I took my son to the doctors today because I noticed a sour smell coming from his mouth/nose. The doctor didn't notice anything wrong, but I still don't like the smell, and would like to know what to do about it.
I am brushing his teeth 2x a day, and he is teething (1year molars). He had the flu about 2 weeks ago, with a lot of mucus and coughing. Could it be post-nasal drip? Has anyone else had this problem? Thanks :)
Well, I've noticed that the smell comes and goes a bit, so I think it has to do with plaque on his tongue or something. I will try getting the tongue scraper and see if he will let me try it. I tried to brush his tongue last night, and he wouldn't let me.
The doctor had looked in his ears, nose and mouth. He also looked to see if his throat was red or sore looking, but didn't find anything. They had thought he might have stuck something up his nose as well, but I guess he didn't. I also think it could have something to do with the fact that he had just gotten over the flu and was really congested with it, and there was probably a lot of mucus. My husband and I are always blowing our noses (like every AM) and Robert James doesn't let me use the bulb-syringe on him, so I imagine it must be going somewhere (down his throat) since I am sure he has also needed to blow, but since he is only 14 months old he can't.
Thanks everyone for the help! I wouldn't have ever thought of some of these things.
This is pretty funny and really gross....my step-sons mother recently had the same problem with one of her boys. It turned out after three months, he had stuck a band-aid up his nose. It was just rotting up there! Kids stick weird things up there. Definately check for health issues, after then check for peanuts, cheerios, whatever. They went to three doctors before an intern found it. Good luck!
Have you checked behind his ears? I will never forget when my daughter was an infant, and I was TOTALLY new at being a mom. I would make sure I wiped behind her ears, but after doing a sniff test to see where a sour smell was coming from, I realized that she had creases behind her ears that I wasn't getting because I had to pull her ear a little to get to them! It was gross! But, smell was immediately gone!
as a mother of 2 and working in the medical field for the last 10 yrs. i can definately tell you the "smell test" works. also another thing you have to look at is if your child has been on any type of antibiotic of over the counter medicine, that can warrant bad breath as well. walmart sells tongue blades/cleaners next to the dental floss for about 2.00, get one and use it once a day, not after every brushing..your mouth/tongue has "good" germs too, excessive scraping can remove them and cause more problems. you can also dilute one teaspoon of listerine with one cup of water and give it to your child, it'll still do its job, it just won't burn their mouth like full strength does & if they swallow it, it won't hurt their belly.post nasal drip is usally an indicator that a bigger illness such as the flu or upper respitory infection is on its way. also you can check with a very good flashlight(mini-maglite) to look at his/her throat & mouth for redness, blisters, white splotches(strep-throat or thrush), canker sores, things like that. a good reference to have saved on your favorites is.... PDRhealth.com
it has just about everything you need to know on there. hope this helps.
In your situation it could be something he has ate. It also could be the fact that he just gotten over being sick. It could be that the mucus is causing the smell. I would think for the most part that it is something he has had medication wise or eating. What is he eating? How long have you noticed the smell? If you just starting noticing the smell it is probably because he just got over being sick not long ago. Be blessed.
I would check into sinus infection, allergies or possibly acid reflux.
Maybe just keep and eye on it and if the smell does not clear up in a couple of weeks, I would ask the pediatrician to check for those 3 areas.
Hope this helps.
Our babysitter use to always tells us that the smell on the children's breathe was an indication of a virus of some sort. She called it "sick breathe" and believe it or not, she was ALWAYS right! I asked our Ped about it and he sais there is not truth to this statement and probably not but my children to this day 7 and 10 only get that breathe smell when they are sick.
could just be normal or well abnormal bad breath, my son now 7 can brush his teeth and floss, and he does a very good job, 3 times a day and he still has terrible breath, it's always beent aht way i used to brush his teeth after every bottle it was so bad when he was little and still it didn't go away. so it's possibly jsut a trait he'll have to live with good luck.
Take a look at his tongue. Is it clean and pink? Is it coated with plaque? Buy a tongue cleaner and start using it every time you brush his teeth. See if this helps, and if it doesn't you may have post nasal drip problems that you can discuss with your MD.
Both of my boys (2 and 4) have allergies and post nasal drip. When they are sick, or have just gotten over being sick, the smell is a lot worse than normal.
There isnt really a lot you can do about it either. I buy cream of tartar powder and I mix about a tsp with a little water in a medicine cup and I have my older son gargle it twice a day. He's old enough to spit it out, and hes also old enough to realize that it helps him, and he'll ask for things that help him these days. It's a really salty powder- I dont know what it does or why it works, but it was something my mom told me to try and I was willing to do anything.
For my son, it really seems to soothe his throat and thin the mucous.
I would also keep a close eye on your child's ears. Ear infections can be a lot worse in kids who have PND. I've always been fond of the "smell test". If I smell ANY kind of funk when I sniff my kid's ears, its time to go to the doctor. Sounds gross, but a mom's job is.
