This post is going to be about the experiences I've had with some of the methods/products that are known to reduce your odor. I first have to state that I suffer from FBO(fecal body odor). This is a condition that makes you smell like feces through your skin and the odor also becomes stronger when you sweat. There is also a possibility that this odor is coming my bottom area, but I have no clue because I cannot detect the odor that people accuse me to have. This odor has nothing to do with me not wiping myself properly, or me having bowel incontinence. I do not have TMAU, but I do feel like my condition is another disease where the body cannot breakdown certain compounds in food that causes a buildup in your system and it exits out your skin. Nevertheless, here are my reviews to some of the most known remedies.
Scale of Effectiveness
EFFECTIVE
SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE
BARELY EFFECTIVE
INEFFECTIVE
Baking Soda
INEFFECTIVE
Baking soda has not helped me in any way. There are two different methods I've used baking soda for. One of the methods was to take baking soda with water orally. At the time, I thought the reason why I smelled terrible was for the fact that I had low ph levels in my gut. So that meant my digestive system was acidic , this means that there are more harmful bacteria in my digestive tract, I have lower immune system, and I am more susceptible to develop diseases. I've read this type of information that was based on the alkaline diet. In my mind, I thought the way to balance this out is by adding high levels of alkaline foods into my diet. In addition to adding baking soda since it has high alkaline levels. So, I added a teaspoon of baking soda in water and drank it everyday to see if it might balance out my ph levels in my gut. I remember drinking water mixed with baking soda religiously for weeks. But sure enough, I didn't see any results coming from it so I stopped doing it. The second method I used baking soda was for a deodorant alternative. I've heard many things about baking soda killing or neutralizing bacteria. So I decided to try to use it under my arms since the current deodorants I was using wasn't working very well. The baking soda did work effectively in getting rid of my underarm odor. However, that odor was replaced with the smell of sea water. I guess the salty component of the baking soda mixed with the sweat under my arms produced the sea water smell. There were also times where people my under arms smelled like marijuana.So it is not good at removing odor, but better at replacing odor. Then again, I still use baking soda to this day because it natural alternative to deodorants and they remove any musty smell underneath my arms.
Chlorophyll
EFFECTIVE
Chlorophyll definitely had an effect on me for the better. I remember the first time I tried it was in high school. The first time that liquid touched my lips, I gagged in agony. The taste was very terrible to me, and I didn't see any results when I took it. A couple of years later when I felt like my odor was getting worse and I running out of ideas to reduce the odor. I saw a forum post conveying that chlorophyll helped reduce their odor. I barely had money at that time, but I wanted to try it a second time. So I went to a health store and bought chlorophyll again. The first time I took it I didn't really see much results. But when I increased the recommended dosage, the next day I overheard a group of women say "he doesn't smell bad today". So it must be effective. I do have to admit that it is not the cure all for my odor. But it is better than nothing, and when you compare the results from all the other methods and products that supposedly reduce your odor. I think chlorophyll is one of the top products that reduce your smell if your symptoms are similar to mine
Colon Cleansing
INEFFECTIVE
I've tried colon cleansing several times. And from what I can see based on the reactions, it didn't really do anything for me. Now at first I tried a colon cleanser product that contained psyllium husk because it is a usual component for adding bulk to your stools. In addition, it is commonly talked about for colon cleanses. Yet even when I was taking psyllium husk in powder form, whole husk form, and even powder form with orange flavor added to it. It still didn't stop me from smelling bad. Another type of colon cleansing product I took was recommended on curezone as well. The person that recommended it said that he was cured of his odor by taking this product. I had my doubts because I've read too many stories about people testifying that a certain product curing them, and then finding out that it didn't work for me. However, I wanted to try it because this colon cleansing product contained no type of psyllium husk in its ingredients. In addition, a lot of the ingredients had herbs and spices that are considered good for your intestinal tract. I took the product for about 21 days or at least until it ran out. But by going and being around people I know it did not cure me of my odor. Now, is there a possibility that the product reduced the odor? I don't know, I cannot smell myself to discern that assessment. All I know is that I still smell bad to people when I do colon cleansing.
SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE
Grapefruit seed extract
INEFFECTIVE
This product was recommended through curezone like most of the products that I bought. The method in which you were supposed to use the grapefruit seed extract was through nasal cleansing. I remember the poster said that she would sometimes smell things that were not there.For example, she would smell something rotten or a fecal smell. Finally, she realized that it was something in her nose that was causing the smell so she decided to get a nasal spray. She used the nasal spray, but didn't get the results she wanted. So she decided to put in Grapefruit seed extract into her nasal spray. She used the modified nasal spray, and a day later she said that people stopped treating her as if she smelled bad. I believed in this idiotic method, so I decided to purchase the grapefruit seed extract since I thought that there might be a chance that the odor is coming from my nose. So when I bought the extract and nasal spray, I put in a lot of extract into the nasal spray bottle. And sprayed the content up my nose. I can't explain to you how much pain I felt when I squirted that concoction up my nose. It almost felt like I shot a nail gun up my nose. I had a severe pain in my nostrils and a powerful throbbing headache or migraine. I was in so much pain that I had to take tylenol and force my self to go to sleep because when I was awake I felt too much pain. In any case, as I awoke from my sleep I did notice that I breathed a little bit better. So I thought to myself, "hey maybe I don't smell anymore". To make a long story short, no, that method did not help me at all. It just gave me intense pain and no reward.
BARELY EFFECTIVE
Hydrogen Peroxide definitely helped my breath. For some reason I always had a white coated tongue, and whenever I wake up in the morning I tend to have some type of residue in my mouth. So right before I go to bed, I take a cap full of hydrogen peroxide and whisk it in my mouth. The next morning I have less residue in my mouth and the white coating in my tongue is less noticeable. I honestly feel that hydrogen peroxide is a great substitute for regular mouthwash. However, it does not reduce my major issue of body odor. I do not think that my white coated tongue plays a role in why people say I smell like feces. I don't really talk to people so the smell is definitely not from my breath.
BARELY EFFECTIVE
Hygiene is effective if you have never taken baths, brushed your teeth, washed your clothes, and do other hygienic routines most people do. However, if you already do normal hygienic routines similar to that then doing extra acts like taking another bath is not going to be that effective. Trust me, when I first went to a doctor in college about my odor, he suggested to take multiple baths. So I did, I took two baths a day but nothing happened. I went back to the doctor and he suggested that I wash with anti-bacterial soap like Dial. So after that meeting, I went to the nearest store to buy anti-bacterial soap like Dial. And you can easily guess that the soap was ineffective as well. I went back to the doctor a third time, and he suggested that it was all in my head and I'm just being paranoid. Even before I went to the doctor I would put on multiple layers of deodorant around most of my body parts that would sweat. I would also buy the extreme forms of deodorant that would clog your pores so that they would stop sweating. So it is easy for me to say that doing extra hygienic acts is not at all effective for me.
Probiotics
SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE
The first time I took probiotics was in my second year at my college. I've heard stories about how it helped people on forums at curezone. So I believe my mother bought some for me before I went back to the college due to winter break ending(Note: my mother never believes I smell, but she bought some for me because I was complaining about my experiences from college).I took a handful of probiotics the night before I had to take the bus ride back to the university, and the people that I shared the bus ride with were also enrolled in the university. During the ride back to the university, I was sweating profusely and I was very nervous to get up from my seat because I knew that whenever I got up from my seat, I get reactions and I get more reactions when I sweat. However when we finally got back to the university on our 8 hour drive, I did not get any reactions from people when I got up to leave. That was odd to me, what was even more odd was reactions I got when I went back to my dorm. All the people that reside in the dorm floor would talk about me whenever I would walk pass them. But on this particular time when I walked passed a person, I heard him murmur, "Hmm he doesn't smell that bad".Furthermore, throughout those next couple of weeks of probiotics and controlling my diet I started overhearing that I stopped smelling bad to them. Now like I said, I did do other things like eat a diet of mainly fruit, and exercised daily. But, when I only exercised and controlled my diet I would still get responses from people saying that still I smelled. This leaves me to believe that probiotics does play a role in keeping my odor down. I don't know how it does it, I don't know which probiotic bacteria is more effective. And I definitely don't know how many to take in order to stop smelling. However, in a brief couple of weeks people started treating me normally as if I didn't smell. There would be more people that would approach me or sit right next to me. The only reason why I didn't sustain my odor free lifestyle is for the fact that I got lazy with my diet and I ran out of the probiotics. Also I feel that if I continually take a certain strain of probiotic, my body gets used to it so it won't be as effective anymore. But that is only my opinion I don't know that for a fact yet.
Zinc
INEFFECTIVE
I do not think this has helped me in any way. I haven't taken zinc in a very long time. But what I can recall is that it didn't do anything for me. I've read online that if you suffer from body odor there are certain vitamins and minerals that might help you get rid of your odor. Zinc was one of those minerals on the list, but it definitely did not help me.
Scale of Effectiveness
EFFECTIVE
SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE
BARELY EFFECTIVE
INEFFECTIVE
Baking Soda
INEFFECTIVE
Baking soda has not helped me in any way. There are two different methods I've used baking soda for. One of the methods was to take baking soda with water orally. At the time, I thought the reason why I smelled terrible was for the fact that I had low ph levels in my gut. So that meant my digestive system was acidic , this means that there are more harmful bacteria in my digestive tract, I have lower immune system, and I am more susceptible to develop diseases. I've read this type of information that was based on the alkaline diet. In my mind, I thought the way to balance this out is by adding high levels of alkaline foods into my diet. In addition to adding baking soda since it has high alkaline levels. So, I added a teaspoon of baking soda in water and drank it everyday to see if it might balance out my ph levels in my gut. I remember drinking water mixed with baking soda religiously for weeks. But sure enough, I didn't see any results coming from it so I stopped doing it. The second method I used baking soda was for a deodorant alternative. I've heard many things about baking soda killing or neutralizing bacteria. So I decided to try to use it under my arms since the current deodorants I was using wasn't working very well. The baking soda did work effectively in getting rid of my underarm odor. However, that odor was replaced with the smell of sea water. I guess the salty component of the baking soda mixed with the sweat under my arms produced the sea water smell. There were also times where people my under arms smelled like marijuana.So it is not good at removing odor, but better at replacing odor. Then again, I still use baking soda to this day because it natural alternative to deodorants and they remove any musty smell underneath my arms.
survey solution
Diet
EFFECTIVE
There are three moments in my life that I knew I didn't smell bad to people or I didn't have that many reactions. I believe most of my success when reducing or controlling my odor had to do with what I was eating at the moment. There is a chance that there are other times where I have reduced the odor, but since I cannot smell myself I never know unless I'm around people and I observe their reactions. The first time I controlled my diet was when I was still in college. At that time my odor got a lot worse, and even taking multiple showers did not help anymore. I was very afraid of going to the food court because I would have to be around a lot of people and hear them talk about me. This only brought down my self esteem and it made me have strong anxiety, thus exacerbating my odor . So at a certain point in time, whenever I went to the food court, I would only go to breakfast because there usually weren't that many people there. And when I went, I stocked up on fruit( apples, oranges, and bananas), that was available and stuffed it in my bookbag. I decided to only eat fruits and vegetables(mainly fruit), because I believed in the notion that I was smelling because I was eating processed foods that was putrefying inside me and expelling from my body. I was trying to follow the alkaline diet because I thought my body was too acidic which was the cause of my odor problems. At the time when I changed my diet in college it was near the end of the semester. I continued to eat the fruit that I stocked up on from the food court daily. I also did other things like running, and taking vitamin supplements that supposedly helped body odor(vitamin C, magnesium, vitamin B). And eventually I stopped smelling bad to people. The way I found that out was through overhearing somebody who worked at the food court saying that I didn't smell anymore. Whenever I went to the food court in my university, the people that worked would always talk shit about me on any occasion they saw me. So hearing the employee who would constantly berate me, admit that I didn't smell bad verified that I didn't smell anymore. So once I received the great news I started to eat my normal diet since I thought I was cured. Unfortunately, once I started eating my normal diet I started to get back the reactions and comments from smelling bad. Luckily, my semester was over by the time I started to smell bad again. The other few incidences where I stopped smelling bad was the following year at the same college. I practically did the same diet, but at this time I started to take probiotics. And for some reason, the diet along with the probiotics did wonders for me. I still cannot really explain how miraculous it seemed. One day I received so much criticisms of how bad I smelled, and the next day people stopped being an asshole to me. Mind you, the few days before I received the news I was barely eating anything except parsley and cilantro. So I think that played a factor, nonetheless, the probiotics seem to play a bigger factor with my odor. I tried to stay on the fruit/vegetable diet because I knew once I got off of the diet I will start to smell bad again. Unfortunately, temptation occurred and I relapsed back into the my normal diet and odor. I wasn't able to reproduce the same results through out the rest of semester in college. The third time I was able to control my odor was when I was taking classes at a community college. I failed both classes that I got into, but I did manage to control the odor for a little while. I believe the normal foods that I was eating at the moment was mostly oatmeal, apples, and green juice. In any case, even when I do get my diet right for a period of time I usually just relapse back into my diet. I still don't necessarily know if certain foods make me smell worse or not. I once believed that fruit would not cause me to smell. But I noticed that I did get reactions from people the next day when I decided to eat an apple right before I went to bed. This leads me to believe that my body is not digesting food properly. Whenever I eat anything right before I go to bed, I tend to see people react the next day. Now I'm not sure if it is all foods because I have never tried to do it with only green vegetables. So there has to be more experimentation involved for me to give a better diagnosis.Chlorophyll
EFFECTIVE
Chlorophyll definitely had an effect on me for the better. I remember the first time I tried it was in high school. The first time that liquid touched my lips, I gagged in agony. The taste was very terrible to me, and I didn't see any results when I took it. A couple of years later when I felt like my odor was getting worse and I running out of ideas to reduce the odor. I saw a forum post conveying that chlorophyll helped reduce their odor. I barely had money at that time, but I wanted to try it a second time. So I went to a health store and bought chlorophyll again. The first time I took it I didn't really see much results. But when I increased the recommended dosage, the next day I overheard a group of women say "he doesn't smell bad today". So it must be effective. I do have to admit that it is not the cure all for my odor. But it is better than nothing, and when you compare the results from all the other methods and products that supposedly reduce your odor. I think chlorophyll is one of the top products that reduce your smell if your symptoms are similar to mine
Colon Cleansing
INEFFECTIVE
I've tried colon cleansing several times. And from what I can see based on the reactions, it didn't really do anything for me. Now at first I tried a colon cleanser product that contained psyllium husk because it is a usual component for adding bulk to your stools. In addition, it is commonly talked about for colon cleanses. Yet even when I was taking psyllium husk in powder form, whole husk form, and even powder form with orange flavor added to it. It still didn't stop me from smelling bad. Another type of colon cleansing product I took was recommended on curezone as well. The person that recommended it said that he was cured of his odor by taking this product. I had my doubts because I've read too many stories about people testifying that a certain product curing them, and then finding out that it didn't work for me. However, I wanted to try it because this colon cleansing product contained no type of psyllium husk in its ingredients. In addition, a lot of the ingredients had herbs and spices that are considered good for your intestinal tract. I took the product for about 21 days or at least until it ran out. But by going and being around people I know it did not cure me of my odor. Now, is there a possibility that the product reduced the odor? I don't know, I cannot smell myself to discern that assessment. All I know is that I still smell bad to people when I do colon cleansing.
surveys & polls
ExerciseSOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE
In my experience, exercising and taking a bath before I go out is somewhat effective in reducing the odor. More so the exercising part since I have taken a bath without exercising and I could tell that I would receive the same amount of reactions. I believe the reason why my odor is reduced or I get less reactions is due to the fact that I sweat out any toxins or odors that make me smell. I think sweating is the main reason why I start to smell less after exercising. I remember when I used to think I had TMAU and I researched why do TMAU victims smell. I've learned that with TMAU, the trimethylamine compound is not being broken down in food digestion. So it builds up in the body and excretes through the skin, breath, urine, and sweat. I feel that is the same way with my condition, I believe this explains why I get more reactions from people when I start to sweat. In addition, it also explains why I get less reactions when I get a good exercise in and sweat out whatever is causing me to smell. I personally feel that my body doesn't have the ability to breakdown a certain compound in food as well, but it is not trimethylamine. It must be something else
survey software
Grapefruit seed extract
INEFFECTIVE
This product was recommended through curezone like most of the products that I bought. The method in which you were supposed to use the grapefruit seed extract was through nasal cleansing. I remember the poster said that she would sometimes smell things that were not there.For example, she would smell something rotten or a fecal smell. Finally, she realized that it was something in her nose that was causing the smell so she decided to get a nasal spray. She used the nasal spray, but didn't get the results she wanted. So she decided to put in Grapefruit seed extract into her nasal spray. She used the modified nasal spray, and a day later she said that people stopped treating her as if she smelled bad. I believed in this idiotic method, so I decided to purchase the grapefruit seed extract since I thought that there might be a chance that the odor is coming from my nose. So when I bought the extract and nasal spray, I put in a lot of extract into the nasal spray bottle. And sprayed the content up my nose. I can't explain to you how much pain I felt when I squirted that concoction up my nose. It almost felt like I shot a nail gun up my nose. I had a severe pain in my nostrils and a powerful throbbing headache or migraine. I was in so much pain that I had to take tylenol and force my self to go to sleep because when I was awake I felt too much pain. In any case, as I awoke from my sleep I did notice that I breathed a little bit better. So I thought to myself, "hey maybe I don't smell anymore". To make a long story short, no, that method did not help me at all. It just gave me intense pain and no reward.
survey services
Hydrogen PeroxideBARELY EFFECTIVE
Hydrogen Peroxide definitely helped my breath. For some reason I always had a white coated tongue, and whenever I wake up in the morning I tend to have some type of residue in my mouth. So right before I go to bed, I take a cap full of hydrogen peroxide and whisk it in my mouth. The next morning I have less residue in my mouth and the white coating in my tongue is less noticeable. I honestly feel that hydrogen peroxide is a great substitute for regular mouthwash. However, it does not reduce my major issue of body odor. I do not think that my white coated tongue plays a role in why people say I smell like feces. I don't really talk to people so the smell is definitely not from my breath.
polls & surveys
HygieneBARELY EFFECTIVE
Hygiene is effective if you have never taken baths, brushed your teeth, washed your clothes, and do other hygienic routines most people do. However, if you already do normal hygienic routines similar to that then doing extra acts like taking another bath is not going to be that effective. Trust me, when I first went to a doctor in college about my odor, he suggested to take multiple baths. So I did, I took two baths a day but nothing happened. I went back to the doctor and he suggested that I wash with anti-bacterial soap like Dial. So after that meeting, I went to the nearest store to buy anti-bacterial soap like Dial. And you can easily guess that the soap was ineffective as well. I went back to the doctor a third time, and he suggested that it was all in my head and I'm just being paranoid. Even before I went to the doctor I would put on multiple layers of deodorant around most of my body parts that would sweat. I would also buy the extreme forms of deodorant that would clog your pores so that they would stop sweating. So it is easy for me to say that doing extra hygienic acts is not at all effective for me.
web surveys
Probiotics
SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE
The first time I took probiotics was in my second year at my college. I've heard stories about how it helped people on forums at curezone. So I believe my mother bought some for me before I went back to the college due to winter break ending(Note: my mother never believes I smell, but she bought some for me because I was complaining about my experiences from college).I took a handful of probiotics the night before I had to take the bus ride back to the university, and the people that I shared the bus ride with were also enrolled in the university. During the ride back to the university, I was sweating profusely and I was very nervous to get up from my seat because I knew that whenever I got up from my seat, I get reactions and I get more reactions when I sweat. However when we finally got back to the university on our 8 hour drive, I did not get any reactions from people when I got up to leave. That was odd to me, what was even more odd was reactions I got when I went back to my dorm. All the people that reside in the dorm floor would talk about me whenever I would walk pass them. But on this particular time when I walked passed a person, I heard him murmur, "Hmm he doesn't smell that bad".Furthermore, throughout those next couple of weeks of probiotics and controlling my diet I started overhearing that I stopped smelling bad to them. Now like I said, I did do other things like eat a diet of mainly fruit, and exercised daily. But, when I only exercised and controlled my diet I would still get responses from people saying that still I smelled. This leaves me to believe that probiotics does play a role in keeping my odor down. I don't know how it does it, I don't know which probiotic bacteria is more effective. And I definitely don't know how many to take in order to stop smelling. However, in a brief couple of weeks people started treating me normally as if I didn't smell. There would be more people that would approach me or sit right next to me. The only reason why I didn't sustain my odor free lifestyle is for the fact that I got lazy with my diet and I ran out of the probiotics. Also I feel that if I continually take a certain strain of probiotic, my body gets used to it so it won't be as effective anymore. But that is only my opinion I don't know that for a fact yet.
Zinc
INEFFECTIVE
I do not think this has helped me in any way. I haven't taken zinc in a very long time. But what I can recall is that it didn't do anything for me. I've read online that if you suffer from body odor there are certain vitamins and minerals that might help you get rid of your odor. Zinc was one of those minerals on the list, but it definitely did not help me.
