What do diseases smell like: what body odors indicate that you need to see a doctor urgently

When faced with such a phenomenon as a sour odor from their own mouth for the first time, people, as a rule, begin to worry first of all about the aesthetic impression that this defect makes on others.

Very few people think about the reasons for such trouble. But they can be very serious! Sour breath, the causes of which can be different, should be a reason to pay attention to the condition of your body.

Causes of bad breath

Sour breath is a symptom of gastrointestinal disease.

Often, sour breath is an alarming symptom of one of the most dangerous diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. With equal probability, the root cause of such a phenomenon may be:

• stomach or duodenal ulcer;
• gastritis;
• gastroesophageal reflux;
• chalazia cardia;
• other equally serious diseases and digestive disorders.

How can you find out what exactly caused the sour breath in your particular case? And, most importantly, how to get rid of this unpleasant phenomenon? Our article will help answer these questions.

First of all, we list the most common gastrointestinal diseases that can cause bad breath. So, “sour” breath is usually a sign of one of the following digestive disorders.

Why does my vagina smell like onion?

When a woman notices that her private parts smell like onions, anxiety arises. This is a specific aroma that is uncharacteristic for healthy representatives of the fair sex. If there is an unpleasant onion smell coming from the vagina, the doctor will suspect active fungal growth. These microorganisms are present in the sexual microflora in limited quantities. But changes in a woman’s hormonal background contribute to the proliferation of fungal flora.

Hormonal changes are observed in the following conditions:

• pregnancy period;
• the appearance of the first menstruation;
• the onset of menopause;
• abortion;
• pathologies of the endocrine glands;
• uncontrolled use of hormonal drugs.

Exposure to stress also affects intimate microflora.

During such periods, a bad onion odor may appear from the genitals. The aroma intensifies after intimate contact. Such symptoms are a reason for an urgent consultation with a gynecologist. A specialist will help you quickly restore the vaginal biocenosis.

Gastritis

Gastritis is increased acidity in the stomach.

The cause of a specific odor from the mouth may be increased acidity in the stomach, characteristic of gastritis.

Often this condition is accompanied by heartburn and other symptoms typical of digestive disorders. As for the sour smell itself, with gastritis it is not constantly felt from the mouth.

As a rule, a specific “smell” appears simultaneously with food belching and persists until the next session of eating or brushing your teeth.

Why does my vagina smell sour?

Sometimes patients complain of vaginal discharge with the smell of sour milk. The genital tract is inhabited by lactobacilli, which create an acidic pH environment in the vagina. Therefore, a sour odor may appear in the intimate area as a result of the activity of lactobacilli.

Normally, the sour aroma goes away on its own 2-3 days after it appears. To remove the odor, hygiene procedures with intimate gel are used. If the sour aroma remains, you need to seek help from a gynecologist.

It is very important to pay attention to the presence of other alarming symptoms:

• burning;
• itching in the perineum;
• swelling of the labia;
• unusual discharge from the genitals;
• redness of the external genitalia.

Often the cause of a sour aroma is candidiasis, which develops as a result of the proliferation of Candida fungi. With this disease, the patient experiences a cheesy discharge.

Gastroesophageal reflux

Gastroesophageal reflux is a condition in which, due to disturbances in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, gastric juice refluxes into the esophagus. The hydrochloric acid contained in this secretion emits a specific odor that is felt when breathing.

A particularly clearly unpleasant “smell” from the patient’s mouth is felt immediately after he wakes up. After all, during sleep a person is in a horizontal position, which means that digestive juice can flow into the esophagus absolutely unhindered.

Other characteristic symptoms of reflux are specific stomach pain, nausea and frequent belching. It is also worth noting that the described disease rarely occurs on its own. It usually accompanies gastritis and develops against the background of its exacerbations.

Chalazia cardia

Gastroesophageal reflux is the reflux of gastric juice into the esophagus.

The cardia is the gastric muscular valve that connects this organ to the esophagus.

Its dysfunction (chalasia) leads to the fact that digestive juices enter cavities not intended for them. Usually this is the esophagus.

As a result, a condition with symptoms reminiscent of gastroesophageal reflux occurs.

Unlike the mentioned disease, chalazia cardia develops as an independent disease. This disorder has nothing to do with gastritis.

Stomach and duodenal ulcers

Typically, ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract are asymptomatic. It is very difficult to diagnose such diseases in a timely manner (that is, before the onset of severe consequences). However, during periods of exacerbation, ulcers can manifest themselves not only with characteristic pain, but also with other symptoms. One of them is a sour smell from the mouth.

What causes this phenomenon? Many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract entail disturbances in the intestinal microflora. It is the death of the beneficial microorganisms living there that provokes an unpleasant, sharp, sour odor from the mouth, which can be felt even when breathing.

Why does my vagina smell bad like garlic?

An unpleasant odor in itself is not considered a disease, but signals changes in a woman’s body. Changes in intimate odor are associated not only with gynecological diseases. Often, vaginal discharge changes when you change your usual diet.

For example, eating garlic in large quantities can cause the smell of this product to appear in the perineum. Substances contained in garlic are excreted from the body through secretory glands (sweat, salivary, etc.). The genitals also contain glands that secrete fluid and mucus. Therefore, a similar unpleasant aroma may emanate from the vagina after eating strong-smelling foods.

Careful frequent hygiene of the intimate area, as well as limiting the consumption of garlic, will help solve the problem.

Dental diseases

Gingivitis can cause bad breath.

Most often, the source of sour odor is problems directly in the oral cavity.

Dental diseases such as caries, gingivitis and periodontitis will almost certainly lead to the occurrence of this unpleasant phenomenon. Why does such a specific smell arise when problems with teeth and gums occur?

The fact is that inflammatory processes in the soft tissues around the teeth lead to the active proliferation of bacteria in the oral cavity. During their life, harmful microorganisms release many substances, most of which do not have the most pleasant odor.

Due to the specific location of the source of inflammation, a person suffering from problems with teeth and gums, as a rule, feels not only a sour smell from the mouth, but also a specific taste on the tongue.

The smell of disease

There are two types of sweat glands:

When a person gets sick or is already sick, both glands begin to work actively. Eccrine cells fight to normalize temperature, while apocrine cells signal internal problems.

People and doctors have learned to separate unpleasant body odors into “aromas” of different substances. Each smell indicates a particular pathology and allows the doctor to quickly establish a diagnosis.

Unnatural body odor = illness:

• The smell of acetone from a person. The first signal of insufficient insulin production. If insulin is not raised to normal in a timely manner, it is possible to develop diabetes. Moreover, low insulin is accompanied by back pain, swelling throughout the body, and painful urination.
• The smell of mold from a person. It is necessary to check the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. A moldy spirit warns of the appearance of stomach ulcers.
• The smell of rotten apples. We don’t want to scare anyone, but this scent is considered the most dangerous. There is a possibility that a hypoglycemic coma is beginning to develop and hospitalization is urgently needed.
• The body smells sour. The symptom indicates a deficiency of B vitamins, or an infectious disease.
• Sweet body odor, which may be due to the development of diphtheria. It affects the oropharynx, so contact an ENT specialist immediately.
• The person smells like fish. This symptom often occurs in women; it is probably vaginosis. When the disease occurs, the microflora is disrupted and a specific odor appears from the genitals, and with it irritation and discomfort.
• The man smells like rotten meat. The most difficult and alarming fact: the smell of rotten meat appears in cancer patients.

Each person’s body smells or does not smell differently, the main thing is to promptly pay attention to deviations in the usual sensation and to any changes inside or outside oneself.

Diaphragmatic hernia

The diaphragm, separating the chest and abdominal cavities, is equipped with a special opening. The esophagus passes through it. However, with a hernia of the diaphragm, the described hole becomes too wide. Because of this, the esophagus, normally partially located in the abdominal cavity, moves higher.

What are the consequences of such a violation? Due to the uncharacteristic bends of the esophagus, as well as its specific location, the likelihood of gastric juice entering this organ increases significantly. Well, we have already mentioned what this leads to when talking about gastroesophageal reflux and chalasia cardia.

“Even people smell bad.” How to live with parosmia after Covid

Tatyana lives in the Moscow region. When she was expecting her third child, five months pregnant, she fell ill with coronavirus. She lost her sense of smell. “At first this made me happy, because I was too sensitive to smells, for example, I couldn’t travel on public transport,” recalls Tatyana. “But, of course, it was hard in everyday life: I almost fed the children rotten soup.” A month after giving birth, the situation changed, the smells began to return to me. But they were not the same as before: everything smelled of something chemical, rotten meat and some odors that did not even exist in nature. I remember the moment where it all started. At night I smelled a strong smell of rubber. At first I thought that he appeared because of a children's cheesecake, which they use to ride down the slide; it was standing in our hallway. We took the cheesecake out onto the balcony, but the smell did not disappear. And no one felt it except me. Then an unpleasant, sickly-sweet smell began to emanate from my hair. I put them in a bun, but it didn't help. Then I began to smell the same smell from the products. As a result, I stopped cooking and eating normally for a while. She saved herself by delivering ready-made food for her family, and for a month and a half she ate oatmeal and honey cake, took vitamins to smooth out the imbalance of nutrients, but her skin still broke out in acne. In the end, I began to smell an unpleasant odor even from people, and tried not to let anyone into my room. When I got hysterical because of this, I started googling what it even was. My husband believed that parosmia exists only when I sent him an article about it.”

Tatyana went to the doctor, but he did not solve the problem. However, she is now making progress for the better. “The doctors didn’t really help me: someone didn’t understand my problem, one doctor recommended a drug to improve cerebral circulation, but it didn’t help me. Now I’m seeing slight progress for the better - I’ve started eating potatoes,” shares Tatyana.

Collage: Anna Sbitneva

“Among the smell disorders with Covid-19 in clinical practice, we most often encounter anosmia (complete absence of smell) and hyposmia (its significant decrease), explains Alexey Yakovlev, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Director of the Association for the Development of Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy and Habilitation. — Parosmia — distortion of odors — is somewhat less common with Covid-19. Like other smell disorders, parosmia develops due to the ability of a virus to penetrate nerve cells and cause so-called “neuroinflammation” - this is called neurotropism of the virus. As a rule, smell disturbances with Covid-19 are short-lived and do not require the use of any specific additional therapy. On average, smell disturbances develop on days 3–5 of the disease and persist during the first 8–14 days of the disease. Most patients note complete restoration of olfactory function by the time the virus is eliminated from the body. However, if olfactory dysfunction persists after the patient receives the first negative PCR smears, this is always a reason to contact specialists - a neurologist and an otorhinolaryngologist.” Yakovlev says that disturbances in the sense of smell are not always related to how seriously ill a person was. However, “it is known that vaccinated patients, in case of illness, suffer from Covid-19 in a milder form, i.e., any manifestations of the disease are less pronounced, the same applies to dysfunction of the olfactory analyzer.”

Alexey Yakovlev. Collage: Anna Sbitneva

“The duration of the violation depends on the severity of the damage. Within 6 months, 95% of patients regain their sense of smell. The taste usually returns to normal much sooner. Doctors have encountered post-viral anosmia before (with rhinovirus, adenovirus infections, parainfluenza), but much less frequently, says otolaryngologist, Ph.D. Anastasia Varvyanskaya. - There is no method that would instantly cure. You should consult a doctor if your sense of smell persists for a month or if you are bothered by a runny nose, nasal congestion, or pain. The doctor conducts an endoscopic examination of the nasal cavity, assesses olfactory and gustatory function. Depending on the situation, he may prescribe additional examination and treatment.”

Anastasia Varvyanskaya. Collage: Anna Sbitneva

“To date, there are no approved treatment regimens for persistent impairment of smell in patients who are convalescents of the new coronavirus infection Covid-19; treatment is always symptomatic and strictly personalized. But smell disorders can be a consequence of other diseases and pathologies, some of which are very serious. Among the neurological diseases in which a violation of the sense of smell may be one of the first symptoms, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and brain tumors should be highlighted. All these pathologies require quite serious professional diagnostics,” Yakovlev points out.

“I got sick in July - I was very weak, I couldn’t get up, I was practically crawling around the apartment, and I had a severe headache,” says Anna, another person who recovered from coronavirus. — When everything passed, there were signs of disturbances in the sense of smell and taste when I ate eggs, but then the smell was even more or less normal. And just three weeks ago, active manifestations began: the smells of meat, onions and eggs changed. From these products I smell a pungent smell of rotten meat, which is generally intolerable. While I have not tried treatment, I hope that it will somehow go away on its own. At first I endured it, ate these foods through force, I just couldn’t believe that I would never be able to feel their previous taste and that it would now be so unpleasant. Then I realized that this couldn’t continue like this and I just had to eliminate these foods from my diet. Although these foods are my favorites, I used to simply not do without them, I ate them every day. Now you have to change your menu. I haven’t felt any better yet, but that’s because the problem with me is recent. I wasn’t particularly afraid of the manifestations of parosmia - it’s unpleasant, of course, that there is such a side effect. I had already heard about this problem, but I didn’t think that I would have it. I tried to “mask” the smell with spices, but I can still smell it all. The smell of the oatmeal has also changed, but for the better - for some reason it has a sweet smell, like it smells like caramel. I used to not like the smell of oatmeal, but now I like it.”

Anna. Collage: Anna Sbitneva

“Food does not become harmful because the brain does not perceive the smell correctly. The main thing is that it is not rotten,” explains the gastroenterologist, Ph.D. Roman Karas. — There is also usually no gastroenterological reason for such symptoms. Because smells are the brain and the nose. But with prolonged parosmia, you limit yourself in the intake of important nutrients, which, of course, will affect your health. Try eating food that smells like rotten fish or feces. Will it work? No. All that remains is to choose products that smell tolerable and avoid parosmia provocateurs. Pleasant taste and smell improve mood, improve appetite and bring joy. With parosmia, the opposite is true: sadness, melancholy, sadness and even weight loss. If you perceive odors incorrectly, you can miss a fire, harmful fumes/gases, a spoiled product, and even lose your job if you are a cook, perfumer, or firefighter. Hygiene difficulties arise."

Roman Karas. Collage: Anna Sbitneva

“Self-medication, which is based on recommendations from the Internet, is a very risky way to restore the sense of smell,” Yakovlev points out. “There are opinions from practicing specialists that neuroprotective therapy and vitamin therapy can speed up the process of restoring the sense of smell, but treatment should always be individual and a treatment plan should be drawn up only with face-to-face interaction between the patient and the doctor.”

Success in treating parosmia also depends on the psychological state of the person. Anxiety, sleep disorders, depression and hypochondriacal disorders can aggravate the symptoms. “The work of the olfactory analyzer is closely related to the work of the centers of the autonomic nervous system, so any psycho-emotional dysfunction that the patient has can contribute to a more pronounced disruption of the olfactory tract, including as part of the development of a syndrome complex of post-Covid disorders (the so-called Long Covid),” says Yakovlev .

“An important role for patients with olfactory impairment is the understanding and support of loved ones, the opportunity to discuss their problem with someone who is in a similar situation, and access to competent sources of information on this problem,” says Varvyanskaya. She also points out that each case of parosmia is individual, and to make a diagnosis you need to consult a doctor: “You need to start with an ENT specialist. The sense of smell can be impaired for various reasons: nasal/sinus disease, acute respiratory viral infections, trauma, neurodegenerative disorders.”

Collage: Anna Sbitneva

Denis, who had coronavirus, had to fight parosmia for about seven months. He was ill in December, and the disturbance in his sense of smell appeared in March. “I noticed the problem by chance when I was eating meat,” says Denis. “I thought it was just spoiled.” But the completely different meat smelled exactly the same the next day. And I realized that there was some problem with me, and not with food. My first thought was that there was something wrong with my nerves or something wrong with my head. I started searching on the Internet to see what it could be, and came across a group on the social network VKontakte where they discussed that distortions in smells appear after the coronavirus. And so everything fell into place in my head, I realized that all this was because of “corona.” There was no misunderstanding on the part of loved ones. At first they looked at me as if I was a little crazy, but when I explained the situation, everyone took it as normal. No one ever said that I imagined or invented something for myself. The biggest problem for me was the unpredictability of grocery shopping: I didn't know what I could eat and what I couldn't. At first it seemed that everything was simple: I can’t eat dairy, meat, onions, so these foods need to be excluded, everything else should be eaten. But sometimes some foods began to smell unpleasant, from which I did not expect this at all, for example, some vegetable. And it turns out that you simply throw away half of the food at home because you can’t eat it. All purchases were a lottery.” Denis did not go to the clinic because he was not sure that his attending physician could help in this matter.

“This problem itself lasted about seven months, the worst were the first two, when everything really stinks, from milk to soy meat, everything that contains protein, lactose,” recalls Denis. “Then the range of products expanded. Somewhere in the middle of summer I started drinking milk, it no longer had a strong smell. And gradually, over two months, the [unpleasant] smell disappeared completely. It’s the same story with meat: at first I only ate fish and sausage, and then I started eating pork, although chicken and beef still smelled bad. I started eating chicken normally in September. The recovery was not abrupt - it took me about four months. If there was no information about parosmia (and when I started, there was little information), then it would be absolutely terrible to walk around and think that there is something wrong with your head. And just not knowing what to do, whether the distortion of smells will ever go away, it would be very psychologically difficult. And when I found information, read the stories of people who had experienced this, it was somehow easier to accept.”

Illustrations: Anna Sbitneva