Individuals suffering from Bromhidrosis produce an overpowering and unpleasant odour and no matter how much deodorant, antiperspirant or perfume is used, the odour remains most of the time, despite almost constant washing. The syndrome effects every aspect of the sufferer's life; school, work, friendships, romance, sporting activities, even shopping. Treatment is now available to restore normal living to people suffering this distressing condition, but to understand fully the benefits, the following information will help explain how the various treatments work.
Sudoriferous (sweat) glands are the glands that produce our sweat. There are two kinds eccrine, and apocrine. The eccrine glands, found all over the body in almost countless numbers, are totally unrelated to hair and other glandular appendages. They exist alone, and produce a simple, watery solution in seemingly unlimited quantities. Pure eccrine sweat is normally odourless and will remain so indefinitely unless it is contaminated with other secretions, epidermal scales, or skin debris. (The glands may also excrete odoriferous material following the ingestion of onions, garlic, or certain drugs.) The comparably large apocrine glands are found in limited areas, most notably the underarms and ano-genital skin, where they secrete (in remarkably small quantities) their sweat into the hair follicle. These glands are of interest essentially because of the discomfort or unpleasantness their secretory product can cause. They have no known physiologic importance as we live today (their role of "scent glands" being lost long ago in our evolutionary past).
There are several distinctive dermatological disorders involving these glands. Control of the pervasive odour of apocrine sweat is regarded by most of modern society as a daily necessity. North Americans alone spend over 400 million dollars annually on the purchase of axillary deodorants and antiperspirants. The ability to produce an unpleasant odour is without doubt the best-known property of human apocrine sweat and is by far the most odoriferous cutaneous secretion. In the normal, healthy, post-pubertal individual, the under arm apocrine glands are the major source of body odour. Apocrine Bromhidrosis.
Strictly defined, bromhidrosis (or osmidrosis, as it is sometimes called), is a condition in which an excessive odour, usually offensive, emanates from the skin. Apocrine bromhidrosis is, of course, more specific. It results from the bacterial break down of apocrine sweat, essentially all within the axilla (arm-pit area). Apocrine bromhidrosis occurs in all races, but there are some variations in racial incidence. The apocrine glands from individuals of African ancestry are the largest and most active. Asian's have the smallest and least active glands. Beyond that, variations in the occurrence of bromhidrosis are unexplained, there are individual differences in the composition of apocrine sweat but no studies have yet been made to determine causal factors. The hygienic routine (or lack of) probably explains why there is a greater frequency of the problem in males, who are usually (though not always), less fastidious than females.
Apocrine bromhidrosis never occurs before puberty, because the particular glands involved are not active in the pre-pubescent individual. It is also less likely in the elderly. Apocrine sweat is sterile and odourless when it first appears on the skin surface. However, within an hour bacteria degrades the sweat to the point where the classic acrid odour is detectable. Fatty acids and ammonia are the major odoriferous products of this bacterial decomposition. Thus, a variety of odours - musty, rancid, faecal, sour and sweet' may be detected: reflecting, of course differences in chemical makeup of each individual's axillary sweat. Hair and clothing also provide additional lodgings for the retention of the odorous sweat and this contributes greatly to the odour-producing problem.
The axilla is really the only area from which the distinctive apocrine odour is produced. Even though the bacterial environment is present in other apocrine areas, they seem to produce very slight amounts of apocrine sweat, which is why these areas donąt cause the same problem. In fact, most of the apocrine glands in areas other than the axilla are functionless.
Apocrine sweat is the only natural product of the body which, when decomposed with bacteria, gives rise to the classic apocrine odour. Nothing in the world can be substituted for apocrine sweat and result in the same odour: not sebum, hair, eccrine sweat, keratin scales, or any combination of these. In fact, this odour can be so pervasive and prominent, that despite its origination from the axilla only, it has been given the common designation of "body odour".
The diagnosis of apocrine bromhidrosis, can be easily made if the examiner has normal nasal function. There is, however, one very important distinction that must be made between the true bromhidrosis patient and the bromhidrosiphobic individual: the latter being people who have a morbid dread of bodily odours and unreal images about what they smell, or in this case, what they think they smell. This sensory delusion can be an early warning sign of schizophrenia. Olfactory hallucinations may also be a sign of neurological disease.
By and large, people with apocrine bromhidrosis are not careless in their personal hygiene. They regularly cleanse their axilla (sometimes several times a day), usually with a germicidal soap. This accomplishes two things: the removal of the apocrine sweat, and temporary inhibition of the axillary bacteria.
Shaving the axillary hair (men and women) is an absolute necessity for all patients with apocrine bromhidrosis, in order to prevent the accumulation of sweat and bacteria on the hair shafts. As well as shaving, patients should carry alcohol pads (pre-injection swabs obtained from pharmacies) for regular clean-ups between-showers.
Regular use of an axillary deodorant, several times daily, will help to suppress axillary bacteria. Contrary to what we might expect, the metallic aluminum, zirconium, or zinc salts in most over the counter anti-perspirants have no antiperspirant action on the apocrine glands, but they do work well on eccrine glands, and the antibacterial agents in the deodorants are effective on both glands.
Another obvious means of suppressing axillary odour involves the use of perfumes to cover up or mask the offensive odour. But it must be remembered that perfumes carry the risk of allergic sensitization. Most axillary deodorants contain perfumes, too, and for those patients who find this a problem, there are now a few perfume-free preparations on the market.
Topical antibiotics such as neomycin or gentamicin creams are effective axillary deodorants, but they also carry the risk of allergic contact sensitization, especially with neomycin. Topical antioxidants, especially vitamin E cream, may offer some help and Farnesol / Tea Tree Oil products (see Internet) have also proved useful without causing the skin sensitisation of other non-organic products.
In short the main factors to consider in successfully treating Bromhidrosis are to keep the number of naturally occurring skin bacteria as low as possible, remove as much of the skin "food" that these bacteria thrive on (cleanse several times daily with alcohol swabs and showers twice daily with germicidal soap) and also foster an environment under the arms unfavourable to bacterial growth, that means dry skin. Those individuals also suffering from Hyperhidrosis must first seriously address this problem before attempting to solve their bromhidrosis.
As suggested above, antibiotic creams, antioxidant creams (Vitamin E), Farnesol / Tea Tree Oil products, germicidal soaps and lotions and alcoholic swabs can all be used to good effect. Shaving under arms is important and the use of an effective antiperspirant against hyperhidrosis to keep the skin dry is vital.
The big break through in treating Bromhidrosis in recent years has been the use of Electrolysis, your doctor can recommend a practitioner. This process not only removes all the unwanted axillary hair but also stops the unwanted secretions from the aprocrine glands. Treatment by a trained electrologist takes several weeks or more but really is life changing.
Advanced-Antiperspirant.com
http://www.advanced-antiperspirant.com/
Stop-Excessive-Sweating.com
http://www.stop-excessive-sweating.com/