7 Body Odors That Speak Of Disease

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

7 body odors that speak of disease

Modern man is accustomed to using perfumes, deodorants, aromatic lotions and other means that change the smell of his body. Sometimes people don't even think about how they smell without these funds. At the same time, you need to carefully monitor your own scent, since a change in it can be the first signal of illness or other serious health impairment. We will talk about 7 body odors that may indicate a developing pathology.

Content:

1. The smell of acetone
2. Ammonia odor and excess nitrogen
3. The body smells like fish
4. Boiled cabbage smell
5. Smell of fermented dough
6. The smell of honey
7. Cheesy body odor

The smell of acetone

If the body does not receive carbohydrates along with food, then it begins to burn its own fat reserves. This is good for obese people, but body odor can be unpleasant.

When fats are burned, ketones are released, namely acetone. It is he who leads to the appearance of a characteristic odor, which can resemble the aroma of rotten apples or nail polish remover.

When a person eats normally, fats will also be broken down to sugars and acetone, but the latter component will not be too much. The body can excrete it in the urine, or use it for other metabolic processes. Therefore, a person will not feel an unpleasant odor from the body.

If a person decides to lose weight and cuts down on the diet, then a lot of ketones will be released. The body does not have time to process them. Therefore, not only from urine, but also from the body, the smell of acetone will begin to emanate. Also smells like a person who is starving. In this case, the cells begin to break down their own fat stores to provide nutrition.

Diabetes mellitus can lead to excessive release of ketones. If the pancreas does not produce insulin, or the cells cannot assimilate it, then the body simply stops assimilating glucose. The brain does not receive the nutrition it needs, which is why it gives the signal to break down fats. Ketones are released into the blood again. They are excreted not only with urine, but also with sweat. Therefore, the body begins to smell unpleasant.

Ammonia odor and excess nitrogen

Ammonia can smell from a person with various health problems. This substance is very volatile, it allows you to get rid of excess nitrogen. Nitrogen is released with urine, with sweat and exhaled air.

If ammonia smells from the mouth when breathing, then this may indicate developing kidney failure. In addition, this odor is often a sign of infection with Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach ulcers. Other pathologies that lead to the smell of ammonia from the mouth include cystitis and liver failure.

If the smell of ammonia comes from the skin, then this indicates a reduced function of the liver and kidneys, which cannot naturally remove excess nitrogen. Therefore, it begins to exude through the pores on the skin. Dehydration of the body is also manifested by the smell of ammonia.

The problem of ammonia odor is encountered by people on a low-carb diet. In such a situation, a large amount of protein accumulates in the body. After all, it is much easier for him to break down carbohydrates. In order for proteins to stop decaying, you need to introduce carbohydrate foods. This is important to consider when a person is seriously involved in sports.

Certain sports supplements, vitamins and medicines can cause ammoniacal odor from the body. People who eat too much asparagus also smell like ammonia.

The body smells like fish

The smell of rotten fish is difficult to confuse with anything else. Therefore, when it appears, trimethylaminuria can be suspected. This syndrome occurs when a rare genetic disorder develops due to a mutation in the FMO3 gene. It regulates the production of an enzyme (flavin monooxygenase-3) involved in the processing of trimethylamine (this substance is formed during the digestion of food). If flavin monooxygenase-3 is not enough, then trimethylamine accumulates in the body, which begins to excrete it in all possible ways: with urine, then with exhaled air. This causes the fishy smell.

Trimethylamine is represented by three compounds: lecithin, choline and carnitine. Therefore, all patients with flavin monooxygenase-3 deficiency need to avoid eating foods that contain these substances.

These include:

• Red meat, fish, whey. These foods are high in carnitine.
• Egg yolk, buttermilk, seeds, nuts, raisins. They contain lecithin.
• Liver, sprouted grains, and chicken yolk contain choline.

If it is not possible to completely exclude these products, then their intake into the body should at least be cut.

When rotten fish smells from the vagina, this indicates the development of a disease such as gardnerellosis. It is caused by bacteria that begin to multiply in the vagina. Normally, they are always present in it, but they do not show activity. Gardnerell becomes too much if the woman's immune system decreases, or the acid-base environment of the vagina is disturbed. Their multiplication leads to the production of volatile amines - cadaverine and putrescine. They are the sources of the unpleasant odor. It tends to get worse after intimacy. The fact is that semen has an alkaline pH, which helps to increase the production of volatile amines and enhances bad odor.

Boiled cabbage smell

A genetic disorder such as tyrosinemia leads to the smell of boiled cabbage from the human body. There are several types of this pathology, but in any case, tyrosinemia leads to the fact that the body cannot break down tyrosine (an amino acid). As a result, it begins to accumulate not only tyrosine, but also phenylalanine and metoin.

In addition to the cabbage smell, a person suffers from serious disorders in the functioning of the kidneys, liver, and central nervous system. The patient's bones begin to collapse.

Smell of fermented dough

If a sour smell, reminiscent of fermented dough, begins to emanate from the body, then the person develops Norwegian scabies. This is a serious condition that causes the scabies mite. This pathology is called crusted scabies, crusted scabies, etc.

Pathology occurs in people with a weak immune system. Norwegian scabies affects people at the AIDS stage, with leprosy, tuberculosis, skin lymphoma, age-related dementia, etc.

The smell of honey

The pathological activity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa leads to the fact that the human body begins to smell sweet. Many people compare this smell to that of honey.

Interestingly, laboratory Petri dishes containing Pseudomonas aeruginosa exude a jasmine scent. However, this pleasant aroma should not be misleading, since Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most dangerous microbe that leads to serious illnesses. Moreover, hospital strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are very difficult to treat, since they do not respond to antibacterial drugs.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause the development of such severe pathologies as:

• Meningitis.
• Otitis.
• Suppurative sinusitis.
• Abscess.

Often, the microorganism affects the respiratory system and is fatal. Therefore, doctors quite reasonably consider the honey smell to be a dangerous pathology that requires urgent treatment.

Cheesy body odor

Cheesy body odor appears in people who suffer from a hereditary disease, accompanied by a deficiency of the enzyme isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenase. In patients with such a pathology, isovaleryl-CoA accumulates in the body, transforming into isovalerate and excreted in sweat and urine. It is this substance that leads to the characteristic cheesy smell. And some people compare it to the smell of sweaty feet.

If the body starts to smell something unusual, then you should not ignore this signal from the body. Most often, a change in smell is associated with disturbances in metabolic processes. To find out the cause of such a failure, you need to contact a doctor.