fecal body odor

[suea]

I suffer from an unusual fart, boiled eggs, garbage/sewer, and fecal body odor smell for a little over three years now. I am in the ARMY and to this day have seen many Gastroenterologists and a few Internalists, for my diarrhea issue I suddenly acquired while I was on my second tour in Iraq over three years ago, well during this same tour is when my fecal body odor issue came to light. Sharing a big one room building with over 50 females is not a pleasant experience but more so when all are saying that I stink up the whole BLDG with my fart/poop aroma which surrounds and follows me around everywhere I go, the constant ridicule I received everywhere I would go b/c of my body odor made the tour that much more unbearable. When I finally summoned the courage to mention my fecal body odor situation to one of my GI doctor's he suggested I was not mentally well "crazy" in fact, b/c as he stated "it is impossible for anyone to smell like that", and strongly suggested I see a psychiatrist. When I saw the psychiatrist the only thing he could suggest was that since I was new to the unit that it must have been a dislike issue amongst the females towards me, I remained unconvinced primarily since other soldiers not within my unit noticed the same odor.  Three years later 3 colonoscopy, 1 endoscopy, 1 barium swallow, and numerous other procedures and countless lab and parasite workup  the diarrhea has been labeled as IBS or as another none GI doctor has labeled it  the "I don't know what is going on with you" diagnosis. All so true so it seems since not a single of the many, many "here take this medication and come back in a month" prescriptions has yet to work, but the pigpen, sewer, fecal body aroma is still there, as well as the constant ridicule. Any suggestions for I find myself with now where else to turn.

[wakaboo]

A related discussion, body odour was started.

[will120]

Oh my dear god. I really do empathize with you. I've had the same problem for the past 10 years and 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.

My problem seems worse when I am tense or nervous 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!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Phantom smell may be due to halitosis(due to infections of the oral cavity or poor hygiene),smell from the sweat or smell due to nasal or sinus infections.It may be of sweat which may be seen in anxiety,obesity, allergies, eczema, psoriasis, synthetic fibers and warm temperatures. It is also seen in excessive sweating or hyperhydrosis.

Other possibilities may be recent sinusitis,nasopharyngeal problems, olfactory hallucination {(phantosmia)you detect smells that are not really present in your environment}and disorders in the smell perception centres.

In my opinion,you should get an ENT evaluation and discuss these possibilities with him.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts.