Bad body odour only on surgery side

FormerMember
FormerMember
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After having a positive breast biopsy result my consultant still wasn't happy so, I had further biopsies taken which came back clear. My consultant then said I'd need a lymph node dissection and open breast biopsy which I had done 6th Oct (16 days ago). I get my results this wed the 25th Oct. 

I have now noticed that the armpit that had the nodes removed now smells extremely bad of sweat which is very unusual for me and my good armpit smells normal.

  • How interesting! I'm the complete opposite. I haven't sweated under that arm at all since I had my nodes removed. I assumed the sweat glands were removed at the same time. Obviously yours weren't. 

    How is your wound healing? Sometimes you can get an infection in the wound, which could be the cause of the smell. Is there any discharge, or is the wound area hot? Do you have a temperature? If you have any of these symptoms, you should contact your medical team asap.

    Lynn xx 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi

    I had the same thing too. It went eventually but was odd as id never had smelly b.o before. I wonder if its the anaesthetic still in our systems. I was told it can linger for up to a month in our systems after surgery.


    Hope it diminishes for you soon and that your results are kind to you. X

    Best wishes

    Samantha x

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    l had the same after my mastectomy. In the side of my mastectomy l had bad BO.  Never had that before. it lasted about 3 weeks. Now l seem to have little or no BO on that side.

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    I’ve just seen this thread and picking up where you left off. 

    I had surgery a month ago and they undertook a SNB removing 2 of the nodes . 


    I did catch an infection as I developed a haematona however this has now subsided . I took antibiotics 10 days ago so presume this has cleared however I note that I still have horrible sweaty smell underarm . I use padded dressings to absorb the sweat plus I note that the sweat causes stinging sensation where the incision is as scar is  still healing . 


    It’s still very sore plus with the nasty b.o I don’t know what to wear 


    I am due to return to work soon and no idea what I’m going to do with regards to controlling my b.o - my other arm is fine , it’s just the arm where I’ve had surgery :( 

  • Hi Anonymous49. I hope you're recovering well from your surgery other than the BO issue. 

    When I had surgery, I healed within a couple of weeks and had no pain. I'm only saying this as it makes me suspect that you still have an infection somewhere in there. Some of those bugs can be very persistent. If it were me, I'd be straight back to the docs for them to check it out and possibly give you more antibiotics.

    Hope it all clears up soon. 

    Lynn xx 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to Kacang

    Hi Kacang 

    Thank you . I took your advice and went to my GP. I am still very sore underarm and the haematona has shrunk however doctor says it’s going to take months before it disappears.


    Doctor agreed saying that it’s still infected although the stitching/scar seems ok 


    She has given me another course of antibiotics so fingers crossed , it does the trick. 


    It seems that these bugs have affected other parts of the body as I seem to have developed an ear infection so hoping the meds will clear that too. 


    I feel as if I am falling apart. 


    I hate being ill , - how it’s affecting my daily life , not being able to use both arms properly 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Same!

    I had a lumpectomy last week and immediately I came round from the GA I could smell my armpit.  It is the surgery side only and I didn’t really perspire that much before either. 

    The thing is I have just got out of the shower having my husband scrub me from head to toe and my smelly armpit smelled immediately!

    I will speak with my breast nurse tomorrow in the meantime I read that washing the area with white vinegar helps

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Hi I had the same issue and it went on for months. However 2 years clear now and the smell has gone!

    Its early days so try not to worry as I did. 

    It will ease in time. 


    Take care and hope you heal well and have no more issues x


    Samantha

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Thank you Samantha! Yes I’m learning that people have this problem and that it goes away at some stage, but it’s good to know you have yours sorted it gives me faith x 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to Kacang

    Hi

    I had my lymph nodes removed from under both arms in October 2015.

    I got a sudemonous infection in right side and also sepsis.

    While I was recovering in hospital I got the bad odour smell in both arms .

    I havnt had and bad smells for over 2years but the last week the bad smell had returned and I'm not sure why? 

    When I've had my bath as im drying myself I can smell the bad odour?

    Should I be concerned ? Is this a sign of something else? 

    Thankyou