Natural therapy for body odour
Here is a strange but true story. A 10-year-old boy was taken to a clinic because he had a terrible body odour. The doctors told the boy to practice good hygiene, but the odour persisted.
By Jjuuko Ndawula
Here is a strange but true story. A 10-year-old boy was taken to a clinic because he had a terrible body odour. The doctors told the boy to practice good hygiene, but the odour persisted. It was so severe that one day, visitors were overwhelmed and asked whether there was dead fish in the house. The boy’s peers ridiculed him. He became depressed and his grades dropped. He got into fights and was thrown out of school.
Like this boy, many people suffer from unbearable body odours. Body odour can wreck havoc across all ages and sex. Even a breastfeeding baby can develop a bad body odour.
Some people with ordinary body odour become lazy to do something about it. Yet ordinary body odour can become unbearable if not attended to early enough.
Bad odour remains offensive until you address the cause, no matter how many times you scrub yourself or how many deodourants you use. In fact masking the body odour with perfumes and powders makes it even worse.
causes
l Some people are sensitive to certain foods. Their enzymes act on such foods to produce bad odour. For example some people get bad odour when they eat foods that are high in chlorine such as eggs, fish, liver and legumes.
l One may develop bad body odour from taking a drug. For example women who use benzoyl peroxide for treating acne usually develop a bad smell.
l Some people don’t know how to take a bath — they don’t scrub their body. They simply run water on their skin. Dirt and dead skin remain on their bodies, causing a bad smell.
l Body masks like perfumes, oils and powders block the skin pores. When someone sweats, the result is bad smell.
Remedies
The first step in defeating bad odour is diet. Choose what you eat cautiously. Identify and eliminate foods that you react to. If you avoid such foods, the odour goes in a matter of days. For the breastfeeding baby who is sensitive to some foods, the mother should crosscheck her diet and avoid such foods.
In case you have an opportunity to choose amongst drugs, choose those that may not cause bad odour.
Request your partner or friend to give you a good scrub. The idea here is to clean your body thoroughly. and rinse with natural water.
Watch the body masks, powders, creams that you use. You may need to leave the body natural. A natural body smells good.
In case the above options fail, then look out to nature. God knew that some people would have problems with bad body odour and he made a unique plant to treat this disorder. This plant is common and widely distributed in Uganda. It is called Momordica foetida. Some of the vernacular names are: Ebombo (Luganda), eyibombo (Lusoga), akweda (Dhopadhola), bomo (Langi). Momordica foetida is a perennial climbing herb with woody rootstock. The stems trail or climb up to 4-5m. It is commonly found on forest edges and clearings.
Methods
To treat body odour, get a handful of the leaves. Scrub your body thoroughly with these leaves. Rinse with water. Smell your body and see how good it is. Continue for 3-4 weeks.
Armpit odour: Try a splash or two of white vinegar. Get a few leaves of Momordica foetida and scrub it under the arms. This will keep the underarms smelling fresh.
As a bonus, Momordica foetida can make your breath smells better as well.
The writer is a medical doctor
Here is a strange but true story. A 10-year-old boy was taken to a clinic because he had a terrible body odour. The doctors told the boy to practice good hygiene, but the odour persisted. It was so severe that one day, visitors were overwhelmed and asked whether there was dead fish in the house. The boy’s peers ridiculed him. He became depressed and his grades dropped. He got into fights and was thrown out of school.
Like this boy, many people suffer from unbearable body odours. Body odour can wreck havoc across all ages and sex. Even a breastfeeding baby can develop a bad body odour.
Some people with ordinary body odour become lazy to do something about it. Yet ordinary body odour can become unbearable if not attended to early enough.
Bad odour remains offensive until you address the cause, no matter how many times you scrub yourself or how many deodourants you use. In fact masking the body odour with perfumes and powders makes it even worse.
causes
l Some people are sensitive to certain foods. Their enzymes act on such foods to produce bad odour. For example some people get bad odour when they eat foods that are high in chlorine such as eggs, fish, liver and legumes.
l One may develop bad body odour from taking a drug. For example women who use benzoyl peroxide for treating acne usually develop a bad smell.
l Some people don’t know how to take a bath — they don’t scrub their body. They simply run water on their skin. Dirt and dead skin remain on their bodies, causing a bad smell.
l Body masks like perfumes, oils and powders block the skin pores. When someone sweats, the result is bad smell.
Remedies
The first step in defeating bad odour is diet. Choose what you eat cautiously. Identify and eliminate foods that you react to. If you avoid such foods, the odour goes in a matter of days. For the breastfeeding baby who is sensitive to some foods, the mother should crosscheck her diet and avoid such foods.
In case you have an opportunity to choose amongst drugs, choose those that may not cause bad odour.
Request your partner or friend to give you a good scrub. The idea here is to clean your body thoroughly. and rinse with natural water.
Watch the body masks, powders, creams that you use. You may need to leave the body natural. A natural body smells good.
In case the above options fail, then look out to nature. God knew that some people would have problems with bad body odour and he made a unique plant to treat this disorder. This plant is common and widely distributed in Uganda. It is called Momordica foetida. Some of the vernacular names are: Ebombo (Luganda), eyibombo (Lusoga), akweda (Dhopadhola), bomo (Langi). Momordica foetida is a perennial climbing herb with woody rootstock. The stems trail or climb up to 4-5m. It is commonly found on forest edges and clearings.
Methods
To treat body odour, get a handful of the leaves. Scrub your body thoroughly with these leaves. Rinse with water. Smell your body and see how good it is. Continue for 3-4 weeks.
Armpit odour: Try a splash or two of white vinegar. Get a few leaves of Momordica foetida and scrub it under the arms. This will keep the underarms smelling fresh.
As a bonus, Momordica foetida can make your breath smells better as well.
The writer is a medical doctor