Why does dd9 smell funny?

[MickeyMacks]

Also try changing her pillowcase often because if her skin or hair is oily that gets on the pillow case and just keeps going back and forth till you wash it again.

I agree - changing pillowcases daily was some of the best advice I read when I hit the oilies in my early teens. Also, soaking combs & brushes in hot soapy water every time I washed my hair (age 41 and still can't go more than a day between shampoos without looking/feeling icky and worrying about hair smell!)

Diet can be a huge factor - if she's not eating at least two fruit servings and three vegetable servings a day and is mostly eating dairy/starch/meat and fats in her diet, that will definitely produce an unpleasant odor in almost anyone! The metabolism has to work overtime to handle excess carbs and a diet heavy in protein can cause the body to excrete ketones (ask anyone on Atkins about the funny smell that sometimes goes with a high-protein diet!)

I'm no nutrition expert but I have noticed an improvement in, um, "freshness" since reducing my carb intake to 2-3 small servings/day (and absolutely no pop or juice!)

Unfortunately my 9.5 yr old son has not slowed down on juice and carbs yet and oh yeah, does he have a noticeable body smell if he misses a shower or bath just one day! He's had the smell since he was quite young, it's like a sour smell. It seems to come from his breath and his body. He has really gained weight this past year and I'm worried about him developing obesity and diabetes.

I agree with a previous poster that blood tests would be a good idea. You may also want to have her tested for food sensitivities as certain foods (most notably wheat products, also eggs, or orange juice) can trigger skin conditions.

 

[almburr]

If the smell is a sickly sweet smell, then you'll want to talk to the ped. That is a symptom of diabetes. I'm not sure how much you know of her medical history or if she has had any blood tests lately, but that would be something the ped might want to rule out.

I was wondering about this to. DD8 has a very strong scent smells like syrup. Last year she was in the hospital for a week wit ha UTI,and kidney infection. I thought I had read or heard about the sick sweet smell was a sign of diabetes. Im going to have her checked. Has anyone had this before with thier child?

 

[vhoffman]

For right now I'm increasing her daily hygiene routine. I found some every day shampoo and a clarifying shampoo. I washed her head in the kitchen sink with the clarifying shampoo, it looked several shades lighter! Now she must wash her head every night with the every day shampoo, I will give it a good scrub once/week.

Also, I just decided to tell her the truth--she stinks! I figure she shoudn't be the last to know! Well, I put it to her more gently than that, but did state in no uncertain terms that she has a distinctive odor and needs to attend to her hygiene better. She went off to her room and cried, but did take a longer shower that night. We might go to morning showers, but seems like there isn't enough time. Might have to change the morning routine.

What gripes me about both kids is that they just don't want to take a bath. Ds will ask so many times "do I have to take a bath tonight? Do I have to wash my head?" I pointed out that the time spent discussing it he could be done! Then he get in there and just lets the water run. He just gets his hair wet, doesn't shampoo, thinks he's fooling us. I can tell the hair is still greasy! Plus the last shower he insisted he had shampood his hair, there wasn't any shampoo in the bathroom! However, ds doesn't have an odor problem like dd, but he is developing zits.

Whe I was growing up I had a problem with oily skin/greasy hair and it was a battle to get to take a shower. My parents thought a bath once/week was enough--the old Saturday night bath thing! And they kept insisting I was washing my hair too much--said I was going to go bald! Honestly, its not glued on! I was always sneaking around to get a shower--try to get one when they went out to the store, watching TV, etc, then dry out the tub so they wouldn't know. I was so happy to go to college, live in a dorm, and could shower and wash my hair whenever I wished. Well, growing up we only had one bathroom so it did create a bit of a bottle neck, but a bath once a week? But my kids have their own bathroom, can take their time, no sneaking around to get a shower, no one pounding on the door as soon as they get in there--we have 3.5 bathrooms, and no one wants to use them!

 

[Rustysmom]

My DS is 11 and he reeks. It's not really B.O. but some other kind of musty smell. I think it's coming from his head although he washes his hair and takes a shower every day. Even his room smells like it sometimes. Ewww.

When he was a baby, his pajamas smelled like maple syrup in the morning all the time. I thought he had maple syrup disease but the ped ran all kinds of tests and said he didn't. He has a form of autism (PDD) and I wonder if it had anything to do with that.

 

[pbharris4]

My DD just turned 11 Feb. 19th. She's got a fair complexion and she's a Strawberry Blonde as well. She has not gotten her period yet. She doesn't really smell so I don't think it's due to the fair and strawberry blonde thing. Her hair is not greasy either. Now...if she had gym class or something and was running and sweating..then she stinks..especially her head and I tell her she needs a shower.

About the pillows...I noticed that the back of my neck started to stink when I woke up in the a.m. I was sweating and I had just got a shower before I went to bed. The pillow I happend to lay on was the only pillow that doesn't have an allergen cover on it...so I suspect that is the cause as it has happened a few times. So I am getting rid of the pillow and getting another w/ an allergen cover.

It may take awhile to figure out what it is, but you'll get there.

 

[jdsmom97]

I have to "observe" my boys 8 & 10 once in a while to make sure they are washing right as they do race. I also have been using Paul Mitchell Tee Tree Oil Gel on them since they were 5 and started wrestling (it repels lice ). Now I'll have smelly boys with big breasts!!OMG

 

[loriandmatt]

Ds will ask so many times "do I have to take a bath tonight? Do I have to wash my head?" I pointed out that the time spent discussing it he could be done! Then he get in there and just lets the water run. He just gets his hair wet, doesn't shampoo, thinks he's fooling us.

i have one of those boys too!!!! much like the previous poster states, i have taken to "surprise inspections" when my son is in the bath or shower. (he is 11) he is mortified that i pop in on him and actually check if his pits stink or his hair smells even after he swears that he just washed. i have taken to making him get back in and suffer the embarassment of mommy washing him from head to toe, to encourage him to wash himself right the first time. needless to say i only had to do that once or twice to get him to comply with proper hygene.

Oh, if they have hit that age yet.....telling them that chick don't dig a stinky guy works too.

 

[5Slays]

My DD 6 at the time had a funny smell about a year ago. Took us forever to figure out where it was coming from. One day we noticed it was coming from her ear. She never complained about the ear bothering her, but we took her to the pedi anyway. Turns out, she had a severe ear infection - it was so bad that she only had 30% hearing in that ear.

 

[belle2594]

My dd is now 13 and we went through the strange odor at that age. I believe hers came from the fact that she was starting to sweat more and starting puberty. My pediatrician said girls often start the hormonal change into puberty about two years before they have their first cycle. Most kids that age do the fake or not very thorough bath, even girls. So, I pretty much just let her know she needed to be more thorough when she bathed and started buying her hygeine products. She also has severe sinus problems and that can cause bad breathe. As long as she takes her allergy medicine that is not a problem.

It is probably just the hate to bathe phase, the minute she starts thinking aboput boys she'll start seriously bathing. My dd13 gets up at 6am to bath and wash her hair now. I wonder who the little crush is???? HMM.