Ammonia Smell While Sweating

hawkeye01

Hello Fellow MFPers,

I am curious if anyone else has experienced an Ammonia/bleach type smell while sweating during a workout. For me it started about 2-3 weeks ago while at the gym. I use the elliptical trainer 5 nights a week and start sweating about 8 minutes in or so. At first I thought it was the towel provided by the gym, but now realize it is coming from my sweat. I also started having an eye irritation (watery stinging eyes) this past week and wonder if it's also due to the ammonia/bleach that I am emitting during my workout as well. I plan to discuss this with my doctor, but it may be a few weeks so I thought I would check here first. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Hawkeye01

lt_mrcook

Sounds like you might have too much protein in your diet, but I'd still encourage you to do some internet research before you go in blindly to speak with your doctor. Don;t mention anything to him other than symptoms, and see if his ideas and suggestions vibe with what you are able to find. Drs are not all knowing, and having some idea about your own health before you speak to them is the best thing you can do for yourself. especially if it turns out you don;t really have a dr, but a glorified drug company rep (not saying all are, but it seems like so many just push the pills pushed to them). Good luck.

shanerylee

Its probably your detergent in your clothings. Sometimes we use too much when we do wash and when you sweat and get moist it activates the suds that are still in your clothes. Ive had this happen with white tshirts especially

courtney_love2001

http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/information/nutrition/ammonia-sweat-smell.htm

Read this...looks like you are doing a high protein, low carb diet!

2bskinnyagain1978

It could also be the chemicals they clean and steralize the machine's with you are smelling the amonia when you sweat and if you are touching the machine and rubbing the sweat from your face the chemical could rub off from your hands to your eye.. I smeel it sometimes at my gym ..

hawkeye01

Thanks everyone for the posts back. I appreciate the input and found that article very helpful. I am going to try drinking more water and eating an apple or banana right before I work out to see if that helps.

Thanks again!!!

Hawkeye01

singfree

I'm no expert, but I read somewhere that the ammonia smell comes from proteins being broken down for fuel due to a depletion of carbohydrate in the body. Supposedly this is a normal function and there should be no reason for alarm. The remedy is to take in more carbs before and during the workout. Too little water could also cause the odor to be stronger.

Again, this is from some articles I've read, not my personal opinion. Thanks!

sonjavon

Hawkeye - I've experienced this - as a matter of fact if you do a search - you may find a post that I made last year on this. I still experience it sometimes. I find that if I eat right before I work out and drink a lot of water it's less... but I do still experience it. I know this sounds stupid but I feel the need to warn you - make sure that you shower immediately after... I had a day where I was mowing the lawn and then had to run a few errands... I experienced mild burns from the sweat sitting for too long.

I don't have a lot to offer you as far as solutions - but wanted you to know that you're not alone. Would love to know what your doctor has to say!!!

hawkeye01

Thanks for the comments. I hate to admit it, but I rarely shower after working out since it's late at night and I take a shower first thing in the morning before going to work. I do sweat immensely during my cardio workout, but it dries up pretty quickly during my weight training. So I am going to start showering right after to see if that also helps. I will increase my carbs. and water as well. I will a also let you know what my doc says.

Hawkeye

Crunchytxmama

I would guess that your workout clothes aren't getting completely clean when you wash them. I was having the same problem with my sports bras and I started having to bleach them. This is random, but I'm a Mama who cloth diapers, and one thing you learn with cloth diapering is that an ammonia smell happens when your diapers aren't clean enough...baby pees on them, the fluid interacts with the bacteria left on the material, and the ammonia smell is a byproduct of that. I thought it was something wrong with my baby! :laugh: I started bleaching, and it completely eliminated the ammonia smell. I would make sure that you're not wearing workout clothes more than once, and try bleach and/or hot water and then see what happens. If you've done that and still have the smell, it's probably coming from you and not the clothes, but at least you could rule out your clothing being the culprit, before you start trying to make health or diet changes!

hawkeye01

Thanks, I will give that a try as well. I appreciate the reply. Take Care!:bigsmile:
I would guess that your workout clothes aren't getting completely clean when you wash them. I was having the same problem with my sports bras and I started having to bleach them. This is random, but I'm a Mama who cloth diapers, and one thing you learn with cloth diapering is that an ammonia smell happens when your diapers aren't clean enough...baby pees on them, the fluid interacts with the bacteria left on the material, and the ammonia smell is a byproduct of that. I thought it was something wrong with my baby! :laugh: I started bleaching, and it completely eliminated the ammonia smell. I would make sure that you're not wearing workout clothes more than once, and try bleach and/or hot water and then see what happens. If you've done that and still have the smell, it's probably coming from you and not the clothes, but at least you could rule out your clothing being the culprit, before you start trying to make health or diet changes!

hawkeye01

Hello All,

Just a quick follow-up to those that were following this topic.

I followed the recommendations of many regarding my water intake and it worked. No more ammonia smell while sweating, so water was indeed the culprit.

Thanks again for the advice. Ken