Body odour changes

A body odour change is a difference in how your sweat or your skin smells, or how strong it is, compared with what you are used to. It might be sharper, sourer or simply more.

This is a recognition page. No guideline we checked lists body odour changes as a symptom of the menopause, and we found no clinical source that makes the link. What the NHS does say is close by. Its menopause pages say a hot flush can make you sweat a lot, by day or at night as night sweats. Its body odour page lists hormonal changes among the things that can make body odour worse, though it does not mention the menopause by name.

So the honest version is this. More sweat is a listed part of perimenopause. A change in smell is something women notice and the guidelines have not yet written about.

• sweat that smells stronger, or different, from before
• needing to change clothes or wash more often than you used to
• noticing it most after a flush, or on waking after a sweaty night
• feeling self-conscious in a close room, a car or a crowded gathering

For many women the feeling is worse than the smell itself. The worry that someone else has noticed can follow you through a whole day.

No source we found explains a menopause cause for a change in smell, so we will not offer one.

The NHS body odour page does list what can make body odour worse in general: exercise, hot weather, hormonal changes, being overweight, some medicines such as antidepressants, and conditions like diabetes, kidney disease or liver disease. It also says the cause is often unknown, and may be linked to heavy sweating.

Some of that list matters more in midlife. Hot weather is a fact of life for much of the year in Pakistan and the Gulf. And the British Menopause Society notes higher rates of diabetes among South Asian women during the menopause transition, so the condition the NHS names here is one more reason a check-up is worth having. Diabetes risk has more.

The NHS body odour page lists these:

• wash regularly, including the armpits, groin and feet, and dry well
• use antiperspirants and deodorants, and change and wash clothes regularly
• choose natural fabrics such as cotton, wool and silk, and avoid tight, man-made fabrics
• avoid too much strong-smelling or spicy food, and too much alcohol

A pharmacist can suggest stronger antiperspirants, sweat shields to protect clothes, or gentler soap substitutes, the NHS says. If sweating and odour are severe, a GP may suggest prescription antiperspirants or medicines for heavy sweating.

The NHS says to see a GP if body odour has not got better after treating it yourself and it is also affecting your self-esteem, smells different from usual, or comes with suddenly sweating much more than usual.

That middle reason is worth underlining. A change in smell is on the NHS's own list, so mentioning it is not oversharing. It is the kind of detail a GP needs.

Cleanliness runs deep in a Muslim home, and wudu and ghusl make you more aware of your body than most. That can make a change in smell feel like a private shame. It is not. It is a body changing, and it can be talked about plainly.

Questions about purity, ghusl or prayer when you are sweating heavily belong with a qualified scholar, and women do ask them. Questions about the sweating itself belong with your doctor.