menopause and body odor
By Andrea Donsky | Fact Checked | Sources
You catch it on yourself in the car and you cannot quite believe it. Same soap, same deodorant, same everything you have used for fifteen years, and you smell different. Not unwashed. Different. Sharper, more oniony, more there.
Almost nobody talks about this one, which is a shame, because there is a real mechanism behind it and there are things that genuinely work.
Why does body odor change in menopause?
You have two kinds of sweat gland and they do different jobs.
Eccrine glands are all over your body and produce the watery sweat that cools you down. That sweat is essentially odorless. Apocrine glands are concentrated in the armpits, the groin and around the breasts, and they produce a thicker secretion containing proteins and fats. That secretion is also odorless when it arrives.
The smell comes from the bacteria that live on your skin, mainly Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus species, breaking those proteins and fats down into acids and sulfur compounds. No bacteria, no smell. More apocrine sweat, more raw material, more smell.
Here is where menopause comes in. Apocrine glands are the ones that respond to stress and adrenaline rather than to heat. Hot flashes and night sweats mean far more sweat overall, and the anxiety that so often travels with perimenopause drives specifically the apocrine kind. So you are producing more of the sweat that actually smells, more often.
The technical name, if you want it for an appointment, is bromhidrosis.
Is it me, or is my nose different?
Possibly both, and this is worth knowing before you panic.
Sense of smell shifts through the menopause transition, and for some women it becomes noticeably more acute. Which means part of what you are experiencing may be that you can now smell something that was always faintly there and that nobody else registers at all.
That is not a reason to dismiss it. It is a reason to ask someone you trust before you conclude the worst, because the anxiety about this symptom is often disproportionate to the symptom.
If smells have become strange in other ways, that is its own thing. Some women report phantom smells or a persistent smell nobody else can detect.
What makes it worse?
Heat and hot flashes. Straightforwardly more sweat. Menopause and hot flashes and night sweats are the upstream problem for many women, and reducing them reduces this.
Stress and anxiety. Stress sweat comes from the apocrine glands specifically, which is why the sweat of a difficult meeting smells different from the sweat of a brisk walk. Everyone has noticed this. Now you know why.
Fabrics. Synthetics hold bacteria and odor in a way cotton, linen, bamboo and merino wool do not. This is one of the biggest and least discussed factors. Odor can persist in polyester through a normal wash.
Dehydration. Less fluid means more concentrated sweat and urine.
Some foods. Garlic, onions, cumin, curry, asparagus and alcohol all produce compounds that leave the body partly through sweat and breath. This is a real and specific mechanism. It is not your body expelling toxins, which is not how sweat works.
Some medical conditions. Diabetes, an overactive thyroid including Graves' disease, liver disease and kidney disease can all change body odor, usually in a distinctive way. That is the reason to mention it to a doctor rather than only to a search engine.
Our Top Picks for Hot Flashes
What actually works?
In rough order of how much difference each one makes.
Antiperspirant, applied properly, which almost nobody does
Deodorant masks smell. Antiperspirant reduces sweat, and aluminum-based antiperspirant is the most effective option available without a prescription.
The part that matters: apply it at night to clean, completely dry skin, not in the morning after a shower. Sweat ducts are least active overnight, which lets the active ingredient form the plug that does the work. Most women apply it to damp skin in the morning and conclude it does not work. Applied at night it usually does, and it survives your morning shower.
If ordinary antiperspirant is not enough, clinical strength versions exist over the counter and prescription options exist beyond that.
Change what you wear next to your skin
Natural fibers and merino wool release odor in the wash. Polyester and most performance synthetics do not, and build up over time. If your gym clothes smell before you have even put them on, that is what is happening. Washing synthetics in a dedicated sports detergent or with a laundry sanitizer helps.
Deal with the flashes and the stress, since they are the source
This is the least direct advice on the page and possibly the most effective. Less sweating means less to work with. Menopause and anxiety is the relevant page if stress sweat is your pattern.
Wash with something antibacterial, and dry properly
Since the smell is produced by bacteria, reducing them reduces it. An antibacterial or benzoyl peroxide wash used a few times a week in the armpits is a well-known approach. Then dry thoroughly, because damp skin is a better home for bacteria than dry skin. The same applies to feet, between toes and under the breasts.
Removing underarm hair reduces the surface area bacteria have to work with, which is a genuine effect rather than a cosmetic preference.
Stay hydrated
Concentrated sweat smells stronger. This is easy and it helps.
Look at the obvious foods, without going overboard
If you eat a lot of garlic, onion, cumin or curry, or drink regularly, and the change is recent, try easing off for a couple of weeks and see. Do not overhaul your entire diet on a theory.
Gentler home options, with a caveat
Baking soda in a warm bath is soothing and harmless. Witch hazel is mild. On lemon juice and apple cider vinegar applied to the armpits, which get recommended constantly: they can irritate, particularly on freshly shaved skin, and irritated skin is not more pleasant to live with than the original problem. Patch test first, and never straight after shaving.
If you would rather go the natural route entirely, here is a fair look at whether natural deodorants actually work.
What about chlorophyll and zinc?
Chlorophyll, in wheatgrass, spirulina, chlorella, parsley, spinach and broccoli, has a long history of being described as an internal deodorant. The research behind that is thin and old. Green vegetables are worth eating for many well-established reasons. Deodorizing is not one we would promise you.
Zinc is a more interesting case, since zinc deficiency does affect skin and body odor, but supplementing it only helps if you were actually low. Test before you treat.
When should you see a doctor?
If the change was sudden and marked rather than gradual. If it smells specifically fruity, sweet, ammonia-like or fishy, since those point at particular conditions. If it comes with excessive thirst, needing to urinate more, unexplained weight change, or unusual fatigue. Or if sweating is heavy enough to soak through clothes regularly, which is called hyperhidrosis and has treatments most women never hear about.
Say it plainly at the appointment. It is a medical symptom and doctors have heard far worse.
The short version
Sweat is odorless. The smell comes from skin bacteria breaking down the thicker secretion from your apocrine glands, and those glands respond to stress and adrenaline rather than heat. Perimenopause brings more sweating overall and more anxiety, so more of the sweat that actually smells. Your sense of smell may also have sharpened, so ask someone you trust before assuming the worst. Antiperspirant applied at night to dry skin is the single most effective change, natural fibers beat synthetics by a wide margin, and reducing the hot flashes and the stress goes after the source. See a doctor if the change was sudden or the smell is distinctly fruity, ammonia-like or fishy.
Related perimenopause and menopause symptoms
- Menopause and hot flashes
- Menopause and night sweats
- Menopause and anxiety
- Menopause and dry, itchy skin
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does body odor change during menopause?
Sweat itself is odorless. The smell is produced when skin bacteria, mainly Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus, break down the proteins and fats in apocrine sweat. Apocrine glands respond to stress and adrenaline rather than heat, and perimenopause brings both more sweating overall through hot flashes and more anxiety, so more of the sweat that actually smells.
What is bromhidrosis?
Bromhidrosis is the medical term for body odor. Using the word at an appointment can help, since it makes clear you are raising a medical symptom rather than a hygiene worry.
Is my body odor real or is my sense of smell changing?
It can be either or both. Sense of smell shifts through the menopause transition and becomes more acute for some women, so you may be detecting something that was always faintly present and that nobody else notices. Asking someone you trust is more reliable than deciding alone.
What is the most effective thing for menopause body odor?
Aluminum-based antiperspirant applied at night to clean, completely dry skin rather than in the morning. Sweat ducts are least active overnight, which allows the active ingredient to form the plug that reduces sweating, and it survives the morning shower. Most people apply antiperspirant to damp skin in the morning and conclude it does not work.
Do certain fabrics make body odor worse?
Yes, significantly. Polyester and most performance synthetics trap odor-causing bacteria and hold the smell through normal washing. Cotton, linen, bamboo and merino wool release it. Switching what sits next to your skin is one of the largest and least discussed improvements available.
When should body odor be checked by a doctor?
If the change was sudden and marked, if the smell is distinctly fruity, sweet, ammonia-like or fishy, or if it comes with excessive thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight change or unusual fatigue. Also if sweating is heavy enough to soak through clothes regularly, which is hyperhidrosis and has effective treatments.
