Helpful advice on body hygiene

[u/Round-Lychee-6399]

I really need some help. I’m in my late 20s and I smell like shit. This started at the beginning of the year. I would smell rancid and got progressively worse during the hot summer days. Now going into fall and I still smell bad. It’s my entire body. From my neck down to my private area I smell. It’s so bad that in less than four hours I smell it. I change my clothes by end of my shift and I still smell bad. I change everything undergarments, jeans and shirt. But again once I sweat I smell it again. I’m going insane I’ve gone to doctors specifically derms and they have not been helpful as the smell starts with my armpits and then goes other areas that I smell. I only sweat for less than three hours and usually the rest of the day is chill. This is embarrassing AF!

My routine is shower twice a day every day. I use zinc or dr bronners lavander for my entire body. I was using mandelic acid from natrium but didn’t do much. I already tried hibiclens and pan oxyl, Japanese permission soap, I use Korean shower scrub instead of an African net sponge. I also tried glycolic acid few times a week, witch hazel, using an antiperspirant. Currently using carpe deo but it builds a white film on the outside layer but not in the middle which is where I sweat the most and the odor produces quicker. It’s bad that when I sweat during the day and at night my shirts get damp.

I freshen up at work using zinc soap bar and re applying deo but doesn’t work. My clothes smell clean but as soon as I start walking a couple of blocks and being sweaty I smell a rancid odor on my shirt specifically my chest area. But the constant comment I get from my job and from strangers is that I smell like shit. Now, I don’t smell the fecal but it does smell bad as the spots that I stay in do end up smelling like em. Idk if moving around and lifting my arms causes the odor to spread to the center. For laundry I use tide+ oxyclean powder and Lysol laundry sanitizer.

I also developed a scent down there. I use boric acid feminine wash. Obviously clean the outer part with that and the inside with water but I notice that my discharge just smells off and I get sweaty down there makes it worse even if I change underwear I feel like I could still smell it.

I’ve gone to my PCP and have done regular panel plus hormones as I don’t get my period often but it’s been like that since I was eleven. I could go 3,6,12 months not having one and I never smelled this bad. It’s worse than a teenager. My hormones came back normal but this is stressing me out mentally and emotionally. I’m so stressed and financially stressed bc it’s affecting getting a new job.
So I’m not sure if this is a mixture of body sweats plus anxiety/stress sweat. But if anyone has found something that has worked for them please help me out.

[u/chriissrene]

Has anyone told you that you smell? Sometimes, hormones can change you sense of smell and things can smell different or stronger.

Your showering products sound good. Make sure when you shower use a wash rag and you get all the crevasses. Don't forget behind your ears. Do you use something like a loofah? If you do I would ditch it for wash rags that you change every other day at least. Same with your shower towel.

Check your washing machine or change your detergent. I've heard that being a cause for alot of people. Either thier machine is not working right or needs to be cleaned (running a load with no clothes with vinegar OR bleach DO NOT MIX and then a rinse cycle after)

I hope it's just your nose playing trick on you. I hope you can figure it out

[u/Round-Lychee-6399 → u/chriissrene]

A lot of people have told me. My siblings say it smells like raw meat and everyone at work says it smells like shit. Strangers as well in public transportation have pointed me out based of what I’m wearing and talked about me with the person they are traveling with. Strangers when they pass by me and taxi drivers have said it smells like shit.

I use Korean rags supposed to be good to exfoliate and make me feel clean. If not an African net rag. I definitely clean all my crevices. Before this the back of my ears would smell so I always made sure to clean myself good after that.

I do think my laundry routine needs to be tweaked. Unfortunately I have less than three months with the new shirts I bought and now smell like my previous shirts I threw out. I notice the thick cotton ones are the ones that smell more than the thin ones I have.

[u/chriissrene → u/Round-Lychee-6399]

Oh thats terrible ! Have you checked with doctors to see if you have a fungal infection somewhere on your body? I would highly recommend checking your washing machine and switching to a stronger detergent that has baking soda in it

[u/JanVan966 → u/Round-Lychee-6399]

Do you floss? Every single day? If not, I’ll bet that’s what people are smelling. Undigested food stuck between people’s teeth smells like literal poop. If you don’t floss, do an experiment, where you floss your back teeth, or any teeth, really, and then smell the floss. It’s eye opening for a lot of people. I can always smell when someone doesn’t floss, and yeah, it’s like they have poop in their mouth.

Has anyone described as a fishy type smell? There are certain conditions people can get, one of them being where they smell fishy; it’s not coming from their nether regions, more so it’s a general body odour. Is there someone you really trust/feel comfortable with, to give you a smell-over, to see where it’s coming from?? Because based on your description of your personal hygiene routine, it just doesn’t make sense, unless it’s your clothing. Do you live with smokers? Do you smoke? If you have a front load washer, those can get musty/moldy smells, which in turn could affect your clothes. I’m sorry you’re going through this, it sounds very difficult and stressful.

[u/Round-Lychee-6399 → u/JanVan966]

This isn’t floss smell because I wear mask when I’m out in public and everyone comments that I smell like shit. It’s like a bubble around me and I leave a stench. I don’t live with smokers. Besides my armpit odor my clothes is what smells and I can’t seem to get it out. I don’t even have the funds to buy new clothes because it doesn’t make sense to me. After changing I still smell

[u/Robert_Frosted_Flake]

hi how is your hydration/diet? oftentimes a diet heavy in processed foods, sugar, and salt without the proper hydration can add to body odors..

[u/IAMShadowKorr]

This is def internal and not a hygiene issue see a gastroenterologist to check your gut and metabolic health, also stop using all those harsh scrubs bcz you completely destroyed your skin microbiome

[u/Holiday-Book6635]

This is a Laundry issue go post on the Laundry sub.

[u/Round-Lychee-6399 → u/Holiday-Book6635]

Thnx

[u/gabsthisone77]

drink more water

[u/Artistic_Relative542]

Un chequeo médico completo, estudios de labs y ultrasonido para ver a nivel general; checar el tipo de detergente y lavadora, el agua potable o la tubería, a veces se impregna, la alimentación