Credit: Medical News Today
This one’s for those of you who didn’t read Grossology growing up.
Body odor. We all have it and we all try to prevent it. But sometimes, it sneaks its way through and the whole room clears out. What the heck causes this nasty body odor that we all try to avoid?
Did you know that the smell that comes from our bodies when we sweat doesn’t even come from us? No, it’s not the person standing next to you, either. The smell comes from the bacteria that live on our skin.
The non-smell chemicals that we exude from our body are taken over by bacteria to create a stench we could all live without. In fact, our armpits host glands that produce secretions called apocrine glands. Only three lucky spots on our body house these glands: armpits, between our legs, and inside of our ears. What we have always thought was sweat from those areas was actually a thick secretion that the glands release containing lipids, which are fatty chemicals.
The bacteria that live under our armpits is the instigator. Bacteria is located all over our skin, but not all have the smelly side effects. But, as always, there is an exception and this exception lives under our armpits. It is called Staphylococcus hominis, and it stinks!
The bacteria love to feed on apocrine glands. The molecules that they feed off of do not smell, but after the bacteria is done with it, it turns into a sulfurous molecule called a thioalcohol. The alcohol part ensures that the chemical escapes easily. The sulfurous part, obviously, helps to produce the “sweat” smell that we take in.
Just think of the impact this smell must have had thousands of years ago. It must have had some significance as it was produced from the body. Luckily, we enjoy using deodorant and showering constantly to fight back against the bacteria.
