Hot flush so stinky 😱

[BumbleNova]

Please help me! I think I am peri and I have started having hot flushes. When I get one, I swear buckets and I absolutely stink. Like absolutely awful - very strong BO.

At home, I grab a clean top and top up deodorant and it does the trick. WTF do I do in the office?!

I wash with soap and use my usual sure roll on as I have my entire life.

Do I need to up my game and what do I need? It's horrendous and so noticeable. I'm mortified

HRT all the way. Oestrogen gel or patches plus Utrogestan micronised body identical progesterone tablets is the preferred gold standard regime. Perfectly safe for the vast majority of women. It's honestly the only way to control the sweats and protects you long term from heart problems, osteoporosis etc.

Thanks all! Lots of ideas and things to try. I've definitely been suffering with my mental health so maybe I need to start having a conversation about HRT.

It's just brutal.

I'm only 38 so I'm sure my GP will fob me off. I know my mum also had early menopause though.

As someone else said, it's worth checking your clothes as well as looking at your personal hygiene routine.
Avoid synthetic fabric. Spray vinegar and bicarb of soda (you can get spray bottles of both in Wilkos) on the armpits of your clothes before washing. Use a sports wash like Halo or a laundry sanitizer that you add to your normal detergent. Give things a hotter wash occasionally if you usually wash cool. Hang outside if possible.
Apparently glycolic acid is good at killing the bacteria responsible for the smell. I haven't done this but I have the Ordinary glycolic acid for my face and I noticed lots of the reviews talked about good results on BO.
HRT has been my saviour but I appreciate it's not for everyone.
Final thought: I bet it's more noticeable to you than to other people.

I was 41 when my periods completely stopped and I really needed those hormones. GP was less than sympathetic though and it took me 10 years to get HRT. Unfortunately by this time a bone density scan showed I had osteopenia, the early stage of osteoporosis. However, since going on HRT my bone density is back in the normal range, just.

NICE guidelines recommend HRT from the first symptoms of peri menopause. It's especially important to replace those hormones if you start experiencing symptoms in your early 40s as the consequences for your bone health can be serious.

You might have to push hard to get them from your GP as it's startling how out of date some of them are on this issue. I had to print out articles from the Lancet about latest research about early menopause and hand them to the GP in my appointment! Would also be a good idea to have a copy of the NICE treatment guidelines for menopause with you as these are pretty clear.

Use panty liners and change them during the day. Take wipes to work

I had a phase where I had what I'd call "old man's armpits" - not a classic BO smell as such but just a really horrible, lingering body odour smell that seemed to cling to my clothes.

I changed from shower gels to Cidal soap, which is antibacterial, and would spray the armpits of clothes with white vinegar before washing. them. Seemed to do the trick.

Deodorant-wise, I didn't get on with Mitchum so have stuck with a Dove Invisible dry aerosol in the summer when it's warm and a Dove roll-on the rest of the year

Underarm disposable sweat shields from Amazon.

@NormalForNuneaton that's exactly it. It's an absolutely god awful smell.

Right antibacterial soap, wash my clothes hotter and serious deodorant time.

My DH is in scientific research so I'll get him to brief me on what I need and get the NICE guidelines. I do actually have a great GP if I can get an appointment.

I'm not peri, but I naturally have a very strong (bad) body odour - I have all my life. One thing that helped was going on a FODMAP diet. This also helped me lose a lot of weight. I actuality went on the diet for IBS and these were unexpected side effects. I did more research on smell and diet - It might be something simple in your diet (e.g., garlic, onions, nightshade, spices) that your body doesn't break down well (and never has) and is making the odour worse than it might be otherwise.

I just wanted to add another suggestion as the effect of food on body odour isn't something commonly discussed.

Proper old fashioned bar soap like imperial leather (not dove) for armpits and Mitchum gel deodorant solves it for me

Dr prescribed a roll on deodorant that you use at night. I occasionally use it now once then it lasts for a while.

It is horrendous going this

Going through this

Soap, glycolic acid toner and doubling up on roll on antiperspirant and spray works for me.

Came on to say exactly this - this exact product.
Hitting peri affected me in the same way and made me very self conscious. Changing deodorant completely sorted it.
I bought the bog standard sure deodorant stick on holiday when I couldn't find the max one and even that was sufficient.
Spray anti perspirant is rubbish I have concluded!!

Change of body odour and BO was my first perimenopause tell. Previously, I hadn't even needed to use deodorant. HRT sorted it out, the hot flushes too.

I went into perimenopause in my late 30s so had a hell of a time getting GPs to listen to me.

I switched to Fussy deoderant, it's not an anti persperant but I found it killed any smell and didn't leave any marks/buildup on clothes. I also use bar soap rather than shower gel.

I’ve recently had the same thing although not related to hot flushes as already on HRT , and bizarrely more in one armpit than the other . Have always used bar soap and Sure or Mitchum deodorant but neither seemed to be working . I bought Perspirex which is brilliant , although don’t put it on within 12 hours of shaving or it brings me out in a rash . I feel a bit like I’m rolling hand sanitizer under my arms. I put it on about every 4-5 days still shower and bath etc but after about 2 days too up with Sure.

https://www.boots.com/perspirex-strong-antiperspirant-roll-on-20ml-10210513