Advice please - Worst breath in a living human

[Teagoanngoanngoann]

My DS has horrific breath. He always has. He is now 22. Its so bad i have to put my top over my nose if he sits next to me. My DH thought someone had got into the car with dogmess on their shoes yesterday but it was the car filling up with his breath. I have taken him to docs who just said to try changing his diet. He eats the same as us and we dont all smell like this. I have today purchased CB12 mouthwash, new brushes, tounge scrapers and sugar free gum and have got him a dental appointment. I hope they can help. He has great overall hygiene. Showers twice daily and brushes teeth2 or 3 times a day because he knows he has a problem. Any other advice?

Is he constipated, that can cause really bad breath, even if he's regular he could be impacted, might need a good clear out of his bowel, poor chap he must be feeling very down about it.

Good grief. Watched the tonsil stones clip. Its horrible. So it seems its either bad dental hygiene or something clogging an orifice in his body...be it nasal, tonsil or other. Mmmm nice!!

Probably not relevant but does he smoke, even occasionally? I know someone who had horrendous breath, to the point that you couldn't stand near her. Remarkable improvement once she ditched the ciggies!

My nan had this for years, turns out she had some sort of liver problems and after receivimg the proper medication it completely sorted itself out and no more reek.

As daft as it sounds, has he tried flossing. I’d get him floss sticks (mint ones) All it takes is for good to get lodged and wham...rotting food. It can absolutely stink. He should floss before brushing teeth. Tongue scraping is great too. Drinking lots of water helps. Perhaps fresh lemon in water to help cleanse his mouth.
If that doesn’t work, maybe try giving him pro biotic drinks ie yakhult or equivalent in case his tummy balance is a bit off.
I hope this helps because it must feel awful for him. He must be so self conscious of it.
I heard moth washes can actually kill the good bacteria in your mouth which, although can remove plaque, it can also cause dry mouth/ bad breath. It wS on loose women.
At first, flossing may cause you’d dons gums to bleed a little but it won’t be for more than a couple of days usually.

Oh yes I know someone who's little boy had a cotton bud festering up his nose for a couple of years which stank (yes, up his nose, not his ear).

Also worth reading the Gut book - there's info in there about the correlation between gut health and bad breath. Fascinating read as well!

Giulia Enders - Gut

Hope you can sort it for him, must be terrible for him.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1911344773/ref=asc_df_191134477357961227/?hvlocphy=1006707&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=310970710731&creative=22110&hvpone&hvlocint&creativeASIN=1911344773&th=1&hvpos=1o1&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforum-21&hvtargid=pla-417335656978&hvrand=3890496134007814920

To be honest, normally really bad breath is caused by either gum disease or tonsil stones, occasionally food getting stuck or even an abscess.

Most common cause is poor dental hygiene. He needs to be flossing every day. The dentist should be able to give him guidance in how to brush his teeth, he might be brushing them every day but not brushing effectively.

If he has tonsil stones he will have occasionally had them come out and would have got a disgusting smell.

There's also a condition called pharyngeal pouch, where they have a little pouch where things get stuck in their throat. Can cause bad breath too, but my first thought would be dental.

Does he smoke? Or drink a lot of coffee?.

Maybe he should see an ear, nose and throat specialist.

Thanks all. He dosent smoke or drink tea or coffee. Drinks mostly water at the moment but can be a cola addict if we buy it..so we don't now. He goes from having breath like really strong pear drops to awful poo smelling. He rarely has no smell. Its def getting worse though so need to deal with it. Thanks for all advice storoes and info. Really appreciate it all.

Minorprophet he has recently discovered he has lost his hearing in one ear. He thought it was blocked but its not. Waiting to see a specialist so will get him to ask about breath as well as hearing thanks

Pear drops? Has he been tested for diabetes?

Pear drops breath can be a sign of diabetes - definitely mention to the GP.

This sounds like ketoacidosis associated with diabetes type I. It can cause breath to smell like poo or like pear drops/nail polish. Does he have any other symptoms? Needing to pee frequently, getting very tired, unexplained weight loss, excess sweating?

I don't think any dental issue would be making his breath smell to THIS extent. Of course worth seeing a dentist and taking their advise. But I would be badgering the GP to do any tests for related problems.

When did this start? How is he coping with this emotionally? I'm guessing it's had an effect on his social life and work. How horrible for him.

Yes the pear drops smell definitely needs to be checked with a doctor ASAP.

Pear drops defo needs a diabetes check..

I suffer (apparently, I can't smell it) from similar. I have Crohn's Disease, and when I am a little backed up or about to flare this kicks off.. Perhaps try a sachet of movicol or laxido a day and see if it helps, just in case things aren't moving too quickly (Prune juice is even better!).

Tonsil stones, looks horrific!

See if you can get the ENT appointment accelerated. It's very likely to be linked to his ear issue.
I had a problem with my ear and a dreadful taste in my throat. No amount of brushing could get rid of it. It turned out to be a sinus issue causing both (I never suffered any usual sinus symptoms either).

Oh no. Now im panicking and think im a cr#p mum. Yes he has lost weight recently. And yes hes tired alot but i thought he was just being dramatic. (He is...often) We did get him tested about 5 years ago for diabetes but it came back ok. Will ask for a retest.

Mamaslave thanks. Am now considering attending docs with large manchild to discuss all varied theorys as i know he wont bother with half of this when he goes.

There’s a gum condition called anug used to be called trench mouth. It stinks
But could be gum disease

Let us know how he gets on atvthe dentist op

Cronic sinus infection can also cause this. From what you have said I doubt it's a dental issue.

Agree It doesn’t sound like a dental issue.

The two people I know who had breath like you describe and it would literally smell a whole room out, one had a stomach condition and the other one was very ill and returned to work after treatment.

First priority is the blood test.

Untreated diabetes can be very serious.

You need to rule that out before anything else.

If you can't get a swift GP appointment it's worth knowing that you can book a diabetes blood sugar test at a lot of pharmacy's (Lloyd's certainly offer this service) and it may be a faster way to do this (you should still see a GP regardless but a test of you can get one tomorrow at a pharmacy would be worth while).

Yeah will update. Dentist and gp both next week so will know by end of week hopefully. X