What infection makes you smell like onions? (2023)

What causes body odor that smells like onions?

Foods such as garlic, onions, cumin, and curry can also cause changes in body odor. The sulfur-like compounds that the body releases as it breaks down these foods can react with the sweat on the skin, producing body odor that may be different than a person's natural scent.

Bacteria Love Polyester In A Special Way. When the bacteria break down the sweat they form products called thioalcohols, which have scents comparable to sulfur, onions or meat. "They're very very pungent," says Bawdon.

Toothpaste and mouthwash can eliminate the sulfuric chemical compounds in onions that leave a lingering smell. Rub your hands together with toothpaste and mouthwash under running water for around thirty seconds.

Garlic, onions,egg, and cruciferous vegetables — such as broccoli and cauliflower — can cause odour,” Dr Anupam Dey, a Kolkata-based dietician says. So, if you are eating high levels of certain foods, foul-smelling compounds they contain may be excreted through your sweat glands to give an unpleasant odour.

Soaking in warm water is not only relaxing, but washing your body with antibacterial soap will also kill off the bacteria that can make your sweat smell.

Shiseido experiment finds humans produce 'stress smell' similar to onions. Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido Co. has found that human bodies produce a distinctive odor that is similar to that of an onion or a long onion when they come under stress.

Some chronic conditions can also cause an unpleasant smell. Liver disease, diabetes and kidney issues are often accompanied by strong-smelling breath or body odour, and while the scents usually follow a diagnosis of these conditions, in some rare cases, doctors may use them as a guide to zeroing in on the disease.

Thyroid problems.

Occasionally, an overactive thyroid can also cause body odor. This is because the patient tends to sweat excessively due to the hyper-functioning thyroid gland. This condition can also be ruled out by physical examination and blood studies.

What is the name of the bacteria that causes body odor?

The culprit is an enzyme called C-T lyase, found in the bacterium Staphylococcus hominis, which dwells in human armpits. These bacteria feed on odorless chemicals released in sweat, which the enzyme then converts into thioalcohols—a pungent compound responsible for the offending smell.

You're likely to start by seeing your primary care doctor. In some cases when you call to set up an appointment, you may be referred to a specialist in skin diseases (dermatologist).

A strong and unpleasant smell, such as an onion smell, can signify infection or another health problem. The body naturally produces a discharge that keeps the vagina healthy and free of harmful bacteria and irritants.

Scientists have found that dozens of illnesses have a particular smell: Diabetes can make your urine smell like rotten apples, and typhoid turns body odor into the smell of baked bread. Worse, yellow fever apparently makes your skin smell like a butcher's shop, if you can imagine that.

The sexually transmitted infection (STI) trichomoniasis also causes odor. Other STIs, like chlamydia and gonorrhea, don't usually have odors. Although less common, cervical or vaginal cancer can also change your vagina's smell.

The scent of fetor hepaticus is more distinct and smells like sulfur. It happens as a result of liver disease. Learn more about fetor hepaticus and how to manage the condition.

In conclusion, patients with depression have reduced olfactory performance when compared with the healthy controls and conversely, patients with olfactory dysfunction, have symptoms of depression that worsen with severity of smell loss.

Can stress cause smell disorders?

In evolutionary terms, smell is among the oldest of the senses. New research shows how anxiety or stress can rewire the brain, linking centers of emotion and olfactory processing, to make typically benign smells malodorous.

Smells are handled by the olfactory bulb, the structure in the front of the brain that sends information to the other areas of the body's central command for further processing. Odors take a direct route to the limbic system, including the amygdala and the hippocampus, the regions related to emotion and memory.

Acute or infectious thyroiditis

Symptoms may include pain in the throat, feeling generally unwell, swelling of the thyroid gland and, sometimes, symptoms of an overactive thyroid gland or symptoms of an underactive thyroid gland. Symptoms usually get better when the infection is treated with antibiotics.

BODY ODOR: FRUITY BREATH IS A SYMPTOM OF DIABETES

Credit a complication of diabetes called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which occurs when your body runs low on insulin and your blood sugar spikes, says Robert Gabbay, M.D., Ph. D., chief medical officer at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

A dry mouth allows bacteria to thrive. Bacteria that live in the mouth can make compounds that have sulfur. These compounds are especially stinky. They can smell like rotten eggs or onion, for example.

Common wound pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa produce an array of volatile compounds and these odours are often the first identifying feature of the bacteria. S. aureus smell (in my personal view) cheesy and P. aeruginosa smell fishy.

Particularly, isolates of Klebsiella and Enterobacter have been found to emit foul odors in vitro that resemble bad breath, with concomitant production of volatile sulfides and cadaverine [5]. When incubated on a sterile denture, enterobacterial isolates produce typical denture foul odor.

Wound smell

Staphylococci and streptococci – particularly the MRSA strains – initially do not cause specific smells, which makes early identification difficult. Suspected MRSA/VRE infection: These pathogens cause neither smells nor colourings of the wound cover.

A grapelike odor is often of diagnostic importance in detecting the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in culture and in burn wounds. The compound responsible for the odor has been identified as 2-aminoacetophenone by mass spectroscopy.

How do I know if I have staph in my body?

They may be red, swollen, and painful. Sometimes there is pus or other drainage. They can turn into impetigo, which turns into a crust on the skin, or cellulitis, a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot. Bone infections can cause pain, swelling, warmth, and redness in the infected area.

You may suspect that your problem with your water is caused by E. coli, if you notice one or more of these warning signs: The water has an odor that is not chemical in nature, but appears earthy, musty, sulfur-like, sewage-like, or generally unpleasant.

In most cases, candidiasis doesn't cause a foul smell. However, suppose you are experiencing this and other symptoms you might associate with candidiasis (itching, burning, swelling, etc.). In that case, you likely have bacterial vaginosis or another type of infection.

If you detect an odor or a "rotten egg" smell in your teeth, the main cause of that could be an anaerobic infection. Anaerobic bacteria is naturally occurring in the body and while they don't cause infection in their natural state, they can cause infection after an injury or trauma to the body.