Offensive fecal odor from the anus

[will120]

Fecal odor from the anus is driving me crazy!

I have tried everything to resolve the situation to no avail and feel as though it's to the point of nearly destroying my life. I'm so very very embarrassed by it that I'm practically a social recluse and avoid everything. I am meticulous about personal hygiene and I dread being at work or college because its so very embarrassing.

My problem seems worse when I am tense or nervous which inevitably comes about because I am preemptively nervous about the odor, although I've never noticed any soiling in my underwear. I go regularly and clean intensely but the problem persists.

I've tried;
- regular colon cleansing by douching
- chlorophyll
- constant washing, wiping and showering
- diet change
- laxatives

Nothing satisfyingly works and I'm never rid of it! Any ideas?


This discussion is related to fecal odor.

[CalGal]

You may want to try some probiotics. It's possible that the odor is coming from some by-products that are produced by bacterial 'digestion' and production of short chain fatty acids in the colon area. SSFA's are something we need, but if the type or output is skewed, it might result in what's currently happening.

They're not going to work immediately, but it can't hurt to try. A decent brand that is known to be effective in general is Culturelle. You can find it at drugstores, but not all carry it, so call before you go in.

[Thypatient]

Get this checked out.  My mother had a similar circumstance that turned out to be an Anal fissure.

Good luck.

[rectalprobs]

Hi, I am also suffering from this odor for more than 2 yrs now. But recently I detoxified my body completely and used probiotics. Odor was gone, but when I eat certain foods which odor is coming back. So I avoided foods which my stomach is not agreeing to.

It could be heavy metal poisoning, especially mercury. I met few guys in other forums who had this same problem and it turned out to be mercury poisoning. So you better checkout that too and if it is then get rid of mercury from your body. Smell will go for good.

Any help lemme know...

Thanks,
rectalprobs

[tara101]

I have the exact same problem! Many of the other posts on fecal body odor and related symptoms I have read on this site do not apply to me fully, but how you are explaining the odor problem applies to my problem exactly.

I have never noticed any leakage/soiling in my underwear and also seem to notice the smell when I get really anxious or nervous. And the sad thing is I am a really anxious person so just about anything puts me a little on edge. I have seen that the odor gets more noticeable when I am in nerve-racking situations, like if I'm in small quarters, because I know there is a possibility that the odor will arrive suddenly and it always does [perhaps I also pay more attention to the odor in tight quarters which is why it seems to be more prevalent in these situations but I don't think this is the case. I think my worries about the odor end up eventually triggering the odor.]  

In addition to when I'm nervous, the smell also seems to be more prevalent after I eat which initially led me to believe that it was IBS or some other digestive issue, especially since I have always had a lot of digestive issues and have never sought treatment for any of them. But now I am taking fiber supplements every day and am eating more fruits/veggies in addition to exercising and taking steps to decrease my stress level [which have not been completely successful but it is a lot more tolerable than before] and I no longer have any digestive issues but the odor still persists.


I can't offer you a lot of advice since I am still in the process of testing out things but I'll tell you what I have tried thus far, even though none have helped me, but who knows it may help someone else.

I've tried:

Fiber supplements

laxatives

enemas

Antibacterial soap [+ lots of showering and washing multiple times a day]

Antibacterial wipes [for use throughout the day]

baby powder, gold bond powder

Dietary changes [but I have not been very consistent with them, so I have decided to give it another try because it seems to have helped a lot of people. I am starting a diet that eliminates dairy, sugar, very fatty foods, wheat, oats, gluten, meats, nuts, broccoli, anything spicy and rice. I haven't really figured out how to supplement everything I am going to be missing without these foods so any advice on vitamin supplements would be much appreciated.]



Things I am planning on trying next if dietary changes don't work:

Internal Deodorant tablets, like Nullo (If anyone has taken these or any other chlorophyll/chlorophyllin tablets I would love to know if they worked because it almost seems too good to be true)

Detoxification [still a little uncertain about the best ways to effectively do this]

Probiotics [have never tried them but if the odor is caused by Candida, then this may just do the trick]

Lastly, if none of these work I am going to have to suck up my courage and just go speak to my doctor about the odor, no matter how embarrassing it is going to be.


I'll keep everyone posted on my progress and would appreciate to know about any effective methods anyone else has used to solve this problem.
Thanks!