How to treat armpit odor

The prevalence of axillary odor is very high and the diagnosis is based on four criteria: 1. odor in the armpits; 2. family history; 3. oily earwax; 4. odor only after puberty. Armpit odor is hereditary but not contagious. The reason for the odor of armpit odor is that there is a special sweat gland in the armpit (different from the small sweat glands that produce ordinary sweat) can secrete a special sweat, which itself does not smell, but after a certain period of storage by bacterial decomposition can produce odor. Therefore, various treatments are aimed at the sweat glands. Treatment methods are broadly divided into non-surgical (such as topical medications) and surgical treatments. The mechanism of topical medication is to inhibit the secretion of sweat glands and inhibit the production of sweat, but the sweat glands are not destroyed, and when the effect of the medication wears off, the sweat glands will resume their sweating function, so it cannot be cured and requires repeated medication. Therefore, in order to cure armpit odor, we must completely destroy the sweat glands. The more recognized method is the surgical method. The timing of surgery is usually after puberty, that is, after the age of 16 to 18. There are many different surgical methods, but the trend now is toward minimally invasive. The method we use is a very minimally invasive method. The incision is only about 1 cm and the scar is very small and almost invisible after a long time. The chance of one-time eradication is over 90%, and there are less than 10% of people who have a small residual odor after surgery or relapse after many years after surgery and need to be treated with another surgery or other auxiliary methods depending on the situation. Precautions include: Pre-operative preparation: good physical condition, avoid menstruation; post-operative compression with elastic bandage for 5-7 days, stitches removed after 7 days; post-operative use of antibacterial drugs for 3-5 days. Avoid spicy and irritating food, smoking and alcohol after surgery; the shoulder joint is less active after surgery, and the hand and elbow activities are not restricted, so life after surgery can be self-care, and you can go home after surgery without hospitalization.