What body odor says about our health

The smell of acetone

Decided to lose weight and consume a minimum of carbohydrates? The body can respond with an unpleasant odor that appears as a result of the breakdown of its own fat stores. The same aroma will be with excessive consumption of fatty foods. Too many ketones accumulate, which give the characteristic smell of acetone, or rotting apples.

A similar situation occurs in diabetes, when a person does not develop enough insulin. Glucose stops getting to organs and tissues and accumulates in the blood. And then the body begins to break down not glucose as fuel, but fats, producing, again, a large amount of ketones.

Also, the smell of acetone may indicate malfunctioning of the kidneys and thyroid gland.

The smell of honey

Sometimes even diseases smell nice. However, for the doctor, the honey aroma emanating from the patient is an alarming symptom. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the human body, exuding a sweet aroma, is one of the most dangerous infections that even antibiotics often do not take. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the cause of meningitis, respiratory diseases, inflammation in the facial sinuses, otitis media. It can lead to a serious abscess and cause ulcers to develop in wounds.

Fish smell

There is such a disease – trimethylaminuria, which is caused by a genetic mutation. In healthy people, proteins are processed and excreted from the body through the intestines. And in patients with “fishy smell syndrome”, excess processed products accumulate in the body. They combine with urine, sweat, exhaled air, which leads to the appearance of an unpleasant odor from a person. Unfortunately, this disease has not yet been cured, so patients are advised to follow a diet that excludes red meat, fish, liver, egg yolk, seeds, nuts, raisins, and sprouted cereals.

Another reason the body smells like fish is bacterial vaginosis. Its pathogens are gardnerella bacteria. When the vaginal microflora is disturbed or when immunity is weakened, they begin to actively multiply and produce volatile amines, which lead to an unpleasant odor. Moreover, after sexual intercourse, the smell intensifies.

Smell of ammonia

With the help of ammonia, the body gets rid of unnecessary nitrogen through the skin. If the body smells like cats, despite the hygiene, in the first place it may indicate a lack of fluid in the body. But not only. Ammoniacal odor from the mouth is a sign of renal or hepatic failure, cystitis. It is also possible that a person is consuming a lot of protein while on a low-carb diet. Protein breakdown products are excreted through the sebaceous glands. For recovery, it is enough to introduce the required amount of carbohydrates into the diet.

Smell of fermented dough

A sour odor is indicative of Norwegian scabies, a severe disease caused by the common scabies mite. The disease is a consequence of more serious diagnoses: tuberculosis, AIDS, leukemia, skin lymphoma, age-related dementia, leprosy.

Boiled cabbage smell

If a person smells like boiled cabbage, this indicates an excess of tyrosine. Tyrosinemia is a genetic disease when the body stops producing enzymes that are responsible for breaking down the amino acid tyrosine. As a result, it accumulates along with phenylalanine and methionine. All this leads to pathological changes in bone tissue and disruption of the central nervous system. In the body, irreversible processes begin in the liver and kidneys.

Vinegar smell

Often, with increased sweating, the body begins to exude a vinegar smell. If this was discovered after intense training or other active physical activity, there is nothing to worry about. However, the body can smell like vinegar even at rest, and then this may be the result of endocrine disorders, lack of vitamins D and B, mastopathy or lung disease.