5 Year Old with Underarm Odor

My son has been wearing deodardant since first grade because of the same thing. The poor little guy's pits smelled like an old man! The doc said it's not unusual.

During the winter months with the long sleaves and such doesn't give much time for the underarms to air out. Make sure to dry well after baths and showers, especially under the arms and around his private areas. They too will start stinking if it isn't dried well. Try some baby powder in those areas to help keep the moisture down. Let him run around with out a shirt after his bath for a bit.

A warning about antipersprant and deodorant, my daughter in law's mother had breast cancer and one of the warnings they gave her is some ingredient in antipersprant and deodorant, which I can't remember the name of, which can be linked to breast cancer. For that reason alone I would try other ways to solve the problem rather then putting an adult product on a child.

Have you checked out crystal deodorant? Its all natural, so it will probably be gentler on her. I used it on my son's stinky feet too when he was littler!

My niece had early puberty based on a pituitary problem, this is very important to have checked out! It can cause major problems with fertility and growth if there is a hormone problem. In the meantime, try no soy or dairy products, sometimes the hormones in those can fool the body.

But please see an endocrinologist to rule out a thyroid/pituitary problem! I don't think it's normal at all, and hope all previous posters will go get their children checked as well. One visit and test doesn't hurt, but gone undone can hurt many things in the future, better to start correcting any problems now!

My six year old started smelling stinky under the arms last year. We used pretty mild soap with her because she has sensitive skin, but after we noticed this we switched to a different soap and most of the time it isn't a problem. I suspect when the weather gets warmer we'll have to use deodorant too... We only have this problem when she sweats.

Good luck. I thought it was crazy too, but I guess it isn't that unusual.

Probably just wash under his arms with soap and water. Some kids get more sweaty than others. No problem.

My now 8 yr old has had this problem since he was about 5 yrs too. I asked the doctor if there was something for this, he just seemed to be so small for such a strong underarm odor, the dr said no. He recommended regular deoderant. The kind that doesn't say "anti perspirant". Just plain deoderant. So far that's made a difference. Hope that helps.

You've received great advice - different kids, different smells! Tom's makes an all natural deodorant that works well and is safer

Some kids just start getting musty sooner than others. Let him start using deodorant. Tussy deodorant is mild and a good one to start with.

It has something to do with what they eat. If you have the time to keep track of what they eat, you can narrow down the food. Some food would make anyone's underarm smell. If they stop eating it, then the smell goes away.

I am a firm believe that it's hormones, pesticides, and all that stuff. I couldn't get pregnant and switched to organic and herbal alternatives and bam. So it's all about what we put into our bodies.

i saw a program on tv the other day (mystery diagnosis) that this woman, all her life had really bad underarm odor no matter what she did. she even had her underarm glands removed and it still continued. they figured out she had some condition where if she ate certain foods, they didn't break down properly or something like that, and her body, in an attempt to get rid of the stuff, pushed it out of her pores and glands, giving off this odor. i don't remember what its called, but i'll see if i can find it for you. not sure if it's this condition or just something else, but you could always ask your doctor about it.

Yes, my daughter was diagnosed with "precocious puberty" when she was 14 months old. There are several tests they do before coming to that diagnosis including xrays, lots of blood work (to see what is going on with hormones, etc.) brain scans, ultrasound, etc. My pediatrician noticed that my baby (at the time) was starting to develop breasts, obviously not normal and how she noticed I will never know but will always be grateful. She researched it and we started the procedure. We got some of the testing done before going to the pediatric endocrinologist and then he ordered more. It's kind of complicated and I wouldn't stress about it until you really have a diagnosis, it could just be that you child has underarm odor. If you find out it is something you can email me and I will tell you what else you can expect.