diet and body odour

[Pdavies99]

Try and be nice, what if it was you?

Leave a kind note on her desk, saying a few people have mentioned it and you want to avoid any embarrassment.

[Lekong]

The first time I ever got into a crowded Chinese elevator, the stench of garlic just about gagged me. (It's just as bad wherever garlic is prevalent like it is in China)

After living there a few years, I would often ask my friends if I had become one of the garlic people. We had an unspoken agreement that we'd tell each other if odor became a problem, because it's impossible to tell when it follows you 24 hours a day.

Talking of Chinese smelling garlic when they eat it, I advised my Chinese girlfriend never to eat garlic when visiting me for a night. I couldn't sleep at night if she ate garlic and slept with me. The smell so so pungent that I used to carry the air freshener and hold it around my nose in order to sleep. Here in Thailand, I am facing the same problem at work with a new colleague lately who has a very pungent body odor. I am very outspoken and I told her. I even went further to tell her that if I was the director of the school then I will send her away because of that odor. She is new in our school. I have bought roll-on, perfume and some medicated soap for her but they can't help. One Thai elderly teacher bought soap, body lotion and shower gel for her too. But still can't help. I am very sure the Thai teacher thought she does take showers. She is from Africa. I am reading the comments to this threat with keen interest to see if I could get a solution to her problem too.

[HooHaa]

I think you mean "men" as opposed to "haawm".

Never came across a Thai girl that smells bad. Maybe she just lacks personal hygiene, which would also be strange for a Thai girl.

Or......I'm no expert on these things but maybe its menstruating smells.

You are most certainly not an expert.

do you know any women?

and hum, in english is another way of saying she smells

[nemrut]

The first time I ever got into a crowded Chinese elevator, the stench of garlic just about gagged me. (It's just as bad wherever garlic is prevalent like it is in China)

After living there a few years, I would often ask my friends if I had become one of the garlic people. We had an unspoken agreement that we'd tell each other if odor became a problem, because it's impossible to tell when it follows you 24 hours a day.

Why do farang-especially from N.America, all seem to have an aversion to the smell of garlic. It's a beloved aroma in most of the world including Italy.

[nemrut]

A lot of people claim to be vegetarian but many lack the will power to maintain it and resort to binging on junk they crave. This could be the problem combined with a heavy diet of dairy products makes most farang smell more than their non-dairy consuming counterparts.

[landslide]

My wife showers twice a day, and generally smells clean and fresh. However, when she cooks a meal that is heavy in garlic, she exudes the heavy smell of garlic until she showers again. Garlic is the only thing she eats that changes her body odor.

[ozyjon]

I once had an excruciating unpleasant time flying from

New Zealand to London via Seoul - Korea, the absolute

stench of garlic, kim chee, you try it, for me never again.

[NancyL]

I'm surprised that after 42 posts no one has suggested that this is a management issue and the boss should talk with her.

Before I retired and was "the boss" everyone in the work group would have come to me with these (well justified) complaints and expected me to resolve the problem.

[Sheryl]

Some offensive and/or unhelpful posts have been removed.

It is not her diet. Assuming it is clearly body odor (as opposed to bad breath, which is often a sign of periodontal disease) then the likely causes would be :

- not using a deoderant, or using an ineffective one

- not bathing often enough

- not washing clothes often enough

(the frequency of both bathing and washing of clothes in the tropics needs to be more than would suffice back in the UK).

- sweating, especially if it is on the way to work - she may be walking part of the way, for example, or standing in a crowded bus. We farang sweat much more than Thais and if one is unable to wash soon after, the sweat on the skin will lead to a proliferation of bacteria that smell bad. Some people are more prone to copious sweating than others, even among farang.

As to what would help: better deoderant, being sure to shower throroughly in the morning before coming to work, perhaps using a good antibacterial body wash like Dettol, being sure to never wear any garment to work more than one day in a row, and perhaps adjusting how she gets to work.eliminating if possible any morning exercise or crowding. This last may be hard but I suspect it is the most important. Even with the best deoderant and morning shower and starting out in clean clothes, if she then walks through the hot humid streets or stands in a jam packed bus for any length of time, she'll still sweat and that will turn to odor unless there is some way she can shower and change clothes on arrival at the office.

The challenge of course is how to have that discussion with her. Needless to say the various "suggestions" given by most other posters are offensive and not to be tried. It is best if another woman talks to her, gently and privately. I would suggest starting by ascertaining her routine - how does she get to work each day in terms of points where she might be getting sweaty (you could also try just noticing what she looks like when she first walks in the door), also whether she showers in the morning or just at night (which would be fine in a cold climate but not so fine here). Etc.

[HLover]

Is she French?

[Farang99]

I think you mean "men" as opposed to "haawm".

Never came across a Thai girl that smells bad. Maybe she just lacks personal hygiene, which would also be strange for a Thai girl.

Or......I'm no expert on these things but maybe its menstruating smells.

The lady in question is from the UK

It's every day not once a month.

Ahh.......from the UK. That explains it.

Many farang (and not just Europeeans) do not appreciate the need for increased personal hygiene in a hot climate - a point my Thai wife has made several times. People who are accustomed to having a bath or changing their clothes once a week simply have to be told they need to shower at least twice a day and change their clothes at least every day.

[Sheryl]

Further inappropriate posts and replies to same have been removed.

[gemguy]

Body odor (or B.O., bromhidrosis, osmidrosis or ozochrotia) is a perceived unpleasant smell our bodies can give off when bacteria that live on the skin break down sweat into acids - some say it is the smell of bacteria growing on the body, but it really is the result of bacteria breaking down protein into certain acids.>>> http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173478.php

Most of the time, with conscious effort about personal hygiene this problem can be solved.

It is strange that on occasions, the person concerned does not realize the their own smell - hence it is best that she is told.

Best of luck!

That and the woman may have a Yeast infection of the Vagina ( an over growth of a type of yeast known as Candidiasis from the bacteria Candida Albicans ) which happens to be a naturally occurring infection ( not sexual but can be sexually transmitted ) and a fairly common condition that women have to tolerate.

In the most severe cases the smell from the Vaginal infection is noticeable

Candida Albican can also develop in a persons mouth and better known as Oral Candidiasis or Thrush, causing bad breath while sugary foods will help sustain the bacterial growth.

That may be the women's problem and the source of the body odor.

I hope the moderator does not delete this as inappropriate as the post is based on medical facts...not hearsay and criticism of the woman in question

Cheers

Edited August 6, 2015 by gemguy

[smotherb]

I think you mean "men" as opposed to "haawm".

Never came across a Thai girl that smells bad. Maybe she just lacks personal hygiene, which would also be strange for a Thai girl.

Or......I'm no expert on these things but maybe its menstruating smells.

The lady in question is from the UK

It's every day not once a month.

Then, why do you think it's diet instead of hygiene?

[smotherb]

I'm surprised that after 42 posts no one has suggested that this is a management issue and the boss should talk with her.

Before I retired and was "the boss" everyone in the work group would have come to me with these (well justified) complaints and expected me to resolve the problem.

I agree, it is a problem for management. Issue a memo saying anyone stinking-up the office won't get paid next time.

[vogie]

How could a vegetarian smell bad ?

Maybe she has just had a Leek?

[Jedsada3]

Hello,

I used to have a worker colleague who wore the same t-shirt one week long. And it was in a paper mill so you can imagine how he used to sweat...

One day I told him to go change his shirt because it was not bearable anymore. He was upset that I told him (with chosen words) that he didn't smell that good.

A few weeks later, he came to me with a box of chocolates from his wife. She didn't dare to tell him that he smelled bad and she was happy I did it. Their life (and mine too) changed a lot.

If someone do something wrong, just tell him/her with nice words that it bothers you. If you don't say it, he/she will never know it bothers you and it will bother you further...

[bannork]

Thanks for all the replies, I think Sheryl may have hit the nail on the head, she walks some distance to work, rather slowly perhaps to minimise the sweat, but that exercise and consequent perspiration could be the key. I gather it's not the diet.

Perhaps she should go on a motorbike instead.

For those who say tell her, it's not easy, none of us are close to her, she's somewhat withdrawn and frankly I fear the consequences if we did. We're a small crew of 5, the boss who is a woman, has no idea about this but she may be the final route to go, however we'd rather sort it out ourselves.

Anyway I'm glad in a way because it's the perfect excuse not to turn on the air- con which I personally dislike!

[goreme]

Thanks for all the replies, I think Sheryl may have hit the nail on the head, she walks some distance to work, rather slowly perhaps to minimise the sweat, but that exercise and consequent perspiration could be the key. I gather it's not the diet.

Perhaps she should go on a motorbike instead.

For those who say tell her, it's not easy, none of us are close to her, she's somewhat withdrawn and frankly I fear the consequences if we did. We're a small crew of 5, the boss who is a woman, has no idea about this but she may be the final route to go, however we'd rather sort it out ourselves.

Anyway I'm glad in a way because it's the perfect excuse not to turn on the air- con which I personally dislike!

To ignore diet is missing the bigger picture and only treating the symptoms not the cause. Sweat releases protein/fats which depending on one's diet can cause them to smell more than others. This combined with the fact that Farangs typically have more body hair, and as a result, tend to sweat more than Thais/Asians, while producing more bacteria causing odor.

[NancyL]

Ah, body hair! Has that been brought up yet? Whomever has "the talk" with her (and I really think it should be the boss, esp. since she's another female -- that's why she's paid the big baht, after all) should be sure to mention the need to keep her armpits free of hair to minimize odor, along with all the other pointers brought up by Sheryl.

I found it very difficult to minimize underarm sweating in this climate and ending up having botox treatments twice annually to the underarm area. The botox stops the sweating -- actually it just "moves" it to other parts of my body like my back and face, but odor isn't a problem there. I did this because it was almost impossible to remove body odor from my clothing, even with long soaking prior to laundering. Fortunately, Chiang Mai has a plethora of botox clinics and competitive prices.

Edited August 6, 2015 by NancyL

[Kitsune]

The answer is YES

Your colleague smells because of her diet.

Not because she's vegetarian,but because she eats loads of junk food.

[mommysboy]

The answer is YES

Your colleague smells because of her diet.

Not because she's vegetarian,but because she eats loads of junk food.

Not so.

Sweat is odourless, however bacteria break it down in to acid compounds that cause the odour. This occurs regardless of what food we eat. Perhaps some things cause more sweating, such as spicy foods.

Of course a bad diet can cause obesity which may can people to sweat more.

[JHolmesJr]

she could have candida

[h90]

The answer is YES

Your colleague smells because of her diet.

Not because she's vegetarian,but because she eats loads of junk food.

Not so.

Sweat is odourless, however bacteria break it down in to acid compounds that cause the odour. This occurs regardless of what food we eat. Perhaps some things cause more sweating, such as spicy foods.

Of course a bad diet can cause obesity which may can people to sweat more.

No some aroma comes with the sweat....

Say you it masses of garlic, you get some kind of smell

Or well known, you drink heavy, you smell alcohol, not only your breath

you stop eating, you get some acetonic smell

So I am sure some odors are transported with sweat and I would rather say as more you sweat as less it smells (in the long run).

[billphillips]

How could a vegetarian smell bad ?

It could be canned baked beans or possibly frozen Brussel sprouts, or any number of other lesser offenders.

[HLover]

She sounds like a real catch.

[mommysboy]

Junk food I take to be cakes, biscuits, crisps, sodas, etc. I can't see that it would cause body odor anymore than a good diet. I don't know about another bad diet such as vegan.

[Sheryl]

I think we've established that she works up a sweat walking to work. Possibly aggravated by not showering in the morning but only at night (which would be fine in many cases, but not having bathed just before sweating will increase the odor because more bacteria on the surface of the skin).

[h90]

I think we've established that she works up a sweat walking to work. Possibly aggravated by not showering in the morning but only at night (which would be fine in many cases, but not having bathed just before sweating will increase the odor because more bacteria on the surface of the skin).

Sheryl, I just ate........how can someone not shower in the morning in Thailand?

[Sheryl]

If they shower the night before and sleep in an aircon room, likewise rise and dress in comfortable a/c and had no sexual activity during the night it is entirely possible to feel clean and fresh in the morning. And to be odor free on feparture from the house.

There will however be more bacteria on the skin than if one had just showered. Then getting very sweaty in a situstion where can't shower aftet -----> more odor than if showered just before working up the sweat (but still some odor).

Mind you I'm just guessing re the shower. Possible she does shower in the morning but the walk to work and resulting sweat are enough to raise odor.

Basic problem is getting all sweaty at the start of the day in a situation where she can't shower or readily change her clothes. (Though bringing a change with her and dressing in the ladies room might be a thought)