Your sweat smells different: common causes and when to see a doctor
People usually know their own smell well, so they notice a change straight away: sweat smells sharper, more sour or just “off”. Most often the reason is food, a new medicine or hormonal changes. But sometimes a new smell is a signal worth showing to a doctor. Here is how to tell one from the other.
Short answer
The smell of sweat changes with food (onion, garlic, cabbage, red meat, alcohol), medicines and supplements, hormones (the teenage years, the menstrual cycle, menopause), stress and heat. The NHS advises seeing a GP if your smell has changed and does not improve with the usual measures, or if you suddenly start sweating much more. Get urgent help if a person with diabetes develops a fruity smell together with thirst and nausea: it may be ketoacidosis. An antiperspirant reduces sweat, but it should not mask a new smell.
Where the smell comes from in the first place
Fresh sweat hardly smells. Odour appears when skin bacteria break down substances from the apocrine glands in the underarms and groin. There is more on this in “Why does sweat smell, and how can you get rid of the odour?”. If the smell has changed, one of three things has changed: what is in the sweat, how much of it there is, or the bacteria on the skin.
Common, harmless causes
Cleveland Clinic and the NHS name several ordinary causes to check first:
- food: sulphur-rich foods such as onion, garlic, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and red meat; spicy food and alcohol, which also increase sweating;
- medicines and supplements: the NHS specifically mentions antidepressants, Cleveland Clinic medicines and supplements in general;
- hormones: the teenage years, menopause; Cleveland Clinic notes that body odour may also change around ovulation;
- stress, exercise and heat: more sweat means more food for bacteria;
- clothing: synthetics and tight, dense fabrics hold sweat for longer.
Two weeks of notes
If the smell changed recently, try writing down for two weeks what you ate and drank, which medicines or vitamins you started, which day of your cycle it was and how much you sweated. The link often shows up within a few days: for example, the smell is stronger the day after a garlic-heavy meal.
Such a diary will also help a doctor if you end up seeing one. There is an example of keeping sweat notes in “Sweating when nervous: why the body reacts to stress”.
Smells to mention to a doctor
Some new smells are linked to illness. Cleveland Clinic and MedlinePlus describe these signals:
- a fruity smell in a person with diabetes can mean diabetic ketoacidosis. The NHS lists other signs: intense thirst, peeing more often, nausea, tummy pain, breath that smells of acetone. This is an emergency: call 103 or 112 in Kazakhstan;
- a bleach-like smell, according to Cleveland Clinic, can occur with liver or kidney disease;
- a persistent fishy smell of sweat, urine and breath is typical of trimethylaminuria, a rare inherited metabolic disorder. MedlinePlus notes that certain foods, stress and, in some women, the start of a period can make it worse;
- Cleveland Clinic also links a change in smell to an overactive thyroid, covered in “Sweating and the thyroid”.
When to book a doctor's appointment
The NHS advises seeing a GP if body odour does not improve with the usual measures, such as regular washing, clean clothes and an antiperspirant, and also:
- you notice a change in how it usually smells;
- you suddenly start sweating much more than usual;
- the smell bothers you and affects your self-esteem.
Bottom line: reduce sweat, but do not hide the signal
If the cause is harmless, such as food, heat or stress, a simple plan helps: less sweat, clean skin and clothes, and paying attention. OKEY contains no fragrance and does not cover odour with a scent. It reduces sweat in the area where it is applied, so bacteria have less to work with, and you will still notice if the smell changes again. With a new or unusual smell, see a doctor first.
OKEY is a long-lasting, fragrance-free antiperspirant for women and men in a 35 ml roll-on bottle. It suits all areas prone to excessive sweating. According to the instructions, it is applied in the evening before bed in a thin layer to clean, completely dry and intact skin, and any residue is washed off in the morning. OKEY is available on Kaspi for 7990 ₸ with a 14-day bottle return. Regular customers can buy it on our website okeystaydry.com for 6990 ₸ with free delivery to a Flip pickup point, without a return option. The buy button is below.
