It’s embarrassing. It’s taboo. Sometimes it’s downright disgusting. But it’s also a natural part of our existence. We’ve been conditioned to believe that body odor immediately equates to poor hygiene. While that is accurate in many cases, sometimes the issue of body odor could mean more than just an awkward conversation to be had with your sweaty coworker.
You might remember the first time you ever smelled yourself. The way your face immediately scrunched up after you took a whiff. Wondering if anyone else smelled you before you did. Praying the wind didn’t blow too hard when you walked past your crush.
The stigma of body odor (BO), especially within our community, as it pertains to cleanliness and desirability is a story for another article. But once we begin to remove the stigma, we can uncover a more urgent aspect of BO.
Certain types of BO could be caused by a serious condition; namely kidney disease. If you experience the following types of body odor accompanied by any other unusual symptoms, you should reach out to your doctor.
RELATED: Foods That Eliminate Body Odor
Fishy Odor
Although it’s uncommon and not normally a sign of something serious, a fishy smell, especially in the urine, could be linked to a problem with your kidneys.
If a fishy smell is not accompanied by any other symptoms, you can most likely wait a few days to see if it clears up. Minor causes for a fishy smell in urine include diet, pregnancy, and vitamins and supplements. However, if you are experiencing these symptoms along with fishy-smelling urine, you should contact your doctor:
- difficulty urinating, or painful urination
- a UTI that gets worse
- pain in the lower back
- a high fever
- blood in the urine
These are symptoms of a kidney infection or kidney stones, which could lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD) if left untreated. In many cases, the smell of fish comes from a chemical called trimethylamine oxide.
When a fish dies and bacteria begin to decompose the tissue, this chemical is released and converted to trimethylamine (TMA), which causes the fishy odor.
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Most healthy people produce chemicals that break down TMA, which stops the fishy BO, even if they have eaten fish recently or have a lot of bacteria in their systems. The kidneys filter the urine, which helps to remove toxins from the body. When the urine smells, it may indicate that the kidneys are not functioning correctly. If you can’t identify the cause of a fishy smell you should contact your doctor.
Bleach Odor
CKD can sometimes cause your breath to have a bleach-like or metallic taste. Sometimes called “ammonia breath”. People also report that it smells like urine.
That smell and the taste of bleach or ammonia on your breath is caused by a build-up in your body of a waste product called urea. It is your body’s way of releasing the urea when your kidneys are not functioning properly enough to do so.
Ammonia breath could be caused by factors other than kidney disease. This could include a temporary decrease in kidney function but it could also be unrelated to kidney function altogether. Some causes of ammonia breath are fairly minor or temporary, while others may indicate serious health issues.
Causes of ammonia breath include:
- Heavy alcohol use
- Eating too much protein
- Urinary tract infections (UTls)
- Urinary blockages
- Dehydration
- Sinus infections
- H. pylori bacterial infections
An ammonia smell may also enter your urine as a result of kidney disease. It causes chemicals in urine to become concentrated creating a smell resembling ammonia. Although it is not a dangerous symptom, if you have ammonia breath, along with staying on top of your oral hygiene you should consult with your doctor.
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Vinegar Odor
Sweat that smells like vinegar is another result of urea build-up that isn’t being released from the body properly. When you have CKD, your kidneys cannot process urea effectively. However, vinegar-like sweat won’t be your first indication of kidney disease and it could have other causes.
If you have this symptom, you may want to see your doctor. To ensure that you don’t reek of vinegar due to excessive sweating and other conditions, try adding vitamins to your diet and staying on top of your daily hygiene.
Don’t Sweat Your Body Odor
No matter how uncomfortable you may feel because of BO, everyone has experienced it. Of course, we all want to look, feel, and smell fresh at all times, but life is not a Dove commercial. Since we’re all just humans with hectic, fast-paced lives, you should feel good in knowing that BO is manageable and doesn’t have to be permanent, whether due to an underlying condition or not.
