I have a 14 year old daughter. She loves sports, she is on the basketball team, softball team and cross country. Her dilema, her underarms smell like a man or worst. She uses deodorant everymorning and before each game. The underarms of all her shirts are stained. I do not know if it is the deodorant or her sweat. I find myself washing her shirts three and four times and I still can not get the horrible smell out. Does anyone recommend a deodorant she can use? Or is there something going on that I need to take her to the doctor for medical help?
I highly recommend seeing a doctor and getting a prescription deodorant. I struggled most of my life with these issues. After using the prescription deodorant (and yes, you just have to get past the stinging) for about a year, I no longer have a problem and just wear regular deodorant with no issues.
I had the same issues and went to the doctor. He told me about this "prescription-strength" over-the-counter deodorant called Certain-Dry (It has a green label). I have found that the roll on really burns if you have sensitive skin, so I use the solid and love it. The directions tell you to put it on at night, and you can refresh in the morning. It doesn't have that much of a scent, so I like to put the Certain-Dry on at night and then refresh with Degree in the morning. There is a morning refresher of the Certain-Dry that has a blue label, but I didn't care for the smell of it AT ALL. :(
Good luck and I hope this helps!
Marcela:
there is a prescription strength one - but I think it's for excessive sweat.
Find out if she's taking supplements, change in her diet, etc. just like asparagus makes our urine smell funky - foods and supplements can be excreted from our glands during peak exercise.
Have her put baking powder in her arm pits as well as deodorant. That should help absorb the smell. Baby powder works too.
As for the stains and the smell? Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda in the wash. There is the Carbonara stuff - that has one JUST for pit-stains. You can find it in the laundry detergent isle - small yellow bottle.
EDIT: Also have her keep her arm pits shaved. That will help reduce SOME smell - not much. When you take her to the Dr - ask them to check her Testosterone levels - she could be like me - and have high testerone levels which will cause "manly smells"...if her periods are not regular - even though she is not sexually active - see if putting her on a low-dose birth control will get her estorgene and progesterone levels up (this is what they did for me many years ago - I don't know what they would do with all the advancements in medicine!!)
if you do take her to the doc have her checked for diabetes
Have you tried baking soda? Yes, if it were me I would take her to the Dr. but remember it is healthy to sweat it is just one more way our body rids itself of toxins. It might be her hormones. I hope you find something that helps.
The odor is caused by bacteria on her skin. She needs to wash AND dry her under arms before applying or reapplying deodorant. Have her try Arm & Hammer deodorant. It has baking soda in it that is a natural odor neutralizer. If this doesn't help, take her to the Dr. She may need a prescription deodorant to combat this, or she may also need to make a dietary change.
As for the clothing situation--treat them with a REAL straight-from-the-lemon juice and baking soda paste.
Yes. If it makes her uncomfortable, then absolutely.
I had the same issue. The powder left powder stains on bright clothing and the baking soda left my armpits red and raw, due to the friction. I found that shaving, even when the slightest amount of hair grows, helps. Also, I keep a bar of deodorant in my car for extra applications on those days in which I sweat excessively so that I am covered. I use clinical strength anti-perspirant deodorants and like I said, I reapply. Also, certain materials, like polyester, retain the sweat and don't allow it to dry, allowing the bacteria to sit there, so get her to wear cotton, especially when she is active, and also, short sleeves or sleeveless so the area under the arms can get proper ventilation and air out.
What is she eating? There are certain foods that make your chemical balance discharge in a stinky way. Sugar is huge! Heavy meats and fried foods too. Is she drinking enough water? Seriously get her off all sugar products, bad for her health anyway. Check out a book from the library called Suicide by Sugar. It's written by Dr Nancy Appleton.
While you're cleaning out her diet (give her lots of fresh whole grains, lots of veggies and beans and water) have her use baking soda and or tea tree and lavender essential oils.
You can also put a few drops of eucalyptus oil in the wash.
She's 14, giving her medicine??? Keep her in clean foods, that will create clean health.
Febreeze or 20 mule borox can get smells out. I used the borox for years and it got out cat pee, damp towel smell, etc. Use about a cup of the borox. I switched to febreeze cause i have a front loader and cant mix liquid deterent with powder. Also, wisk is good at stains and gentle on skin.
About the pit stains i have heard using papkera the spice.
I sweated alot when i was prego and found the clinical strenght stuff work best like Degree, dove, or secret. Also, using baby powder helped in other areas like between legs so if i was wearing a skirt my legs wont stick together. My favorite spot was between and under the boobs. Thats were i sweated the most.
It never hurts to ask the doctor as well. Instead of a visit maybe call the office and see what doctor recommends.
If odor is a bigger issue than the amount of sweat, she could try using a crystal. Once her body adapts to the elimination of all the chemicals in regular deodorant, it should help with the smell (but it is NOT an antiperspirant, so she'll still sweat--but I've found that sweating with no chemicals is much better than sweating with them in terms of staining). Like others have suggested, diet could be a factor, as well as hormones. Good luck!
It wouldn't hurt to call the nurse at the docs office and have a talk. This IS the age where kids stink to high heaven however. Since she is athletic I imagine it would compound the problem. My son uses a horrible smelling deodorant I cannot get out of his clothes, but he insists..... so I do think her choice could make a difference. I go as natural as possible if she is willing and get her to drink lots and lots of water.
Alvera deodorant, available at Vitacost.com is a natural aloe-based herbal deodorant that works well and has a mild smell. The way people sweat and produce body odor is affected by hormones and diet, you may want to investigate that.
Is she taking supplements? My niece began smelling and developed horrible acne because Grandma was having her take massive amounts of supplements, including some no teen should take ever. The family doctor told Grandma she could have caused serious damage. Three weeks after she quit taking them, she was back to normal and now uses regular deodorant.
She may need the clinical strength deodorant, or change the brand.
For some reason in my family (my Mom & I) after we use one brand for a while of deodorant we smell worse than not using deodorant at all.
I have resorted to using baking soda & corn starch, with lemon & orange zest added. Keep in mind I am not in any sports activity. but no one has complained (at least to my face) that I stink.
Lush- has various natural deodorants.
It also wouldn't hurt to talk to the Dr.
