bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites inhabit every human body and just about every other living and inanimate thing

they normally either work in harmony with our own processes or lie dormant in wait for optimal conditions to multiply

if imbalance occurs in the body the harmony is disrupted, microbe overgrowth can occur and dormant microbes can become active and start to multiply

microbe byproducts can include many odorous compounds and, like food and supplements, if there are more compounds than the body can process then malodor can occur

odor perception is subjective and depends on genetics and sensitivity of the nose

the table below includes some microbes and their commonly perceived odor descriptions

microbe	odor description
acinetobacter baumannii	dirty gym socks or a gym locker
acinetobacter guillouiae	fish
actinomycetes	rich, musty, earthy, dirt after rain
alkaligenes faecalis	freshly cut apples
brevibacteria	sulfuric, old cheese
candida/yeast	yeasty, like baking bread or beer
citrobacterÿspecies	dirty sneakers
clostridium difficile	putrid, fecal, horse shit
corynebacterium species	fruity, cumin
cyanobacteria / cyanophyta	potting soil, dirt
eikenella corrodens	bleach
escherichia coli	floral/flowery, fecal
fusobacterium	rancid butter, fetid
gardnerella	fishy, ammonia
gram-negative anaerobes	bad breath, morning breath
haemophilus influenzae	flowery
haemophilusÿspecies	wet fur, mousy
malassezia	grassy, fruity
moraxella catarrhalis	pungent, semen-like
nocardia species	rich, musty, earthy, dirt after rain, musty basement
paenibacillus odorifer	bread
pasterurella multocida	pungent (indole)
peptostreptococcus anaerobius	fecal
pigmented Bacterioides group	acrid
propionibacteria	vinegar
proteus mirabilis	fishy, rotten cooked fish
proteus species	rancid, rotten chicken broth, chocolate cake, brownie, burnt chocolate
pseudomallei	ammonia
pseudomonas aeruginosa	grape juice, sweet, fruity, corn chips
psychrobacillus psychrotolerans	band aid
staphylococcus lugdenensis	sweet, hay-like, earthy
staphylococcusÿspecies	dirty sneakers, strong cheese
streptococcus milleri	caramel, browned butter
streptococcusÿspecies	butter, butterscotch, sweet, cake-like, caramel
streptomyces species	rich, musty, earthy, dirt after rain, musty basement
	know any others? get in touch