WAY OT - 5 yr. old girl and B.O.

[bas71873]

Ok, I have a very sweet 5 year old DD, but boy do her little armpits stink. This is the second occassion that I have noticed it....and we just got out of the bath!!

Now she is a rough & tumble kind of girl, plays hard, not afraid to get dirty and sweats a lot (just like her daddy). But is it normal for her to be so stinky? Can I use deoderant (Secret for example) on a child this young? I have an appt. with her pediatrician next week to get the stitches in her chin removed (I said she played hard) and plan to ask the doc then, but curious if anyone has any experience and how concerned I should be?

Thanks

 

[Minnie M6]

My DD who is now 8 started having this problem at age 6- I was amazed that my sweet little girl had stinky pits! We went to the health food store and got some all natural deodorant; she broke out the first time she used it. A friend who is a nurse suggested Gold Bond Baby Powder- this worked like a charm! We still use it- she puts it on every morning before school. It is very mild and has a nice smell- nothing overpowering- but it really controls the odor.

I ended up taking her to a pediatric endocrinologist because she had some other pre-puberty issues and is very tall for her age........ the endo assured me it was totally normal.

 

[bas71873]

My DD who is now 8 started having this problem at age 6- I was amazed that my sweet little girl had stinky pits! We went to the health food store and got some all natural deodorant; she broke out the first time she used it. A friend who is a nurse suggested Gold Bond Baby Powder- this worked like a charm! We still use it- she puts it on every morning before school. It is very mild and has a nice smell- nothing overpowering- but it really controls the odor.

I ended up taking her to a pediatric endocrinologist because she had some other pre-puberty issues and is very tall for her age........ the endo assured me it was totally normal.

THANKS!!! Everything I read (via google) is a bit scary. I will pick up some Gold Bond this weekend and see how that works. Thanks again!

 

[kpadalik]

I do powder for my DD (almost 6) sometimes, too. I also have a small travel size of Ban that I got for her b/c she likes to be like mommy!

 

[zoemurr]

and has this issue. Dr. said it is rare but not unheard of. We use a natural one too. (Tom's of Maine)

 

[SarahKate]

This is hilarious because last week I noticed my DD 6 had stinky pits too!!! It totally freaked me out. So I started a bunch of Google searches and found that it's ok to use deodorant on a child, just preferably one that's natural. I ended up buying Teen Spirit just to have on hand.

I kept reading over and over about parents switching their kids to organic milk and the problem just dropped off.

Now, I'm not saying that this is a sure thing. But we have been giving her organic milk for the past 1.5 weeks and have not had any more odor problems. Who knows if this has actually done the trick. We'll hang onto the deodorant just in case.

You are definitely NOT alone!

 

[karliebug]

My dd is now 9 and she has been using deodarant since age 6. She really is stinky, and her feet are too! She showers every day. I am beginning to think she has some kind of gland problem. Sometimes I even put deodarant on her feet. What could cause this?

 

[daisyduck123]

When my DD turned 6 1/2 I noticed she needed deodorant BADLY. The doctor said regular deodorant was fine, & I bought Teen Spirit, which she used every day.

She has always been the tallest in her class & she ended up being an early developer. At 8yo she had as much pubic hair as any grown woman. (Sorry if that's TMI).

She got her period at 10yo. I think it would've come sooner, but she was a serious swimmer...swimming 5-6 days a week for about 2 hours every day, & I think that had something to do with it.

 

[bas71873]

This is hilarious because last week I noticed my DD 6 had stinky pits too!!! It totally freaked me out. So I started a bunch of Google searches and found that it's ok to use deodorant on a child, just preferably one that's natural. I ended up buying Teen Spirit just to have on hand.

I kept reading over and over about parents switching their kids to organic milk and the problem just dropped off.

Now, I'm not saying that this is a sure thing. But we have been giving her organic milk for the past 1.5 weeks and have not had any more odor problems. Who knows if this has actually done the trick. We'll hang onto the deodorant just in case.

You are definitely NOT alone!

Hmmmm....and my girl is a milk drinker...in fact the doc has told me to cut down (for bladder reasons) because if I allowed it, that is all she would drink.
Can I get organic milk in the regular grocery store?

 

[paigeandmorgansmom]

my daughter is 8 and also a BIG MILK drinker. She prefers milk to any other drink. She has the stinkiest feet I have smelt, not much underarm smell yet. I may try the gold bond idea and see if that helps. I also need to look into the organic milk. thanks for all the info.

 

[WindyCityDisney]

I ended up buying Teen Spirit just to have on hand.

That's what we use, too. My pediatrician said not to worry about it. It was a nice beginning to talk about personal hygiene on a very basic level.

 

[nosy parker]

I had the exact same problem last summer with my 7 year old DS. Kinda onioon smell, I'd say. Shocked me, really. Especially because he is not a sweaty kid at all. It wasn't like it left a trail or anything, but when I would get him dressed in the morning I was close enough to him to smell it. Bought Dove deodorant for him and started to use a little amount daily.

Anyway, also went to the endocrinologist who said not to worry about it since there were no other signs of precocious puberty. But as others have indicated the internet searching turned up this correlation with milk. My Ds is a huge milk drinker as well. He has it in his cereal pretty much every morning, drinks a glass or two with breakfast and then again for lunch or supper. He prefers that to juice, so will drink it anytime. I decided to cut out as much as possible and see. Well, it may be a coincidence but since I've cut the milk consumption the odor disappeared. I don't use the dfeodorant at all. Only did for a week or so this summer, untill the odor went away on it's own. I don't allow cereal every day anymore and opt for orange juice or water during the day. He still gets a glass or two with his dinner, but they're small glasses.

Ya know, cows milk was made for baby cows, not humans. And we are the only species that continues to give our young milk after the infancy peiod. So I don'tr think cutting out so much milk is a bad thing. A well balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and such will give you a good and adequate amount of calcium and vitamins.

So, I'd say give it a try. Nothing to lose really.

 

[surfergirl602]

I've heard that because of all the horomones used in the meat and milk we drink that children are developing way earlier than they should be. I really think that this is part of the problem.

 

[janets]

My DS is as bit older (going on 11) but really, that kid has one armpit that absolutely stinks! So bad that your eyes will water when you get too close. He's been using deoderant soap and basic deoderant as well (not anti persperant) for a while. But he's not a milk drinker. We cut the milk out a while ago, even though it was skim, as it had too many calories and he's carrying a bit more weight than we'd like. So he almost always has water.

 

[Robmom]

I've heard that because of all the horomones used in the meat and milk we drink that children are developing way earlier than they should be. I really think that this is part of the problem.

That's what I believe too. Kids are developing too fast these days, especially girls. A lot of them have these large chests, that I hardly saw in my days in young girls.

 

[Debbie7452]

I think that the early developing thing is very related to higher body fat indexes in a lot of kids(not all). As a person involved in the Dairy Transportation industry, I must speak up and say that hormones are not used in dairy cows or added to milk in our area of the Southwest USA. The Dairies are REQUIRED to not use these hormones. I can't speak for the whole country, but there is a LOT of misinformation being thrown around and you can't believe it all. Some of it comes from the Organic foods industry, which is very self serving I think.

If it works for you to spend extra $$ on organic milk than go right ahead. Whatever makes you comfortable.

By the way, my DS is 10 and uses deodorant, too. He was psyched when I told him he needed it, he feels really grown up now!

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

It is the antibiotics in milk that stopped us from buying regular and switching to organic.

More and more doctors are going away from recommending milk - it is really not intended for human consumption and you can get the calcium from other sources.

My doctor told me the two immediate things I could do to improve my health- stop the caffeine and stop the milk/yogurt/cheese.

 

[Debbie7452]

OK...well in our area and I believe the whole country, every load is tested for antibiotics and is rejected if any is detected in the milk...

If it has antibiotics , it is dumped out. This I know first hand, because we are the ones who take the load and get rid of it.

But , by all means follow your Dr's advice. I'm not an arguing type and milk is not necessary for life, heck two of my kids don't like the taste and refuse to drink it...I'm not some crazy milk lobbyist.

 

[lisadr]

A friend of mine had to bring her dd(5) to an endo who told her it was indeed hormones and steriods in food causing the problem (B.O.). It's not just milk, it's also chicken and other enhanced foods. So if you kiddo is a chicken nugget freak like mine-keep store fast ones to a minimum and/or make your own at home with hormone free chicken breast.

Oh and one more thing-although I do try to eat healthy and prepare healthy foods for my family, I do indulge in fast food from time to time and other junk food-but I keep it in check. No doctor or specialist has to tell you what food is bad for you -we ALL know the when we're eating that Big Mac we should be

 

[bas71873]

Thanks for all the replies. I am really curious as to what her dr. will say on Tuesday when I take her. We've been using the powder on the pits, which she thinks is hilarious? I think it's just tickle-ish.