Why Does My Vagina Smell Like Onions and How Is It Treated?
In this article we will talk about why does my vaginal odor like onions and how it is treated. There are many reasons why you may have noticed that your body odor resembles that of onions or garlic. Some of these reasons include:
1) You eat onions or garlic, which contains sulfur compounds; they cause the production of volatile organic compound (VOC).
VOCs are chemicals that give off a pungent odor when they react with air.
2) Certain foods such as onions and garlic contain substances called terpenes, which can contribute to the formation of a rotten egg odor.
Terpenes are aromatic oils found in plants. They have been used for centuries in perfumes and flavorings. These terpenoids act as natural fragrances that attract insects and other pollinators to flowers where they grow.
3) Certain medications, including some antibiotics, can affect the balance of bacteria in your gut.
Bacteria produce gases known as methane and hydrogen sulfide. When these gases are released into the atmosphere, they give off a foul odor. Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 100 year period. Hydrogen sulfide is even worse because it’s poisonous at low concentrations but becomes deadly toxic at high levels.
4) Kidney or Liver problems can cause a change in the consistency of vaginal secretions.
This is because both organs are responsible for removing toxins from the body and if either one isn’t functioning correctly, it can lead to an increase in odor.
5) Other less likely possibilities include a yeast infection, which is caused by an overgrowth of yeast.
Some species of yeast release gases such as acetone and isovaleric acid. Acetone has a smell similar to nail polish remover, and isovaleric acid has a strong sour smell like vinegar. Both of these compounds can increase vaginal odor.
Most of the time, there is no need to worry about any of these issues. In most cases, these problems are easily resolvable. If you are worried, see your doctor to get a proper diagnosis!
How To Stop Smelling Like Onions?
Many people find themselves wondering how to stop smelling like onions. Sadly, there is no way to mask or remove the smell of sulfur. The best way to minimize the smell is to avoid foods in the future that cause this reaction. Luckily for you, these foods do not include anything that would be part of a regular diet. Cheese and meats do not cause this issue. Your best option is to avoid all other foods that contain the ingredients that lead to the smell.
If you are concerned about the way you smell, it might be a good idea to take extra care in your personal hygiene. Showering more often, using deodorant, or wearing perfumes can all help mask the smell. In some cases, many of these products can irritate your skin and make the problem worse. It is important to read labels and ingredients before using anything new on your skin.
If you have noticed a sudden change in your body odor, it may be due to an underlying medical condition that needs to be looked at by a professional. Liver and kidney problems have both been known to cause changes in the way you smell. If you are noticing a sudden change, consult your primary physician immediately.
In many cases, these problems are rare. Most of the time, diet is to blame for smells coming from our bodies. Luckily for us, we humans have a much better sense of smell than other animals so our noses can usually detect it before it becomes a real problem!
Ways On How To Stop Smelling Like Garlic
So you just chopped up several cloves of garlic for that Italian dinner you made. Now, you realize you’ve forgotten to put on deodorant that day. You take a quick sniff under your armpit, and you realize it is not looking good.
What can you do?
You’re going to have to do something quick if you want to prevent smelling like garlic for the rest of the day.
First, you have to decide whether you want to wash the smell off or mask it. Sometimes, if you act fast enough, you can do both. Washing it off is probably your best bet if you want to mask it. It is also your best bet if you only have a little bit of garlic on your skin.
Washing it off isn’t always easy, as the chemical in garlic that causes the smell, allicin, is oil soluble. If you have a lot of garlic on your skin, you might want to try and mask it instead.
Washing it off.
Washing the smell off is fairly easy to do if you got to it quick enough. You can either wash it with soap and water or use an alcohol-based product to help with the stink.
Soap and Water
If you have only a little bit of garlic on your skin, you can probably get away with just using soap and water to wash it off. Make sure that you get all of the areas that may have the smell on it. The key is to use hot water to open up your pores, and then use a clean washcloth or something similar to remove the smell from your skin.
Antiperspirant or Alcohol
If you have a lot of garlic smell on you, you may want to try using an antiperspirant or rubbing alcohol. Both of these are good at masking smells, and while the alcohol will dry out your skin a bit, it is better than smelling like garlic. Make sure that if you’re going to do this, you’re somewhere where you can wash it off later.
Masking it.
If you don’t have much time, or if you just don’t want to mess around with washing the smell off, you can try to mask the smell instead. This is a good plan anyway if you have a lot of garlic on your skin and you’re worried about washing it off.
Baking Soda and Water
One common way to do this is to make a paste out of baking soda and water. Use a washcloth or your hand (though not your hand you just chopped up garlic with!) to apply the paste over the areas of your skin that have the garlic smell on it. Let it dry a bit, then wash it off.
Fruits and Veggies
Another way to do this is to use fruits or vegetables that will soak up the smells that you don’t want people to smell. This works best if you can find something that roughly matches your skin tone. Peel the fruit or vegetable (respecting the skin color of course), then cut it up into chunks that you can apply to the skin. As with the baking soda, let it dry, then wash it off.
How to prevent the smell from coming back.
Once you’ve gotten rid of the garlic smell, you’ll want to do what you can to prevent it from coming back. Here are some tips to help you do that.
Soap and Water
You can use the same method as listed above for washing garlic smell off of your skin, except this time you can use just a mild soap instead of a special one. Again, make sure to get all parts of your skin that may have the smell on it.
Fly Trap
If you chopped the garlic, throw the chopped up pieces in a small container with a hole in the top to let air in. This is known as a fly trap. The smell of the garlic should attract flies, which will be caught in the container. Obviously, after trapping some flies this way, you won’t want to use it to store your garlic in anymore.
Don’t throw out the flies, though. They make great fish bait!
Refrigeration
Some people keep their garlic in the refrigerator. While it’s true that a lot of smells are absorbed by things like onions and eggs that are kept in the refrigerator, this may or may not be an effective way to remove garlic smell from your hands.
Hand Sanitizer or Antibacterial Wipes
These are good for removing strong smells from your hands. However, you’ll need to use a lot of it to get rid of the garlic smell and most hand sanitizers dry out your hands. You may want to use regular soap and water instead, or at least follow up with some type of hand lotion.
Parsley
If you have a bunch of parsley around, this is a good way to get rid of some of the smell. Just take a bunch of the parsley and hold it to your nose. Breathe in and out through your nose for about a minute or two. The chlorophyll in the parsley will help remove smells from your nasal cavity, as well as getting rid of garlic smell on your hands.
Don’t eat the parsley, though. We don’t want to taste any of that!
Washing Machine
This might be a little late since you’ve already handled the garlic, but if you put your clothes that have garlic odor on them into the washing machine, you can use the detergent setting (not the sanitize one) and it should take out some of the smells. You can also do this with towels and wash cloths.
White Vinegar
If you need to get garlic smell out of your cooking pan, just fill it half way with white vinegar and let it soak for a while. The acid in the vinegar will help break down the oils that garlic leaves behind.
Lemons or other Citrus Fruits
These are good for cutting garlic or other strong smells in general. If you find that you’re getting overwhelmed by the smell of garlic, go cut yourself a piece of lemon (or lime, or whatever) and hold it to your nose. Breathe in and out through your nose for about a minute or two and the smell of the lemon should overpower the garlic smell and get rid of it.
Eating Something Stinky but Harmless
If all else fails, you can just eat a bunch of strong smelling food. Nuts, vegetable oils, fish, or pretty much anything with a strong smell that is harmless to consume should be enough to overpower the garlic smell.
If you’re daring, you could also get a lot of spicy food and that should cover up the smell too (Note: This may actually cause you to have an upset stomach as your body expels the spicy food).
Smoke
Another extreme measure is to simply hold your face over an open flame, which should be enough to mask the smells you don’t want. Lighter, matches, or even a candle will do. Of course you should be careful not to burn yourself.
Remember that if you’re going to any kind of public event or going to work the next day, none of these are going to be particularly effective in getting rid of the smell. In those situations, you’ll probably just want to take a shower as soon as possible.
If you have more suggestions, please let me know in the comments section. Also, if you’ve tried some of these methods and they haven’t worked for you, let me know as well. Finally, if you have any questions on these methods, let me know in the comments section and I’ll be happy to answer them.
Have fun getting rid of that garlic smell!
Sources & references used in this article:
Biological effects of corona discharge on onions in a commercial storage facility by J Song, L Fan, PD Hildebrand, CF Forney – HortTechnology, 2000 – journals.ashs.org
Ancient Egyptian medicine: the papyrus ebers by CP Bryan, GE Smith – 1974 – ask-force.org
Basics of ozone applications for postharvest treatment of fruits and vegetables by T Suslow – Perishables Handling Quarterly, 1998 – ucanr.edu
Changes in aromatic volatile composition of strawberry after high pressure treatment by Y Lambert, G Demazeau, A Largeteau, JM Bouvier – Food Chemistry, 1999 – Elsevier
