Body Odor Information

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Body Odor

Before puberty

Parents are usually aware of subtle (or at times stnaromas emanating from their baby or young childing a typical day. Occasionally you may notice an umiliar odor that could indicate a specific problem.Bad breath (halitosis) usually indicates that an ntion is present somewhere - in the gums, throat, toiadenoids, or sinuses. A child with nasal congestionbreathes through the mouth or a child with a chrcough may also have bad breath. A trip to the doctor's office will probably be necessary to find and treat the cause.

An extremely foul odor emanating from a small face, worsening by the day and not improved by brushing or bathing, is probably the result of an object- as been stuffed up the nose. Thick, discolored drainage from one nostril may be a more prominent,am than the smell. A wad of paper, a pencil eraser,of foam from the couch, a pea or bean, and a smal lpart from a stuffed animal are among the possibilities. In most cases, your child's doctor will be able to examine the foreign object with narrow forceps, but adhered to help hold your child still while the object is removed.

This is similar but less common scenario that may occur if daughter inserts a small object into her vagina. Aodor from the genital area, with or without dis-should be checked by her doctor. A bacterial in-we can also generate a disagreeable odor that won'twith simple bathing and will need medical atten-

Smelly feet can occur in a child of any age who wearsrly ventilated shoes. Heat, sweat, and bacteria are then ingredients, and treatment isn't particularly com--cated: Have the child wear well-ventilated footwear orsmdals or let her go barefoot. Clean socks and a dailysalt or shower will certainly help. Absorbent powdercrinkled into shoes may absorb some of the perspira-mon and help curb the aroma.

A sick child sometimes gives off unusual odors. Anacidly sweet aroma (or one that resembles nail polish)no be caused by compounds called ketones, which ac-cumulate when a child hasn't been eating because of acomach upset. Rarely this smell heralds the onset of di-abetes, but if so, the child will have other symptoms:first, frequent voiding, weight loss, and increasing listlessness. This situation needs immediate medical attentionsee diabetes mellitus).

Unusual odors, such as a "maple syrup" or "sweatylet" smell in an infant who isn't wearing shoes, may in-dicate metabolic disorders that are often serious but for-ornately extremely rare. Usually other features of thesediseases - failure to gain weight, lethargy, seizures, anddelayed development, among others - will signal that.mething is drastically wrong well before anyone is,oncerned about unusual smells.

After puberty

With the onset of puberty comes a different set of odorproblems. Sebaceous glands on the neck and upper body,under the arms, and in the genital area begin to producematerial called sebum. Skin bacteria acting CM this sub-stance can generate very disagreeable body odor after oneor two days. Interestingly, the watery perspiration thatappears during exercise or strew has no odor at all.

Teenagers can fall into two extremes in dealing withbody odors. Some are overly concerned about the socialconsequences of body odor and go to extremes usingantiperspirants (which can irritate the skin under thearms), aftershave, cologne, vaginal douches, foot pow-ders, or other products they have seen advertised inmagazines or on TV. Other teens may need prompting totake care of even the very basic hygiene.

In dealing with adolescent odor issues, moderationand common sense should prevail. Daily showering orbathing, regularly using shampoo (every day for someteens), wearing clean socks and underwear each day,brushing teeth after meals, and laundering or dry-cleaning clothes - in other words, basic self-care - willprevent most body-odor problems.

Girls who have begun menstruating may worry aboutodor arising from this monthly event and be tempted touse "hygienic" measures such as douches or femininesprays. Menstrual flow itself is not malodorous. Simplemeasures such as daily bathing or showering, changingsaturated pads, or (most important) not leaving a tam-pon in the vagina for more than six hours will prevent orminimize unpleasant odors. Feminine-hygiene sprayscan irritate delicate tissue, and douching is unnecessaryto maintain cleanliness. Any persistent drainage that isdiscolored, itchy, painful, or foul-smelling could indicatethe presence of an infection (or, rarely, a lost tampon).This should not be treated by douching but should beevaluated by a physician.

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