It's common to experience some level of body odor while sleeping. Most people only apply antiperspirant or deodorant in the morning, and it wears off throughout the day. Then, after we sleep and sweat through the night, our perspiration causes a foul smell upon waking.
Body odor at night rarely tops the list of serious health woes, but it can be embarrassing and disconcerting. Sour body odor when sleeping usually isn't a cause for concern, but the sweating could be a sign of benign hyperhidrosis or a more serious ailment.
The smell that arises is due to the bacteria that live harmlessly on everyone's body. When the bacteria mix with sweat released from your sweat glands, it can create an unpleasant odor.
Sweat is mainly water and sodium chloride, but also contains small amounts of potassium, calcium, ammonia, urea, lactate, and ethanol. When sweat mixes with bacteria on the skin, it can produce a smell, which may smell like vinegar.
What causes the unpleasant smell is the bacteria that build up on your sweaty skin and react with sweat and oils to grow and multiply when sweat reacts with bacteria on the skin. These bacteria break down proteins and fatty acids, causing body odor in the process.
Foods such as garlic, onions, cumin, and curry can also cause changes in body odor. The sulfur-like compounds that the body releases as it breaks down these foods can react with the sweat on the skin, producing body odor that may be different than a person's natural scent.
When ketones are excreted through sweat, they can give off a strong odor that smells like ammonia. People with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing ketosis, a condition where the body produces too many ketones. This can occur when blood sugar levels are consistently high, or when insulin levels are too low.
Some people with diabetes compare the smell of insulin to the scent of Band-Aids, printer ink, Lysol, or new plastic shower curtain liners (4). Apparently, phenols are responsible for the aroma associated with insulin (5).
Yes, changes in hormones can cause your body odor to smell. Hot flashes, night sweats and hormonal fluctuations experienced during menopause cause excessive sweating, which leads to changes in body odor.
You can make things easy for yourself by just exfoliating your face and neck in the shower at the same time. An easy homemade scrub you can whip up in no time is brown sugar, a tiny splash of lemon and a teaspoon bit of honey. Gently massage into your skin to slough off any dead skin cells then rinse off thoroughly.
Trimethylaminuria is a disorder in which the body is unable to break down trimethylamine, a chemical compound that has a pungent odor. Trimethylamine has been described as smelling like rotten or decaying fish.
A bedroom can smell in the morning as a result of body odour, dust, moisture in the room, dirty bedding and a messy room. Poor air circulation at night makes unpleasant odours linger until morning. These smells can be avoided by regularly cleaning the bedroom and making sure to air it out every day.
Thyroid problems.
Occasionally, an overactive thyroid can also cause body odor. This is because the patient tends to sweat excessively due to the hyper-functioning thyroid gland. This condition can also be ruled out by physical examination and blood studies.
'The vagina has a natural bacterial flora that's there to keep a good balance,' explains Dr Rosén. It's because of this natural bacteria that the cervical mucus in the vagina always has a smell. You may also experience changes throughout your menstrual cycle as the pH balance in your vagina changes.
One such sign of high blood sugar is peculiar body odours, especially in your breath. It is crucial to be aware of these signs and seek immediate medical treatment.
One Reddit user described the smell similar to that of bacon while another user has said that their new stench "kind of smells like fat is soaking into my sweat." Despite how common this side effect seems to be (people affectionately refer to it as "keto breath").
Transparent and lacking in color
Transparent, colorless urine could also be a sign of some other health disorders, including diabetes and kidney disease, or from taking diuretic medication.
Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) is an uncommon condition that causes an unpleasant, fishy smell. It's also called "fish odour syndrome". Sometimes it's caused by faulty genes that a person inherits from their parents, but this isn't always the case. There's currently no cure, but there are things that can help.
Skin conditions
Internal health issues may result in unpleasant body odors (BO), as well, such as liver and kidney disease and hyperthyroidism, which can lead to excessive sweat and increased BO. Stagg recommends talking with your doctor if you notice a strong smell from your skin.
Despite our best efforts to keep them clean, towels often develop a less-than-fresh smell. One of the main causes of this is detergent build-up. Over time, soap residue accumulates in the fibres of the towels, stopping them from absorbing as much water as possible, and from drying as well as they could.
Heat, sweat, and friction in the crevasses under your breasts, (a.k.a., your “under boob area”) not only make you stink, they make your clothing wet. This area is a breeding ground for itchy rashes and unattractive, red bumps.