Help! 4-Year Old Has Body Odor!

J. L,

My 5-1/2 year has under arm oder also. I haven't taken her to the doctor. I just wash under her arms three times a day. I also sprinkle baby powder under her arms after each wash. Her older sister I did also till she was 8 years old then I put her on deodorant. I plan to do the same.

Parenting magazine just had a discussion about this (or was it the Feb issue). Anyway, one suggestion was to use baby powder. It discussed some of the responses you already have as well.

don't become too alarmed - she may be going through a round of normal hormonal changes. Children usually have them at ~18 - 24 months, age 5-6(girls)age 6-8 (boys), & then puberty. If you do have her into the Dr., you may ask them to check for a systemic yeast condition or do a check of her urine for a mild uti/kidney infection. Again, do not be alarmed - but do ask them to medically check it out. Best wishes.

Hi J.! I would completely take her off of sugar. The odor will go away.
*edit* antiperspirant contains aluminum which is a neurotoxin. Just think what a product designed for an adult would do to a child's body and brain! Mabey it would not produce any side effects now but early onset alzheimers would be a crying shame.
J., I just thought of something....does your daughter drink soy milk? I would take her to have her hormone levels checked. After I was pregnant I dealt with excessive body odor (sorry if TMI) and found that my hormones were out of whack. If you are into natural things I would totally suggest going on an elimination diet and asking a naturopath's guidance on possible supplements. Rather than mask the problem, getting to the root of it will SOLVE the problem.
Good luck to you!

Hi J.! When in doubt, contact a pediatrician. If he/she makes you feel you are imposing, get another pediatrician! Instead of deodorant or dusting powder, I dust on cornstarch. Effective & cheap. Baking soda might be good to try. Good luck!

My 7 year old has the same problem and my sister sent me your request. What we have done was to increase her water intake, and we noticed a slight improvement,and I agree that using deoderant probably isnt the best, maybe baby powder?

Unfortunatly, children are going through various stages of puberty WAY to early. The experts dissagree about the reasons but for what ever reason your daughter needs to have that slowed and or reversed. This can be done with nontraditional medicine. Doctors will treat the symptoms but Homeopathy will treat the problem.

I do not even use aluminum antiperspirant for myself. I would definitely find some natural deodorants to use & get to the root of why she is having this. That is not normal for a 4 yr old, it's more an 11-12 yr old.
Brekka

Yes, you should be concerned. I would seek out an endocrinologist and have her hormones tested and monitored. She could have the start of precocious puberty. We experienced the same thing w/our dd. Luckily our dd has not entered puberty yet, but we are cautiously watching and having her hormones tested every 4 - 6 wks. BO is one of the first signs that the body is getting things ready to start the process. It can signal other things such as problems w/adrenal or pituitary glands or the hypothalamus.

Is she overweight or developing early?

Kids are developing earlier these days I know alot of 8/9 year old who wear deodorant. I have alot of neighbor boys who are like 7-9 range and reak all the time.

My daughter is 6 and always wants to wear mine so I buy her teenspirit does no harm. Then she feels like a big girl.My daughter has friends who wear deodorant.

I would bring it up to your doctor like call the nurse or something it could be a sign of a more serious health problem prehaps.

In Chinese Medicine, we look at strong odors as possible signs of internal heat. Not a devastating problem early on, but one that should always be addressed.

It may have to do with what she is eating that could be causing increased heat. Celery, pears, apples are all cooling.
Are her bowel movements regular? If not, that would be the first thing to address. Pear skin is very down bearing and will help clear the way for the heat to be released.
It would be good to consult a practitioner of Chinese Medicine ie Acupuncturist. See if you could have a free consultation to find out more. Some folks (myself included) will show you ways to clear heat from her body without using needles and allowing for gentle, loving, parental touch. A great way to bond, and a way to keep your costs down while you help your daughter.

S. Stoffel, C.Ac.
Shen Wise Acupuncture, LLC
###-###-####

My kid sister had this problem. She also has hyper-hydrosis (abnormal sweating on hands, feet, and underarms). My best recommendation is to have her bathe more frequently and start using deodorant. If you are worried about the toxic effects of everyday deodorants (aluminum, talc, etc.)... there are natural "crystal deodorants" made from salts and other minerals that work well for deodorizing, but don't do much for curbing perspiration. Hyper-hydrosis is genetic in many, if not all cases, and I'm not sure much can be done about it other than to treat the symptoms if this is what your daughter has.
There may be other factors playing into the b.o.. Namely diet (too much sugar, fat, dairy, meat, and not enough raw fruits and veggies to keep her flushing toxins from her bowels and the rest of her system). A few simple lifestyle changes and she should be just fine. ;-)

Get her glands in her arm bits ckd and yes allergy test expectly for latex rubber would be good.

D.

Soap helped my kids...My 4 year old uses a pull-up at night and between not being a thorough "wiper" and being wet during the night, he absolutely reeked in the morning (not that it is the same issue, but...). I now buy concentrated Dr.Brommer's Peppermint Castile Soap. It comes in many sizes, and you can add water to dilute it. It is sold in organic and health foods stores, among other places, and the peppermint is so cool and tingly my whole family LOVES it (especially in the summer). It feels great once you get over the shock of tingling in the tub, and really works as a great deoderant soap.

I didn't read your responses but I would have her teeth checked, also tonsils, nose and ears. I know when a child puts something up their nose, they develope a bad smell. Ear infections and throat infections, even bad teeth could do the same. Another thing is to make sure you dry her off good under the arms, maybe change to a baby wash then soap.

I don't know what might cause this, other than bacteria getting under there and camping out. There are some very safe natural deodorants, they are basically a salt crystal, you wet it and rub it under the arms and it basically kills off any bacteria as that is what make sthe actual smell, not the sweat. They carry them at most large chain drug stores, here is one at CVS:
http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/detail?deptid=2648&...

I would NOT use a mainstream antiperserant/deodorant, as many of them comtain aluminum, and can block up the sweat glands too, which we don't want!

J.,

I agree with Anne-Marie. Here is the FDA link about aluminum and antiperspirant and it specifically says to keep it away from children because of the risk of higher aluminum absorpsion.
http://www.viviforyou.com/herbal_clear_deodorant/herbal_c...

Not to mention the fact that it doesn't solve the problem, just masks it.

I would call the Pediatric nurse and see what else can be done.

Good luck,
S.

I personally let my girls wear deordant. There is nothing wrong with it. It also teaches them good hygiene. If it is extremely noticeable, I would take her to the dr because she may have an issue with her glands to where she perspires too much. But i would try use the deordant first. It will even make her feel like a big girl!! good luck to you!

I would definetly check with your doctor first but there are also natural deoderents out there including one called the crystal it is just a natural rock that you wet then rub on and it just kills the bacteria that cause the smell but dosent clog pores and still alows you to sweat.

J.,
I agree w/Anne Marie and Suzi's suggestions. Before you advance to deodorant or powder, try some things that would figure out and resolve the issue, not just cover it up.
My daughter had a strong odor at a young age as well (almost like a 20 yr old man would have!) I was shocked at the time.
Fast forward; she is almost 13. She grew hair (pubic/leg/pit) at quite a young age (by 9??), but still does not have her period.
We no longer have milk products in the house (for almost a year). . .although she does have some milk outside of the home (hormones). I believe what our kids ingest has everything to do with these kinds of signals we get from our kids. You are smart to be questioning it.
I would also keep an open mind with a remedy. . .don't fall for "putting a band-aid' on it, so to speak.

Good luck!

I'm anxious to hear the response because I am experiencing the same thing with my 5 1/2 year old!!!

Hi,

My 5 year old daughter has the same problem. I talked with my pediatrician and he said as long as she didn't have other signs of developing (budding breasts and underarm hair, etc.) that it was normal. I find if she is wearing shirts/pajamas that are not 100% cotton it is worse. I just wipe her down with a baby wipe at the end of the day. Maybe more baths during the summer. You are not alone!

My 5-1/2 year old son has the same problem! I've been meaning to call the doc to see what his suggestion in. Thank you for writing about this, I can't wait to see what kind of responses you get!

I would definatly talk to your child's Dr. about this, in most children BO is not a problem because their apocrine sweat glands (the stinky ones that produce oil and pheremones) are not yet active. It would be good for you just to find out why your daughter seems to have active apocrine sweat glads at her age, it is probably nothing to worry about, but maybe her hormone levels are a little high for some reason. Good luck!