Grooming & Hygiene
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Foot odor can be particularly distressing for many women. Some
people are more prone to getting it than others. If you have
smelly feet, start by using a wash cloth to scrub your feet daily.
Dusting your feet with baby powder and wearing clean socks will
help cut down on sweat and odor. If you wear sandals and or shoes
without socks, choose ones with good ventilation. You can use an
antiperspirant on your feet and try odor-absorbing shoe
inserts.You should also let your shoes air out completely
overnight before wearing them again. |
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You lose about one quart
of water each day even without exercising, so be sure you drink
lots of water so you can stay cool.
Remember when you were a kid — you
tried all kinds of ways to avoid taking a bath? Well, things have
been changing for you and you probably feel like showering or
bathing more often now. Maybe you're finally realizing that baths
aren't so bad anymore. Or perhaps you're realizing that your body
changes require some new hygiene habits. Either way, the changes
you're experiencing at this time may make you feel like you look
different and perhaps smell different than you did when you were a
kid. Don't worry, it just means you're becoming an adult.
Sweating doesn't
have to cause body odor
You might find that you're sweating
more now, even when you're not exercising or in hot weather.
You've always had the sweat glands that are producing more sweat.
But during
puberty, the sweat glands become much more active than when
you were a kid.
Sweating is a
normal, healthy and necessary process. You've got all these
systems working in your body - your heart is beating, your stomach
is digesting, your brain is thinking, your muscles are helping you
move. All these bodily processes are
creating heat. Your body temperature
would reach a dangerous level and you would eventually die if your
body couldn't get rid of all the heat it's producing. That's where
sweating comes in.
Sweating helps your body get rid of
the excess heat it is creating. It also helps you stay a safe
temperature on a hot day. Even when you don't always notice sweat
on your skin, you are still sweating and giving off heat.
You have sweat glands all over your
body, but there are more of them in your armpits, feet, and groin.
You may have already noticed more sweat and new smells from these
areas of your body. These are normal and easy to deal with safely.
First it helps to understand what causes the smell we typically
think of as body odor.
It might surprise you to know this,
but it's not actually sweat that causes odor. Body odor is caused
by the reaction of your sweat with the bacteria that is already on
your skin. The sweat that your body produces while you're
exercising is also different from the sweat it produces if you're
nervous or anxious.
So even if you don't notice any odor
after exercising, you might notice an odor after a stressful
situation. Armpit sweat has extra substances in it that tend to
react more strongly with the bacteria on your skin causing a
stronger odor. For example, if you stand up to speak in front of
your class, that could cause the kind of sweating that is more
likely to cause body odor.
Everyone has body odor at some point
in her life, but most people have found ways to keep it in check
so that no one else notices. The best way to keep feeling and
smelling fresh is to take a bath or shower every day to wash away
the bacteria and dirt on your skin. Use a soap that isn't too
harsh and plenty of warm water. If you have dry skin, hotter water
may aggravate the dryness.
You should wear a fresh pair of socks
and underwear every day. Wearing clothes made of natural or
"breathable" fabrics (like cotton) will help keep you feeling
drier and more comfortable if you sweat a lot. If you like to wear
sweaters or other heavier clothes, wearing cotton T-shirt
underneath them may help you feel less sweaty too. It may sound
weird to wear another layer to sweat less, but that in-between
layer helps to absorb the moisture from your skin and allows it to
evaporate better. It can also help protect your favorite clothes.
Since underarm odor is so common,
many people use a deodorant or antiperspirant. Antiperspirants
stop or reduce underarm sweating. Deodorants don't prevent
sweating, but rather cover up odor in your armpit. There are
plenty of products available that you may try.
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Worried about bad breath? |
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Teeth tips:
Change your toothbrush every 3-4 months
See your dentist twice a year
Floss!
Choose only sugar-free gum and mints
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What if your friend has bad breath or body odor? Should you
tell her? Yes.
It's better to hear it kindly from you than from someone else
who might hurt her feelings.Make sure she knows you're
telling her because you care about her.You could show her the
information you found on this site so she knows what to do.
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Everyone has less than
fresh breath at some point in life. Bad breath (or
halitosis)
can be caused in several ways, so how you deal with it can depend
on what is causing it.
Bacteria in your mouth can cause bad
breath. Since your mouth is a warm, wet place, it makes an ideal
breeding ground for bacteria. The best way to keep the
odor-causing bacteria in your mouth to a minimum is to brush your
teeth carefully at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. Use
a soft-bristle brush and gently brush the surface of each tooth,
including the hard to reach places like the back of your mouth.
You can also use your toothbrush to
brush the topside of your tongue. There are many, many tiny
grooves and bumps on your tongue where bacteria and small
particles of food love to hide. Brushing your tongue helps
contribute to a healthier mouth too. At first, this may feel funny
and might cause you to gag. This is normal so try to relax your
mouth and don't push the brush back so far.
In addition to brushing, it's also
important that you floss your teeth at least once a day. You may
not realize it until you try it, but there are probably a lot of
food particles stuck between your teeth that brushing alone won't
get out. Flossing also helps to remove plaque buildup along your
gum line and prevent cavities.
If you wear braces, food particles
may tend to get stuck in them and cause bad breath. Be sure to
brush and floss carefully and ask your dentist if there are any
special steps you should take to clean your teeth while you're
wearing braces. In the long run, braces will help to improve your
appearance and dental health, so a little extra attention to your
teeth and gums now will be worth it.
More on bad breath:
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Bad breath
can also be caused by the foods you eat. Everyone knows that
garlic, onions, and other things that add spice to foods can wreak
havoc when it comes to your breath. The oils and smells from these
foods can be pretty strong for a while after you've eaten them, so
just pack some sugar-free gum or mints with you. If you and your
friends are all eating garlic bread, maybe no one will notice your
garlic breath!
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If you
smoke, you're going to have stinky breath. There's no way around
that. In addition to being generally very bad for your body in
other ways, smoking can stain your teeth and cause you to have
chronic bad breath.
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Occasionally, bad breath can be caused by a more serious problem
such as an infection in your mouth or sinuses or tooth decay
(cavities). Some medicines may cause your mouth to be dry all the
time and cause bad breath.
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In general,
after you've brushed and flossed regularly, your breath is
probably fine. Advertisers for gum, mouthwashes, and mints would
like us to believe that their products are necessary for a great
social life. Of course we can all use a breath mint once in a
while, but most of us do just fine without them most of the time.
If you're still concerned about your breath, privately ask a close
friend or family member if they'll give you an honest opinion.
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