Most guys occasionally have smelly junk. Sweat, dribbles of stale urine and other body fluids, combined with the heat generated by a double layer of clothing, all guarantee that stinky scents crop up from time to time. What most guys don’t know is that the fishy smell emanating from down below is the result of bacteria that are attracted to the warm environment and body fluids. What they also don’t know is that, surprisingly, the nutrient known as retinol, or Vitamin A, can help banish that unpleasant penis odor; here’s why it should be a part of any man's penis care routine.

Bacteria and the Skin

Every inch of a man's skin is covered by microscopic organisms, including various types of fungal spores, as well as bacteria. As unpleasant as it sounds, most of the bacteria are actually beneficial, and few of them ever cause any harm. On the other hand, some of these organisms can cause problems when a man starts to sweat. Certain kinds of sweat glands, known as apocrine glands, release perspiration that's a little milky and sticky, and while it has no odor when it leaves the body, this is the kind of fluid bacterial cells thrive on.

Sticky apocrine sweat is food for bacterial cells, and when they start feeding, they release an odor as a byproduct. Just as beer has a sort of funky, unusual smell when yeast cells are feeding on the sugars in beer, the penis can start to emit a ripe odor when the bacteria on the skin starts snacking on apocrine sweat. It's natural and it's harmless, but it can be more than a little off-putting.

Stopping the Cycle

Apocrine sweat glands don't generally spring into action unless something stressful or unusual is happening. As a result, some people might avoid nasty scents altogether by trying to live a life that's just a little more serene. But that might mean avoiding all sorts of things that men might enjoy, including:

- Competitive sports

- Sexual encounters with a partner

- Solo sex acts

- Carnival rides

- Action movies

A life without this kind of stuff might not be a life that any guy would like to lead. Thankfully, Vitamin A can help men to keep the emotional edge of life intact while reducing the nasty smells that go along with it.

Why Vitamin A?

Dermatologists have been using products containing Vitamin A for years. Often, these products are provided to people who have acne caused by overactive oil glands on the face and the back. These people have the same set of problems caused by men with a stinky penis, as their sebaceous glands secrete oils through the same openings used by the apocrine glands. But, these people might complain of red bumps instead of fishy odors. Vitamin A has the ability to suppress these oil-producing cells, which gives bacteria less to nibble on, and that makes smells a little more unlikely to develop. As an added benefit, Vitamin A can also keep the skin cells just a little healthier, so they're smooth and soft and plump.

Topical, not Internal

While Vitamin A can be remarkably important for odor control in the man parts, it's really easy to take in too much of this particular vitamin in oral format, because the body stores the substance in the liver. Over time, the body's stash of the vitamin can grow to such a degree that people can begin to feel dizzy, nauseated and headachy.

Applying the product topically might be a safer option. Using a penis health crème (health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil) makes Vitamin A supplementation really easy. Men just massage in a bit of a lotion like this each day, after a bath or a shower, and let the vitamin A soak in and get to work on the smelly odors right away.