Feeling really awful about myself and my son.

[Hope54321]

Hello guys,

Hope you’re all having a wonderful day. I am currently struggling with my self esteem and confidence because I am a sufferer of chronic bad breath since about 8 years old. My eldest son was born with bad breath. Doctors are so confused and just throw the usual “it’s acid reflux”. Dentists say we have lovely teeth and a clean mouth. We still stink so bad. My bad breath is at a point where I can no longer mask it with chewing gum. I floss, brush and use mouthwash before I leave the house and I still get reactions from people.

I feel guilty that I passed this horrible disease onto my son. He is only 4 yeas old, he should be enjoying his life. He also has eczema, severe allergies, asthma and autism. Poor kid has a lot going on.

I just can’t take it anymore. The doctors have no idea and I don’t have tonsil stones. I’m really struggling with the bad breath, especially because now my son is suffering. He is repeating what the kids have said to him. After school he kept repeating “you’re stinky”. It breaks my heart to watch him go through what I went through as a kid. I really worry about his future.

People avoid talking to me at his school because of this disease. I’m not sure how much longer I can go on for like this. Thank you for reading. I can’t speak about this to anyone in real life so thanks for reading.

Have you heard of foetor hepaticus?

How about keto or even carnivore

Ask about haemocromatosis because it can be genetic and chronic bad breath is notorious with it, I’ve got it , not as bad as yours but I still see the dentist every month for a clean. Please ask about.

Do you think you may have acquired this and then passed it to your son rather than it being genetic or do you think perhaps it's just wasn't noticed until you were age 8 but you also always had it? Do you remember any notable events when you were around that age (illnesses, injuries, etc)?

This sounds really hard, and it must be frustrating to not have answers. Have you been referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist?

Ask for this thread to be moved to health. Also request a referral to a dental hospital. Good luck with this.

Is there anything at all you have noticed has made it better temporarily, or worse? Time of day? Is it worse when you or your DS have a cold? Do you have any reflux issues?

Have you been tested for diabetes?

Hello, my partner also has this sometimes (due to stomach acid and is also on the same medication as yourself, his mother also has the same issue). My partners flares up when he has trigger foods; anything fried, smoked paprika, we try and avoid gluten as much as possible, upfs, lol protein stuff which he used to live off oh and stress!!) we cook most things from scratch now. His overall wellbeing has massively improved. He still has the flare ups every few months, the bad breath is after the flare up and I would say (not a medical professional) when the stomach acid is angriest.

id keep a food diary and ask to be referred to a specialist and I hope this helps 💖

Sinus infection? My daughter gets sinus infections quite often and her breath always smells horrible at those tines. We call it “the sick breath’ and it improves when she treats her infection

You sound like a lovely, caring mum.

My little boy when he was about 3, kept borrowing my perfume and putting a squirt on his neck. Eventually I bought a bottle for him, he's now 7.

If the problem is causing his school friends to say he smells bad, could a squirt of a carefully chosen, non overpowering fragrance before school help? It might help his confidence too.

Just an idea, sorry if it's no good.

Hi OP,
Not sure what the root cause is and I have RTFT and not seen this mentioned so worth saying. Have you ever tried peppermint oil capsules to see if it helps to mask the smell for you. Only thinking it as whenever I’ve taken them and burped all I can taste is mint. Random but worth a shot!

OP I know you use a tongue scraper but I find that a) only certain kinds work and b) you have to push it all the way to the back of your throat (to the point where you’re literally gagging) it’s the only thing that works! Mouthwash straight after to rinse out the bacteria. My dd had the same problem but now she’s learned to use it properly she has v seeet smelling breath!

I’m so sorry that you have not had help with. You said you haven’t you have talked to your doctor regarding this do you realise that this may be a problem not in the mouth itself but from perhaps the stomach if you don’t mind my suggestion I think you should have a check with the doctor as there may be some acid or or a problem in the digestive tract I’m only saying this because I had someone with the same problem and it actually was constipation how strange you might say but check it out. You seem to be at the end of your together and I wish you all the best.

This might do nothing at all but it's worth a go - these are probiotics for the mouth https://uk.biogaia.com/products/prodentis
You could try them along with VSL#3 probiotics for your gut.

I would also make sure you are cleaning your tongue several times a day. I find the plastic tongue scrapers do a much better job than brushing the tongue or metal scrapers. Obviously a good electric toothbrush, dental floss + a water flosser might help. I suspect, like you do, it's a condition rather than an oral hygiene thing. Some people cannot breakdown the components in certain foods and it makes them smell bad (TMAU). Perhaps a diet of exclusion is worth experimenting with to see if there are certain foods that make it worse.

It might also be worth seeing if you can get a prescription for pilocarpine or cevimeline (used to treat dry mouth in Sjögren's Syndrome).

I would try things on yourself 1st before trying on your son. Best of luck.

Good thinking. This should definitely be tested for as it could have been passed from you to your son.

For some people it only affects the breath, not everyone with it has body odour of fish.

Have you had an endoscopy & colonoscopy?

If your breath smells like poop then there is something going on somewhere along your digestive system.

I’m on omeprazol for gastritis. But I didn’t get the drug until I’d had a colonoscopy and endoscopy.

It could be bacterial.

i would suggest having your tonsils out.

This worked wonders for my daughter when nothing else worked - we get it off Amazon but I’ve seen it in boots. No bad breath anymore more - ever

UltraDEX Daily Oral Rinse

I would say given your DS’s issues and yakult giving you stomach cramps that you need to look to your gut. That doesn’t just mean balancing the health of your gut but actually looking at where everything is leading to and from the gut.

Could you have a hernia / hole in the stomach wall or in that area which is somehow having the bowel smells leaking through to your stomach and then up your oesophagus into your mouth

It isn’t unheard of to have a familial weakness in areas of the body.
The yakult thing needs time for your body get used to the change. But if it doesn’t get better maybe look at lactose intolerance

Have you ever seen an ENT / ear not throat consultant? There are ones that specialise in halitosis. You can get colonies of bacteria that live in the nasal passage / tongue / sinuses that produce a foul sulphur / poop smell. This may explain why diet has little impact on your breath if it’s not coming from the gut and also why your son has the same issue as he may have inherited the same susceptible structures plus families share microbiomes particularly in early life. An ENT will work to locate where it’s coming from and then treat it accordingly. I don’t have personal experience of this btw I just asked chatGPT (I had liver inflammation which caused this problem for me - the poop smell in mouth made me think of this - and wanted to check with chatGPT before I sent you up the garden path!). Make sure it’s an ENT that specifically specialises in halitosis

Has he tried using a mouth spray - very often

You mention GPs saying nothing can be done. I agree with a PP that this sounds out of their scope and you need to demand to be referred to specialists.

Tbh based on my own experience this year, i would really recommend seeking a private consultation with a GP and also getting appointments with private consultants eg ENT, digestive etc. Expensive but worth it. Good luck op.

I am sorry, this sounds extremely difficult.

When you were tested for helicobacter, were you on omeprazole? If so this can give you a false negative result.

Fasting to reset gut health?