Whew, when they have bo …

 

As published in New Straits Times

 

Co-written by Adam Ismail

 

The bell rings. It signals the end of Pendidikan Jasmani. Thirsty and tired after a game of rounders, you and your classmates drag your feet back to the classroom.

 

As you’re flat out from that strenuous game, you quench your thirst in between taking big gulps of air. Then, the class monitor, aka Aromatic Adrian, who sits right smack in the middle, rushes to get into his uniform.

 

Everyone suddenly holds his breath in anticipation. He pulls up his totally drenched, round-neck collar T-shirt over his head. Then … “Fooooooh! Smells like teen spirit.”

 

Hands up if you’ve had similar experiences. And, please … hands down to the culprits! Hello? Hands down before you kill us with your pong!

 

Didn’t you hear us? Hmmmph … that’s the problem.

 

Those with strong body odour usually don’t know they stink.

 

Apart from being able to cause a major migraine that could last for hours, the piercing smell could also stick onto your clothes. And it could stay there long after the perpetrator has left the room.

 

So how does one tell the person he’s suffocating you to death? Yeah, people say, “sometimes you need to be cruel to be kind.”

 

But how do you tell your girlfriend that she smells worse than a dead rat without hurting her feelings? How do you make her realise that people are not smiling at her because she’s so popular, but because they’re desperately holding their breath for dear life?

 

Haslina Hamidi tells us how she managed: “I had this colleague in university. We weren’t really close but she’d always volunteer herself whenever we had group projects. I didn’t mind this but she always had a strong BO (body odour).

 

“It was torturous enough in the air-conditioned lecture theatres where she would sit some distance away from us (actually, many of us tried to sit far away from her). But it was much worse when we had to work side by side during the afternoons.

 

“Her BO was so bad that you’d just die if she entered the lift with her. The lift would be reeking of her smell after she had left. It was the same in toilets.

 

“The last straw was when one Saturday, she offered to hold a file for me. She promptly stuck it under her armpit. And  she was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt!

 

“That was when I decided to tell her about her BO and how she affected those around her. I got the courage only after another week of suffering. I took her aside and told her gently.

 

“I said, `Please don’t misunderstand me. And please don’t get embarrassed. This is for your own good. Do you realise you have a strong body scent … I used to have it too. Not anymore. I use XXX brand and it’s really great …”

 

“Thankfully, she took it well. Of course, there was no immediate change. But the smell subsided after a week or two. Now, you don’t even notice it when she walks into class.”

 

Rozie Imran, 21, also remembers a friend who carried the pong with her wherever she went. After some time, when she and her other classmates couldn’t hack it any longer, they decided to take a soft approach to the problem.

 

“This girl was the outdoors type. And whenever she came in after a while in the  sun, she really stank.

 

“It really affected us. We couldn’t even concentrate on our studies.

 

“We were always exchanging knowing glances when she came in. But she never got the drift.

 

“We decided enough was enough. But none of us dared to tell her in her face for fear she’d feel insulted.

 

“So on her birthday, we bought a small gift basket with two deodorants – spray and roll-on. We put it right on top of the pile of other goodies.

 

“I think she must have got the hint finally because, after that, she was smell-free!”

 

Sometimes though, you may just have to bear the smell, like in the case of Anissa Aziz and her friends, who went to watch a movie.

 

“We had heard so much about Moulin Rouge and were eagerly looking forward to the movie. But our enthusiasm was doused from the minute we entered the cinema.

 

“We had seats worse than the first row – we were right behind someone, whose body odour filled every inch of the small cineplex. What’s more, the guy had his arm over his girlfriend’s shoulder!” said Anissa, 18.

 

“We couldn’t concentrate on the movie mostly because our minds were clouded by the odour. But we were also trying to figure out how his girlfriend could survive with that awful smell.”

 

According to dermatologist Dr Steven Chow, “the BO problem is a medical one.” Thus, it’s likely to be treatable. But before one can find a cure for the problem, one must first identify its cause.

 

Contrary to popular belief, Chow saidthings like spicy food and garlic do not contribute to body odour.

 

One may have bad body whiff due to a disturbed physiological state. But this usually happens to someone who’s really ill, such as suffering from liver failure. So, if you’re alive and kicking, you don’t have to worry about this. Bad body odour may also occur due to chronic infections on your skin. So, if you’ve got it, treat it, because it can grow into something that doesn’t only look disgusting but smells as bad, too.

 

The most common type of BO cases is due to perspiration. When you perspire, bacteria on your skin will break down urea from your sweat an that’s when you start to stink.

 

This is why “chubby” people should try trimming down or really take good care of their hygiene because sweat may accumulate in the folds of their body and cause bad body odour to occur.

 

However, not all is lost.

 

“I swear I’ve tried the strongest brands of deodorants this country has to offer. I’ve even tried sprays and roll-ons together. I’ve experimented on both the dry and wet types, but I give myself two hours before smelling like wet T-shirt in a plastic bag again,” said Kat Fernandez, 17.

 

Indeed, sufferers must be informed that deodorants do not solve the BO problem.

 

Toiletries can only be a short-term measure in masking body odour but doesn’t get to the root of the problem – they don’t kill the bacteria that causes your body odour.

 

In fact, in some cases, toiletries make it worse when chemicals in them and the human body are mixed. It could make one’s body smell like the city dump.

 

So to solve the problem, Dr Chow advises those with the problem to use cleansing products with lower pH levels to prevent bacteria from breeding on their skin.

 

But before one can take steps to becoming BO-free, one must first acknowledge that one stinks. On one hand, some may have the decency of self-realisation but others are either in denial or just waiting to be told.

 

“You have to tell them, especially if they’re your friends,” says Mahadi Razman, 16. “It’s bound to hurt somewhat but consider yourself honest enough to help him in dealing with the problem.”

 

Charles Devan, 18, from Klang says: “Your friend, the one with the BO problem, may be a little on the bengap (blur) side so you have to scheme your approach so that the message gets across. But of course, you must approach the issue with some sensitivity.”

 

Now that you are enlightened about the causes and solutions, for heaven’s sake do something about it. It’s an absolute turn-off!