Help..Employee with scalp infection causing body odor

I supervise 30 people.I have one who has very offensive body odor. He says its from a scalp infection.It has been ongoing for about 8 months and makes for a very bad work enviroment. Does anyone know of this kind of problem and what can be done.It has gotten to the point that I had a meeting with Human Resources yesterday.
Thanks

find a new job !!! people are human.

Infections can involve a quite potent odor - depends on what the infection is and how extenisve it is. In part it can help to wash regularly - more than once a day if necessary and use a topical antifungal or antibacterial solution. This can help reduce the overall bacterial or fungal load on the skin and correspondingly the odor chemicals produced are reduced. The afected region needs to be dried throughly each time and kept dry. Limiting skin humidity and sweating (Ie. no hats) can help slow down bacterial/fungal proliferation and so reduce odor.

The fact that this has been going on for 8 months suggests the current treatment isn't working too well. There's a risk that the infection is relatively resistant, or may become resistant, to the antibiotics (Kathy sent me an email with more detail). I would say a review of the treatment regime with his doc is in order. Topical antifungal or antibacterial agents along with oral application might help.

Beta-lactam antibiotics, tetracycline, and erythromycin are commonly used but there is some resistance to these among infectious agents. Fluoroquinolones may be more potent. ciprofloxacin (cipro of anthrax fame), enoxacin, ofloxacin, and temafloxacin appear to be most useful for cutaneous bacterial infections.

You can't tell him what to do but maybe you can find a subtle way to tell him to go back to the doc and talk about more aggressive treatment options.
_________________
Kevin - The management - keratin.com

scalp odor

Kevin, I sympathize with both the employee and the person writing the post. I have had persistent and worsening scalp odor for about 5 years now. It started out as a chemical smell, has gone through many changes over the course of time. It is getting so bad that I am embarrassed to even go out in public. I have been to several doctors, some have passed it off as "my imagination", some have just said they had no idea what it could be. I have tried every possible shampoo on the market, I have tried Scalpicin scalp treatment, I have used Dial Antibacterial liquid soap, Sulfur soap, I have tried cutting carbs from my diet thinking it could be systemic yeast, I have tried colonic cleansing, drinking lots of water, adding body cleansing powder to my water. I can't think of anything I haven't tried. I wash my hair every day because it is so bad, in fact I can smell the odor even as I towel dry my hair after washing it. I know it is obvious to others because my children will get in my car after school and comment "Ooh, what's that smell". Or someone in a room with me will say comment about something smelling bad. When this happens it is always at a time when I am also smelling the odor. Very humid weather makes it worse, if I am in the rain and get my hair wet it makes the odor twice as bad. If I have a moment of stress, like fear or anger, it suddenly makes the odor waft out stronger. If you will type "Scalp and Hair Odor Forum" on your search you will find a website that is mainly for people with hair transplants or something like that. In that website is a forum for posting messages about all different topics, one is called Scalp and Hair Odor, go into that, the first one is full, there is a second one. It is full of people from all over the world with the same problem, the Caribbean, Ireland, Spain, Arizona, Kansas, most do not say where they are from. We are all desperate, between all of us we have tried EVERYTHING possible. Right now I am doing what a guy named Enrique from Spain is doing, he is mixing opened antibiotic capsules with water and spraying it on his head, he is using Amoxicillin. I tried Minocycline just now with a spray bottle and left it on 1 1/2 hours then washed. I still smell the odor and my head is kind of burning. I also have some Macrodantin I may try another time. If there was someone who was willing to do some research on this - I think there are many, many people with the same problem. On the above mentioned website are just the people who happened upon the website. I personally would be willing to go to any clinic in the country if there was a doctor or research scientist who was willing to really take this seriously. There have actually been people on the website who have been mentioning suicide because they are so distraught and embarrassed. I am not one of those. But it is really affecting my quality of life since I am afraid to go in public. There is hardly a minute of any day when I am not thinking of this problem and wondering how bad my odor is at the time. Please post back. Thank you. Pam

scalp odor

Dear Pam
I had the same problem for the past 3yrs. and did not know why. I went to a holistic doctor desperate to find out what was wrong with me. I would go to my physician and he said it was all in my head and wanted to put me on anxiety medication. The holistic doctor performed a body scan and my tooth that I had a root canal done on came up. She advised me to get the tooth pulled because root canals can cause terrible infections. I got the tooth pulled and the odor is gone. If you have a tooth with a root canal, mercury, or nickel you should go to a holistic dentist or a dentist that are aware of the dangers of using these chemicals and procedures to get them removed. God Bless.
nattidread

Re: scalp odor

I have scalp odor also but didn't notice it until May of 2005. I went to a number of doctors both holistic and conventional and after doctor number 20, was diagnosed with heavy metal toxicity three times the level of both mercury and lead. Research shows that there is a symbiotic relationship between heavy metals and candida (overgrowth of yeast). The yeast protects the brain cells from the metals, but can cause a host of problems. My thought is the odor is coming from yeast overgrowth, especially if you have dental filling that contain 50% mercury! I had the mercury removed in January. I went to a MD/kinesiologist who diagnosed me with digestive disorders, liver imbalance, candida overgrowth and bacterial infections. I was given a number of supplements to counteract the imbalances. Since that time, I have added colonics and an acidophilous/bifidus for my gut as well as chelation therapy. I am hopeful that after about six months the odor will abate. It's an expensive undertaking, but well worth it for the peace of mind.

Google Dr. Klinghardt who is a guru for mercury toxicity and it's effects. He even has a protocol available on the web.