Having to (constantly) inhale bad odour from someone can be very discomforting but more frustrating is the thought of telling the person especially when you're not sure of how the person would react.

On Friday's edition of the Super Morning Show, the conversation centered on whether or not one would tell someone who has body odour about it and how they would do that.

The conversation was sparked by a concern raised by a friend of the show who narrated an encounter with a lady. That can be very embarrassing. According to the 38-year old bachelor who spoke to JoyNews on anonymity, he came across the profile of this very young but beautiful lady on one of the social media platforms and 'followed' her.

For a while, he was just observing her until she posted a picture of an event that they were both supposed to be at and that led him into her inbox.

“I d-m-ed her, we got talking; just trying to know her and all of that. We met up, we had dinner, and we’ve been talking for quite some time now.”

He said his predicament began when the lady invited him to her residence.

“She invited me home one day and I obliged. She said she had a meeting with a client that day, so I had to pick her up from the meeting and then we drove to her house together,” he added.

After some talk, things started to get a little freaky between them and the lady tried to adjust her skirt a bit just to give him some room to operate.

“But as I was about to get into it and do what I know best, there was this foul and acrid smell coming from ‘down there’ [in between her legs] and it just turned me off instantly. I pretended to have a phone call just to stir her mind away from what we had started a few moments ago.

“I haven’t met up with her since. We talk, text, but I just cannot bring myself to meet up with her again.

“She’s a full spec oo, classy woman, everything is on point but my biggest problem right now is how to tell her without destroying the friendship that exists between us. I want to help her but I don’t know how to,” he concluded.

Well, unlike this gentleman who harbours some fears about opening up to the lady about the matter, the majority of listeners who phoned into the show said they would gather the courage and spill the beans. They gave a variety of methods to use in telling her about it.

According to the first caller who identified herself as Abigail, she would definitely tell her.

“For me, I think the guy should tell the woman. For the first two minutes she would be shocked and not know what to say, but as she thinks about it she would appreciate the guy more. He should suggest that she sees a gynecologist and sometimes offer to go and see him/her with her.

Another caller, Raymond who phoned in from Circle was of the view that “it is easy to tell the person about the problem. But it depends on the way you handle it and the relationship you have with the person,” he said.

Nana Kweku from Kumasi who said the issue was a small issue gave three steps in dealing with the problem.   

“Depending on your relationship with the person, especially when you’re close to the person, [if its body odor] you can buy some deodorant and gift it to the person. An intelligent woman will get the message and will start using it.”

The second step is by gradually drawing her attention to the problem with various illustrations and thirdly, letting her know she has that problem. Then you help her by finding a solution and acting on it together.

“You can accompany her to the gynecologist and the lady will like him forever. But telling her just like that will make her hate you forever,” he added.

Michael in Teshie said he will present the case as though it concerns someone else, ask the lady to proffer a solution then, tell her to apply the solution to herself. This, according to him, will draw her attention to the problem without her getting offended.

Afi in Sowutuom suggested that before telling the lady about the problem, the guy needs to psyche her up that what he is about telling her will not sound very pleasant but she needs to bear with him.

“Then you narrate the incident about the last visit. There’s no need to tell her to see a gynecologist or anything. Every wise lady after hearing that will look for a solution, although she might feel a bit embarrassed about the situation.

Isaac James from Abokobi said communicating the issue to the person involved should be handled with great caution since the matter is a very delicate issue and matters could be misinterpreted if care is not taken.

Ayele who called from Spintex advised the man to muster courage and tell her about it. She also said the lady should practice personal hygiene.

Bearing body odour can be very embarrassing. It is a distinctive smell, especially an unpleasant one that emanates from the body.

It occurs due to bacteria on a person’s skin breaking down protein molecules within sweat and producing odor as a result. Failure to practice proper personal hygiene also accounts for that.

Body odour kills the confidence in people and sometimes drives others away from the person with the ordour.

There are various ways one can deal with body odour. First of all one suffering from this should strictly practice proper personal hygiene. This includes bathing and brushing twice daily, avoiding re-wearing unwashed clothes, shaving the pubic hair regularly.

Here in Ghana, using lime or lemon and ash is a very good way of dealing with it.

Body odour kills confidence and sometimes drives people away from the person with the ordour. How would you tell your wife, husband, friend or colleague about the acrid smell?