too much cheese makes me smell cheesy, and eating too many simple sugars will make me smell yeasty. I generally eat whatever I want without any negative impact on my body odor, as long as I don't eat a huge quantity of cheese or simple sugars.

I only use Canus Goat's Milk Soap bars for my body and hair. I use essential oils on occasion, which have a fragrance, yet do not negatively affect me. Obviously, chemicals within common synthetic fragrances are having a negative effect on me.

I live with my girlfriend and she is around me daily. She lets me know if I have any bizarre odors, but 99% of the time I do not, as I'm avoiding fragrances. The only time I was around fragrances for an extended period of time in the last 4 years was while I was in college courses or tutoring at the university. And every time I was around fragrances for an extended time, I would soon begin to get a headache akin to a hangover and then have severe body odors. I actually heard students that I was tutoring leave and go to the front desk and complain about me.

I did contact disability services as a student to see if there was anything I can do. I even emailed the entire student class-list and informed them of my fragrance sensitivity. Disability services informed me that they could not request that students refrain from wearing any fragrances, so there was pretty much nothing they could do. Luckily, most of the students in my classes did not wear excessive fragrances, and if they did, I talked to them personally or avoided them as much as possible. My lab partner in one class always sprayed herself with tons of fragrance, but I was very lucky that she stopped wearing fragrances when I told her about my sensitivity. That was a really nice girl.

I doubt that I have TMAU, as I eat sushi all the time, and all kinds of seafood also, without any adverse effects. I think I could eat a truckload of seafood and not smell fishy.

I am uncertain about what I have. There are numerous medical conditions which cause body odors, and we do not likely all have the same condition. Someone with my condition would definitely have a severe sensitivity to synthetic fragrances which result in body odor and headaches. If you don't have these symptoms resulting directly from fragrances, then it is unlikely that we share the same medical condition. Therefore, it is not certain that avoiding fragrances would reduce odors or symptoms.

Ultimately, I don't think that anyone has ever had worse body odor than myself (perhaps some might have equally bad body odor, but not worse). Before avoiding fragrances I had so many weird odors, including rotten fish, sewage, barnyard, cheesy, musty, fecal, fishy, yeasty, sickly sweet, and a seemingly unlimited array of bizarre chemical odors and mixtures that are indescribable.

Amazingly, avoiding fragrances does eliminate 99% of the problem for me. It is not a cure, but it is extremely significant. There is not a chance that I would have graduated from college if I was in my previous state. There is not a chance that I would have a girlfriend that would live with me. There is not a chance that I would be aiming to get a masters and PhD.

Bizarre as it may seem, simply avoiding fragrances has drastically changed my life and my future. And it is not really all that bizarre, as fragrances contain up to and more than 100 chemicals, many of which are toxicants or become toxicants upon biotransformation. I'm certainly no expert in toxicology, but from what I have learned by reading toxicology textbooks, toxicants that are not excreted or biotransformed to become nontoxic can wreck havoc within the body.

I have a lot of theories, as I always do. Perhaps the toxicants inhibit enzymes, transporters, etc. I don't know the biochemical mechanism behind my fragrance detoxification problem, but I know the symptoms. And as long as I avoid fragrances, my symptoms are reduced 99%.

Of course, it's very difficult to avoid fragrances in public places, but I do my best.

[Arun Nagrath]

Hey Ben,
This is very interesting. I believe you have a really rare form of body odour. There was a woman on last Sunday's Conference Call who complained of a similar condition. Scented soaps and fragrances gave her a headache. Fragrances also made the odour very strong.

I also suspect this kind of odour is related to a problem detoxifying fragrances. Someone on the Conference Call listed a website where you could find all the chemicals present in any soap, shampoo etc. I wish I had written it down. I think Sharon knows what the site is called. Challenging the body singly with each of the constituents is one way to investigate the culprit chemicals but this is a really slow process.

What happens if you drink alcohol Ben? Any effect?

If there is anyone here who has a condition similar to Ben, please list it on this thread. Ben, how many people have you come across who have a similar condition to you? Because I can't smell myself, I don't know if this would apply to me but I certainly don't get headaches wearing scented products.

[awkwardorganism]

Hi Arun,

You are very lucky that fragrances don't give you headaches. I would rather have the body odor than the hangover feeling I get when around fragrances. I have only heard of two others that seem to have the same type of condition as myself.

I don't seem to have any problem with alcohol giving me odors, but I rarely drink anymore. I didn't have time to drink being in college (although I did a few semesters when depressed), and I begin grad school soon and will surely not have time then either.

The condition that I have seems to be more rare than TMAU, indeed. I'm going to be taking some interesting course next semester in grad school (Toxicology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry). I hope to learn more about my condition, but I'm mostly interested in learning new techniques that could be used to undertake research and experiments to further understand body odor conditions.

At first I was only going to school so I can learn more about biology and chemistry subjects for the benefit of trying to understand body odor conditions, but the mechanisms underlying life cycles and cellular processes are so fascinating that I am addicted to reading textbooks now just for the fun of it.

I'm sure that anyone with my condition would not benefit much from choline restriction, but would benefit immensely from avoiding fragrances. But as I said, too much cheese, or even chocolate or simple sugars, cause me to have weird cheesy, sickly sweet, or yeasty odors respectively. So it's confusing. If I could eliminate any symptoms now though, I would try to eliminate the fragrance sensitivity.

I have thought about purchasing the different chemicals that fragrances are composed of and using them separately to determine which I am sensitive to. But there are so many. I guess I would have to have the money and time to conduct that experiment, something I don't have either of currently.

It would be great to just know exactly what is going on, but answers are elusive.

[paige90]

The same kind of thing happens to me as well when it comes to fragrances. Fragrances make the odor worse, so now I avoid them like the plague. Even when I used lightly scented body wash in the shower, I'd be sneezing afterwards and sometimes get a headache as if I was allergic to myself. I also notice the same thing regarding sugar and cheese consumption that awkwardorganism describes. After eating cheese, the cheese smell seems to secrete from around my nose and sometimes my fingertips.

[awkwardorganism]

Paige,

Maybe you should try essential oil fragrances. Essential oils do not negative affect me for some reason, only synthetic fragrances (which is basically all fragrances within commercial products).

Another thing you may want to avoid is large amounts of chocolate if your condition is like mine. Chocolate makes me have a bad odor if I eat too much.

I also wonder if you have a sensitivity to tooth paste. Every time I use toothpaste regularly, it will eat away my skin inside my mouth and is guaranteed to give me canker sores all over my gums. I usually use only mouthwash to brush, as it does not have the same effect.

[paige90]

Yes awkwardorganism, essential oils might be just what I need. I pretty much avoid chocolate now, but whenever I do eat it, it's in tiny amounts. It's interesting that you mention toothpaste. Although I'm not certain that the toothpaste is causing it, I do have very sensitive gums and I tend to get those sores you are talking about. I also notice that sometimes, my eyes will burn when brushing my teeth.

[Carebear]

I have had relief from not using highly scented products particularly perfume which I loved, some days it would smell lovely and some people might comment on it being nice, other days when TMAU reared its head, it so distorted the smell of the perfume that i think the smell was worse than just TMAU alone, I can't smell it though but I teach so judging by the reactions I think perfume made it 1000 times worse.

[Anony]

I've also heard and noticed that wearing strong fragrances when you have body odor problems is a bad idea. I think the chemicals of the fragrances along with the smell of them doesn't mix well with our body odors, making it worse. Instead of masking the bad smells, it amplifies them. I don't want to make scientific judgements on it because I'm not sure why this is, but I guess the fragrances are designed to permeate the area around a person as their body heats up, which is why they put it in deodorants and body sprays, so serve as masking agents. Well if you're already smelling badly, the perfume will serve as a vehicle to move your smell around.

I use unscented soap and deodorant. I used to get a lot of comments about how bad my underarm odor was when I used scented deodorants. I did some research and saw that you should never used scented deodorants if you have bromhidrosis. I switched to unscented brands and while it doesn't take away the odor completely, it's far better than mixing those strong colognes with my funk.

[honeybear]

Yeah, today I was out shopping and spritzed on some samples of cheap body spray and rubbed on some samples of cheap lotion on top of that and oh man! I stink to high heaven!!! I normally don't wear this stuff because it makes me stink, but today I did. And now I and my whole apartment smells like a dead rodent and fresh skunk spray! I just hope it wears off in the next day or so. So, there is some creditability to what others are saying. Because it goes for me, too.

[hc219]

Thank you for your sharing

[maybeoneday51]

Hi Miss, (Mrs.) nycegirlx; it is a very high pleasure to write these words especially for you.
When I read what you wrote about me:
“There was a man from overseas who also claimed he was free of odor and making giant strides in his personal and professional life. I couldn't understand it yet I was happy for him...till I found it was all a complete fabrication. Wouldn't we all like to believe we were cured...”
I thought to give you a very strong response, but really that`s not my style. I don´t understand how is so easy for some people to offend others, or if offenses mean nothing for them. As for me, they do mean a lot, because I consider myself an honest and responsible man from head to toe.
If you remember my words, honey baby; I said that my system worked for me, and that I didn`t know if it would work for you. I also said that I wasn`t selling anything; I was just trying to help in case that someone had the same situation as mine. I strongly believe that bodies develop illnesses and sicknesses their own way, depending on their specific metabolism. Just two days ago I had intake my choline pills in order to get and send my samples for TMAU testing, and I didn`t feel any effect over my BO. It made me think that in my case choline is not an issue. That is the way I study the effect of food or anything I do ingest. Of course I understand that I could be wrong, but that`s what I got so far.
NOW, I DON`T CARE IF YOU BELIEVE OR NOT MY STORY, because my success does not depend upon your thoughts; they`re true regardless your doubts. I made a mistake when I said that I was cure, because I thought I was. I just spoke to soon; now, I`m sure that I have it under control, and I can live with that, until a permanent cure arise, god willing.
As for the “giant strides in his personal and professional life”; yes dear, I just finished all the subjects at school, and next week will begin the monograph, God willing.
Life is hard to live, and for sufferers like us, it is even harder. You have to have the guts and the courage to go thru to many difficulties and miseries to achieve a single goal, so and finally, excuse me if the following words sound kind of noisy, but:
I feel proud.

Thanks.
Maybeoneday51

One last comment: Why are some people so negative to others positive comments? If someone said that is being cure or have impruved his (her) situation by using or avoiding something; why desauthorize or deny that person affirmation? As far as we all know, no doctor or scientist have any certainty about the cause and cure to this affection. In that case, the most apparent stupid idea or opinion could be the most apreciable to the researchers, since not even God has tell us anything about it. So please, let us all be...

[Vi]

Hey guys, this was really embarrassing for me to talk about because I showered all the time and tried so many deodorants but nothing would work. And the weird thing is that the odor seemed like it came out of nowhere one day. But I did a lot of research on what worked for other people and compiled it into a whole routine that has significantly helped me. I talk about everything I use here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVbH6i3w6ic

basically it's baking soda, witch hazel, isopropyl alcohol, anti-dandruff shampoo (weird right?!), magnesium with chelated zinc vitamins, and a bath sponge please please please try this and I really think it will help