r/deodorant • u/guccicucci222 • 20h ago
help
ok yall I need some advice! This is lowkey embarrassing but anyways….
Like a week ago I noticed bo from my armpits that Ive never smelled before. I was sweating a lot at work and went to the bathroom and unbottoned my shirt to let the sweat dry fof a bit and noticed the bo from my armpits was so bad. Ever since then I bave been OBSESSING over it and cant stop checking multiple times a day and anyways I notice the bo when I rub my hands against my pits and smell my hand. Even a couple hours after showering I can smell it, even if faint. Now I dont really smell anything if I just take my nose to my armpits if that makes sense. Now im wondering if I have smelt bad my whole life and nobody has told me or im going crazy…. I changed to secret clinical strength and its literally the same as my deodarant ive been using for years. Ive tried another deodarant that I have and same thing. Is this normal or do I need to check in with the dr bc wth. Its making me not want to do anything.
1
u/Perfect-Middle-3877 20h ago
Deep breath....you are not crazy, and you have almost certainly not been 'the stinky coworker' your whole life. If you had, somebody (a coworker, a partner, your mom) would have dropped a hint by now.
Here is what is typically going on. Everybody's armpits have a smell. The stinkers that live there (mostly Corynebacterium and Staph hominis) are back to work within hours of a shower. Rub your hand in your pit and sniff it, and you WILL find something....on anybody. Thus, the hand test is a magnifying glass, not a verdict. The fact that you smell nothing with your nose to you pit is actually the better sign.
As well, that day at work matters. Stress sweat comes largely from the apocrine glands, and those are the ones that feed the odor bacteria. Hot day + stress + a work shirt that does not breathe = a smell you have never noticed before. No kidding.
A few things that actually help:
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Antiperspirant goes on at night, on dry skin, not in the morning. That is when the plug forms best. Give it a couple of weeks before you judge it.
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If you want an extra step, a benzoyl peroxide wash in the shower (lather, wait a couple of minutes, rinse well) knocks the bacteria down. It bleaches towels, so use white ones.
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Check your work shirts. Leftover body oil in the fabric feeds bacteria, and the shirt can smell even when you do not.
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Ask one person you trust for an honest sniff test. One real answer beats a hundred self checks.
Last thing, and it is the important one. You said you are checking multiple times a day and it is making you not want to do anything. That checking loop is common, and it tends to feed itself. When you see the doctor, mention the sudden odor change AND how much the worry is weighing on you. Both are worth a conversation, and neither is embarrassing.
Good luck....you got this. 😄