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.
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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
