Body odour may soon force me to commit suicide…

Auntie Agatha, gataedo@yahoo.com, agatha.edo@gmail.com, Tel: 08054500626


Dear Agatha,

I am a lady of 34 years of age and still single. I have a problem of body odour, which if care isn’t taken might lead me to taking my own life. This is because it has denied me the privilege of having any friend. Some people call me pig while others say I smell like a rotten rat.

As a matter of fact, I have suffered a lot of disappointments from men due to my condition.

Agatha, I am really regretting coming to this world. Please help me. Desperate Lady.


Dear Desperate Lady,

Sincerely, you don’t need negative people around you. Avoid those who call you names because they have nothing to offer you but pains and sorrow.

A lot of time some of these issues come from our understanding of body hygiene. The truth is many women don’t know how to take care of their bodies. The woman’s body is made up so many curves and openings. The opening to the woman’s body is structured in such a way that it is constantly discharging. All these discharges can become sources of embarrassment to the woman if not handled with care. Although integral to the normal function of a woman’s body but can actually become a nightmare if a woman is careless enough to ignore the other side of it.

The personal hygiene every woman should know is how to care for those sensitive areas of her body. A woman must know when her body needs extra help in getting rid of smell. For instance, the early days after her monthly cycle, a woman should ensure her body is given special attention because the discharges at this time of the month are stronger than at other times. There are various washing liquids in the market formulated to help the woman care for her femininity.

In your case, you have to know where the problem is coming from. Have you always had it or is it something that just came from nowhere?

Body odour could be biological or spiritual. But generally, it refers to the unpleasant smell the body emits. More often than not, it comes from the presence of bacteria on the body. These bacteria rapidly double, when they come in contact with sweat. Parts of the body commonly associated with body odour are the scalp, feet, groin, skin, armpits, genitals, pubic hair, ear and navel.

Other reasons could also come from our social habits, health conditions, medications, diet, and personal hygiene especially in the case of women who have bad hygiene during menstruation or at menopause, or deficiency of some vital minerals in the body system. It could also be hereditary.

Body odour varies from person to person. While in some people it can disappear after bathing and changing of clothes, in some people it comes back almost immediately especially if the person puts on the same clothes he or she was wearing before the bath.

For some others, it is a matter of complete overhaul of one’s habits and hygiene.

At times using deodorants only worsens the situation because of the various toxic chemicals contained in some deodorants. Since your case appears to be on the strong side, desist from using these deodorants. Try some of the home remedies, which have worked for a lot of people. For instance, lime is very effective in combating body odour. From time to time, use limejuice mixed with a little salt to scrub your body. Leave for about 10 minutes before taking your bath. It helps to remove odour caused by accumulated sweat on the body. Baking soda too is also effective in fighting body odour. These are cheap and readily available as well as very simple to use. As a woman, pay particular attention to your armpit. Ensure no hair is in your armpit as well as your pubic area. Hair in the armpit trapped in sweat beads while the one in the pubic area trapped in discharges from the vagina. Women who are careless and don’t know how to wash properly end up oozing from these areas after a while.

But once the area is kept clean of hair, it is easier to wash and freshness maintained.

You could also use white vinegar or alcohol to rinse the armpits regularly. Ensure you showers regularly while also changing your pants with each shower.

Also, avoid tight fitting pants or nylon fabrics. Nylon can’t breathe hence trapped in moist from sweat unlike pure cotton.

While taking your bath, in addition to your armpits and genital area, pay particular attention to your navel, the space between your toes, behind the ears, underneath your breast as well as the valley in between the breasts. All these places should be properly scrubbed to ensure no dirt is tapped therein.

Your clothes should also be given special attention. Ensure they are first soaked in soapy hot water with disinfectants before washing. They should also be properly aired and ironed before wearing them.

The same treatment should be given to your underwear to ensure every sweat bead trapped in the clothes is properly washed away.

For now it may be advisable for you to keep low hair to enable you wash your hair and scalp daily.

However if it is the kind no remedy can conceal, it is either hereditary or spiritual. If your mother or anyone from your family has it, then it is hereditary but if nobody has it, please intensify your prayer life. Sometimes these kinds of challenges are meant to deny one of his or her glory.

Good luck.