Body odor help

[letfuller]

DD12 with diagnoses of ACC (agenesis of the corpus collosum) and tendancies of Asperger's is unable to cleanse herself well. She showers daily, but either fails to wash appropriately or has a strong odor, it is a constant battle. What is the best deoderant to use? It is beyond us at this time...somedays she gets it, other days RUN!

Curious what other parents do for hygeine issues.

Thanks, Linda

 

[LMC]

Either DH or I stay in the bathroom with DS14 while he bathes to make sure he washes everything properly.
We also make sure he uses deodorant before bed each nite and every morning. Otherwise, he would be one stinky boy!!

 

[ToddyLu]

I am a nurse who specializes in wound and ostomy care. In the past I have recommended products from the pharmacy with chlorophyll in them (the green stuff in plants). They often are in pill form and decrease the odor of urine and stool and I believe sweat. I am not as familiar with the current names of these products but I am sure you can find them on line or just ask your pharmacist. I am going to research her diagnoses so that I might give you some other suggestions since I deal with odors frequently. We also have had teenagers come into our clinic with pilonidial cysts which occur at the tailbone. We have actually instructed parents and these kids in proper hygiene and the importance of proper cleansing--can you show her, at this age--do you openly talk about it. Odor is a fact of life, but there are products out there....let me do a little research and I will PM you.

 

[ToddyLu]

Either DH or I stay in the bathroom with DS14 while he bathes to make sure he washes everything properly.
We also make sure he uses deodorant before bed each nite and every morning. Otherwise, he would be one stinky boy!!

To other posters this may seem very weird that you would be in the bathroom with a 14 yr old. But some of our wounds have only improved with the parents actively participating when wounds have occurred in the perineal, groin area. Kudos for doing your best.

 

[mechurchlady]

Either DH or I stay in the bathroom with DS14 while he bathes to make sure he washes everything properly.
We also make sure he uses deodorant before bed each nite and every morning. Otherwise, he would be one stinky boy!!

This is the best answer. She needs training in proper hygiene and its importance. Monitoring may be one answer if she is not properly bathing. Also find out why she is not bathing properly. It can be avoidance of somthing, laziness, forgetting what she was taught, and not understanding fully why she needs to watch everything. If she persists there could be skin problems. I have gotten boils and other skin problems from not being clean enough due to health issues. I have calloused feet because soaking them is out of the question. Not getting spots clean is very bad.

Try teh chlorophyll stuff.

 

[letfuller]

Thank you for the suggestions. We have discussed the importance of good hygeine, model that behavior. Some days she gets it, most days she does not. We can remind her and then 5 minutes later, no recollection of being told.

I just don't understand how one moment memory is good and then...poof, it is gone.

 

[bookwormde]

Sometimes a laminated visual chart that can be “checked off” is helpful. This is a skill like many others that needs to be formally taught and reinforced (like with a chart).

We have different version of this also, but there is progress, like many “social” things it is just not as important to our kids so it takes that intellectual reinforcement.

bookwormde

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Bookwormde's idea is great! Is she in special education? This is something you can bring up with her teacher. They can even incorporate hygiene into the curriculum (particularly if she is in a life skills curriculum). They may also have suggestions or resources for you since this is something we deal with a lot.

At the Autism conference i went to I attended a workshop on visual strategies and supports. They addressed this issue by making something known as a visual schedule for the child. You can use boardmaker or other software to use pictures and words to outline each step in the process. Ask her teacher if they have the software. (my teacher won a copy at the conference and has been playing around with it. We love it!) You can do this for toileting, hand washing, showering, anything!

 

[ToddyLu]

Visual cues sound like a great thing!! Direct supervision may be the best strategy for now. I know her hormones are beginning to change and that affects our bodies, too. If she is just forgetting then you have to be very proactive I imagine--especially if she is just not able to physically get the job done. Best of luck to you and I am here to support you...and your precious child

 

[BeckyScott]

As far as the deodorant, my oldest DS is very picky about what kind he'll wear. I don't know if it's sensory or him just being picky.

(11 years old and stinks like crazy, even though he does take good showers not an hour later he'll be stinky again, I think it's puberty hitting really hard)

Anyway, he doesn't want deo that smells a lot. At first I was buying him stuff like Axe because that's what all the teen boys use now (I guess?) but it was too strong of a smell for him. He also prefers spray over stick, because the spray dries and doesn't feel goopy when he puts it on. Or something like that.

We do have plenty of extra deo around the house now And settled on either Arm & Hammer stick, or Sure spray. The Sure spray is women's I think but it's unscented.

So you might want to take her to the store and do a little sniff-testing and find out if she has any particular preferences. Or she might have a specific brand she's seen on tv and will want that one, I even saw some Hannah Montana deo the other day. (doesn't everyone want to smell like Hannah Montana?) Or if you've been giving her stick, buy a can of spray and a roll-on and see if she likes one of those better.

Both boys also had the same issue with toothpaste. I thought it was time for the boys to stop using "kiddie" toothpaste and start using the same stuff DH and I use. They didn't like the minty flavor though, too strong. Arm & Hammer again.

Also I know at our school the nurse keeps deo in her office. They don't make a big deal about it, but if a kid needs some, they'll send them to the nurse. A classroom full of 5th graders right after PE can be pretty bad.

And yes, I do remind him every day to put deo on. Some days he's already done it. I don't stay in the bathroom with him because he's a boy and going thru puberty and really does not want me in there.