My 4 year old has been drinking a lot of water and his mouth smells like acid like a battery acid what could this be?

It may be, but until the clinical signs (blood sugar levels) match the symptoms, nobody will be able to diagnose diabetes.

My kids have food allergies, they sometimes have a funny smell on their breath when they’ve had a minor reaction to food and slight sore throats.

I have these allergies too and get really thirsty afterwards if I’ve had something that I shouldn’t 😬
just a thought x

I still feel this has all the signs of diabetes. I'd say if it continues take him back to the doctor or consult someone else.

Ok so this is far out but any chance he’s popped something up his nose? My ds2 had put some tissue up his nose without anyone realising and o kept smelling a smell for weeks, he was drinking lots to clear the taste, eventually he blew his nose and something unholy exited! Smell gone, his appetite returned!

That isn't what you said in the post I responded to. There was no need to go off on one at me responding to you the way I did, because you only said it wasn't diabetes at that point.

I won't be replying to your dismissiveness again. My comments have only been to make sure anyone going through this is safe. You have ignored everything I wrote in my posts to tell me stuff I stated I already knew. I will never risk a child's health by not sharing what I know about this topic. It might be a very rare condition but it's also extremely important to diagnose it quickly as you well know.

Why are you posting this 4 days after OP took him to the doctors?

She's taken him to see his Dr several days ago now...

Why are you posting this to get advise from random strangers. Take him to see his doctor.

I waa replying to another poster and the Gp is doing other tests anyway
I don't need lecturing about DKA being serious my son nearly died from it two years ago I'm aware of just how dangerous it can be .

No she said the GP said it's not diabetes, that is very different. Many children with T1 diabetes are misdiagnosed by their GP.

My son's girlfriend works in a GP practice, even if their GPs diagnosed every T1 diabetic they have, their GPs would diagnose this approximately once a decade. It is very rare, hence GPs often miss it and why T1 diabetic care is almost always done by hospital specialists.

Even A&E initially misdiagnosed my son with T2, the night I told him he was T1 due to all the symptoms he was showing. The following night we were back in A&E with very high ketones (up to 5.1) and he was rediagnosed with T1 diabetes and spent the whole of the next day on 2 drips one with glucose the other with insulin to clear those ketones. We were lucky we got back there before he developed DKA which can be fatal.

Ultimately if all the signs point to T1 diabetes and any healthcare professional says it isn't it's worth getting a second opinion and a HbA1c blood test (that should be below 48mmol/mol, my son's was 132 mmol/mol at diagnosis)

Acetone [pear drop sweets] smell possibly = diabetes Type IA. Please get him checked.

@x2boys
I think this was just a finger prick test at the GP, not always enough.
I wondered if any further tests had been done.

Ooh yes ! I’d forgotten about that , it’s rarer and could account for the excessive drinking

She posted two days ago it's not Diabetes..

Any update OP?

I believe you can buy diabetes test strips to test urine from chemists. Possibly ketone ones too.
my daughter was fine, then suddenly started drinking LOTS, lost weight and was really poorly. I thought it was covid as it was just after lock down, I would test him 2 hours eating something carby or give him something like pure orange juice & then test hour later and record sugars like that for a whole day.

Have you also looked in throat? When my daughter had tonsillitis her breath was awful!! Get him to swish mouthwash around in his mouth if you think he’s capable of it and spitting it out… think they do ones for children.

hope your baby is better soon and I hope it’s not type 1 diabetes as it’s fkn hard work

A finger prick test is only a 'now' snapshot. Please tell your GP you want HbA1c done. This is a much more accurate informative test and will show what's been going on the past 3 months with blood glucose levels.

The weird smell could be because he's in ketosis. Also related to diabetes.

Thanks BarbaraHoward.

OP posted 4 days and 270 posts ago. She's been to the doctor.

Please get him checked extremely urgently if you haven't already. Go to the ED. ...
If he smells of battery acid and he has been increasedly thirsty (polydypsia) it indicates diabetes and ketoacidosis. It sounds like his body is breaking down fat for energy (resulting in ketoacidosis) as he hasn't sufficient insulin to break down blood glucose. His blood will be becoming very acidic and his blood glucose will be rising.

Take him to be checked now.
(Sometimes the smell of those developing ketoacidosis has been likened to pear drops)
Take him.

Hi I know people have said get checked I agree but if it's tap water smell it. I don't drink it anymore stinks of chlorine the a swimming pool and that would play havoc on the stomach which could cause snell. If your not already switch to bottle water

Click "see all" at the bottom of any of the OP's posts.

Is there an easier way to find OP updates than by scrolling?

As the parent of a diabetic person, I am in several support groups, many parents in those groups report the GP missing the diagnosis for a variety of reasons. Many of those children ended up in hospital for days. Even if a GP has said it is not T1 diabetes it is still worth keeping a very close eye on it. I was told it's only the amount my son was drinking that had stopped him ending up seriously ill. I discovered that at diagnosis he had built up to 8 litres per day, he was a young adult and so most of that wasn't in front of me.

Was that on the basis of normal blood glucose readings?