Unpleasant odor from the body and mouth: how to find out if it exists.
To convince people to buy products like deodorant and mouthwash, marketers first had to convince us that we all smell bad.
And surprisingly, it worked. As a result, most people began to use various toiletries (as well as many cosmetics) to rid their bodies of “unpleasant” odors. But sometimes hygiene products don't work. Also remember that you don't always smell bad. Most often, you do not need various deodorants and mouth rinses. But how can we determine this? After all, your body can really smell bad. And indeed it is. Chances are, you may smell bad without even realizing it. But whether this is actually the case is quite difficult to determine.
The human nose can smell over one trillion different smells, but it's not as good at picking up your own scents. There is always a chance that you will smell an unpleasant odor and simply not notice it. But what should we do in this case? Many of us are afraid to go out in public without getting rid of the bad smell. So, here's how you can find out for sure.
If you just put your nose down and take a deep breath in the air surrounding your body, you probably won't smell your body odor. You will think that everything is in order and will spend your day as if nothing had happened, scaring others away from you with a bad smell. Why does this happen?
The fact is that it is almost impossible to smell your unpleasant body odor. The receptors in your nose that normally respond to your own scent are essentially shut down after being bombarded with the same smells for so long. Essentially, your nose is numbed by your own scent to keep you from going crazy.
How to care for your oral cavity?
Important:
- brush your teeth (thoroughly) twice a day,
- use dental floss
- use fluoride mouth rinses
- Follow a proper diet (try not to snack between meals).
Oral care
Practical advice:
- If bad breath is caused by stomach problems, you can drink a decoction of licorice or dandelion;
- For sinus and throat problems, fennel seeds or coffee beans (between meals) will help;
- If you suffer from neurosis and your mouth often becomes dry, chew a slice of lemon or a mint leaf.
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Take off your clothes and smell them
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So, to test yourself for bad odor, you need to smell the clothes away from your body and actually stick your nose in there. Obviously, you can't take off your clothes in the middle of your workspace, but you can hop into a toilet stall quite easily and check things out piece by piece.
Sniff every part of your clothing and look for wet spots caused by sweating. Sweating usually means that you have become a favorite breeding ground for bacteria, and bacteria are what give off an unpleasant odor.
Follow the golden rule of body odor: if you can smell it on yourself at all, others may smell it much more strongly.
Apply more deodorant, use wet wipes to quickly clean yourself, put on a change of clothes, or if all else fails, rub your armpits with hand sanitizer until the problem is resolved. The same rules apply to deodorants, perfumes, colognes and body sprays: if you can still detect your unusual perfume on your skin after a while, other people can definitely smell it when they're around you.
Run your fingers over your scalp
However, sometimes sweaty armpits are not the source of the unpleasant odor. Your hair can also become quite smelly if you don't wash it often enough or if you forget to use dry shampoo after a very high-intensity workout. If you're worried that your hair might smell bad and that people around you might notice, there's a proven way to accurately determine it.
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Wash your hands with hot water, but do not use soap. (You don't want the smell of soap to cover up what you're about to test, do you?). Run clean fingers over your scalp, not through your hair, several times. Smell your fingertips and you'll get a good idea of what your hair smells like.
An unpleasant odor on the scalp is likely a mixture of yeast, dead skin cells and bacteria. This could also be a sign of ringworm on the scalp.
How to find out if a person’s breath smells: 4 effective ways
Bad breath is called halitosis, and, as a rule, it is only a consequence of problems in our body. However, there are ways that show how to find out if a person’s breath smells, and immediately pay attention to possible malfunctions in the functioning of human systems.
An unpleasant odor can be caused by:
- Diseases of the stomach and digestive tract.
- Advanced cases of caries.
- Reduced secretion of saliva.
- ENT diseases.
- Periodontitis.
But also don’t forget that bad breath can also occur when you simply don’t brush your teeth well or eat odorous foods like garlic.
How to find out if your breath smells or not yourself
There are 4 simple ways that will allow you to draw the right conclusions about the purity of your breath.
Method No. 1
You need to touch the middle of your tongue to your wrist and after 20 seconds sniff the skin. If the smell is not very fresh, then you need to take action.
Method No. 2
Run your finger down the middle of your tongue, wait for it to dry, and then take a deep breath to see if there is a stale smell.
However, remember that both of these methods will not be reliable if you use them immediately after brushing with toothpaste. But conducting such a test during the day is the most optimal solution.
How to find out if there is bad breath using a cup.
Method No. 3
• Have an empty cup ready.
• Take a deep breath.
• Exhale into the empty cup.
• Immediately smell the smell in this container.
There are variations of this method using your own palm instead of a cup, but the option of using dishes is still more successful, since no other odors are mixed in, for example, the smell of your own palm.
How to find out your breath odor using a spoon.
Method No. 4
Scrape the plaque on your tongue with a regular spoon or a special spatula, and then evaluate its color. If it is dark, then there is definitely an unpleasant smell.
You can do a similar procedure using dental floss. In this case, you need to brush your teeth with this floss and smell it.
And remember, bad breath is not a death sentence at all, and to remove it, use the following tips:
• Rinse your mouth after every meal.
• Chew sugarless gum for 10 minutes.
• Avoid eating foods with strong odors.
And, just in case, visit a gastroenterologist to make sure that the cause of the unpleasant odor is not related to problems in the gastrointestinal tract.
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Bad Breath: Do Some Breath Tests
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When it comes to bad breath, there are a few quick ways to check before you start interacting with people:
- Palm test: classic method. Bring your hand or hands to your face and exhale into them, after taking a deep breath. This works best if you wash your hands first without scented soap; otherwise you'll just end up smelling your hands, which smell like soap.
- Hand test: Lick your wrist/or palm and wait about 10 seconds, then smell the area. If it smells bad, it means your breath smells bad. Again, it is advisable to wash your wrist/hand with unscented soap before taking the test.
- Spoon test: Take a metal or plastic spoon and scrape the back of your tongue with it. Let it dry a little and smell it. You'll probably smell a little off (unless you've used a tongue scraper and mouthwash before). With this method, you can actually determine how bad your breath actually smells.
- Taste test: If your breath leaves a strange taste in your mouth, your breath probably stinks. Anything that overloads your saliva and taste buds is also likely to give off an odor.
It's also safe to assume that you smell like garlic if you just ate it, smell like coffee if you just drank it, and smell like alcohol if you used your lunch break to "relax."
Self-check methods
Daily cleaning procedures at home play an important role. If the patient performs them carefully and correctly, this will minimize the risk of disease. Hygienic cleaning of the oral cavity is the key to good health of the whole body. Of course, the cause of bad breath can be different. But everyone can establish the fact of the phenomenon independently. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can visit a doctor and get rid of the problem. You cannot ignore the stench, you should not be ashamed of it, you need to actively fight this phenomenon.
Checking your breath odor at home is not difficult.
- You should lick the inside of your wrist. Take your time, wait a few seconds for the saliva to dry. This method of checking should not be carried out immediately after the hygiene procedure, but several hours later. Smelling your wrist will tell you if your breath is bad.
- You can detect an unpleasant aroma by running your finger along the root zone of your tongue. This technique is more informative.
- Use a plastic bag or mug. First, you should take a deep breath, then slowly exhale through your mouth directly into the container. For the test to show real results, bring the mug as close to your face as possible.
- Use a piece of gauze to wipe your tongue and then sniff the tissue. If there is a thick yellowish coating on the surface of the muscle organ, it means that sulfides are produced at an increased rate.
- A scraper or a regular spoon will help you understand whether there is a smell. You need to remove some of the plaque from your tongue. The darker the substance, the more offensive the aroma.
Flossing your teeth and then smelling it will reveal the true odor. You can stand in front of a mirror and show yourself your tongue. Someone whose tongue is coated will have unpleasant breath. When the taste is atypical, your breath will be unpleasant.
Is it possible to learn to smell yourself? Including unpleasant?
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Many people on the Internet are wondering, is it possible to learn to smell your body odor? As Pamela Dalton, a psychologist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center (USA), told the Washington Post, our sense of smell does not recover as quickly as our other senses.
It may take several weeks to completely reset your sense of smell. This is why you can sometimes smell your home after a vacation.
As for the smell of your body, you won’t be able to smell it like you smell your apartment/house after a long absence. After all, you cannot escape your own body, and if so, then there is no way to completely restore the sensitivity of the nose to your own body odors.
Ask someone you trust if you smell bad
Last but not least, you can ask someone you trust to tell you directly if you smell bad. Without a doubt, this is the most effective method. However, it is not recommended to ask your partner or anyone you live with as they are also likely accustomed to your scent. Ask a colleague or friend and ask them to be honest with you. It's a little awkward, but it's guaranteed to work.
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Article source: How to Tell If You Smell
