How to Get Rid of Underarm Odor

Smelling any odor that doesn't wear makes it hard for you to breathe freely. One of them is underarm odor. This condition can happen to anyone, including you and certainly makes you feel inferior. So, is there a way to deal with underarm odor? Come on, try some of the following tips so that you are free of underarm odors.

Why does the armpit smell bad?

Your body is covered with skin that has sweat glands, namely eccrine and apocrine. This gland serves to keep the body temperature normal. Eccrine glands almost cover most of your skin. While the apocrine glands are usually found in the area of ​​the skin overgrown with hair, such as the groin, armpits, and around the breast.

When body temperature rises, sweat glands cool the body by sweating. Now, the sweat released by the apocrine sweat glands contains fat and is very easy to break down by bacteria rather than sweat water-based eccrine glands. That is why in the armpit, groin, or around your breasts you can give off a bad smell.

Tips to overcome the annoying underarm odor

There are many ways you can reduce bad odors from the armpit, for example:

1. Avoid certain drugs

Even though the smell is normal, there are some people who sweat more than usual. This condition is known as hyperhidrosis. To control excessive sweat production, you need to consult a doctor. The doctor will give the medicine according to your condition so that the underarm odor can be reduced.

The cause of excessive sweating that causes the armpit to smell is the use of certain drugs, such as some hypertension or antidepressant drugs. If the underarm odor is really bothering you, ask your doctor to prescribe other drugs whose side effects do not increase sweat production.

2. Use deodorant or antiperspirant

Using deodorant is the simplest way to deal with underarm odor. Because the deodorant has a scent that can mask the bad odor in the armpit.

Deodorants also cause the underarm skin to become more acidic which can prevent a reaction between sweat and bacteria.

Besides deodorants, you can also use antiperspirants. This product contains active ingredients such as aluminum chloride or aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex which can block the apocrine glands to produce sweat.

The amount of sweat in the armpit will be less and the underarm odor will also be reduced.

3. Body hygiene

Lack of maintaining a healthy body causes bacteria to stick and dead skin cells to accumulate. As a result, the skin becomes dirty and causes unpleasant odors, especially on your armpits. To prevent this, body hygiene needs to be improved.

So, apply a bath twice a day. Use soap and rub the skin clean to remove bacteria around the armpit and other body parts. Then, dry the body to prevent the skin from getting moist and the bacteria multiply quickly.

4. Choose the right clothes

Preventing and reducing underarm odor not only focuses on body hygiene. Cleanliness of clothing and choice of clothing materials must also be considered. Washing clothes clean, adding fragrance, and drying them in the sun can kill bacteria. The place to store clothes must also be clean and dry.

If you are a person who easily sweats, then the clothing material you choose must be made of natural fibers such as cotton. Cotton allows the skin to breathe and can absorb sweat better than wool or polyester. Avoid using clothes that are still wet because it can cause more bacteria to grow.

5. Pay attention to your food menu

Reducing the appearance of underarm odor, can be done by looking back at your food. Because, there are some foods that can cause underarm odors, such as onions, spicy and hot foods, and alcoholic beverages. Avoiding these foods can help reduce the smell of underarms.

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