Puberty at age 4 - please help me!!??

[TheBrokenMothership]

My 4 year old DD, 5 in November has developed BO, and it's awful,
I have no idea why this is. It proper BO as in, nasty smelling, beefy type scenario... what you'd expect from a 13 year old playing sports without deodorant type BO. It's genuinely really bad. We have a teenager and I'd say it's worse than what we have experienced so far. It seems like a daft situation to approach the GP with; but I'm actually really concerned that she has this aged 4.

Can anyone relate? She had a shower daily.

Not sure where to go with this.. she's bloody 4!!!!

Anyone.. please?

It’s definitely something to discuss with you GP

My boy started getting BO at age 6. Took him to the docs and was told it was "within the realms of normal as long as he develops no other signs of puberty early".

He was 9 yrs and 4 months when other signs kicked in. Under 9 in a boy is precocious so just within the normal range.

He is full on puberty, probably like a 14 year old. He's still in Primary School and is regularly mistaken for a teen.

Get her to the docs, just for reassurance.

I have known this to happen with many girls and then stop and return later. Apparently there is a hormonal surge at that age.

When we took him to see Santa, we put an age badge on him because Santa would turn and speak to his big sis assuming she was the youngest.

I'm starting to consider putting an age badge on him on days out as I've noticed he's getting negative attention (he's autistic so doesn't understand all communication but people are assuming they're talking to a 14-16yo).

She is "bigger" than her age... shes in age 7 tee-shirts but is age 5 in leggings. She's not overweight; however she's a head taller than other children in pre-school.

First, the obvious, you need to be sure they are washing underneath the arms in the shower, not just over the top - but of course at this age I assume you are still supervising.

You'll need to see your doctor once you know it's not that. It can have many causes, some completely innocuous, some that might need treatment or looking into it further.

This happened to my daughter at the same age.
I made an appmt to see the GP and she was referred to a paediatric endocrinologist.
He carried out some tests, all non invasive and after discussions we decided to go down the no drugs route and monitor her every six months as it doesn’t always progress to premature puberty. In DD’s case it did but slower than in some children. She is now a happy, confident teen.

Go to see your GP. Similar happened with dd aged 5. They took some tests at hospital and diagnosed her with premature adrenarche. No further treatment required but she was seen by paediatrics every 6 months until she hit the "normal" age for puberty, which I think was 9.

She's fine now.

Triple Dry antiperspirant in the short term but yes the dr needs to see her.

Bar of soap and a proper scrub under the arms not just a flick with water from the shower. She needs to use a flannel or body scrubber too.

Clean clothes daily.

It's probably a hormone blip/ surge.

This happened to a friend on mine! Daughter developed BO at around 3 years old and the doctor worked out that she was ingesting quite a large amount of hormones from milk which messed up the balance in her own body. She was drinking excessive amounts of milk though (1 litre a day if I remember right!). The doctor recommended switching to organic milk and dairy to see if that helped and I think it did.

Could it be something like that OP?

Dd is 7 and was diagnosed ar age 6 last year.

It could be your DC has adenache (sp?) Puberty which isn't full puberty. Tests will confirm this so definitely speak to the gp and push for a referral to hospital.

There's an excellent Facebook group if you are uk based 'precocious puberty UK'. I was surprised at the lack of threads about itnon mumsnet

The only hormones in UK milk are naturally occurring and there is zero evidence that excessive milk consumption can trigger early puberty

www.which.co.uk/news/2021/04/milk-myths-8-common-cows-milk-concerns-debunked/

OP, speak to your GP. My DD started puberty at the lower end of the normal range and, even though she was (just) within normal age range the GP still referred her to check everything was as it should be, particularly with her height as she was below average in that respect.

Fair enough! I just remember it helping (if not totally clearing up) when they switched. I think maybe it was because she drank an unusual amount of milk and perhaps that was a factor. I just wondered if it could be related, as the doctor seemed to think so. But I’m happy to be proved wrong!

A sensitivity to lactose maybe that was coming out in her sweat? Like when you eat touch garlic and smell like a kebab shop the next day.

Touch = too much

Yes take her to the GP. But my son has had BO since about 5 or 6 as well, doctor was happy and said everything is fine. He is 13 now and puberty is right on track, nothing out of the ordinary at all! The BO is now much stronger :o

Definitely GP. If it’s only BO they can help. If it’s a starter to exceptionally early puberty then they can slow it down/stop it.
Poor soul. Must be something in the water. Kids are developing earlier and earlier these days compared to my experience as a child.

Definitely go to the GP they should be investigating and may try to delay puberty if that is what is happening.

Please see your GP. They could check whether she is going through precocious puberty or if something else is causing the BO.

kidshealth.org/en/parents/precocious.html

My niece was 6 and it looks like her sister is starting age 7, you really do need to see the gp about this though x

My DS developed BO at age 7, really suddenly and with no other signs. I was really worried - it was proper teenager smell. About a week later he had chicken pox, and as soon as that cleared, so did the BO! Pop to your GP though and get her checked.

Definitely go to the GP, DD developed breast buds around the same age and GP referred to endocrine clinic where she was seen every 6 months for several years. I was told to look for other signs of early puberty such as body odour. As with a PP they did non invasive tests which indicate whether it is early onset puberty or not. If it is (wasn't with DD) they can give treatment.

Thank you all very much. I have made an appointment with the GP.. I'm very glad I asked as the responses have been very helpful.

💐

My friends DD had this around 5/6yrs. They reduced dairy and it did seem to help.
The problem did go away after a while.