Thread: underarm odor

I'm in my thirties and in the last year or so I've noticed a new problem. When I shower , which is daily and sometimes twice daily, I use a wash cloth. I hang the wash cloth in the shower to dry and it smells terrible. When I go back in the bathroom later the smell of body odor is very noticeable.

I've always thought that I have a stronger smell than some people but not offensive. Sometimes I even notice a smell from the underarms of my shirts when I iron them.

I perspire more when I get nervous and sometimes that leads me to do a quick freshen up of just my underarms with a soapy washcloth and then reapply deodorant. The first time I noticed this problem was after one of these freshen up times and I hung the wash cloth over the tub faucet. My husband later asked me about an odor in the bathroom and I figured out that it was the wash cloth after investigating. This occurred more times and I even changed deodorants more than once. I stopped doing the freshen up routine and just stick to my daily showers now but the odor is quite noticeable. My husband notices it and it's imbarrassing so I try to remove my washcloth as soon as possible or use one of those puff things. He swears that I don't have an odor to my body unless I've been sweating a lot from exercise or yard work. Normal right. He says the odor is just in the bathroom after I've showered. I can't understand why I don't smell but the washcloth i use does.

I think possibly this problem is worse during certain times of my cycle but I haven't nailed down the exact times yet. I'm thinking though that its a week or so after my period or during ovulation.

If anyone has any theories or advice please help.