What is body odor? What are the causes?

1. Body odor, also known as bromhidrosis and smelly sweating, is sweat excreted by apocrine glands (also known as apocrine glands) in armpits, vulva and mouth corners of patients, and its fatty acids are higher than those of ordinary people, showing light yellow and thicker; When fatty acids reach a certain concentration, they are decomposed by bacteria on the skin surface, mainly staphylococci, to produce unsaturated fatty acids and stink. It is similar to the smell discharged from fox's anus, so it is often called body odor.

2. Apocrine hidrosis: Apocrine sweat gland only exists in armpit, areola, umbilical fossa, anus, vulva and external auditory canal, and its function in other parts is extremely weak except armpit, and it produces very little sweat. Sweat secreted by apocrine sweat glands is sterile at first. Under the action of microorganisms, the organic substances in sweat are decomposed to form short-chain fatty acids and ammonia with special odor, which leads to the occurrence of apocrine sweat glands.

3. Eccrine hidrosis: It often occurs in the palmoplantar and rubbing area, and small sweat is usually colorless and tasteless. However, in the case of hyperhidrosis, sweat is decomposed by parasitic bacteria on the skin surface to release fatty acids, which produces a special odor; Other substances such as garlic and arsenic can be excreted through eccrine glands to cause odor.

4, when the mental or nervous system is damaged (such as paranoia, schizophrenia, etc.), it can also produce smelly sweat.

5. The occurrence of bromhidrosis may be related to heredity.