Help needed for teen ds BO

[shortfatfatty]

My poor almost 13yr old is really suffering with stinky pits.

He showers every day and applies triple dry deodrant after and then applies a standard mens long lasting one in the morning and a stick version after PE. We've tried nivea, sure, Mitchum etc but nothing is working. I picked him up at lunchtime for an appointment this week and he was already smelly even though he'd not had PE.

It's definitely not his clothes, I'm a pro at stinky boys clothes now.

Before I try the gp us there anything else I can try?

Dettol

Could there be health factors causing excessive sweat at play? Is he overweight?

there’s some people who always tend to get a bit sweaty and smelly faster than others. If he’s one of those people, deodorant and shower gel won’t be enough. He’ll need to work on lifestyle factors and use stronger things

Is he overweight? Can you explain how this is relevant, if he's not washing his armpits thoroughly or frequently enough, his weight has got zero to do with it but well done for trying to perpetuate a stereoptype.

He needs antiperspirants not just deodorants. My 17 year old sporty FS showers 2 or even 3 times a day as he does a lot of sport and he doesn't smell. However if he doesn't put on the antiperspirants, let it dry and then spray with deodorant he would smell.

Could there be health factors causing excessive sweat at play? Is he overweight?

I was really skinny as a teen, and washed thoroughly (plus swam most days) but really was the most horrendously excessive sweater. It sometimes is not in a person's control. Thankfully I discovered Driclor and it changed my life (or at least teen years; the issue went away eventually).

This is pretty common with teen boys ime.
One problem is that they don't know how to wash properly (yes really!) And a quick smear of some bodywash just doesn't cut it anymore. Needs to be proper washing, maybe show him (clothed) how to really scrub inside pits

For goodness sake. Some people have an actual medical condition and no amount of washing and scrubbing is going to change that. It made my teen years hell to know that people assumed I didn't 'know how to wash properly', as you claim.

I’ve not tried this myself, but there is some TikTok’s suggesting using hand sanitizer to kill the bacteria responsible for the smell. Worth a shot!

Hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras.

Once you've ruled out the common causes then you move on to the less common ones.

Many teens assuming a wash = lathering up with shower gel and a rinse doesn't invalidate your experience, and it's worth checking before heading to the GP.

I think you could rule out whether different washing technique helps before you look into medical causes or special products. If I don't wash my armpits with a flannel and soap - give them a proper scrub - then apply roll-on antiperspirant deodorant, I smell. If I do that, I don't smell. I think it is the rubbing with the flannel that gets the sweat off properly. If I just use my hands or a cursory wash with a shower puff thing, it's no good, I smell. Clean flannel every day.
If its a medical issue, then obviously this won't fix it and special products required.

Many teens assuming a wash = lathering up with shower gel and a rinse doesn't invalidate your experience, and it's worth checking before heading to the GP.

What makes you assume that teens don't know how to wash, out of interest? I work with teens every day as a teacher, and BO issues are actually quite rare. They do know how to wash! We've had a few instances of "smelly" children, but almost all have been medical issues. This was also the case when I worked in a boarding school (I was actually assistant housemistress of a boys' house)... they did know how to wash and would not walk around stinking of BO through ignorance! 🙄 But hey, what do I know...

Probably because you still get adults who think shower gel running down to their feet is washing them and wonder why their feet smell! Or don't wash their belly button

Probably because you still get adults who think shower gel running down to their feet is washing them and wonder why their feet smell! Or don't wash their belly button

Do you? How grim. Thankfully for me I've never come across adults like that. Sorry to hear you have!

Second all the references to bar soap above and proper scrubbing with a flannel and proper shampooing of hair.

Also, when school uniform has been on for a while ( and most other clothes), the smell ‘lifts and circulates’ out of the clothes in a warmer environment after an hour or so , especially on school shirts. If they’re white, you can soak them in a bleach solution to reboot them. If not, adding soda crystals to the wash will work.

I also second regular washing of school blazer and coats. I work with teenagers and I can tell you that some of them do not smell good after a few hours in uniform, even though I can see that their clothes and hair etc are clean. It’s the baked in smell rising …

A quick going over of bar soap to the armpits of shirts and blazers turned out to be far more effective (and cheaper!) than any special laundry stain/odour removal spray I have ever tried.

I want a refund on all the fancy products I've wasted my time on in the past!

Yep, there's been posts on here about it! About not washing feet deliberately/legs etc

Agree driclor will work. I was really sweaty as a teen and it sorted me out.

Bar soap with exfoliating mitt to
make sure old deodorant is scrubbed off

Thank you so much for all your replies.

We've tried every recommendation on here except the driclor and I'm pretty sure DH has some of that in the bathroom that we can try tomorrow. I have perspirex too which I bought for my myself when my usual wasn't available but I had a reaction to it. He has very similar eczema prone skin to me so reluctant to try that on him.

I have some dettol soap in the cupboard and a squillon flannels so I'll get him to try that.

Otherwise, he's definitely applying the deodorant (they're all antiperspirant ones) correctly.

There's no way I could supervise a shower, he's incredibly shy and I'd traumatise the poor thing. I haven't seen him naked since he was about 8 or 9!

And honestly, it really isn't his clothes or bedding. I have a house full of boys/men so am very used to getting boy stink out of stuff with dettol in wash additives etc. I work in hospitality and also use the professional grade anti bac/sanitising laundry stuff we use there on shirts, etc so it's properly clean not just lots of lenor to cover it up.

Really hope the driclor and soap combo will do the trick!

I know you can't supervise the shower but I literally role played it fully clothed with a dry flannel to show my son what I meant about a good scrub!

Make sure the soap is all rinsed out as any left behind can stop the anti perspirant working properly.

Not sure if this one has been mentioned but Anhydrol Forte worked for one of my teen ds. Put it on at night and wash off in the morning.

Well done, OP. I will be amazed if Driclor doesn't do the trick. I was honestly thr sweatiest teenager ever and it sorted me out within a few days. I noticed improvements within a day or two. Good luck!

This.

All the sprays and antiperspirants won’t be effective if he just stands under a shower.
get his dad to show him, if he can’t cope with his mum seeing him unclothed.

I have this issue. It’s so embarrassing! I shower at night but I wash my pits with bar soap in the morning.
Many people have recommended Driclor and Mitchum, didn’t work for me. The only thing that’s kept it under control is Perspirex (I get it from Boots). It’s one you apply at night and wash off in the morning. Once you’ve used it for a while you only have to do it every couple of days. I then use Sure maximum protection after I’ve washed in the morning.
Fabrics play a part too. I sweat in polyester. Never buy it any more! Only wear cotton clothing.

My son was helped by me shaving his armpits. It sounds odd, but it removed the layers of deodorant that he hadn't been washing away. Also use those shower scrubbing gloves to really scrub under pits, arpund neck, and make sure he knows how to wash his groin area.