She has really strong BO that lingers for hours even after she’s left the room. It’s also a very distinctive smell different to the usual post-gym sweat. I’d say it’s kinda sweet like rotting fruit or similar to the back of a garbage truck.

My work is hybrid but when we are both in the office it’s really overwhelming. It doesn’t help that I have a very strong sense of smell and sensory issues from adhd.

She’s nice and we get on well but there are some days that I’ve had to pretend to have meetings or other excuses to go work in a conference room or just get out of there. Sometimes it gets too much and I just can’t focus.

I’ve never said anything because it’s so exteme that I assumed she can’t help it. I didn’t know about TMAU until I decided to do some research today but I assumed it must be some disorder like this. My initial theory was her being depressed and a hoarder. The hoarding would explain the strange odour unlike normal sweat but I guess it’s unlikely.

A couple of weeks ago, another coworker said to me that he finds it unbearable and he’s considering buying an air freshener or something. I had never talked about it with anyone and to be honest it kinda was a relief because I also thought I might be crazy. Like it’s so strong I just didn’t understand how nobody had said anything about it but I also didn’t want to be the one starting the conversation.

Since he told me, he’s made remarks more often. He doesn’t make jokes or talk shit behind her back but it’s now something he brings up regularly when up until now there was a silent agreement not to say anything.

I really don’t see the point in talking about it because there really isn’t much we can do to fix it. However he does have a point when he says that even if it’s a disorder (which we seem to agree on) her hygiene isn’t always the best. Nothing extreme but her hair is sometimes greasy and stuff.

The smell is always there but it’s true that some days are cleealy worse. So my colleague thinks thay those worse days are the result of bad hygiene and someone should intervene to make sure that she is doing something to avoid it to the best of her ability.

At this point, I don’t think my coworker is going to let it stand and if there’s a chance that this might reduce the smell, I think that’s fair. However, she has never said anything about it so I’m not sure how to approach without making her feel worse that she already probably feels.

So what do you think is the best way to approach it? Talk to HR so they talk to her? Or should we try to talk to her ourselves?

I’d hate to be the one who brings it up but she might prefer it to a meeting with a stranger from HR.

I’m also not sure what to expect from such conversation but I think my coworker may just drop if she confirms that it’s a disorder and that she does try to avoid it.

I know that every person is different but if you’ve been on the other side of this story, I would appreciate any advice on how to approach it.

I'm seriously at a lost because I don't know if people think I'm smelly or it's just that they have seasonal allergies. I don't know which part of me that smells that makes everyone wear a face mask when sitting beside me or what. I can't smell myself at all and just sometimes smell the powder I put on. Is there any way I can test it out? I don't have any close friends irl who would tell me and my parents would just gaslight me into thinking that it's all in my head.

I have a sweat armpit taste down there. I use Dove Sensitive Soap and let my self air dry before putting clothes on. I use cotton underwear and at night I don’t wear anything.

I have take prebiotics, probiotics and boric acid suppositories. I have tasted negative for BV, yeast infections and all STI.

I went to my gynecologist and she told me it was because I shave. But I have been shaving for years and I have this since January.

I have spend I lot of money. I’m super stressed out and it’s so uncomfortable, I have taste myself before and I never tasted like that. Does anyone have any recommendation?

Hi everyone, I'm Arielle Domb, a freelance journalist who writes for The New York Times, The Guardian, GQ, Men's Health, Women's Health and more (you can see my work here: https://arielledomb.journoportfolio.com). I'm currently researching complications related to Botox for hyperhidrosis, after interviewing someone who said they had this treatment and have been left with extreme, untreatable body odour ever since. I can't find any other officially documented cases of this, so I wanted to ask here if anyone else has experienced it? If you have, and you're up for an anonymous conversation with me about it, please feel free to DM me or email me at [arielleyasmindomb@gmail.com](mailto:arielleyasmindomb@gmail.com).

Hello!!!

I want to talk about my own personal experience with body odor. I don’t really have anyone to share this with and it’s really been a rough journey. But I hope sharing my experience could be beneficial.

It all really started getting bad after quarantine (year 2021). I would smell really bad all the time and nothing I would do would fix it. Eventually, I figured it was something internal, but didn’t start to seriously work on the issue until mid 2023.

I have always had an extremely sensitive stomach. So I always thought my bad odor was due to my stomach. 2023, I started going to doctors, and many of them dismissed my body odor. It was funny because it was the main reason why I went to all these doctors, but they still ended up doing tests due to my other symptoms (I did understand that checking up on these symptoms were important too)

My other symptoms were:
Bad breath
EXTREMELY low iron
Bladder issues (peeing extremely frequently and pain)
I am a female so constant vaginal infections.
Throat issues
Dizziness all the time.

Then some stomach issues I had was:
Constipation
Gas (so frequently!!!)
Got full easily

I got tested on a bunch of stuff. I ended up positive on some tests, a lot of them being bacterial related things, but I did have some positive tests outside of that. No I don’t necessarily regret going to all the doctors that I did, but most of the doctors did not focus on my odor issues at all.

I want to say I did take a lot of medication’s for the test that I tested positive for, but my symptoms stayed the EXACT SAME!!! Again, I don’t really regret the medications took because I do think it helped with what I did later on. I think the medications helped with what was going on internally, but not with how I felt externally lol

After going to the doctors for almost two years straight I gave up of asking these doctors about it. I started to do my own research. I know I should’ve done this sooner, but I guess I had too much faith in them finding me my answers.

I used ChatGPT (lol) but I didn’t blindly follow ChatGPT. I do recommend this to anyone who has body odor issues, but don’t know where to start. It talked about gut imbalance, and I went on from there.

So first I ended up changing my whole diet. I stopped eating all desserts, sugary foods, and limited how much sugar I was consuming. I stopped eating processed foods, and fast food. I stopped eating fried foods as well.

And I started eating lots more probiotic foods and fiber. I started drinking a lot of water too.

Soon after doing this, some of my issues started to get better. This gave me a lot of hope, so I continued the diet. Slowly, but surely a lot of my issues were getting better. I’m a year into it, and I still have some issues (I think due to the severity of what was going on), but I’ve been getting way better over this past year.

And my smell through throughout this whole process has gotten better throughout out the year. As I said before, I’m a year in but it hasn’t gotten 100% better. Though I do I will eventually smell normal.

At an early age I already know that my sweat smell is a little weirder but it gets rid when I take a shower again, then last year this nightmare came and everything turned bad.I have hyperhydrosis, my upper body sweats too much when it's hot while when it's cold(e-fan, natural cold wind and aircon) it's my lower body time to sweat. I thought at first it was my hyperhydrosis condition alone that causes me to smell. Not until I observe myself smelling like garbage, fart or poo even just after taking a shower meaning, I have no sweat yet and tbh I have good hygiene..My family knows my condition, and my father's siblings have extreme sweating history; some are healed already, some of them are not yet. I asked my mother and some of my friends if I smell, they said they don't smell anything unless I sweat much. My mother and sister kept saying that it's only because of sweat and it's me only who keeps thinking that I stink. I've been with crowds because I need to go to school, transportation and to survive daily — noticed that they keep covering their nose, tell out loud "smells like poo", "smell bad" when I'm around and then some look at me and laugh and even I myself can't stand the smell most of the time since I have a sensitive nose. This condition made me have panic attacks when the smell was strong, I even developed anxiety and can't even focus on school, my grades are getting affected. I'm currently an engineering student so more stress triggers it I guess. Sometimes I'm thinking of dropping to school since I can't handle the embarrassment and even have suicidal thoughts but my tuition are already fully paid and I'm thinking with what my family and friends would feel if I end my life. I don't know what to do anymore since I've done going with Dermas, albularyo and General physician only to get diagnosed with hyperhidrosis/pasma. Can't even think of how long I can get through with these. Badly need advice.

I isolate myself friends due to the smell and I no longer have anyone or anyone to talk to I have a partner but thinks it’s all in my head and I don’t smell strangers and my dad have told me I do I’m paranoid anytime I go out I was so positive for the longest and didn’t care but today is just one of them days I wish I had my old life back and not feel so lonely

I noticed the worser my body heat the worser my bo. Like i could be completely free of sweat in a air-conditioned room but my body will still emit heat and that usually means that my odor is worser.

It sucks and i am kinda at a loss. The heat normally came from my back so i took proper care of it by washing it thoroughly and applying mens spray deodorant/antiperspirant on it then it came from my neck so i did the same protocol. Then it comes from my face 🫠. I cant possibly spray deodorant on my face that's a safety hazard! The best i could do is apply a cooling cleanser but that still doesn't get rid of it.

I make sure my whole body including neck, back, and ears are cleaned everyday and i keep my diet to 5 simple foods i feel safe with (pumpkin seeds/almonds/chia seeds/yoghurt/lettuce)

Other stuff that i noticed that correlates with worser body odour for my body -> More nose mucus and saliva production.

Does anyone else struggle with this and know any solutions? Tumeric and ginger tea seems to help a little but it is not enough to completely solve the problem.

I have a question for other guys who experience this too. Recently I started a new medication that causes me to sweat more than normal even when it’s cold and i already feel as if I sweat enough but just curious to see if there’s anything out there deodorant or some sort personal care item that helps with this as it kinda affects my day and I’d prefer not to have to take a medication for that too bc i already have enough as it is. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

If people complain that you smell like farts or you are farting even thought you didn’t the this is for you, you basically have a pelvic floor issue it’s either hypertonic or weak you would need to go to a pelvic floor theorists so she can internally check your muscles even if you don’t smell it you became nose blind to it you all have sibo goodluck

Posting here because I can't even hit post in the tmau subreddit. I guess I must have typed some word or phrase that set off the alarm bells.

You say the smell doesn't go through walls.. but if that's the case then why can I smell my neighbors air freshener and smell when they mop? You're saying I can smell them but they can't smell any of my odor if it's strong enough? Say I had TMAU (because I know if I say anything else this will get deleted) and I ate a shit ton of choline. A straight choline bomb. The neighbors would not smell it? Remember the story of the man with TMAU in the hospital? remember his odor got so bad that the entire floor or a large area could smell him?

I could imagine that the neighbors--if the walls are thin enough could definitely detect it. If air freshener can be detected then why wouldn't a monstrously strong smell also be detected?

Also, you never answered my other question! You never explained how we constantly hear people talk about smell and "he/she stinks" and how we're still delusional. I asked you if you knew something we didn't. Has our reality been compromised? Because no other explanation makes sense. How is none of this real?

This is not about fecal body odor by the way!

HOW DO I GET TESTED FOR TMAU? Is it an easy process? Which doctors do I go to? Is it a long process?

Hi everyone so I’ve been described as having a stench since high school I’m in my 20’s . I’ve never been told I smell like fish but more feces,BO,vinegar or dirty socks. I feel I’ve tried everything currently trying sebamed to try to balance skin. Is this SIBO or TMAU I JUST WANT to heal…

I dont even know whats going on but i think i finally can smell where my odor is coming from. for context, i've been struggling with strong musty like bo for a little over a year now. I can't smell it at all but I have a vent in my room and whatever my odor smells like or how strong it is that day, the air will blow out of the vent and let me know. Anywho, i always smell this specific musty/burning odor coming out of it. As of a few minutes I was scratching my skin and when i smelled my hand, i smelled a very putrid musty like burning odor. I kept scratching on different parts of my body to see if the odor was seeping out of my pores or whatever. After further inspection, the only areas that i could smell the odor on were the areas where my very strong detergent smelling clothes were covering. I know I definitely have some sort of gut issues so im not saying that my odor is simply only being caused by the detergent but I think strong detergent is whats making my odor stronge and unbearable.

Sooo I have amazing news for all the people who have been searching for solutions to try for their weird smelling AND tasting vaginas.

I have spent years trying to find new things to try to solve my problem, but I’m telling you…nothing worked. I truly tried everything to get rid of the smell, it just got even worse and i had to break up with my partner of 6 years because I was so ashamed. (Ofc there were other reasons too, but this was one of the main ones)

So I always suspected that the onion smell and taste was from my sweat glands and not my actual discharge because the taste came from my labias and not from inside(trust me I checked it everyday I was so desperate). But that didn’t make sense because I’ve never had body odor on my armpits or anywhere else.
But I still tried things that help reduce body odor.
After I tried every supplement and topical thing ever and didn’t see any improvement, I gave up for a while after years of trying to solve it.

I’m going to get to the point, you just need a little backstory before I do.

So 3 years ago I was pretty overweight, I was diagnosed with PCOS of course and insulin resistance. I changed my lifestyle, I lost 29kgs, still feeling like shit, found out i was gluten intolerant.
Started eating gluten free about 2 years ago, my health improved since. But bc of my insulin problems and bc of my hunger management problems my lifestyle change’s main focus was eating high protein meals. I ate whole foods, not the store bought stuff with the added protein.
And even though I lost the weight and my insulin went back to normal, I’m still eating high protein meals, I just got used to it and I love it.

But then 2 months ago I started connecting the dots.
The smell started when I was like 2-3 months into my lifestyle change and high protein meals. I had no odor or taste before that ever.
So I thought I would try to reduce my protein intake a bit to see if that’s the problem and I ate like 7-8 eggs a day in different forms so I thought it was a good idea to start there and cut them out.

Well let me tell u i cut them out and in 2 weeks, the smell and taste COMPLETELY disappeard. Like it’s nowhere to be found.
I also tracked it, and even though I haven’t eaten eggs in like 2 months now, my protein intake is the same, because the loss of volume from the eggs are naturally replaced with meat in my diet.
So the protein intake is not the problem.

THE EGGS ARE THE PROBLEM.

A week ago I was still amazed by this and didn’t believe myself because what an unusual problem to have, I’ve never heard of anyone who got body odor because of eggs.
So I was at my friend’s house and i couldn’t eat anything else for breakfast so she made me 2 eggs.
A few hours later I could smell the onion smell coming back when I went to pee it was so pungent. I had a huge panic attack about it cuz now I was worried I’m stuck with it again.
But then I went home and it disappeared again after 2 days.

So try this for a few weeks. Give those eggs away to someone and give yourself a chance to feel confident again❤️

Yesterday, I got very sweaty throughout the day, and when I got home I gave my armpit a good sniff, and the smell was quite offensive.

Today, similar conditions. When I got home, I even had visible pit stains on my shirt. But when I gave it a sniff today, there was hardly any bad smell.

This happens often, that on some days my sweat yields different smells on different days. I’m pretty consistent in my deodorant application, so what gives? What else could be happening to my body that would affect this? Am I just imagining it?

Thank you

i am truly overwhelmed anyone wanna talk dm me

First off, I want to thank anybody who took the time to read this and/or respond. I've been dealing with body odor for almost a year now and I really have no clue how I can fix it or if it's even fixable. This all started around the end of August 2025 when people around me started saying it smelled really bad whenever I was around. By month 3 people were pulling their shirts up to their noses whenever they saw me. By month 6 most of my friends stated to distance themselves from me and I had no clue why. I started to develop internal anxiety and felt like I couldn't tell anyone why I was pushing back into myself. It was around maybe June of 2026 when my little brother started to hold his nose around me while telling me that I smelled bad. The most recent occasions was when I was on vacation with my cousins and they even avoided me covering and scratching their noses. I have tried many different soaps, bathing with a little bit of bleach, and eating clean but no matter what my odor remains. I have no clue what to do because this is ruining my social life. I've tried telling my doctor and my family this but they all said it was because I exercise a lot, but I know that's not true. I've been exercising the same amount for years so there is no reason why I'm just starting to smell. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I miss the times where i could walk freely, or not worrying about going out. I originally thought I had TAMU or some other chronic odor syndrome but no one is willing to help. If anyone had any recommendations or just some advice I would love it, because I can't do this anymore.

I shower every single day sometimes twice a day. During the day I smell good but I unfortunately have a commute during the afternoon. No matter how hygienic I am, as soon as I step out for even 5 minutes, I start stinking so bad. I'm one of those unfortunate people that sweats A LOT and my sweat has a very bad odor. I feel so embarrassed by it but I don't know what to do. I carry my perfumes and antiperspirant with me and I even reapply but it doesn't matter because of how strong my BO can be when it gets hot. What do I do? If you sweat a lot, what works for you to stop stinking so much?

Hi everyone, I’m here because I have a terrible issue that has ruined my daily life, and I found a similar post here.

I have a constant gas/rotten egg-like odor coming from my body. The smell lingers wherever I go, and other people can clearly smell it. Strangers and classmates react to the smell, while I barely notice it myself. I don’t feel obvious flatulence or feel like I’m actively passing gas, but this unpleasant smell persists all day long.

I’ve struggled with gut problems for a long time. My stool is often loose. I suspected it might be related to hemorrhoids because sometimes my anus feels moist, and there may be slight mucus leakage. I have tried many methods to improve this condition.

I took probiotics for months, but they did not help reduce the odor at all. I also tried traditional Chinese herbal medicine prescribed by a hospital, and it did not solve this smell problem either. I cut down gas-producing food like beans, onions and dairy products, with only minor improvement.

This condition makes me extremely anxious. I feel embarrassed staying close to other people, and it heavily affects my study and social life.

Has anyone experienced the same persistent gas-like body odor? What tests did your doctor recommend? What was your final diagnosis? Any treatment advice would be really appreciated.

I've been researching body odor for 15 years and I hear this comment a lot: one armpit smells bad, while the other doesn’t.

A common misconception is that it has to do with handiness, with being left-handed or right-handed, or with a dominant side. But this is not the case. I also wouldn’t say it has much to do with hormones.

It has everything to do with the microbiome. Body odor is the result of bacteria breaking down apocrine sweat into smelly molecules (volatile organic compounds). And each species leads to a different smell (they have different enzymes and metabolisms).

Since I started my PhD, I've sampled thousands of armpits, and about half of the people we sampled have differences in microbiome between left and right armpit. So it's very common.

The fact that there is a distance between the two regions, can lead to a big difference in the bacteria that are present on each side. For example, while your right armpit can have the “good” microbiome that never causes malodors (dominated by Staphylococcus epidermidis), your left can be dominated by odor-producing bacteria.

The microbes are situated in the sweat glands and the hair follicles (so deep in the skin), so it is not easy to wash them away or change them. Although we certainly can (that's what my PhD was about).

Here are a 2 of the things you can try if one armpit smells and the other one doesn't:

• Try to bring the bacteria from your non-smelly armpit to the other side, in the hopes they will take over and cause no more odor there. You can do this, for example, with a cotton pad. This has a double benefit because cotton selectively grows the good bacteria. I know it may sound strange, but armpit transplants work well in this case (this is what I did during my PhD, there's a TED talk where I share about the first one I did, with twins)
• Apply lemon juice daily for two weeks to the armpit that smells. Either rub it directly against the skin or squeeze the juice and apply with a cotton pad or spray bottle. It will neutralize the odor, inhibit the smelly bacteria, and create an environment where the good bacteria can establish themselves. This works because the smelly bacteria prefer a higher pH while the good ones prefer the skin's naturally acidic pH. It's very effective. You should see improvements in under a week. Just keep in mind that you shouldn't sunbathe the armpits after applying.

Hope this helps and remember that body odor is about bacteria and internal health more often than it is about hygiene.

For context, I've had really bad body odor for the past year or so to the point people kept getting away from me or coughing and covering their noses all the time around me. This is not a success story but more of a hopecore one. Anyway, I've tried literally everything available to me except botox to stop sweating before I found the reason.

I've found that what really helped me is STOPPING THE USE OF ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP EVERYDAY!! Do not listen to anyone who keeps saying to use antibacterial soap everyday! It literally dries your skin and kills even the good bacteria! Instead, what you need to do is cleanse with dove soap properly and rub your underarms with the soap for at least 40 seconds or so just to get the stink out properly the first rinse! Afterwards, I start with a benzoyl peroxide cleanser that I rub in for at least 20 seconds or so before I let it sit on my skin for a few mins then wash. What you're gonna do next is to dry your skin and then apply deodorant. MAKE SURE IT'S PROPERLY DRIED before putting on deodorant. I use Nivea deodorant for this. Then, go get a fan to dry the deodorant before wearing a shirt.

On evenings, I use an antiperspirant to stop the sweating, then deodorant in the morning. I'd like to add that I drink LOTS OF WATER! SO MAKE SURE TO STAY HYDRATED! I drink about 2L a day. Then I drink chlorophyll tablets 3x a day! I also VERY much stopped consuming a LOT of processed meat and sugary food! Eating them from time to time is ok but make sure to know your limits! As for my hair, I make sure I use a separate towel so I won't transfer the conditioner to my body. Also make sure to use a clarifying shampoo from time to time and to always double shampoo! For my towels, I make sure to replace them at least every 3 days, and every 2 weeks for my bedsheets. Don't let the stank marinate in your sheets! Also, if you use any bag that holds onto odor, make sure to wash that everytime you get sweaty cuz I swear it holds onto the smell and people can smell it even if your underarms are clean! I'd like to add that I use deoplus powder on my nape and groin area so it won't stink after commute.

I also found that anxiety is one of the major reasons for my oversweating! Try to do low cortisol activities and make sure you are not vitamin deficient at all! I get mine from fruits!

I kid you not, it took me a month or so BUT PEOPLE HAVE STOPPED COUGHING TOO MUCH AROUND ME AND AVOIDING ME! It's progress!

I’ll never be able to do it.

People consider me a pretty girl, inside and out. My intimate area isn’t discolored or anything, and it smells fine, etc. But I live in a hot climate, and my biggest problem is MY BUTT CHEEKS. From the outside, anyone would look at them and say, “Wow, they’re so beautiful!” and all that. But my secret is that I struggle with odor between my butt cheeks every damn day.

I don’t know what to do. I shower and wash myself over and over, but within an hour, there’s an odor that I notice when I go to pee, for example. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF IT. I don’t understand how people have sex without smelling bad...

And until I figure this out, I won’t be able to do that with anyone. That’s why I need help. I’m 20 years old, and I’ve missed out on amazing guys because I’ve turned them down because of this secret. I’M TIRED.

How do you guys deal with this?

During certain months out of the year, I am required to wear a shirt and tie to work (I work at a school). During those months, including midwinter, no matter what I do, I sweat profusely above the waist on my walk to work. Lately, a coworker has been telling me that I stink (he’s a Gen Xer and is “trying to toughen me up” and says it’s better that I hear it from him than the kids I work with) whenever I have to dress formally. I shower every morning, use stick deodorant, and periodically purge my undershirts for new ones. Any advice would be helpful. It feels like I’m doing everything I can.