To be miserable about how badly i smell?

[fireworksinthesky3]

Hey

name changed but longtime poster

really hoping this post resonates with someone and I can get some advice or help 🤞

bit of an embarrassing problem but I smell really badly and don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything I can possibly think of to fix it and it’s not helped. I’ve heard of things like fish odour syndrome but I don’t think it’s that because I don’t smell of fish- I just smell really musty/BO. It’s genuinely making me so depressed- I’m only 26 and I’m so embarrassed and miserable about it. I’ll post below everything I’ve tried

• I shower every single day without fail, I tried showering twice a day but it made no difference whatsoever. At first I smell fine, then after a few hours I smell musty/BO/as if I haven’t even showered in days

• I’ve tried every single combination of deoderant/antipersperant I could access. Mitchum was highly recommended but wasn’t any help disappointingly, in fact I think I smelled worse with it. Right now I’m using dove stick which is bearable but not great either. As I said above- fine at first, then after a few hours I smell again , badly enough to be noticeable by other people

• I’ve tried every shower gel, scrub, body wash, lotion, soap (bar and liquid), even tried using dettol soap- no difference. I shave every 2nd day.

• i wash my hair every 2-3 days, I change my bedding every week without fail

• i wondered if it was possibly my clothes which smelled rather than me so I got rid of EVERYTHING, and started all over again (new underwear, new pjs, completely new clothes etc) but same problem literally no difference

the only thing I can think of that I haven’t tried is the Driclor range which I’m going to try and I’m praying it works. I’ve always had this problem- I remember being so embarrassed about it as a teenager. It’s definitely not something I’m just paranoid about either- I’ve asked my friends / family to be completely honest with me and they’ve agreed with me. I don’t have any hormonal problems and sweat like a normal person as far as I’m aware but for some reason I just smell so much quicker than the average person

does anyone have any tips or product recommendations I could try (in case driclor doesn’t work)?

sorry for the long post, I’m just so down about it x

Check if there's mould in your washing machine as that can often cause a smell. You tend to develop mould when you don't wash at high temps - so it might be worthwhile to do that every so often

Random one...is your belly button closed? Sometimes it doesn't seal shut properly and funky body smells can escape from it, if you have a particularly deep belly button it's worth getting a doctor to look at it.

In fact I'd get the doctor involved anyway if you've ruled out all obvious solutions.

I've not seen if OP has confirmed that OTHER people can also detect the odour?
OP I really think you need an outside source that you trust, if you can, to agree with you that there is actually a problem and it's not something that you are just hyper focused on for whatever reason.

If there IS a problem, I second what everyone has said about drying/washing your clothes.

Can you pinpoint the source? Is it worse around your armpits? Could it be a genital issue like bacterial vaginosis?

Could it be a fungal scalp/foot infection?

Could it be a dental issue?

This is a weird one but you don't happen to have a nose piercing by any chance do you? It may be that the smell is actually coming from inside your own nose from a funky piercing.

Could there be a problem with your water supply? Is the smell the same when you shower at someone else's house and wash your clothes in a different washing machine?

Hope you find the culprit OP.

If you think it might be your clothes, I wash all of my washing with a good dollop of disinfectant (plus normal washing powder etc). Stops towels smelling musty, so might help your clothes too.

This was my first thought too. If it’s a musty smell then it’s probably clothes not being washed or dried and aired properly

I definitely agree that synthetic fibres can cause this. Try wearing cotton - 100% cotton pants, bras and t shirts, no polyester.

Are you washing your clothes after every single wear?

I agree with a previous posters point, has anyone else said they have noticed the smell OP? Close family members/friends/partner?

It does sound like it is something you are very focused on and an outside perspective could be helpful.

How upsetting for you OP. That's really tough. I'm not sure if it's been mentioned or explored already, but could it be some sort of bacteria overgrowth on your skin? I wonder would a regime of washing in Chlorhexidine help? It's a medical grade antibacterial soap.
Could your GP take some skin microbiology swabs from the areas that smell the worst? See are you colonised with a stubborn bacteria that might need treatment? Other than all the good suggestions in this thread that's all I can think of. Would suggest a dedicated GP visit to address. Hope you get a solution ASAP!

I was trying to find zinc oxide-based deodorants after reading a rave review and came across sprays which are marketed as being useful for dealing with incontinence smells but would work to suppress any kind of bacterial odour.

Drink two litres of water a day or more - the body’s natural purifier.

Avoid eating pungent foods like cheese and tuna.

Drink good quality green tea, it’s a natural deodoriser.

Scrub with soap all over 4 times, paying particularly close attention to behind the ears, underarms, privates front and back, and feet in between the toes and underside, too. Finish off with a wet wipe soaked in surgical spirit and wipe your underarms with that. Wash hair daily, at least 3 rinses.

Once you’re back to a neutral odour, y and you’ve reset your body, it may be possible to lightly ease off on some of those things.

Good luck, it’s going to be okay, you will find a solution for this, leave no stone unturned.

Most importantly, ask for a referral to a specialist. Also look into alternative remedies - colloidal silver water for example.

Fabrics make a huge difference. Any sort of poly fabric and I reek within a couple of hours. I put garments that are not a) washable and b) mostly natural fibres straight back on the rack these days.

Lots of good advice about washing and drying and I think working through them in a process of elimination might be useful. You can buy 100% cotton t-shirt from Amazon for very little cash. Wear it for a day and see if any difference.

Natural fabrics, cotton linen etc are more expensive but often stand up to hot laundering better in the case of cotton so you save more cash long term though your style might change a bit.

Came here just to say this. I've always been a bit of a 'smeller' under the arms as Fussy has changed my life.

Really rate and recommend it. I just don't have to worry about the smell anymore.

We have that too and it's amazing how often the reminder goes off much more than if I just did it when I remembered!

Sorry if this has already been mentioned.

I don't have a tumble dryer and have no problem with our clothes smelling because they've air-dried on the dryer.

How hot do you wash your clothes?

I tried washing at 30c in the past like we are told to do to save energy/money, but I found that our clothes smelled, especially the armpit area.

Everything is washed at 40C, with powder detergent. Might be worth weighing out the amount the box states for your machine and water hardness. Never had a problem since.

Hi OP, I've only skim read the thread so these may have alreaady been mentioned:

Have you cleaned out the drain filter on your washing machine?

I know you said in your OP that Mitchum deodorant didn't work for you - was it the spray or the roll-on? I found the spray one totally useless but the roll on was great.

Also do you have access to a bath? Perhaps a bath with nice scented bath oil or bubbles and make sure you get into all the nooks and crannies that a shower might not.

From experience clothing, towels and bedding etc definitely smell a lot fresher dried out in the open air. This time of year I use a dehumidifier to dry clothes indoors but also have a dryer.

I dry my clothes inside in the winter and they don’t smell. My house isn’t damp. Dampness in your house or where your clothes are stored or dried will make them smell rather than drying them indoors.

Same here. As long as they are taken out of the machine and put out to dry immediately they are fine. I dry sheets and towels on the banister or over the shower screen. I also never use fabric softener as it makes me itchy. Often wondered if that traps odours in clothes.

Have you been using Mitcham spray or roll on ? I ask because I find the spray useless, always get horrific BO when I use that. Find the roll on far better, especially the gel. I work an extremely active job and even after a 10 hour day won't have a hint of BO If I've used the roll on.

When my daughter was living in a shared flat her clothes smelled musty, old lady and horrid. It turned out their washing machine was never cleaned and had mould. We found the smell really offensive. I had to wash all her clothes with vinegar and washing soda several times and hang in the fresh air (it was summer). Several times, if the smell hadn't gone. And then used strong washing machine cleaner and very hot water to clean my washing machine several times. I still regularly run the machine on a very hot wash on empty and leave the door and drawer open after use.
I wash all towels and similar on 60 degrees. I wish I could wash all tshirts on 60 without spoiling them.
Daughter now has a different problem, apparently one under arm really sweats and smells and the other one is ok (!). All her heatgen/heattech vests smell, and she wears them under her natural fibre tops. As fast as she replaces them they re-smell. She is looking at different deodorant/anti-persperants.
Good luck OP, I hope you get it sorted.

Do you wear natural fibre clothes? I would always recommend that where possible, most clothes are made of plastic.

I was a bit of a whiffy bod when I was in my teens and twenties. It gets better as you get older.

A few things that worked for me:

Use roll-on deodorant.

Dry your armpits and apply deodorant immediately after you step out of the shower. Any delay, even for a minute or two will reduce the effectiveness of your deodorant, because the warmth of the shower will cause you to start sweating.

Make sure the deodorant has completely dried before getting dressed.

NHRTT but Driclor or botox or nerve surgery will only tend to work with hyper hydrosis. Have you gone back to your GP yet for a face to face consult as that would appear to be the key way to identify which of the potential causes require addressing? Good luck.

Do you have a close friend or reliable family member? Wear a new t shirt or blouse once then give it to them in a bag and ask them. If not, put it in the bag then have a shower and open the windows to a room then try and open the bag yourself if you are genuinely unable to differentiate between cloth washing, body, dietary medical or psychological sources. Good luck.

If your GP has ruled out any medical cause, and suggested it is a lifestyle issue, does that mean you might have to make some healthy changes? Are you on the heavy side? I used to know a girl who was quite seriously overweight and she smelled weird all the time. She washed well every day, even her hair, but once when she slept over at mine I had to wash the sheets twice to get her smell off them. It was a sort of musty, meaty smell and it was very prominent. I think it was that bacteria had so many opportunities to gather and to grow quickly during the day because of her size.