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Original poster

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?

290 replies

alpop · 13/11/2024 13:09

The past two days I've really noticed how much water (with a tiny bit dilution juice) he is drinking. He's asking me a lot for more. He will down it then ask for another one

His mouth smells like an acidic smell like battery acid. I have no better way of explaining it. It's smelt like that since yesterday. His older sisters have noticed it too and said he smells weird

He's well otherwise. He was running a lot today and has been at his nursery.

He's maybe eating slightly more. But he's completely well other wise

Diabetes runs in my family. My brother is type 1 and was really unwell at 5 years old. My mum didn't notice anything until he was passing out then admitted to hospital.

Does anyone have any ideas??

OP posts:
User170451 · 13/11/2024 22:37

It wouldn’t explain the thirst but is there any chance he’s stuck something up his nose? I only ask because we had this with my son (he has asd) We had months of a terrible smell coming from his breath we thought. We were back and forward to the doctors couple of lots of antibiotics incase there was an infection. The smell just kept getting worse. It was stinking a full room out. Then eventually after months he started having a little bit of blood round his nose which then prompted the hospital to have a look. There was a bit of sponge up there the smell was vile!

GiveMeAbitOfSugar · 13/11/2024 22:37

Your sister is a nurse and you turn to the net

Glad you have taken him to the GP

If any other concerns, consult your sister / Doctor / A&E
Noone here can tell you anything for certain

Toomuchfruitandnut · 13/11/2024 22:44

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but has he been eating anything with a lot of garlic? When my 3yr old has anything quite garlicky he gets the most horrendous breath for a few days afterwards. It's not a garlic smell, it's hard to describe but it smells like it could strip paint and makes my eyes water when he cuddles me. No amount of tooth brushing and mints seem to get rid of it, it just disappears after a couple of days. My older son had it too when he was around that age, he seems to have grown out of it now. It's really strange

pastelrainbowsss · 13/11/2024 22:52

5.4 is normal. Diagnosis is usually accompanied by really high blood sugar. But I think in the early stages of onset it can go up and down so could get some normal readings.

Blood sugar is usually between 4-7. Up to 10 still normal. Any reading over 10 would be a flag for me.

You can buy finger prick stuff. Just need to make sure you get the right strips for the reader. Then you can monitor bloods a bit yourself at home if you’re still worried.

AmateurNoun · 13/11/2024 23:27

If it's not diabetes, I wonder about acid reflux/GERD with the drinking being to get rid of the taste.

Tonsil stones are also very smelly.

Cakeandcoffee93 · 13/11/2024 23:28

i have type one diabetes: go to a and e now. He sounds like he has it, DKA google it.
doesn’t matter about weight loss I didn’t have any. Please go now

healthybychristmas · 13/11/2024 23:37

He hasn't pushed something up his nose has he?

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 13/11/2024 23:38

Cakeandcoffee93 · 13/11/2024 23:28

i have type one diabetes: go to a and e now. He sounds like he has it, DKA google it.
doesn’t matter about weight loss I didn’t have any. Please go now

Please read the thread now.

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 13/11/2024 23:39

alpop · 13/11/2024 21:48

@Hungrycaterpillarsmummy the dr didn't say anything about a cold etc.

Is the smell really strong on your child? I can smell him from the other side of the couch. He's not showing any signs of a cold. The smell doesn't go away with him drinking lots of water or brushing his teeth or eating. My oldest gave him a mint to try to stop the smell and it didn't work

My oldest had a strange smell when she had a cold as a toddler but it's not the same smell as that, that was a really recognisable cold smell I can't describe it but you could tell it was a cold/flu smell.

I wouldn't say I'd be able to smell it from the other side of the sofa, no. But it's like a bogey smell. I'm wondering if it is a sinus thing as a pp suggests because that would explain why teeth brushing etc doesn't help

User28473 · 13/11/2024 23:49

Some doctors are mistaken and think that when symptoms show in children they will always test positive and there is no pre-diabetes, but this isn't true. People can still produce insulin for a long time before they have full blown type 1, there is a huge research project ongoing that has proven it bit GP's don't all know. So it is possible he will have diabetes but tested fine at the GP. The best time to test is an hour or 2 after a carb heavy meal. You know the signs of ketoacidosis so don't worry. If he goes rapidly downhill take him to A&E. Blood glucose monitors and glucose urine sticks are cheap to buy if you want peace of mind to monitor him at home. One thing I will mention though, is steroids can raise blood pressure. My son had intermittent signs of diabetes and I worried about it a lot, until I found out that his asthma steroids can cause mild glucose intolerance. I had to read a lot of studies, doctors didn't have a clue.

BreatheAndFocus · 14/11/2024 06:25

alpop · 13/11/2024 22:01

@ManhattanPopcorn could he have a sinus infection with no symptoms? He's not unwell in any other way than drinking loads and the smell in his mouth.

I'm scared it's at the early point, with my brother he took about 2 months of being thirsty and drinking a lot before he became really unwell. Could the blood sugar only change at that point? He was fine other than being really thirsty. Maybe he's still at the point of that, my sister is a nurse and said 5.4 is fine but on the lower end.

5.4 isn’t the lower end. If you’re worried because of the family history, I’d just get a reliable blood glucose meter and a pot of Ketostix and do occasional tests on him.

The smell could be a mouth smell. Dry mouth can cause a smell and can account for excess drinking. You could also get him a dental check just in case there’s decay forming or some gum problem (I had an abscess at that age due to a weird tooth).

Stirrednshaken · 14/11/2024 07:04

Bimblesalong · 13/11/2024 22:35

@Stirrednshaken aged 6 he had a few trips to the dr - awful stomach pains, losing weight and classes as “failure to thrive”. He was tested under a consultant for a few things - we were beside ourselves. A few months after he turned 7 (& with further gp trips during that time and nad), we noticed he was incredibly thin, whiny, tired and within a week he developed a huge thirst, pear drops smell and then had consecutive nights of wetting the bed having been dry since very early. Gp sent us straight to hospital and phoned the house later that day to ensure we had gone and to progress check.

there is a honeymoon phase for many people developing diabetes and many of us in our support group at the time seem to have had children whose glucose readings appeared normal, even though the child was in slow decline. The pancreas was flickering like a faulty light.

I guess the message is, even though things might seem clear, don’t necessarily rule it out and continue to monitor.

we had no diabetes in our family although dh is coeliac, which I then found out is a highly concurrent risk factor with t1.

Thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful. No diabetes in our family either - but we do have Crohn's. So will keep a close eye on how my little one gets on. Really pleased you got to the bottom of what was happening with your little boy.

dressdisaster2024 · 14/11/2024 08:15

It's sounds like the symptoms of diabetes but if his blood reading was 5.4 that's normal. I would keep an eye on him.

My sons signs were drinking a lot, wetting the bed/had an accident in the day actually which is why I took him to go as usually was dry, looking back I can now see he had lost a lot of weight. Luckily we only required an overnight stay and were back out the next day.

Newsenmum · 14/11/2024 08:41

alpop · 13/11/2024 21:48

@Hungrycaterpillarsmummy the dr didn't say anything about a cold etc.

Is the smell really strong on your child? I can smell him from the other side of the couch. He's not showing any signs of a cold. The smell doesn't go away with him drinking lots of water or brushing his teeth or eating. My oldest gave him a mint to try to stop the smell and it didn't work

My oldest had a strange smell when she had a cold as a toddler but it's not the same smell as that, that was a really recognisable cold smell I can't describe it but you could tell it was a cold/flu smell.

Could the doctor smell it too?

Original poster
alpop · 14/11/2024 08:43

@Newsenmum yeah

OP posts:
CrazyCatLady008 · 14/11/2024 08:55

Did they test ketones in the urine sample
My type one can have HUGE ketones and be at 4.1mmol it doesn't always cause high blood sugars.

Alwaysoneoddsock · 14/11/2024 09:48

I haven’t been able to read the full thread so forgive me if this has been mentioned. Wasn’t there a thread on here where the child had something up his nose and the stuck object was causing a smell? It’s not something like that is it OP?

HappyMe6 · 14/11/2024 17:45

Don’t understand y you wouldn’t get medical treatment straight away you know the symptoms we had three ppl in our family with it both type 1 and the other type 2 very serious condition if it was me I’d have gone to drs straight away he’s very young go asap

MustWeDoThis · 14/11/2024 17:45

alpop · 13/11/2024 13:09

The past two days I've really noticed how much water (with a tiny bit dilution juice) he is drinking. He's asking me a lot for more. He will down it then ask for another one

His mouth smells like an acidic smell like battery acid. I have no better way of explaining it. It's smelt like that since yesterday. His older sisters have noticed it too and said he smells weird

He's well otherwise. He was running a lot today and has been at his nursery.

He's maybe eating slightly more. But he's completely well other wise

Diabetes runs in my family. My brother is type 1 and was really unwell at 5 years old. My mum didn't notice anything until he was passing out then admitted to hospital.

Does anyone have any ideas??

Take him to A&E, ASAP - I am diabetic and the smell is also like a nail polish smell which is a massive sign of DKA - Diabetic Ketoacidosis. Please, I beg you to take him to a hospital immediately. If you already have- Fantastic! I hope it's not diabetes, but the smell comes from the stomach when there are ketones in the blood.

x2boys · 14/11/2024 17:46

People need to rtft

Skyelils · 14/11/2024 17:51

I’m type 1 diabetic . Take him to the doctor they are definitely alarm bells

MustWeDoThis · 14/11/2024 17:56

x2boys · 14/11/2024 17:46

People need to rtft

Yes! Yes they do. Like I said in my post- "If you've taken him already- Fantastic!"

As a diabetic, I will always be more concerned about putting my experiences across when I read something which makes me instantly panic, rather than read several pages first.

iwishiwasonacruise · 14/11/2024 17:56

When of my cousins was little she suddenly had a terrible mouth smell. Went on for weeks until (I believe) they X-rayed her and it turned out she had wedged some kind of craft bead up her nose and it was blocking the sinuses or something, hence the smell. It was removed in a&e, very gunky, then the smell was gone! Not to alarm you but maybe ask him if he's put anything up his nose?

x2boys · 14/11/2024 17:59

MustWeDoThis · 14/11/2024 17:56

Yes! Yes they do. Like I said in my post- "If you've taken him already- Fantastic!"

As a diabetic, I will always be more concerned about putting my experiences across when I read something which makes me instantly panic, rather than read several pages first.

Show quote history

My son nearly died from DKA two year ,s ago so do have insight it was terrifying ,but this thread was strted more then 24 hours and the Op updated lat night at least read the Op,s posts

MustWeDoThis · 14/11/2024 18:01

alpop · 13/11/2024 22:03

@Bimblesalong he hasn't lost any weight and he isn't grouchy. The only thing is him being more tired than usual but with his nursery he can get like that. He is needing an hour or so more sleep than usual

To be honest, and I really don't mean to panic you; I wouldn't wait for a full blood test. I would be down A&E to get a full blood test, where they will be on it! This is where I ended up when I was first diagnosed and in DKA. A&E will understand. Just walk in and tell them your concerns, let them smell him and see what happens. It's probably a bit of a Nail Polish smell? And maybe pear drops smell?

I really am keeping my fingers crossed for him because I can't imagine how worried you are. Take some time for your own mental wellbeing, too. Sooner he's in A&E, the better for you both.