How to Get Rid of Unwanted Odor

Whether you have bromhidrosis, a condition of abnormal body odor, or more common types of unwanted body odors, there are steps you can take to eliminate the problem. Everything from the kinds of foods you eat, your genetic makeup and proper daily hygiene impact your body's smell. The good news is that there is help. Easy-to-use home remedies, prescribed medicines and basic cleanliness all play a role in getting rid of unwanted body odor.

Things You'll Need

• Soft toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Dental floss
• Antiperspirant
• 100 percent cotton socks
• Shoe inserts
• Baking soda
• Lemon juice
• Vaginosis treatment
• B vitamin with magnesium

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Instructions

• 1

  Listen to what others report. If your spouse mentions bad breath, find out when it surfaces and if it smells like anything in particular. Are you immediately waking up with unpleasant breath or is the onset in the middle of the day? If general body odor is a problem, ask a family member or close friend specifically where the smell comes from. Is it noticeable when your shoes are off or after you've worked out? Ask questions that will give you answers to exactly when and where the odor appears.

• 2

  Research the source of the odor. Brush and floss before going to bed and see if that helps unpleasant morning breath. Look over the labels and literature associated with any oral medications that you are taking and see if body odor is a side effect. Triamterene, used to treat high blood pressure, and Paraldehyde, a medication for seizures, both contribute to bad breath. Is the smell coming from under your arms? Change deodorant brands or switch to an antiperspirant, which blocks sweat and conceals odor, and see if the smell disappears. Examine your socks if foot odor is a problem. Wear 100 percent cotton socks, which allow feet to breath and absorb sweat better than nylon, and notice if the unwanted smell decreases.

• 3

  Use home and over-the-counter remedies. Invest in absorbent shoe inserts to take smelly foot odor away. Combat underarm smell by mixing equal parts baking soda with lemon juice and rub the mixture into your armpits. Eliminate vaginal odor, for example, by inserting an over-the-counter bacterial vaginosis treatment into your vagina to see if an unsuspecting infection needs to be cleared. In addition, try ingesting a high-potency B vitamin (at least 50 mg.) When combined with magnesium, vitamin B helps regulate a person's metabolism and therefore reduces secretions that are known to cause body odor.

• 4

  Contact a doctor. Persistent body odor could mean that an underlying medical condition needs attention. Some people cannot metabolize foods containing large amounts of chlorine and others may have trouble metabolizing large quantities of meat due to their individual body chemistry, for example. Menopause, diabetes and liver disease can all cause unpleasant body odor. Even if there is not a serious medical condition at the root of the problem, a doctor can prescribe stronger medications to help combat unwanted body odor.