Stinky sweat

[water]

Stinky sweat


Someone please explain to me some things about human sweat:


1. Sweat and different psycho-physiological states.
It seems to me that there are at least two kinds of sweat, one more stinky than another.
Namely, I've noticed that I can be wearing the same clothes, freshly washed, with the same detergent, me using the same soap, and after about the same amount of activity -- but once, the sweat will only be barely smelly, while another time it will stink.
The only difference I could notice is that in the first situation, I was calm and fine, and sweated merely because I was hot; while in the other situation I was nervous.
Does "nervous sweat" smell different than normal sweat?


2. Sweat and different fabrics.
In contact with certain fabrics, esp. those containing nylon and viscosis, the sweat will stink terribly. While if wearing cotton fabrics, the smell of sweat may be barely noticeable.

How come?

 

[spuriousmonkey]

sweat doesn't smell...it's the bateria and their products that live on you skin that produce the 'stink'.

(If I remember correctly)

Of course, this doesn't really answer your question because then you still have the problem of why sometimes your 'sweat' smells differently from other times.

 

[CharonZ]

Yep. Bacteria degrade compounds of the sweat and the products cause the smell.
I think "normal" sweat (produced to reduce body heat) is produced by eccrine glands (but I could be wrong here) tend to smell less because it is mostly a slightly acidic, salty water, which doesn't give bacteria much to feed on.
The other kind of sweat, produced e.g. during excitement (secreted by apocrine glands) are more oily and contain more degradable substances. This sweat smells more. You will also notice that this sweat is stickier.

 

[Blue_UK]

This is a simular thread to this one.

If the bacteria are the sole cause, why do females smell different to males? I supose, since skin pH differs slightly between gender, that different bacteria types/ratios might be present. Although the difference is not substantial (+- 1 pH) and even varies for different parts of the body.

Erm.. just did a wikipedia on sweat. I sugest all those curious do the same.

 

[apendrapew]

Water:

I, too, have noticed this and according to instinct made a post about it. link


And it seems we're talking about precisely the same thing. When I find that I'm experiencing psychological stress which causes me to sweat (I sweat when I play bass guitar or do some kind of performance), it stinks like ass.

Where on the other hand, if I go run 6 miles, I may sweat a lot more, but you can barely smell it.

As Monkey says, it's bacteria that causes stinkage. Something about psychological stress that facilitates the proliferation of these germs. Maybe causes a skip in our immune systems?

 

[water]

Apendrapew,


Yes, it is amazing. I can go mountainhiking, all day, be sweaty through and through -- yet it barely stinks.
I go take an exam, am done in an hour, and it stinks like hell.