EXCESSIVE BODY ODOR: What Can We Do?: Re: UNDER ARM ODOR

» me4pres - Re: UNDER ARM ODOR

In response to message posted by dm392004:

I understand that there are many possible conditions which cause body odors bla bla bla.....I had major stank pits. But it's all gone now - are you ready to listen?

They were bad. I work outside - and offended anyone downwind for quite a ways. No amount of scrubbing or product use seemed to help. Like you, just barely out of the shower and it was back.

But one time me and my son went to the ocean and played in the water for about an hour straight. On the way home, I noticed that my armpits didn't stink, for at least an hour. OK, little eye opener. Seems the bacteria got it's butt kicked pretty bad in being submersed in ocean water. Far more than any other remedy or technique I'd tried.

Hmmmm, so it can be killed it seemed. So I decided to take matters into my own hands a little more. Hmmmm, what kills bacteria, uhm, without melting skin.

Shortening the story a bit, I tried the following methods (I tell you this all, including that which doesn't work, so that you will understand the importance of the minor details which ultimately are of paramount importance)(also, I'm living in Japan, where there is a different type of washing-up system - you sit on a stool and wash completely before ever stepping into the tub - they really don't have showers per se - which, in a way, allowed this experimentation to finally work):

First I tried a diluted mixture of "color" bleach on freshly scrubbed armpits. Result: 15 minutes of pretty good smelling pits.

Next day: twice as much bleach on freshly scrubbed armpits. Result: Maybe 25 minutes good

Next day: more bleach and so on

Eventually: Straight "color bleach" gave me a couple hours of relief.

But one time, I accidently forgot to wash my pits before applying the bleach, Result: Nearly a day of relief - but it did come back. Hmmmm, see what I mean about details.

OK, I was really getting somewhere at that point. And quite happy about it.

So I kept that up, and experimented with application and scrubbing techniques - which further improved the results. I was up to only needing to do this ritual every other day. I mean, after one day of working and sweating hard, my underarms smelled only like sweat (which by the way, by itself, is not even the slightest bit offensive. As a matter of fact, the faint smell of the detergent used to wash the shirt was a stronger smell) But, behold, by the end of the second day, my old friend was beginning to re-emerge. Probably could have waited another day though.

So, up to this point, it goes like this - Start with unwashed and un-wetted armpits. Apply, one handful of "color bleach" directly to an armpit. work in gently, especially into the hair and the the skin benieth the hair, and with particular attention to the areas of the pit that you tend to avoid because it feels weird, and, very important, down your side, and down the inside of your arm all the way to your elbow (in short, any part of your arm and your body that could possibly touch each other - use another handful of bleach to do this) Next:wipe off thoroughly, gently, but a bit scrapy with a dry wash clothe or towel. Continue with regular shower. This will get you 2 or 3 days!

But I wanted it gone.

So, on the off chance that my underarm bacteria, might be finding a way to build an immunity to the bleach, I decided to pull out all the stops.

I did as above, except before continuing with regular washing, I did the above treatment 3 times. But that's not all. I also did it morning and evening. I did this for a matter of a week, before letting up to see how long it would last

It never came back!

OK that's not true, it did creep back about once a month during that summers, and needed a one time maintenance kick...that is, until all my T shirts got sterilized. Which in and of itself is another important detail........the bacteria....lives on your shirts easily through a normal clothes washing cycle. Even if there isn't a single bacteria under your arms, there will be as soon as you put on yur old shirt. For that matter, others in your family can get the infliction through contact with your shirts. - My son got it from me - shortly after I got a handle on it myself. When me and the rest of the family couldn't handle his stench any longer, I taught him how to fix it. It worked perfectly.

Any questions?

-- posted by me4pres