Possibly... deodorant?

Snackbar

So I've had a problem for, I'd guess, around two years involving lots of perspiration in my armpits. I've tried several things to rectify said problem, including swapping brands/types of deodorant (which does work for about two days after a switch), shaving the hair under there, etc. but nothing seems to be a real fix.

I haven't always had this problem and was just wondering if anyone might have an idea of what the deal is?

PS: I'm an 18 year old male in pretty good physical condition.

Thanks in advance.

ThePantsAssociation

I don't know if you've tried this one before, but the only anti-perspirant that works for me is called Certain Dri. It comes in a box, but you can buy it at most supermarkets.

It uses aluminum chloride which shrinks the pores in your armpits. You put it on before you go to sleep — and you're good to go the next day. I used to perspire quite a bit under my arms but the stuff worked for me.

TrippyDK

One side effect of the certain dri is it can really make your arm pits itch and dry them out. YMMV though. Me and my brother both use it, hes never complained about it, but i routinely go through it.

Rook

Deodorant's just mask the stench of your sweat. Anti-perspirants stop you from sweating.

And the difference is probably puberty. (and yes, puberty carries on changing you well into your late teens and early 20s).

Hlubocky

I can speak for Certain Dri and associated generics. I have never found an antiperspirant that works for me, so I gave this product and shot and love it! The only thing is you need to watch how much you put on. If you slather it on, your pits will be itching and burning like some demon spawned a ball of hellfire under your arms. Even with the right amount, it can still be itchy, but seriously, I put up with it since it works great and I haven't had to deal with stains since.

vonPoonBurGer

There is actually a medical condition called hyperhidrosis, which sounds like it fits what you're describing. It's pretty common, too, about 1% of the population has it. The most common treatment is what most of you are already doing, namely the aluminum chloride based antiperspirant. There's a list of some other brands containing aluminum chloride on the Wikipedia page. There are other treatments available, though, if the Certain Dri isn't working and you're willing to consider more extreme options.

Menthol

vonPoonBurGer wrote:

There are other treatments available, though, if the Certain Dri isn't working and you're willing to consider more extreme options.

Yeah. Some people are getting BOTOX SHOTS in their underarms to stop the sweating.

by all means, try topical treatments first.

ddahcmai

Yeah, as far as the aluminum chloride thing goes, I had a friend with this problem and he talked to his doctor about it and got a prescription for some extra powerful aluminum chloride type anti-perspirant. So if you want, the doctor is a pretty good option in my opinion if it's really that serious.

crake

aluminum chloride - isn't that supposed to be bad for you? I'm working on a vague memory of a conversation here, but it seems to me the word alzheimers came up...

Anyway, I could be full of shit. Still, mentioned it in case you want to research that one further.

Theungry

crake wrote:

aluminum chloride - isn't that supposed to be bad for you? I'm working on a vague memory of a conversation here, but it seems to me the word alzheimers came up...

Anyway, I could be full of shit. Still, mentioned it in case you want to research that one further.

I have often heard Aluminum to be heavily linked to breast cancer, and yes men can get breast cancer, though its statistically much less common.

[spoiler:9636cb6399]Men can even lactate![/spoiler:9636cb6399]

Rook

Theungry wrote:

crake wrote:

aluminum chloride - isn't that supposed to be bad for you? I'm working on a vague memory of a conversation here, but it seems to me the word alzheimers came up...

Anyway, I could be full of shit. Still, mentioned it in case you want to research that one further.

I have often heard Aluminum to be heavily linked to breast cancer, and yes men can get breast cancer, though its statistically much less common.

[spoiler:29838f0045]Men can even lactate![/spoiler:29838f0045]

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2005/405_sweat.html

The Cancer Myth

The rise of the Internet has made it easy for false health claims, scary stories, and rumors to reach millions of people in a matter of minutes. One such myth says that antiperspirants may cause breast cancer.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the breast cancer-antiperspirant myth first appeared in the form of an e-mail in the 1990s, and continues to resurface and recirculate about every year or so. The false information suggests that antiperspirants contain harmful substances, which can be absorbed through the skin or can enter the body near the breasts through nicks in the skin caused by shaving. The e-mails also suggested that antiperspirants keep a person from "sweating out toxins," resulting in the spread of cancer-causing toxins via the lymph nodes.

But the NCI says that no existing scientific or medical evidence links the use of underarm antiperspirants or deodorants to the subsequent development of breast cancer. The FDA, the Mayo Clinic, the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association agree. Razor nicks may increase the risk of skin infection, but not cancer.

According to the ACS, sweat glands are not connected to the lymph nodes. Most cancer-causing substances are removed by the kidneys, are released through urine or by the liver, and are eliminated with feces. The ACS says that lymph nodes may help to clear some toxins from the body, but they do not release these toxins through sweating. Sweat is not a significant route for eliminating toxins from the body.

And a study of 813 women with breast cancer and 703 women with no history of breast cancer, published in the October 2002 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that antiperspirants do not cause breast cancer.

Some speculate that the myth could have been started by women being told not to wear antiperspirants or deodorants before a mammogram. They were told this, not for safety reasons, but because residue from these products appearing in the X-ray is often mistaken for an abnormality in the breast.

DaySleeper

Rook wrote:

Some speculate that the myth could have been started by women being told not to wear antiperspirants or deodorants before a mammogram. They were told this, not for safety reasons, but because residue from these products appearing in the X-ray is often mistaken for an abnormality in the breast.

How much antiperspirant do these people wear?

I typically use a Speed Stick deodourant and occasionally one of their 'classic' antiperspirants, though I don't like the flaky stuff.

Theungry

I don't pretend to have conclusive knowledge on the fact that Aluminum does or does not contribute to the development of breast cancer. The FDA and NCI are both US government institutions and as such are heavily influence by politics and Lobbying.

The Journal of Applied Toxicology published research connecting aluminum to factors related to breast cancer in Volume 26, Issue 3 , Pages 191 - 197 (May/June '06)

Again this is not conclusive evidence, its not even first hand information, but it is reason to keep the question open until real evidence is produced.

reddog

I used to have this problem as well. I've found that the only two deoderant/anti persperants that work for me are either Mitchem or the Old Spice High Endurance.

Mitchem tended to dry me out and made me itch here and there so I've switched to Old SPice High Endurance and this seems to work for me.

Rook

Theungry wrote:

I don't pretend to have conclusive knowledge on the fact that Aluminum does or does not contribute to the development of breast cancer. The FDA and NCI are both US government institutions and as such are heavily influence by politics and Lobbying.

The Journal of Applied Toxicology published research connecting aluminum to factors related to breast cancer in Volume 26, Issue 3 , Pages 191 - 197 (May/June '06)

Again this is not conclusive evidence, its not even first hand information, but it is reason to keep the question open until real evidence is produced.

Yeah, my athens login is screwing up so whilst I haven't read the article, I see in the abstract it's really just a continuation of their previous work which isn't working on any epidemiological results. The epidemiology studies that have been done appear to be either flawed or have shown no link (and possibly flawed as well) http://www.natlbcc.org/bin/index.asp?strid=790&depid=20

And whilst it's commendable to keep your mind open and be distrustful of the government. I may remind you that research scientists also need funding. And to get funding they have to publish interesting results. Really you can trust the average research paper as much as you can trust any government

Anyways the point remains, aluminium has not in been heavily linked to breast cancer. And on your list of lifestyle changes you should make to avoid getting cancer, I would be feel fairly comfortable in saying that your method of deodorising yourself should probably be fairly far down the list.

stixs4321

I used to have that problem(still do). I used to sweat a ton when doing nothing, I could run miles and be dry but when I sat there playing video games I'd just sweat from my pits like nuts. Things I've noticed make it worse, too much deodorant, just use a swipe or two unless you stink. Applying deodorant directly after a shower and for some strange reason wearing certain shirts I own cause me to sweat more than others and there all pretty much the same material/style. Once I was sweating tons wearing a shirt so switched and it stopped, fucked up.

Try switching deodorants periodically. Go with something 14% whateva the ingrediant is then switch it up to something higher at 18%. This actually seems to work well. Axe deodorant has a higher concentration and that seems to work pretty well for me as I switch back to the green power stripe shit.

I also did accupunture for it, I was bone dry by the 3rd treatment and when I'd start sweating again I'd tell my accupunturist and she'd hit those points and boom bone dry again. I really reccomend that if its really that much of a problem. If your sweat stinks, try eating more lettuce or purchasing some liquid colophyll and mixing it with water twice a day before dinner or after.

Lawnboy360

Hlubocky wrote:

I can speak for Certain Dri and associated generics. I have never found an antiperspirant that works for me, so I gave this product and shot and love it! The only thing is you need to watch how much you put on. If you slather it on, your pits will be itching and burning like some demon spawned a ball of hellfire under your arms. Even with the right amount, it can still be itchy, but seriously, I put up with it since it works great and I haven't had to deal with stains since.

I use the same kind of stuff, Maxim and now Odaban. Odaban seems to cause less itching. These products are very effective. Whatever brand you get, make sure your armpits are perfectly dry when you use it (before you go to bed). The aluminium chloride will react with the h2o from your body and you'll get some chloridric acid on your skin... if it does itch, resist the urge to scratch; if your skin gets irritated from the scratching, it'll burn like hell next time you apply. Then you'll run to the bathroom to wash it off.

http://www.odaban.com/

edit - also, wait at least 1 hour after taking a shower before applying

Blake T

stixs4321 wrote:

I used to have that problem(still do). I used to sweat a ton when doing nothing, I could run miles and be dry but when I sat there playing video games I'd just sweat from my pits like nuts. Things I've noticed make it worse, too much deodorant, just use a swipe or two unless you stink. Applying deodorant directly after a shower and for some strange reason wearing certain shirts I own cause me to sweat more than others and there all pretty much the same material/style. Once I was sweating tons wearing a shirt so switched and it stopped, fucked up.

Try switching deodorants periodically. Go with something 14% whateva the ingrediant is then switch it up to something higher at 18%. This actually seems to work well. Axe deodorant has a higher concentration and that seems to work pretty well for me as I switch back to the green power stripe shit.

I also did accupunture for it, I was bone dry by the 3rd treatment and when I'd start sweating again I'd tell my accupunturist and she'd hit those points and boom bone dry again. I really reccomend that if its really that much of a problem. If your sweat stinks, try eating more lettuce or purchasing some liquid colophyll and mixing it with water twice a day before dinner or after.

Your sweat does not stink.

You smell because bacteria on your hair eats the sweat and produces smelly stuff.

Try washing under your arms in the morning with an anti bacterial soap.

It wont stop you sweating but it will stop you from smelling as much.

Theungry

Rook wrote:

Anyways the point remains, aluminium has not in been heavily linked to breast cancer. And on your list of lifestyle changes you should make to avoid getting cancer, I would be feel fairly comfortable in saying that your method of deodorising yourself should probably be fairly far down the list.

I agree with this, and would only prioritize precaution for a woman with a family history of breast cancer.

vonPoonBurGer

Blaket wrote:

Your sweat does not stink.

You smell because bacteria on your hair eats the sweat and produces smelly stuff.

Try washing under your arms in the morning with an anti bacterial soap.

It wont stop you sweating but it will stop you from smelling as much.

Shaving under your arms is also effective, as it removes the bacteria's primary shelter. I lived in Vancouver for several years, and I can verify, hippie chicks who choose not to shave smell a lot worse than women who do. If you're a guy, the downside is people will probably think you're weird. Of course, you can always join the swim team to give yourself an excuse for being dolphin-smooth.