Q: A few months ago, you published an inquiry by someone who used milk of magnesia to help with body odor.  For the past year or so, I have been plagued by an obnoxious odor coming from one (only one!) armpit.  The smell resembled the spice cumin.

I tried many different deodorants and even experimented with putting hand sanitizer in my armpit, but nothing worked for more than a few hours.  When I asked my internist, all I got was a mystified shrug.

After reading your column, I decided to try milk of magnesia.  I put a small amount in a little plastic cup.  After it evaporated into a paste in a few days, I started to apply it.  It was amazing!  I had no more odor, even 24 hours later.  If I go back to my usual deodorant the smell returns quickly.

A: In 2006 we received a letter from a reader: “I wanted to share a remedy I learned about when traveling to Brazil.  Just apply milk of magnesia to your armpits.  It is the best underarm deodorant!”

Since then, we have put this remedy to the test and found it surprisingly effective.  Hundreds of others have also attested to the benefits of topical applications of magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) to the underarms.

Some people complain that it is too messy.  Your solution, letting water evaporate, solves that problem.

• Article by Joe and Teresa Graedon
• Copyright The Seattle Times