I have a 3year old (almost 4) daughter who sometimes has a bad case of body odor. I have asked her pediatrician and all he could tell me is that it could be caused by something that she is eating. I still can't find out what would be making her smell like a grown woman who lost her deodorant stick so I just put deodorant on her and that seems to help. I am still a little confused because I thought that people don't generally smell like BO until puberty. She has had this since she was about 2 years old. She gets bathed daily so that is not the problem. Any suggestions on what might be causing this?
Hi there, I just wanted to follow up on what Angel said. I don't believe that "deodorant" is going to harm your child, but there are aspects of anti-perspirant deodorant that are not so good. Infact, I saw Dr. Oz on Oprah talking about it the other day and how he recommends that adults just use deodorant and NOT an anti-perspirant deodorant.
I also read that body odor in children can be a symptom of an underactive thyroid. Good luck!
M., my 8 month old boy has the same problem!! I noticed this a couple months ago, as I can only smell it right up on his arm pits. My pediatrician had never heard of it in a baby so young, and checked to see if he had a metobolic disorder, but he doesn't (had to do a urine test for this). So, try that, otherwise, I thought it would make you feel better to know you are not alone!
C.
Hi,I have an 8yr old who has had the same problem with body odor since she was 3yrs and she started going thru puberty at 6yrs and her Dr. had concerns and did a CT scan of her brain looking to see the pituituary(unsure of spelling) gland, which controls growth and other chemicals in the body, the scan came back normal so now we have had an appt to see a childrens endrocrinoligists(not sure I spelled that right)I've had the appt for 9 mnths he's the only one here in Tucson his name is Dr.Wheeler, she could have a yeast problem internal which could be treated much easier, although most Dr.s tend to know nothing about yeast and will diagnose for some other issue like allergies and prescribe antibiotics, and that only makes yeast more troublesome, my neice had candida which is a yeast inside her body causing constant tummy aches burning when peeing and there was no obvious signs just bad odors, her mom was put on tetracycline when pregnant,before she found out she was pregnant and was on it the full 10 days of prescription, so we kinda think that maybe the cause of her daughters yeast problems because tetracycline is so strong it wipes out all your own bodys enzymes that keep you healthy, avoid it at all cost, the Pediatrican told my sis to go get Candida enzymes at the health food store so we looked it up on the internet and found it much cheaper...I would do some research on what may be the causes of child body odors, the internet is a great resource...keep us updated..hope it is something simple...may need a new pediatrician, we use to see Dr.Scalowsky on Ina,rd don't know if he's still there though.
take care;)
Hi M.,
Please do not use deodorant on your 3 year old! A few years ago, a 6 year old have died from using deodorant. Somehow, it blocks certain gland from under the arm pit of growing children. Even lots of adults do not wear deodarant and calls it cancer on a stick. Deodorant is almost an American thing. (That's why we can smell other foreigners.) Please ask your doctor about it or look it up on the internet. I remember being very surprised about this news and had a full discussion with hubby about it. Good luck!
I am reading the book "Is this your child?" by Doris Rapp which is all about allergies in kids. It talks a lot about body odors in children being related to allergies. You may want to see if your local library has a copy and check it out. It has been very helpful for me.
T.
I would get a second opinion. A co-worker of mine had a four year old daughter that had the same problem. It ended up being Precocious Puberty and she had to receive shots, etc. to slow puberty down, so she would not start menstruating at an early age. I don't want to scare you, but I think you should look a little further into it.
Hi M.,
My six year old daughter smells, I've noticed that she sweats when she sleeps and it smells. She is a very active child and when she plays outside she sweats, add some dirt and she smells like a man. I don't really worry about it because people who sweat have a higher metabolism and are less likely to have wieght issues. I think I'll ask my doctor if I should be concerned.
Does your daughter have alot of soy in her diet? If so, that could be the cause. Soy has estrogen mimicking compounds that our bodies really should not have, especially young children. There is a website called www.taoistlife.com and you can go to the soy part of the website and it gives you a ton of info. on soy (studies, etc.). That is the only thing that I can think of that might be the cause. You may want to try giving her some chloryphyl, or other green supplement also.
