Body odor can be caused by many factors and varies from person to person; for example, women's odor differs from men's due to hormones. The website 'apotheker.de,' the official portal for German pharmacists, mentions that a pungent and unusual body odor may indicate a health problem; for instance, a particularly strong body odor can result from excessive sweating, which is possible in cases of infection accompanied by fever. It may also indicate hyperthyroidism; due to increased hormone production, patients sweat more, which in turn provides more nutrients for bacteria and increases the unpleasant body odor. If the body odor is foul and smells like fish, it could be due to a condition known as (TMAU), which stands for 'trimethylaminuria,' a rare hereditary metabolic disorder. In this case, the liver is unable to break down (trimethylamine), a substance with a strong fishy odor that accumulates in the body, causing the bad smell. Changing the diet by reducing the intake of foods rich in choline, such as fatty fish, legumes, eggs, and liver, can help prevent the buildup of excess 'trimethylamine.' If the mouth odor is abnormal despite good oral hygiene and dental care, it may indicate several illnesses, and bacteria often play a role in this, with their breakdown products being responsible for the bad odor, as is the case with gingivitis or tonsillitis. Inflammation of the stomach lining can also cause bad breath. This is due to a lack of insulin in diabetic patients; instead of sugar, the body uses fats as an energy source, which produces ketones, including acetone. Other possible causes include chronic sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, or pneumonia. If the mouth odor is sweet, it is likely a sign of ketones in the blood, which accumulate when blood sugar levels are too high and are then partially expelled with the breath.
