Daughter with BO

I remember when my step son was 8 or 9 he was soooo stinky! This was way before he hit puberty so I think this is normal. We bought him deodorant and told him to shower daily! ( he was living with mom at the time, I guess she didn't notice! I don't know how she missed it!). Also try having her use deodorant soap which could help too.

You may want another Doctor's opinion. I have a friend who's son had BO by 7, and by 8 he started growing pubic hair. He was diagnosed with early puberty and takes a daily medication to slow the development down. It does not cause any real medical harm, but it could stunt his growth and his mom was worried about other kids' reactions as well.

When I was in junior high I had problems with sweating too much although I didn't stink. The doctor prescribed some prescription deoderant and I never had problems with bad sweating again. I don't know if it would help with smell or not but it's worth a try. It made all the difference for me and after a few years then I never had a problem again.

Hi A. - the stinky part of BO is from bacteria on the skin - sweat in and of itself doesn't have an odor. If the bacteria are dealt with, the odor is often taken care of as well.

Hormonal variations can have an impact on sweat glands and how much kids and adult sweat. There are a lot of natural mineral deodorants on the market but you might also consider something as simple as washing her with weak hydrogen peroxide solution - 1 teaspoon in 8 oz water. Wipe down her underarms, feet, groin (the crease at top of thigh - not her private parts)

My two year old was really stinky suddenly and this worked like a charm. I found this idea on WebMD.

Since your daughter is only 7, she probably won't remember to wipe down at school although you could send some wipes in her backpack to use after gym class, etc.

Just do a wipedown in the morning on her underarms, groin, feet and I would imagine you will see a quick improvement.

I'd love to hear back if this works for you!

When she showers make sure she uses a good soap and a wash cloth. Teach her to work up a good lather (bubbles to her) on the cloth and scrub (lightly) everywhere, everytime. I would suggest she shower everyday and use baby lotion after each time. Baby lotion has a wonderful scent (especially the purple bottle = lavender) and will keep her skin moisturized.

I love the body spray idea. These scents are not overpowering and are pleasant for a 7 year old.

Maybe seek a 2nd opinion from a different doctor. Search medical sites online and gather as much information as possible and discuss it with the doctor. I think that more times than not Moms are right about their kids when they think something is not quite right - it just usually takes the medical field a short time to catch up.

Good luck.

My girls had to start using deodorant early too. I have found most do not that early but some do. Just like with everything else, everyone has their own timelines. As she gets older it might get better or she will get better at controlling it. But she is perfectly fine!

Lot's of good responses here. Have you considered her happiness level? We all stink much more when we're upset and afraid. Does she have a bully, or hate a subject in school? It sounds like this has been going on for a while, so it may not really apply, but i think i'd use my kids' smell as a borometer to her mental state.

It's the small things that are worriesome. My 4 year old has warts on her hands. May all our worries be this light.

Hi A.,

I don't really know if this will help but my sister was diagnosed with ADD and ADHD and the doctor soon found out that she had a problem with her thyroid. Once they found out about the Thyroid, my family and I realized her strong smelling BO. She is now 20 and she too was diagnosed at a young age and had problems with the BO. I don't if its realated to the ADHD or ADD but she's been using mens deorderant since. Its the only kind that seems to work for her. What kind of deorderant does she use, and maybe get her the Mens Speed stick to try out for a change. Hopefully that works.
Good luck
D.

My friend used to use a deodorizing body wash in the shower, I'm not sure if she had to get a prescription for it but it seemed to do the trick :)

What is her diet? Usually BO is a our bodies natural way of getting rid of toxins and other things in our systems. Example..you eat a lot of garlic..you smell like garlic. Not just your breath, but your skin. I would take a look at how much water she is drinking, how often she is going to the bathroom. We have 5 organs of elimination..if one of them gets clogged it dumps the job on the other organs. Your skin is one of them. THE #1 organ you want to be working is the colon. Something I use for myself and my kids to help keep it going is a thing called cloraphyll. You can buy it at any health store..I get the minty kind, I add about 3TBL to a 1/2 gallon of water, refridgerate..and my kids LOVE it. Good luck.

While I don't think there is something odd about your daughter I would get a second opinion!
There are many hormone and endocrine issues that may be going on that can truly also be related to issues later on down the road.
Just don't take no for an answer, until you get an answer that you are comfortable with.
Just the fact that you are here asking shows that deep down you know it isn't normal.
Too often we take our docs answers because we think they know all and in fact they don't. So keep searching until you feel right inside about it all!

This is only a thought, but does she drink a lot of milk? And what kind? The kind with growth hormones? I wonder if you tried the kind without growth hormones, like Winder Dairy, would that stop? It is just a thought, I really don't know!!!

I would advise you to check out the ingredients that are in the personal products your daughter is using. I have changed all of my products over to Arbonne products and have noticed a tremendous difference for all of the family. I am a consultant for Arbonne which is all botanical based, safe and natural products. If you want more info you can contact me or check out the website at www.arbonne.com. It does matter wht gets put on to your skin which goes directly into your blood steam and into your system. Whatever gets put onto your skin will in turn come out of it. L. O.

Hello A.,
Nothing against any mama's, but does anybody find it just a little odd that such young children have BO. I personally didn't start wearing deoderant until 14 to 15 years of age. I suggest changing diet to more organic and see what happens. also using alluminium free deo. would be a good idea. Hope everything goes well A.:) Z.

The other women are right , kids are starting to mature earlier than they used to but I would still check with her doctor as early adolesence can be a sign of some serious medical conditions. I wouldn't just let this go without making sure there is no underlying medical cause. Hopefully she's just maturing early.

I started wearing deodorant at this age. It all started with a playmate telling me that I stunk. Fun, eh? I am a very active person and have battled controlling this all my life. Sometimes it seemed like deodorant made it worse! You know what did work... body sprays ( you know, like bath and body works stuff), I just spray them under my arms and that is it. They have alcohol in them and a pretty smell and my body doesn't react to the other chemicals like they did with deodorant. You can try this too. Your daughter can have fun picking out different scents. Deodorant blocks the pores. There is no need to do this. Good luck!

BO is bacteria, so maybe go back to helping her wash and make sure she gets her under arms, feet, and croch. also, 7 is not too early for deodorant these days. I believe my nephew was 8. He hated it at first but now thinks he is soooo grown up using it. Get sent free of course and make it a fun game geting dressed in the morning together. Also, I saw a book by American Doll Girls that looked good for that age on how to groom oneself. Whateer you do, do it gradually, find ways to make it her idea (like put the deodorant in her bathroom with a sweet note on how to use it). this stuff is so embarassing for the young ones so be tricky. My mom was so good at that. I don't think she ever actually sat down and talked as i wouldahve tuned out. She did sweet notes with draings and cool books. Oh, how about starting wih a shopping spree to Bath and Body Works to pick out her one scent and loafe. then techer how to do that. Do pedicures together scrubbing your feet, etc.

I agree with the other posts about the importance of diet.

My cousin had BO at a young age. Her doctor told her parents to switch to organic dairy products because the growth hormones can cause BO in some children.
It worked. I hope your daughter can be helped by something this simple.

MG

Get her to a holistic healer. ADHD/ADD has been found to have ties to diet in many cases. I had a nephew who was taken off dairy and it changed his "diagnosis". Diet could be a big part of her BO too. Chlorophyl is an internal deordorant and healty. But something is out of balance for a child to have this problem.

Hi A.,
some really great responses here--I want to reiterate the diet. Pay close attention to what she eats and how/if her body odor changes. The cleaner, healthier you can get her diet (organic diary and meat products in particular, and all-natural packaged goods without artificial and synthetic colors, preservatives, flavors, etc.) you may notice a difference. A chlorphyll supplement is also an excellent idea--it's a good internal cleanser. What goes in and not utilzed by the body must come out somehow; the skin is one way out of the body. I also agree with the reply about the bacteria being odor-causing and the wipes during the day for a more immediate solution. Maybe a healthier diet will change the need for any ADHD Rx meds which may be causing it. Good luck. When you get there, please share with everyone what works for your young beauty.
M.

I remember getting my first deodorant for my eighth birthday. Some present. It's normal.

No, you are not alone, and now I'm not either. I swear, I thought it was just my daughter with this problem. My 7 (almost 8)yr old has the same issue. It started about 6months ago and she's been regularly using deodorant since. I really questioned using deodorant in someone so young, but really, I'd rather take that chance than have her ostracized because of how she smells. She's a particularly cute and girly girl, so it's kind of shocking to realize the smell is coming from her. Right after she developed BO, she also developed a small breast bud. I did a bit of research and found that sometimes girls start puberty early and that this can cause some complications (like stunted growth, etc). So I took her to the docs. They did blood tests and bone age radiology tests. Everything checked out fine and they said she wasn't starting puberty, but the fact that she had BO and a breast bud, it really freaked me out! I'm still not 100% convinced she hasn't started puberty early - she certainly has the attitude of a pre-teen! You might want to ask her doc about signs of early puberty just to rule it out. Other than that, just keep doing what you're doing with the frequent bathing and deodorant. My daughter doesn't take a full bath everyday (it's just too dry in Denver for that), but I do have her wash her armpits, privates and feet everyday. Even just getting some of those wet wipes to quickly clean her, then followed right away with deodorant (we use the Tom's Natural stuff), helps. Good luck!

i say she's probably a healthy active girl who perspires a lot. Make sure she wears deodorant daily; and when it seems a specific brand stops doing its job, switch brands

My kids had BO by second grade. They all had to wear deodorant and it was really fowl!
It is normal so don't worry.
C. B