I noticed over the past year that my underarm odor was difficult to keep under control. I've tried for years to stop using anti-perspirants because of the aluminum and other chemicals they contain, but natural deodorants just weren't doing enough, and it was getting worse as the year wore on. In fact, until recently, I would wake up and could smell myself...not like I reeked, but I didn't smell like myself, I smelled like someone else/foreign. Does that make sense? I was also mounting a growing autoimmune skin flare this past year -- could that explain worsening BO?
Then I started taking high dose prednisone for the skin rash (Dermatomyositis), and the underarm odors quickly improved. I'm back to using natural deodorants. How can that be?? I thought the androgenic effects of the pred might make body odor worse, not better. I notice the prednisone also shrunk a swollen lymph node on the back of my neck. Could I have had an issue with lymph system drainage that was making the body odor worse?
What other variables affect your underarm sweating and odor? I'm really puzzled.
