Night Sweats Smell Like Vinegar

Sweat can smell in various ways, but for the general person, a deviation in the scent of the sweat can be cause for concern. There are millions of sweat glands across the body, mainly scentless ones called eccrine glands, as well as the ones responsible for producing strong smells and apocrine glands. Apocrine glands are primarily located in the genitals, armpits, scalp, face, and breasts. Sweat mainly consists of water and sodium chloride, but it contains a number of other chemicals. When the chemicals in the sweat mix with bacteria, it causes a smell. The smell of sweat can also smell like ammonia, fish, vinegar, alcohol, and even cannabis!

A number of different things influence the scent of sweat. Diet and genetics both play an essential part in influencing sweat. Genetic variations are the main difference between those who sweat excessively without much outside influence and those who do not even need to use deodorant. Puberty also causes changes in body odor because hormones in the body increase sweat gland activity. However, an off smell can originate due to various health conditions. 

Diabetes is one of the health conditions that can cause body odor to smell like vinegar.

Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body has high blood glucose levels (blood sugar). A person whose diabetes is out of control will go into diabetic ketosis, which is when the body burns fat too fast because it is unable to get enough energy from blood glucose. Ketones are produced when fat is burned too fast, which makes blood more acidic. The blood's high acidity and a metabolite like acetone being in the sweat are behind the vinegar smell.

The rare condition trimethylaminuria is a condition in which the body cannot break down trimethylamine, which is a chemical. Trimethylamine has a very fishy smell, so when it is unable to be broken down and builds up in the body, the body itself will start to share that fishy smell. This smell mainly comes through sweat but can also come through the mouth, urine, and reproductive fluids.

Hyperhidrosis is a condition in which a person sweats excessively from their eccrine glands. While eccrine glands are generally not smell-producing, a vinegar-like smell can occur when they are incredibly active, and there is a large amount of sweat collecting on the body and mixing with bacteria.

Kidney disease is also responsible for causing a vinegar smell. This occurs because urea, which smells like vinegar, is not being broken down by the kidneys. Similarly, kidney disease also presents with breath smelling like ammonia.

It makes sense that these smells would become especially apparent when in conjunction with night sweats, as night sweats cause intense sweating. While the best way to deal with the issue of the sweat's scent is to see a doctor and maintain hygiene, other ways exist to help alleviate the problem. One of the ways to specifically help alleviate the night sweats is keeping your body cool, which can be achieved by using the BedFan.

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