Does wet earwax in a newborn baby indicate body odor?

Many diseases are related to each other, and when people mention one disease, they often immediately think of other diseases. Many people find that their earwax is wet and they also have body odor. So, does wet earwax in newborns mean body odor? After learning more about it, we found that not all people with body odor have wet earwax. It can only be said that this situation may exist, but it is not absolute. Let’s learn more about it in detail.

1. Does oily earwax necessarily cause body odor?

If you observe carefully, you will find that almost every person you know with body odor has oily ears. When you suddenly find that you also have oily ears one day, will you panic and be afraid of having body odor? In fact, there is no clear connection between oily ears and body odor. Body odor is the smell produced by the combined action of apocrine sweat glands and bacteria on the surface of the armpits. People with body odor generally have oily ears, which only shows that oily ears are a symptom of body odor, and people with oily ears will not necessarily get body odor.

Earwax can be divided into dry and oily types. For people with oily earwax, the explanation given by traditional Chinese medicine is that such people generally have a body constitution that tends to be damp, hot and toxic, but body odor is caused by the stagnation of dampness and heat, which indirectly explains why many people associate oily earwax with body odor.

2. Oily earwax and body odor

Oily earwax usually causes body odor, but this is not absolute. Whether it is body odor requires further diagnosis. Body odor is caused by the overdevelopment of a special sweat gland in the armpit, called apocrine glands. The secretions of body glands of young men and women are higher than those of other people, especially those with oily skin. The body odor is much stronger than that of ordinary people.

The wetness or dryness of earwax is determined by human genes. Due to genetic mutations, most East Asians have dry earwax, while Europeans and Africans have wet earwax. The wetness or dryness of earwax is not a big deal. The wetness or dryness of earwax depends on the ABCC11 gene. If this gene mutates, it will change the structure of the cell ducts and affect the wetness or dryness of the earwax.

3. Causes of Oily Earwax

Oily earwax is determined by genes. Some people have extra secretion from cerumen glands and sebaceous glands, and the discharge is a brown, oily and sticky substance that accumulates in the outer eye before it dries. Some even flow out of the ear, and some condense into clumps. These are collectively called soft earwax, commonly known as "oily ears". Many friends think that if they have body odor, the earwax is thin, but this view is wrong. People with oily earwax usually have body odor, but body odor is not necessarily caused by oily earwax.