A cure for smelly armpits: antifreeze

Smelly underarms are a result of bacterial activity:

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``Armpit odour, or axillary malodor, usually begins when you reach puberty, when your glands start working. There are two kinds of sweat glands in the human body, the apocrine glands, which secrete a milky fluid from the hair follicles, and the eccrine glands, which are the source of most perspiration. The sweat from the eccrine glands is water, which is used to cool the body by evaporation and to moisten the friction surfaces of the body.

Most axillary, or armpit, sweat is odourless, and comes from the eccrine glands. The small amount of apocrine secretion in the sweat, however, causes the problem.

Although fresh apocrine sweat is also odourless, it develops its characteristic smell when the sweat is broken down by the hair and skin cells in the armpit, and then eaten by bacteria.

It's actually the bacteria that make the smell, releasing a chemical called 3-methyl-2-hexenoic acid.

About 90% of men and 70% of women have these bacteria in their armpit, and women produce a milder odour than men. Most people have trouble smelling their own odour without burying their nose in their own armpit ... probably because your brain filters out smells which are always present.

Armpit odour is a problem for most adults (whether they admit it or not), and usually gets worse with age. In some people, it can be so mild that deodorants aren't necessary, but in others, it can be so strong as to literally drive people away. Most people have some odour, especially after exercise, and prefer to do something about it.

There has actually been very little study into what happens in your armpit .... most of the research, by the cosmetics industry, has been aimed at preventing the smell from being noticed. This is accomplished in two ways, through the application of either antiperspirants or deodorants.''

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Both antiperpirants and deodorants are not a solution. They cover up the problem.

Solution: kill the bacteria with antifreeze

Antifreeze is a concentrated solution of ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is a colorless, odorless liquid that tastes sweet but is actually poisonous if ingested. Never take it by mouth and never leave it where children and pets can get it. When applied to healthy skin for a brief period of time, however, it is harmless.

Antifreeze is extremely hygroscopic, meaning that it tends to attract and "wick" water from everything. This has a very lethal action on various fungi and bacteria living on the skin.

To use antifreeze to cure armpit odor, simply apply it to armpits liberally and wait 3-4 minutes. Then take a very good shower, wash armpits with soap etc. In fact, a quick rinse will get rid of antifreeze, and my suggestion to wash it with soap is "just in case".

Whenever I use it on my underarms, it kills the bacteria and I stay odor-free for several months, maybe 5-6 months or so. Then, new bacteria settles in and the smell comes back.

There is no visible downside to my of antifreeze, no rashes etc. I also used it, with great success, to treat jock itch that I had when I was fat. Other people (check out Dave Carnell) use antifreeze to treat fingal infection of toes. It is also used to treat fungal infection of wood without using heavy metals like copper (thunk Cuprinol etc).

If you can buy pure ethylen glycol, you will be better off, obviously, since there is no concern about other components of antifreeze, colorants etc. Antifreeze is handled by people at oil place changes daily and is considered a safe substance, unless used internally.

I used AF to treat armpit smell for several years already.

I bathe every day. and I am around the woman I like every day.

At the risk of taking all this too seriously, one of the best things you can use is a little mixture of cornstarch and baking soda. Or just the baking soda or mix it with a little talcum. If you perspire a lot the cornstarch is not such a great idea, but the baking soda is lovely. I use cornstarch and baking soda in the summer all over since it makes you feel so cool and comfortable. It's a grandma trick that we "G.R.I.T.S" from our steamy climate have known about for many years.

How long do you stay smell free?

I said take a shower after applying antifreeze.

Then how come in another post of yours you admitted that you did NOT think about it:

``If this were a hugh problem for me, I'd probably consider at least thinking about it.''

Certainly pure ethylene glycol would at least guarantee more "peace of mind". After a while of using antifreeze, a friend bought ethylen glycol for me at a lab supply store, and EG works just as well as AF.

Both AF and EG caused zero irritation to me.

im not sure but wouldnt an antibacterial soap do just the same? and maybe a little safer too. very interesting findings non the less. i am one of those people who tend to have a very heavy oder if not kept in check.i sweat constantly even when only mildly active. so i bath after every hard workout and use dial antibacterial soap and a stronge antipersperant. that combo keeps my oders at bay throughout the day. lol atleast i think it does. noone runs away or says i stink. ;P thanks for the info.

Seems that it would make your pits awfully sticky.

Actually it's a known fact that animals are attracted to antifreeze, and thus I would assume it does not have an objectionable taste as the other household chemicals you mentioned. Also, the bright green color would tend to be attractive to children. I suspect antifreeze poisonings outnumber drano poisonings by an order of magnitude.

I've had trouble with my armpits freezing here in Boston lately.

So far I do not see these zillions... Changing AF at home is easier than driving to some oil change place, for me, not even considering money.

You see Roger, after I read that page and corresponded to Dave Carnell about treating wood rot in my boat transom, I started considering using AF for a couple of my hygienic problems.

And obviously, I was as concrned as anyone else about its toxicity etc.

So, what I did was, I bought the cleanest AF with the fewest components (DexCool). Then I carefully applied it to skin on my arm, in one spot, and rinsed off. Did it for slightly longer. Noted no irritation. Only then I used it under my arms.

I was astounded, for the next days and weeks and months, just how well it worked after being applied once for 3 minutes.

Only after that I tried it on my crotch. It was like magic.

Tylenol not much greater than the recommended dosage causes liver damage.

Well, if that "shit" works as well as antifreeze/ethylen glycol does for me, and does not cause irritation, why not.

Showering every day does not get rid of armpit smell, as far as I am concerned. Makes it a little less intense, but it's still there.

90% of men have smelly armpits... You might even like the result if you actually try what I suggested Roger. It really works and you really won't die.

Well, think hydrogen peroxide, you can put it on your skin if you are injured, but would you drink it?

What does external application have to do with internal application?

There are many substances that are toxic or harmful if ingested, that we use externally.

A little I can tolerate. But I encountered a few foreign students at the university where I used to work that you couldn't be in the same room with and who stunk so bad that it made my eyes water and it took days for the smell to completely leave the room. It's hard to be polite to someone when their smell is about to make you pass out!

According to the following article, it's mainly spray antiperspirants that contain the chemicals in question (parabens). I didn't know they even still sold sprays, but the article suggests they're still popular in the UK.

What is YOUR point?

Yeah, my roof is about to blow off!

Does it work?

http://www.wcsscience.com/armpit/odour.html

If you google on "arppit odor bacteria" or some such, you will find a lot of sites saying the same thing.

No, it has not been approved for destroying armpit odor.

Check out MSDS (material safety data sheet) for antifreeze:
http://www.houghtonchemical.com/auto/securityaf/ spechdmsds.htm

SKIN: May be mildly irritating to skin. Slightly toxic on prolonged or repeated contact.

So, obviously if you drench your skin in AF and let it stay for a long time, it may irritate it. But it's not what I recommend, which is a brief application. Think about it, people handle antifreeze all day long, in homes, garages, oil changing places etc.

Well, you could be right for all I know, but it is not removable even by scrubbing, whereas wax is not as strong.

It's a possibility.

It is a legitimate objection.

But then you, or perhaps someone else, started making indignant noises about how dumb it was to use a known [internal] poison externally.

Well, that "shit" has a MSDS, which says that it might be a mild irritant, that's all. Since it is handled by workers all the time, it is not a great leap of faith to hypothesize that a 3 minute application is not going to hurt. And a simple test can confirm or disprove that hypothesis, which in my instance was confirmed.

You failed to even consider that MSDS as evidenc.

What makes me think that Mikelle is my buddy?

Anyway, obviously a female crotch and male crotch are different with respect to mucous tissues exposed. And I happen to have a male crotch, on which AF worked when it was needed. So I cannot make any claims about effect of AF on female crotches.

That's fine. I could understand how one would be reluctant to use AF in armpits based on suggestions from an Internet stranger. But I would expect one to make objections based on sound logic and facts, not on flawed logic.

Just because "deodorant chemicals" were found on tumors, does not mean that they caused tumors.

If antifreeze was carcinogenic, it would be listed on the MSDS.

and what does it have to do with dieting and why was it crossposted to four other groups?

You still will swet like always after doing what I suggested... But the sweat won't stink for a few months. Oh, and wear newly washed clothes after application, to avoid contamination from unwashed clothes.

It takes nearly 3 days probably for people to work up the courage to tell you that you stink.

No, but apparently, since you don;t want to apply stuff that's toxic if ingested, on your skin, you must think that eating your deodorant must be harmless.

I use perhaps a tablespoon or two every several months, on my armpits. How is it thousands of times more than what people already dump from radiators.

``Glycol's toxicity to humans is low enough that it has to be deliberately ingested (about a half cup for a 150 lb. human); many millions of gallons are used annually with few precautions and without incident. It should not be left where children or pets can get at it, as smaller doses would harm them, and they may be attracted by its reported sweet taste that I have confirmed by accident. The lethal dose of borates is smaller than of glycol, but the bitter taste makes accidental consumption less likely.''

i

50/50 mixture in _my_ garage worked for _me_. If you are interested, try, one day, just applying a bit of it to some spot on your arm for a minute, then rinse it off, and see if you have any reaction. I would be tremendously surprised if you did, but it pays to be careful. If you have no reaction, you can give this method a try. Remember, do take a good shower afterwards, and put on newly washed clothes. Don't reuse the ones you just wore.

It could be that other disinfectants like rubbing alcohol would work also. I have no evidence to confirm it, as I never tried it, and I do have plenty of personal evidence to confirm that AF works for me.

If you have access to pure ethylene glycol, it is even better since you know that it's the only ingredient, and it is no less strong. I used it as well. Works just as well as AF.

i who would not eat deodorants

Hm, have you ever changed coolant in your car? Have you ever got your fingers wet with AF for a few minutes? It is a known poison when taken by mouth. It is not nearly as dangerous when briefly applied to skin.

Obviously, I have not done large scale laboratory testing, clinical testing etc. I am just one person whose skin is not too irritated by
AF and whose bacterias get killed by it reliably. So, user beware, it is not well tested. Antifreeze though, is widely used in industry and many of use it ourselves when we change coolant in our vehicles, usually without gloves (which are not recommended by manufacturers).

So, my common sense suggests that it is not that dangerous for external applications, the way I described, and it never caused any irritation to me.

Quite possibly, other people's experience could be different, although
I would be surprised to hear that.

No, but the argument sayng that it's poisonous when ingested and therefore cannot be applied externally, is flawed.

I see nothing funny about it. People have smelly crotches sometimes due to jock itch. I do not have this problem, but some do. AF does kill the jock itch fungi. I know that when crotches are mentioned, all kinds of dirty thoughts come to mind, but medically, fungal infections in the crotch area are an issue that sometimes needs to be addressed.

Making crass jokes about it is not helpful.