Hi Ya'll,

I have an embarrassing problem that I can't find an answer for! I have one of those scrubbythingys that you put body wash on, and one side is more coarse than the other, and I use it and I mean I SCRUB my underarms and I can't seem to wash off my body odor! And if I manage to get some or most of it off, and I check, by the time I am thru drying off, I smell ME again!!! It's really horrible! I go to the store and am worried people can smell me cause I can smell me! I use deodorant and I smell me thru the deodorant! I'm having hot flashes too, to where if I do anything, I sweat like I've been sitting in a sauna most of the day! I go early in the morning to the store and my hair is wet by the time I get there! I sit here at my computer with a floor fan, a ceiling fan and the A/C next to my computer and I still sweat and smell! I've even kept a sprayer with me and sprayed myself with water and wet myself down, with a wet washcloth even in A/C!

My mom will tell me while riding in the car with me, she's 82 mind you , that "you smell! didn't you use any deodorant ?" Do I look like I'm 5 instead of 50? and don't know anything about hygiene? and I'm afraid that's what others are thinking! I'll be checking out in the grocery store and once the checker says you sure are red! are you alright? I wanted to flee! I told her yes I'm having a Hotflash! and she made it worse by telling me I was so red.

What do ya do if ya can't get rid of the smell? Sometimes I'll wash my underarms 2-3 times extra a day! and under my boobs too and between em! I need a shelf to put them on with a fan underneath it! and I absolutely HATE a bra! In fact all my clothes feel like they just are so very confining!

JoniTX50

Joni,

What a terrible problem to have! I know there was a time I felt like I smelled all the time too. I finally found a deodorant that really worked for me, which was Mitchum extra strong gel. There are a few things you can do to help...drink tons of water, don't eat onions, garlic or any strong spices. Make sure you are wearing cotton clothing, any synthetic materials will make you sweat more.

You could try using a deordorant soap (if you aren't already), try some odour absorbing powder after you dry yourself after the shower. And I guess try showering more than once a day.

Other than that, I am not sure what to say. If it continues to be a problem, perhaps talk to your doctor, I know there are prescription deodorants available for people with problem body odour. Those hot flashes are awful, I know last year during the summer I was flashing so much I couldn't tell if it was the heat of summer, or hot flashes, but I was constantly TOO HOT and sweating!!

I wish you relief!!

(((Joni)))
Oh you poor soul, what a problem to have. I can't be of any help, but I do want to send you hugs, I'm sure you'll get more helpful replies to your post.
I know how awful it is to feel hot, our summers get very hot and our temperature's are already nearly 30ºC.
Here in Spain we get family size bottles of eau de cologne which usually smell very fresh and lemony, though you also get them for men and babies.
Do you get them? Perhaps you can smother yourself in that after your shower? I like the baby one as I've got very dry skin and also used to smother the kids with it in summer!
What about diet - some foods can make our skin smell, have you noticed any difference after a spicy meal? Do you smoke?
I do hope that this phase will pass quickly and that you'll soon be back to your normal self.
Hugs and best wishes,
Jonie

Hi Joni

Yes I can really sympathise with you about the BO. Last year in particular, for the very first time in my life I had trouble in this area.
I really do think it is hormonal - I have a 13 year old son, and he can get pretty smelly at times too.

I just wanted to let you know, that this year I have found the smell has decreased quite markedly, I think as my estrogen levels decline.

Anyway, hope this helps, I am not sure that washing control it, I would go for a good strong perfume to disguise any residual smell
in the meantime.

Hi JoniTX50

I replied to your thread about sleeping badly yesterday and here I am replying to your post today. I'm not following you, promise.

When I first had night flushes and night sweats at the beginning of, what I later discovered was the beginning of peri, I didn't realise what they were. So I would wake up after a terrible nights sleep, sometimes having been awake for 3 hours or so. I would get up and still be at work on time and still carry on with all my responsibilities at home as normal. At the same time I noticed that I would sweat so much. It got to the point where I used to take a flannel/washcloth and soap and a small hand towel in a bag to work with me and freshen up at lunchtime. The company I worked for was based in a renovated old house and the ladies toilet was orginally the house bathroom so I could lock the door and have some privacy.

For me I'm sure that the extra stress on my body from too little sleep due to peri hormones was linked to the increase in sweating. Lack of sleep and stress can cause real havoc on our bodies. Once I started to sleep, get adequate rest and slow down a bit the sweating has slowed down too.

Over here you can buy over the counter antiperspirants. I didn't realise it at the time but have since learned about these. The one I know about is used at night and then you shower as nomal in the morning and use a normal antiperspirant. Then you stop using it when things improve and use on an as needed basis.

robin

Last year, I had a terrible underam odor. It only lasted a couple of months. I had emailed a gal who said she did, too, and her doctor said it was due to menopause and no one else could smell it. Don't know if anyone could smell me! Pam

Since starting this peri ride six years ago I've been dealing with bo. My deodorant, that I've used since my 20's, suddenly stopped working. I am still trying to find a replacement. I don't even want to discuss the overall body odor . Some of my bo might be from the waves of sweats and hotflashes. Sometimes the sweats are so bad that I look like I've just came out the shower .

Cotton clothing have become my best friend since synthetic fabrics seems to intensify the odor. To stay ahead of the bo I've invested in lotions, body washes, deodorants, and body splashes. Things are getting better .

Hi Everyone and Thanks for your suggestions and replys!!! I'm so glad I found this place!!! I haven't tried colognes because I have allergies and am so allergic to smells , they just stop me up ! I have used the "Shower to Shower" body powder tho, and I've tried corn starch straight , and deodorant soaps , they just dry out my skin too much, I don't know which is worse , dry , flaky skin, or sweating and smelling!!!

It's gotten to where I can hardly stand any greasy-feeling lotion on me, it just makes me sweat all the more!!! I take several showers sometimes if it gets to me too much!

Today, I took my Mom to the Dr. and today she didn't say I smelled but I'd just showered and put lots of deodorant on and ran my A/C in the car full force!!!! And I took two hankies with me, I have bought women's hankies ,white ones and I wipe my face with them and my mom was freezing in the Dr's office and I was sweating!!!LOL!!

Also I drank lots of water before I left and while we were out! She wore a cotton sweater and I was in a sleeveless light cotton button-down shirt! I have all cotton T-shirts and cotton knit shorts and cotton "granny-panties" as my kids call em! LOL! and cotton socks , cotton is my best friend !!! I even buy cotton bras! but still can hardly stand them!!! (I DID wear one today to the Dr's office ) LOL! And cotton-twill pants! But I have edema from my blood pressure pills and I didn't take my water pill so I wouldn't be running to the bathroom , so I swelled a LOT and that makes me sweat badly too! I have a brand new pair of cute sandals and they're 8wide and I still can't get my FAT FEET in them! So wear my cotton socks and adidas shoes !

Thanks for all the suggestions, I may try lemon, I know it takes smells out of the sink!!!LOL!!!

JoniTX50

oh Ya Jonie,

I don't smoke, but my MOM used to !!!LOL!! and she's telling me I smell!!!

I do eat spicy sometimes but then I stay home too! and I absolutely love roasted garlic!!! Good thing I only have a doggy and kitty living with me huh? I have noticed the smells come out of your pores if you've eaten something like onions or garlic.

My son is 30 now and I know when he was a teenager ,if he removed his sneakers after coming in , everyone would chime in "Go wash your FEET!!!!" his feet stunk sooooooo bad!!!!!

My 10 yr old grandson, bless his little heart, smells like "stinky little boy" if he's been outside playing in our Texas heat! We've been having 20 straight days of over 90*f heat!!! Today's the first day it's been below that! only because a thunderstorm came thru!

Thanks ya'll ! (at least ya'll can't tell me I'm stinky!!!LOL)
No scratch n sniff computer as someone else said on here!

Thanks ! JoniTX50

Count me in I have the smelly armpits from h*ll at the moment. I'm sure it's the anxiety causing it but it's not pleasant at all. I have to clean under may arms several times a day putting on fresh deodorant and changing my top and it's freakin winter here. I don't really sweat, ahem, I mean perspire anywhere else just under me blinkin armpits. I have been using a natural crystal deodorant for quite a while now with huge success but it's not working now so I'm going to have to use some heavy duty artillery from the mens department I think

Rox

Hi Rox

Yup had the same problem as I said in my previous post. Lack of sleep, leading to anxiety, leading to unpleasantness in the underarm department.

My daughter also had a similar problem recently. Lots of stress, this time with school exams and stuff. We bought something called 'Driclor' from Boots the Chemist over here I mentioned it yesterday in my post but couldn't remember what it was called. Anyway, it has really worked for her. Have a word with your pharmcist they may have somehting similar in the US. Just a thought.

robin

Ladies,

Another thing that works is a product called "Body Mint" and you take one capsule in the morning and one at night. It works really well, perhaps your local drugstore, Walmart or KMart may carry it and it all else fails, goggle it on the internet.

Plumeria

You know, I have thought I had some issues with sweating and bo since I started hot flashes. I think there is probably a hormonal cause for this new odor we emit. I was never stinky before. Try taking more showers and changing your clothing (that is what I am doing)....I try shower to shower on areas where I sweat a lot (neck, arms and between breasts). It helps. I sure wish these hormones would settle down. Make sure you wash your hair every day too....our heads can sweat a lot also.

I'm going to look for that body mint!

Im with you on this one!
Ive noticed lately that under my boobs is a pretty weird odour
and Im really conscious of it if Im sweating
Ive NEVER had any kind of odour from sweating before, so I
know for sure that its peri hormones. Its horrible, despite
being extremely clean these things just happen its awful

Wipe your pits with a washcloth that has straight alcohol on it a few times a day. It kills odor right away and works wonders! In a pinch keep sanitizer gel in your car and you can apply that to if nothing else is available!

there's a deodorant called "degree clinical protection" that should really help.And if you go to their website(degreeclinical.com)you can print out a $2 off coupon.

forgot to add....the deodorant costs between $6-$8,depending on where you buy it....expensive for 1.7 or 2.7 oz. but worth the price.

I too have had this problem in perimenopause. It comes and goes though. One month Ill be good and another, WHEWWWWWWWWWW! And I alway prided myself in my hygene too! I asked the DR and he said Hormones. No **** sherlock, I already knew that!!!!

Anyways, if the clinical strength deoderants dont work, ask your DR for a prescription deoderant. They are amazing and work great!!!!!!!! (and if youre lucky, your insurance will pick up the cost!)

Good luck and know you arent the only stinky lady on here! lol

I empathize. I get this problem "at random" it seems - it's got to be hormonally generated. I use a crystal stone deodorant - and that works well overall. However, sometimes I have to do something "more" and I find plain old cornstarch works well. I just pat it under my arms and on my chest and back.

Hang in there- I am confident that this too will pass even though I know it's no fun when it's happening. Kathleent

Just a quickie to add to all the wonderful ideas here--I also find that a little rubbing alcohol helps a great deal!! I agree with the hand sanitizer trick as well and I keep a little purse sized hand sanitizer spray with me-I have better luck with the little sprayer than I do with trying to get the sanitizer on a tissue and in my armpits without glopping some on my clothes-lol! I just give myself a couple of squirts before getting out of the car when shopping or I swing into the restroom and squirt myself-it sounds so funny when I reread what I wrote-but not at all funny when we are right in the middle of it all! Hugs!! Jan

I started smelling especially worse after starting the testosterone cream. As I reduce the dose the smell gets better. I have a neighbor that told me when testosterone levels are changing our body odor gets worse. It happens to her and her teenage daughter.

Hi, JoniTX50 -

I had the same problem, and nothing seemed to work. I tried every deodorant I could, including men's. I finally asked my doctor for a prescription for deodorant, which she gave me. Problem solved! Here is some information on what I used:

http://www.stratuspharmaceuticals.com/page...hyper_care.html

Best wishes,
Pandora

Hi!! I just saw the little skunk at the end of EveningPrimrose's posts! It's so cute! A little skunk spraying his tail. I feel just like that. I feel fresh so only briefly post shower. Yuck. I'd like to shower 3-4 times a day. I'm always hot, sticky and fearfully smelly. I am using a great Almay antipersperant/deodarant - Odorless. It keeps the pits dry. Unfortunately that's all that's dry... sigh. I use a lot of powder too... It helps.

Well I don't know if this is TMI but right from puberty not only did I suffer from BO under the arms but also between my legs-ugh!
I am a very fastidious person. As a teenager when we were only allowed a bath a couple of times a week (in the early 60s that was normal) I used to have to wash twice or three times a day. As soon as I had washed the odour came back. Obviously I could only use the deodorant under my arms so I was always very concious of the other problem. I thought everyone had it until my daughters went thru puberty and none of them suffered with it. Neither did my sister.
This problem continued right through my life until I had my my cancer surgery when I had a full hyst and my ovaries removed. Since then the problem has stopped even though I do use testosterone. I still get BO under my arms but the other problem had completely gone
My acupuncturist told me it was because I had always made too much oestrogen-(hence my cancer).
I have never heard of anyone else haviong that problem but then it's not something you like to talk about even with friends I suppose. Anyway just wanted to share that

janet c

I posted this issue in another forum because I had experienced BO when using progesterone cream. I think it either increased my cortisol, testosterone or maybe progesterone was the issue itself. I also notice I get more underarm sweat and odor during my luteal phases when progesterone is increasing. I wish I knew the cause of it too..

I noticed i had a terrible smelling armpits when i was on a hrt. after i went off it went away. So maybe too much of one hormone is doing it. Are you taking any hrt?

Hi there,

I understand your situation and feel for you.Try using mint infused talcum i got mine from Italy it is very cooling and removes scents which may be unpleasant.Try online and use under your breasts and arms.

X

Ok, this is going to seem like a strange twist on the subject of B.O. but I'm hoping my PS sisters can help me out with this one. As most of you know, I've been having horrible anxiety and depression since November and I'm convinced that it's perimenopause changes aggravating my pre-existing anxiety disorder. I just realized over the last couple of days that my anxiety has been really bad, along with the "crawly skin/goose bumps", cold sensitivity, and B.O. I'm hoping this can give a clue as to which of my hormones has gone bonkers. I really don't think the anxiety is causing the B.O., but that some hormone imbalance is causing both.

Any ideas? I'm only about day 7 of my cycle, which is a really strange time for me to be having such bad anxiety.

Any input would be appreciated.

I totally agree about the Mitchums. I've never had BO in my life until now, and It's always been a thing with me that I don't want my grandkids to think "gramma smells yucky". I use the same Mitchums extra strong gel and it does work. No one else has noticed the smell, so there I guess I'm lucky?
Best wishes and hang in there,
Linda

Hello

Can I just add another strange thing I have noticed too..

When I was a teenager, and early 20's, I used to have to wear white at work. Underarm yellow staining on clothes and bra was always a problem, and I regularly had to discard clothes and buy new because of this.

During my thirties and forties this problem didn't exist. Now IT'S BACK!!! Yellow staining on everything... And throughout all my life I used the same Mitchum deodorant, so it's not that...

We really do change chemically at this time. I am beginning to see myself as a plant which reaches full bloom and then recedes!

Lucy

One more thing to try is an antibacterial soap (daily in the shower), such as Dial Liquid. It can be used all over your body, and smell usually originate from bacteria.

(I haven't had a period in 4 years.) I have the same problem too, I've gotten to the point where I fold over a paper towel a few times and tuck it in the elastic ban of my bra under my breast, because the band becomes soaked with sweat during a hotflash, then afterward I freeze because I'm wearing a wet bra and the airconditioner is on in the office where your work.
If your deoderant doesn't have an antipersperant in it, you might what to try getting one that does. Deoderant alone doesn't do a thing for me, I stink right though it. Antipersperant makes all the difference for me, and i use the mens antipersperant; i like oldspice.
And i feel the same way about clothes too. I get home from work and every thing comes off except t-shirt and a pair of drawstring sweats (so i can wear them as loose as i like.)
Nellie~

I found a deodorant that works great for me i only use it once a day and no stink its called Tussy has a spicy smell but beleive me it works. I ordered mine online some stores still carry it i think.

I never had to use deodorant nor did I ever have BO until now. I began progesterone cream about 7 years ago and never stunk until now. I sweat and stink under my arms now and "down there" whereas I never had these problems before. So, I can't believe it's the progesterone; otherwise, would not I have started stinking long ago from it?

I think perimenopause stinks.

Ain't that the truth!! Mich

Oh no. I am new here tonight.
I am waiting again for my son to come home from his - well, wherever he goes.
My heart beats to fast and I always smell bad now.

What is my problem.
This site has too much - the thing about all these hormones sounds scary.
I think I wrote on the wrong place. I'm not 40 yet.
No offense, I think I m just upset about money and my son.

Sally

Hi again Sally,

Where ever you write is fine, you'll figure it out soon enough. No wonder you are a mess, I don't know where you live but it's 10:48 pm California time and if your son is still running around it's no wonder you are a wreck. My son does honor his school night curfew and for the most part his weekend curfew. But, trust me I still have my share of concerns about him and it isn't that he is getting a "B' instead of an "A" kind of concern so I can emphasize with you. I never go to sleep until my son is in the house. Don't worry about being in the wrong place, you probably aren't. There is a lot of info here so don't overload yourself, just look at stuff that won't worry or upset you. Hang in there. I'm sure other's will respond to you by tomorrow. Mich

Hi Joni
The food we eat can affect body odour for instance garlic is notorious. Foods which help deodorise the body include mint and parsley which should be slowly chewed. These were often used in hot countries to help provide a sweet smell to the body. Also some illnesses and medication can cause odour so that might be worth checking out.
Good luck
Louise

There's only one hormone that makes us stinky, testosterone. Why do you think teenaged boys stink! Testosterone causes the body to secrete more skin gland oil, especially under the arms, breasts and in between the legs, that bacteria just LOVES to grow in! When we go through peri and then menopause, we are becoming androgen dominant with the loss of estrogen. Some women make more testosterone than others and thusly get more smelly than others. To make matters worse, it also causes us to SWEAT more too, more moisture for bacteria to grow in! I've had to resort to male deodorants sometimes to keep the stinkyness at bay, mostly during peri, but I'm still having episodes in menopause. There's no real sure cure other than use a good, strong antibacterial soap like Safeguard or Dial whenever you take a shower to remove the oils. Don't scrub your skin when you wash either, it will only invite more bacteria to grow in the damaged skin, making it worse! And like Jacksfullofaces says, DON'T EAT GARLIC, you'll sweat out the stink big time!

What bothers me is the ACNE that's now occasionally showing up in my face! I didn't even have acne as a teenager! I've got one BIG pimple on my chin right now. ARRRRGGGHHHH!