Body odor issues

[Kam33sha]

Hello everyone, This may be TMI.. so I'll keep it short! Last year I started experiencing bad body odor!! It started with coworkers making comments about someone smelling! Well, I went and got a check up and come to find that I had an elevated creatinine and was in 4th stage Renal failure! This year in February I became really sick and had to undergo surgery for emergency dialysis! I had a few months of dialysis and I'm still receiving the look as if I smell bad! I also live in an apartment and I can hear my neighbors complaining about a bad odor coming from the vents! Help I don't know what else to do.. my Doctors state I don't smell but people around me including family has made negative comments about this! Please help... is anyone else going through this and any suggestions

[Charlie B53]

Touchy subject.

Perhaps too often the person that has the 'smell' sense of smell has been compromised living with the constant exposure that they can not notice the offensive odor.

I've run into this dealing with the public in that some people have a very offensive bad breath.  These odors are often caused by an underlaying medical issue that needs attention.  Talk to your Dr and Nurse.

Do NOT drown yourself in perfume.  Many times excessive perfume can be a problem for those around you.

Are you also Diabetic?  6 months after beginning Dialysis I was determined to be Diabetic and needed to start using insulin to control my b lood sugar.  It may be bacteria causing an odor, finding the source cause will make it much easier to gain control rather than attempting to wash the bacteria away with soap, water, and antiseptics.

I can imagin some level of embarrassment between a woman and a male Dr discussing some things.  It may be much easier talking with the female Nurse.

I'm a 'Guy'.  I don't know much, unless my Wife tells me.

[Rerun]

Welcome to this site.  We tell the truth ... so here goes....   

Take a shower daily
Use a clean towel ... everyday
Wear fresh clothes ... everyday
Wash your sheets once a week
Use a good deodorant

Try to sweat it out.  It is hot this time of year so go sweat a little before your shower.  Get some of those toxins out.  You don't have to do this forever.  Dialysis should do this for you.

Don't eat a lot of garlic.....

That is all I know of.   Good luck and you can ask ANYTHING here.   

[smartcookie]

Welcome!   

I am sorry you are going through this.  What an embarrassing thing to have happen!  I echo Rerun's thoughts.  Please know that this isn't your fault.  Your body chemistry has just changed and it sounds like your skin is trying to purge some of the toxins.  Be careful what you eat.  I have a friend that smells funny when he has eaten certain sulfuric things like broccoli, onions, garlic, etc.  Maybe stay clear of those when you know you are going to be out and about. 

Do you find that you are sweating more than normal?  I have hyperhidrosis, which means I sweat a ton.  Mostly on my hands and feet, but sometimes my underarms, as well.  Mine has been since I was born, but I have read that you can develop this disorder, as well.  If you are sweating more than normal, there are prescription deodorants and antiperspirants you can use.  Botox shots also work for this disorder (I have not tried them because OUCH).  I treat this by taking Ditropan.  It is a bladder control medicine, but the side effect is that you sweat less.  Now, I am not on dialysis, so definitely ask your nephrologist if that medicine is okay.  Plus, it really dries you out, so it might not be a good medicine in terms of fluid control.  I keep something to drink and hard candy around to combat this. 

Hope this helps and you figure out what is going on!

[kitkatz]

Change your soaps around.  Buy new soaps and shampoos.
Bleach everything when you wash clothing, sheets, towels and etc.

[GA_DAWG]

As to what Charlie said, I had a junior high teacher, that's what we called it back then, who said if you can smell yourself, everyone else has smelled you for three days.

[Kam33sha]

Hello Again! Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions! I've talked to my Nephrologist and they stated they didn't smell anything on me! But when I'm in public I definitely hear the complaints!   Im a clean person! House immaculate, I never reuse towels or even put on the same clothes. I went to have my Kidney transplant evaluation and all I can hear is she smells bad, I think it was one of the staff that stated she smells of pee and crap!

Now!! I know I often smell the urine smell but that's because of my damaged kidneys, I watch my diet.. Trust me I've had my fair share of eating certain foods like broccoli, but I changed my diet to a Renal diet and now I have eliminated red meat as well. Eggs, diary..... now I'm having problems of not getting enough protein in my diet! My dietician started me on a liquid protein called liquicel( sorry if it's misspelled.

Since I heard the young lady mention that I smell like poo and probably didn't wash my buttocks, I made an appointment with the GO doctor, I have some constipation but it shouldn't be enough to create a bowel odor. I don't know I'm embarrassed and very frustrated! 


Charlie B53😂😂😂Yes I've done the overload of perfume, but I use less since my daughter mentioned that I smelled like I used the whole bottle of perfumes.

[Charlie B53]

Cat urine is quite 'aromatic'.  Even a small amount, as just drops, can create an odor in a house.

Perhaps the same with fart gas?  Who knows.

What I am getting at is if these odors are confined to the underwear regions, there are carbon filter garments available, somewhere, that may be able to contain some of this odor.

My Wife 'leaks', sometimes.  She also has irritable bowel syndrome which sometimes creates an emergency.

Most days are better than some, but some of 'those' days she will wear an adult undergarment.  Not one of the carbon lined, yet.

It may be hard to determine if these suspect odors are actually seeping out of your skin, or from normal biological function.  By which I mean regular gas and female wetness.  Since I am a 'Guy' I have little to NO personal knowledge.  The Ladies obviously should know way more than I.

I'll shut up now.

[Michael Murphy]

Several years ago I began to notice I was becoming fragment.  It turned out I had a fungus growing in my damp regions.  About this time my dermatologist prescribed a antifungal cream for a persistent red mark on my neck.  After two days it was gone.  Then I noticed a red mark in the damp regions tried the antifungal and suddenly the problem was gone.  Now I check every day and if I see areas that look like the fungus I apply athlete foot medicine and it clears right up.

[Kam33sha]

I received my cream the other day, putting it to use currently to see if it helps but I don't think it's the culprit to my odor, but Thanks

[Charlie B53]

I sweat very easily.  I can sweat standing still, out in the snow.  If I skip a day, or two, I can develop crotch rot, a yeast infection in the crease between my leg(s) and my male parts.  Fragrant is an applicable word.  Fungicidal creams might work.  I soak and rub the area with hand sanitizer.  Yes, it does burn like FIRE.  But it kills it immediately. By the next day the skin looks normal with no redness at all.

I've found an occasional outbreak in an armpit.  Qwap!  Good thing the burn only lasts for a couple of minutes.

Wife gets this under her big boobs.

The foot spray powders work almost equally well.  They burn also.  Doesn't make a lot of difference if it is the wet spray or the dry powder spray.

We always have hand sanitizer around, so I just hit the pump a couple of times, grit what few teeth I have left and 'git er done.'

[SKS]

I could always tell when my MIL had a yeast infection which this sounds like to me.  Diflucan (I think that's correct spelling) would be the med I would ask the Dr. about.  Generally I've heard Vietnam Vets or other Veterans from tropical climates mainly tend to have problems with yeast or as my SO calls it "crotch rot" .  My MIL had LBD and I was her caregiver, I also have had the problem after extensive antibiotics.  My Dr. of 30 years plus would just write me the prescription for the med when he wrote for Antibiotics in case I needed it.  I've been told that yeast infections can spread thru sexual contact to the extent that I knew a couple whose Dr finally treated both for several weeks as it's easy to hide in folds. 

[cassandra]

I received my cream the other day, putting it to use currently to see if it helps but I don't think it's the culprit to my odor, but Thanks

My 'odor' came from sweating a lot, especially while sleeping as I keep my electric under blanket on so I don't cramp. So I have a waterproof pillow, and mattress protector and throw everything in the washing machine every day. I'm sure it will settle down when you're cleaner through D.

You can also keep the fungal infections at bay by using teatree oil in your shower or bath gel, or shampoo.

[Rerun]

You smell fine....

Charlie stinks!!   

[PrimeTimer]

Maybe there's a French Bulldog in the room. Or an English Bulldog. They're worse. Saw a cute little 6 month old Frenchie at the pet store shopping with her owner. Before I could bend down to give her a pat on the head, I had to cover my nose. Wowie! 'Bout blew me away! And hubby would like to get one someday for a companion. I don't know, I'd have to really think about that.

[Charlie B53]

You smell fine....

Charlie stinks!!   

It's the all bran cereal I had for breakfast!

It makes me 'perk' like an old coffee pot!

NASTY!

This may be another reason I try to stay outside most of the day.

[smartcookie]

Maybe there's a French Bulldog in the room. Or an English Bulldog. They're worse. Saw a cute little 6 month old Frenchie at the pet store shopping with her owner. Before I could bend down to give her a pat on the head, I had to cover my nose. Wowie! 'Bout blew me away! And hubby would like to get one someday for a companion. I don't know, I'd have to really think about that.

My dog likes to pass gas in the evenings when we are cuddling on the couch.  Then my husband aggravates her to make her fart more!  The whole house stinks by the end... lol!  At least it is not every night.  Just when her tummy is a little upset.

[Michael Murphy]

One of my favorite jokes involves a elderly society matron who went to her doctor complaining of gas that while did not smell and was soundless was still disturbing her since she sat at many diner tables letting them rip.  The doctor nodded and gave her two types of pills and told her to come back in a week.  A week later she was back complaining that now they made a terrible noise and smelled like a dead horse.  The doctor nodded and said now we have fixed you hearing and you sense of smell will try to fix your gas.

[Simon Dog]

An oldie stolen from another site:

The Queen was showing the Archbishop of Canterbury around the royal stable, when one of the stallions close by farted so loudly it couldn't be ignored. "Oh dear," said the Queen, "How embarrassing. I'm frightfully sorry about that." "It's quite understandable," said the Archbishop, and after a moment, added, "as a matter of fact I thought it was the horse."

My wife and I took doggie to the vet to have his anal glands expressed.  Right when we got in the car after the appointment, I let loose a SBD (silent but deadly).   My wife commented on how bad the dog smelled after the procedure.

[Michael Murphy]

My worst or bes SBD incident occurred in a A&P.  The attack occurred after eating a bunch of plums.  I was waiting on line when I passed a massive amount of gas.  Silent but it was so fetid it burned on the way out.  As I was standing there trying to look innocent one of the store employees called out every one check their eggs someone must have a rotten one.  Next thing I knew I was standing in a store with every one sniffing their carts.  So not to stand out so did I.  I managed to reach my car before I lost it and laughed my butt off.  I now limit myself to 2 plums to avoid this.

[smartcookie]

I had a horse named Snickers that farted before every jump.  I just told everyone that gave him the momentum to get us both over!   

[PrimeTimer]

Hello everyone, This may be TMI.. so I'll keep it short! Last year I started experiencing bad body odor!! It started with coworkers making comments about someone smelling! Well, I went and got a check up and come to find that I had an elevated creatinine and was in 4th stage Renal failure! This year in February I became really sick and had to undergo surgery for emergency dialysis! I had a few months of dialysis and I'm still receiving the look as if I smell bad! I also live in an apartment and I can hear my neighbors complaining about a bad odor coming from the vents! Help I don't know what else to do.. my Doctors state I don't smell but people around me including family has made negative comments about this! Please help... is anyone else going through this and any suggestions

You might try scented baby wipes when you need to freshen up. If you're on the go, put a few in a zip lock plastic baggie. If they dry out, just add a little water to rewet them. Experiment slowly in case you are allergic. Or maybe travel size baby powder will help. My husband would sometimes smell musty when he first started dialysis but once he started getting better clearance (Kt/V), it went away. Then, later on when he went back to doing in-center, he noticed a chair stank pretty bad and would have them wipe it down again before he sat down. Didn't seem to help much and he was upset about it. So he began bringing a blanket to lay over the chair to sit on. We marked a big "X" on the side he would sit on to avoid ever sitting on the "dirty" side of it. He'd bring it home to wash every other day. Eventually they either got rid of the chair or else the patient that left was leaving an odor on it. My husband hasn't complained about it in a while now and he smells fine when he comes home from treatment. He trusts that I would warn him and not let him go out in public "smelling bad". Anyways, baby wipes are a good way to freshen up without the heavy scent of parfumes. Hang in there, perhaps you just need more toxins cleared out over time. Meanwhile, I'm sure it's hard but try to ignore the rude comments from people, if they knew how hard dialysis life really is they'd shut their mouths.

[Charlie B53]

Baby Wipes are a great idea.  Wife keeps a container in our bathroom.  I sometimes use one. I've told her many times we need one of the old style powder 'puffs' that is used with a small bowl of powder.  That would be great for under arms and other 'delicate' areas in the summer heat and humidity.

Remember, just because wipes claim to be 'flush-able' doesn't mean that they should.  They do NOT dissolve and clog septic and sewer systems.  NEVER FLUSH, always put them in the trash.

[smartcookie]

told her many times we need one of the old style powder 'puffs' that is used with a small bowl of powder.  That would be great for under arms and other 'delicate' areas in the summer heat and humidity.

I use Gold Bond powder for extra protection from sweat sometimes.  Baby powder will break me out, but the Gold Bond works well!