Butt Odor 101: Why Your Butt Smells

There are some notorious smelly centers around the bod, from feet to armpits to morning breath. But butt odor is in its own league. There are many reasons for what doctors call Stank Ass or Smelly Bum Syndrome, and it’s not always due to a recent BM.

No part of the body is as likely to smell immediately after a proper scrub than the butt! If you want to know what’s behind your butt odor and how to leave the aroma behind, we’ve got you. 

Reasons You May Have Smelly Bum Syndrome

The Afterpoop

Obviously, poop smells. And everything it touches? Well, that’s also going to be an odor match for poop. That includes the hair down there, which can collect poop particles. Meanwhile, the anus changes position while pooping, and poop can get trapped in the folds. And bad wiping form can exacerbate the whole deuce dilemma.

For these issues, you can rely on a TUSHY Spa to make a vast improvement on your swampy stank. Be forewarned, though: poop smell is pervasive. Think: even after a smoker snuffs out their cigarette, their fingers are gonna smell like smoke. Similarly, the odor from poop can actually permeate the skin and get trapped in your pores. Even a TUSHY can’t clean that deep!

It’s Dark and Damp 

The butt crack is warm, dark, and prone to dampness. There’s not a lot of airflow down there, plus we’ve got sweat glands, hair and moisture. All of this combines to create a mini-climate in your pants that is perfect for stank. 

Gassy Ass

Your digestive system is your body’s way of taking out the trash. As you’d expect, it’s a little stinky. Farting is a release of the gases your body creates in the digestive process. Sometimes they’re odorless, sometimes they’re deadly. Stinky farts are a totally normal part of the digestive process.

Digestive issues like IBS and lactose intolerance can make potent farts a particularly common occurrence. Talk about down in the dumps!

Anal Yeast Infection or STIs

If you’re doing anal, your backdoor is susceptible to infections. This includes anal yest infections (a.k.a. itch-ass) and STIs like chlamydia or gonorrhea. In addition to being uncomfy, infections can also cause abnormal odors. Bummer!

Sweating and Synthetic Fabrics

Your tighty-whities are trapping sweat and germs on your bum. Synthetic fabrics like nylon and polyester are especially non-breathable. If sweat’s flowing with nowhere to go, you’re asking for a case of swamp ass.

Trapping sweat and germs against your skin is simply going to cause stank as the day progresses. Unfortunately, it’s like your butt is giving gym bag vibes. Or sweaty kids after soccer in a Suburban chic. Can’t say we love the smell!

Having Hemorrhoids 

Hemorrhoids are swollen veins around the anus, similar to varicose veins but in the butt. They can cause itching, pain, bleeding or a swollen rosebud. If the hemorrhoid becomes irritated, it may smell, and they’re sometimes associated with stankier dookies. One of the many joys of adulthood!

How to Get Rid of Butt Odor

So you’ve diagnosed why your dumps smell like what what. So what do you do about it? If you don’t want to resort to clothes-pinning your nose shut, here are some tried and true methods to alleviate your odors.

Clean Thoroughly After Pooping

There’s such a thing as wiping the wrong way, especially if you’re in a hurry. You want a firm pressure to get the stool, but not so firm you cause an abrasion. We do not recommend scrubbing the hell out of your butthole with toilet paper. That’s only going to irritate the sensitive areas around your a-hole. Lessons we learned the hard way :/

But… imagine you got dog doo on your arm. Now imagine wiping it off with toilet paper. Do you feel clean? Like… no! In short, a dry paper wipe is not the best way to wash where the sun doesn’t shine.

Of course, there are disposable wet wipes. Unfortunately baby wipes aren’t flushable (no matter what the packaging says), and they end up in landfills.  We’re for sure biased, but a thorough wash is simply simplest with a bidet.

Wash Gym Bottoms and Avoid Synthetic Fabrics

If you’ve gone full sweat stank in a pair of gym bottoms, you know they can fill the room. Obviously your stanky workout clothes need a good wash. And it’s a good idea to designate certain clothing items for high-sweat activities, since smells can get trapped in the fibers of your gear.

Generally, you want to opt for natural fabrics like linen and cotton. These breathable materials allow air flow, which allows sweat on your skin to dry, which cuts down on smells. Win-win-win!

Use Natural Deodorants or Powders for Your Butt

Powders like Johnson’s Baby Powder keep the area dry, which helps to keep bacteria from vibing in your crack in the first place. Meanwhile, natural deodorants like Lume can help stop smells at the root. There’s no shame in adding a little powder to your smell game.

Treat Any Hemorrhoids or STIs

There are run-of-the mill stanks and “I should see a doctor” stanks. If you’re noticing smells down there that you didn’t have before, trust your gut. You may need your doctor to do a full check up to figure out what’s going on. If you need to treat a health issue, just doo it.

Watch What You Eat

If certain foods lead to your unique poo-pourri, you can go easy on them. If you aren’t sure, start paying attention to possible correlations between your diet and lurking butt smells. Decreasing your intake of foods that make you gassy is a no-brainer for no-butt-odor.

Consider Waxing (If You’re Overly Hairy)

Hair traps smells. Hair collects poop. If you have a hairy a-hole, it’s def contributing to your overall stank. Waxing your butt hair can be a lifesaver for keeping smells away and also for having an overall cleaner badonk. This is because removing hair limits the spaces that poop can cling to. This will help keep you, as the kids say, fresher than a m*therf*cker.

A Bidet is a Butt Investment

We’ve talked stank ass and smelly bum syndrome. We’ve taken a whirlwind tour of the buttcrack, and explored all the reasons you may be crafting an aromatic brew around your b-hole. And we’ve learned how to get rid of unwanted butt odors. Top of our list is a bidet: a low-key one-stop-shop for overall butt health and cleanliness. If you want to stop butt odor before it starts, hook yourself up with a TUSHY bidet attachment.