A Little Stinker

Updated on July 11, 2007
K.P. asks from DeKalb, IL
5 answers

I have a 6 month old daughter. Recently, I've noticed that she has underarm odor. I've given her baths in the morning, and notice it at night. I have no idea what to do. How can an infant have BO? I've used lotion, but that only works for so long. Has anyone heard of such a thing? Any suggestions of what I can do?

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A.

answers from Chicago on

we had a similar issue, except ours included the belly button and neck fold areas as well. make sure you keep it VERY CLEAN -- extra soap on the washcloth for those areas. we skipped lotion and used johnson's baby powder - the lotion was actually making the stink worse. (don't listen to the "baby powder isn't safe, use cornstarch instead" people - if you read the label, johnson's regular baby powder IS 100% cornstarch and therefore completely safe.)

1 mom found this helpful
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J.D.

answers from Chicago on

Another thought - when you dry her, make sure she's really dry. My dd had that behind her ears and was much better when i washed and dried her there thoroughly.

Also, talk to your ped about it. I'm not sure, but it could be a health or nutrition related.

One of the baby powder issues is the baby inhaling it into their lungs, not just what's in the powder.

I found this on http://www.netwellness.org/question.cfm/49953.htm

Question:

8 month old baby has underarm odor. What could be the cause? She has a bath every other day.

Answer:

It is very unusual for a baby to have underarm odor. This normally occurs slightly before the onset of puberty when the sebaceous or oil glands become active. They produce typical body oils that bacteria on the skin process producing typical body odor.

As a first step, I recommend trying a daily bath. If that does not work, then it is time to consider the presence of a problem with body's ability to breakdown proteins into their individual amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, or use them in growth. The unusual odor results from a high level of the amino acid in the body and can affect the odor of urine, breath, and body. Most children with inborn errors of metabolism also have other symptoms such as poor growth, slow development, or digestive problems. Identifying the problem early leads to better health and development for the child.

Newborn screening tests for inborn or inherited disorders of metabolism vary widely among states. If daily bathing does not eliminate the unpleasant odor, then take your child to her doctor unbathed so that the odor you are concerned about is clearly present. Ask the doctor to review your daughter's newborn metabolic screening tests and to consider ordering those not obtained at birth. If the doctor is unwilling to pursue the problem, you may want to ask for a referral to a pediatric metabolic specialist.

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S.M.

answers from Chicago on

My sister has the same problem with her daughter. I don't know how young she was when she noticed the underarm BO. My sister spoke to their pediatrician and he told her it was ok to put deodorant on her. He said to use the teen version not the adult. Talk to you DR they know the best.

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D.C.

answers from Chicago on

We had a problem with our baby's ears stinking!! We took her to the doctor thinking that she had an ear infection, but it turns out that it's just normal drainage from her ear. Well the smell wouldn't go away, and I couldn't figure out what the problem was as I kept washing her ears out really well. Turns out that the drainage also ended up on her sheets and she would rub her ears on the sheets. So even if her ears were clean, she'd pick up the smell again as soon as I laid her in her crib. Now as soon as I notice the smell, I change the sheets again, even if I just changed them the day before. Don't know if this will help at all, but wanted to mention it just in case.

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M.W.

answers from Chicago on

Hi,
I was shocked last year when I discovered this happening to my 4 year old. I can only imagine your total shock with a 6 month old. Although this is quite unusual I can make one suggestion. I use Melaleuca's Naturals Deoderant for her. Yikes, I can't believe I'm writing this for a 6 month old. It literally just hit me when I typed the word deoderant. Yet another response you received suggested deoderant as well. Not sure if I agree with the teen deoderant though. Anyway, Melaleuca's Naturals Deoderant does not contain aluminum [which has been linked to Alzheimers] or any harsh chemicals. My daughter can even skip a day and there's no BO. If you'd like to know how you can try Melaleuca's products, let me know. I've been a preferred customer for 3 years. http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/index.cfm?f=ps.productDetail&... I pay the PC price and so can you if you'd like.

Hope this helps.

~M.
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