I always smell and he's finally told me.

[Jpk1110o]

Partner of 4 years has told me I smell. He said it in a polite way, as if trying to help me.

I'm 26 and tbh I've always known I sweat a lot under my arms but his comment has hit home that other people probably think I smell too.

I work in an office and I often find that 10 minutes into put on a work top, I have sweat patches under my arms and I smell; even if I wear a black blouse, I'm uncomfortable as the armpit area is absolutely soaked through even though nobody else can see it through the black.

I finally hit breaking point today wearing a pink sleeveless shirt as it was hot. I thought since it was sleeveless that there was no way sweat patches would occur. I was wrong. After driving to work and going to the staff toilet first thing in the morning, I lifted my arms up to see sweat on the material just under the armpits.

I've also resorted to regularly using work toilet soap to wash under my arms every 2 hours; I still smell. Nobody has told me I smell, but I can smell myself so I try not to stand too close to people.

Anyway, I got home and just told my boyfriend that I think I sweat more than average and he agreed and said he's noticed I've smelt for years. I'm mortified since if he's noticed then probably everyone in work thinks I smell.

I'm fit, go on lots of walks, vegetarian, so I don't understand why I sweat so much?

I've ordered Odaban spray from Amazon and hoping it'll stop the sweat, even if it burns the armpit, I'd rather that than excess sweat.

Any other tips to get me through the next 2 days at work without sweaty armpit stains though? It's not due to arrive until Friday.

I used Driclor (which is basically the same as Odaban) for a few months at uni 20+ years ago and I’ve never sweated much since. Be warned: ANY moisture AT ALL in the armpit when you put it on and you will feel like you’re being cooked alive. It cannot be good for your body - aluminium chloride straight into the body right by the lymph nodes - but works. I now use mitcham sticks and don’t sweat at all.

Perspirex from boots that you put on at night a couple of times a week
And use Mitchum during the day.
I had excessive sweating when younger and these definitely helped.
I know how bloody awful it is, you have my sympathy. Strangely it disappeared in my mid/late twenties and that was it.
You can get Botox from GP but not sure what waiting list/threshold is

Get Mitchum. Wash with soap - real soap, not Dove-type stuff

Totally agree. I use Aleppo Soap and it lasts for absolutely ages but the French Soaps are also very good. Can't believe how much better it is since I ditched the shower gel.

I suspect the problem us more with your clothes than your body. Use an antibacterial laundry cleanser eg dettol and wash at at least 40 degrees.

For yourself, wash with soap rather than shower gels.

Detol in your clothes wash to remove bacteria and wash hot on proper washes not quick washes at 30. Powder is better too.

This was my life when I was young. I learned never to wear artificial fabrics, and to test colours by dripping water on them. I wore a lot of white teeshirts.
I was prescribed Driclor, but unfortunately it made my skin burn so that didn't last long.
Fortunately, as time went on, it became less of a problem. I still don't wear artificial fabrics, but I rarely get clothing damp any more.

Had botox been available back then, I'm pretty sure my GP would have suggested it. So I'd definitely go that route if you can.

And yes, I've used Mitchum forever. Never found anything (that my skin could tolerate) that works better.

It’s bacteria feeding on sweat that make the smell. If you’re smelly soon after washing, bacteria levels are too high when you come out the shower. Hibiscrub is a bactericidal wash you can use that should stop the smell but not the sweating - for that you can use a cream like Driclor that you apply the night before.

I’d go to the GP.

Are your clothes all natural fibres such as cotton, linen and wool? Ditch all polyester and nylon etc as they make sweating worse as they’re not breathable. Wear 100% cotton everything.

Wash bras daily and always clean clothes every day. Wash bedding weekly. Wash your hair every two days. Try Mitchum deodorant. Be careful of anti perspirant as it can block your sweat glands if you overuse it. Use Shield soap as that’s good for body odour.

With clean clothes, washing daily and a good deodorant you shouldn’t smell. What do you eat? Garlic and curry make you smell more; try and eat bland meals for a week and see if that helps. Cut right down on coffee. Fruit and veg sticks at lunch is nowhere near substantial enough. Add in whole meal sandwiches or pasta with yoghurt to follow.

Wash your body with Hibiscrub and shave your armpit hair.
Do not wear any polyester this shit is the devil's cloth.

I agree with proper soap and mitchum- it makes a huge difference for me. But also think about using dettol laundry cleanser as well as powder in your washing machine. The sweat bacteria can become embedded in the fibres of the clothes and smell fine when just laundered but get smelly once your body heat starts to warm it.

The other thing I noticed was I smelt more when I went through a phase of having more onion, eg raw in sandwiches, or on salads. And I use it in a lot of dinners as well. Might be worth excluding for a couple of weeks to see if it helps the smell, although unlikely to impact the wetness.

I dont rate Mitchum tbh and the roll on takes hours to dry. I use dove or sure maximum protection (in a box) with spray on top if I'm doing an exercise class

See a gp too as your sweating sounds excessive

I was going to say sweat pads too!

I find men's deodorant way better than womens for some reason. E.g Sure for Men, all I can smell on me/dh (it's his deodorant but I borrow it!), our t-shirts (even the next day) is the deodorant.

Whereas with the women's ones, I can smell sweat and deodorant mixed and it's rank.

Oh and don't eat onion, garlic or spices because they make sweat smell worse. Use fresh and dried herbs, lemon, salt, pepper to flavour instead.

II would suggest that you try using an antiperspirant roll on. It doesn’t have to be expensive, I find Nivea works well. There are some that contain ingredients that irritate my skin so I try to stick to the same brand. Test it on the inside skin of your elbow for a couple of days.

Go to the shops for Mitchum rather than waiting for your deodorant order in 2 days
botox
patches you can stick inside your clothes and replace/wash to stop sweat soaking through
shave your armpits if you’re not already
see a gp
add some perfume (obv not ideal over smell but still…)
talc in your arm pits
could you gave any sort of infection? Hibiscrub under your arms to kill the bacteria
use anti pers not deodorant
wear cotton clothes and presume the smell is soaked into your existing clothes until you can get on top of it, part of it could be coming from them

Have you had your thyroid levels checked? I had excessive sweating with a thyroid problem.

Also always use a biological detergent on your clothes

You are likely going to have to do a heavy wash on your shirts in addition to the stronger antiperspirant/deodorant. If you can try wearing some new cotton shirts when you make the switch. The odors will linger in your clothes.

that is the other thing to consider along with talking to your doctor, natural fibers are your friend.

I had this issue untill I used Driclor. It stopped my armpits sweating completely. There first two weeks of using it were painful and my skin was a little red, I had to sleep with my arms up. After two weeks my skin had calmed down and there was no sweat. I now use it one every 10 days or so and use Mitchum everyday.

Worked in a extremely hot environment and Mitchum is excellent.

Another vote for Mitchum. Haven't smelt my pits or had sweat patches for yrs!

Also agree with PP saying wash clothes and bedding on 60 each time to kill bacteria. Also make sure your clothes are thoroughly dry when you put them away. Open a window if drying indoors on an airer and give them a sniff when dry to check they don’t have that “damp” smell. Use biological washing powder.

Also, the 20% products say to apply every night for 2 weeks and the effect will build up, but I found they worked from the first application. I never used them every night, just a couple of times a week. Would have been too sore to use much more for me I think, but I didn’t need to. I needed this for a while in my 20s and then it calmed down and I have been ok with standard products ever since.

You can get Mitchum in the supermarket,
Tesco and Sainsbury’s deffo sell it. I’ve been using it since I had my first baby as my sweating increased, I find the roll ok better than the spray.

I have heard that Botox works wonders tho, and I did briefly look into it before I found Mitchum.

Oh and don't eat onion, garlic or spices because they make sweat smell worse. Use fresh and dried herbs, lemon, salt, pepper to flavour instead

That's really interesting. I know someone who swears so much that she has Botox on the NHS, she realised herself that she swears more if she has garlic or onions and now tries to avoid them as much as possible. She's gone from needing Botox to managing the sweat with Mitchum and soap.