Ds convinced he smells of urine

[Upsidedownfrown]

9 yo ds is utterly convinced he smells of urine. He says his body smells of it and his hands. It's really distressing him.

I asked a trusted friend to discreetly give him a sniff just in case dh and I had got used to his smell and she confirms he smells of soap and washing powder. Friend is absolutely the sort to be honest with me.

At first I thought it may be as he'd got a bit hot and sweaty with the duvet over his head all night but he said he still smelled bad after a bath and clean clothes. Then I thought maybe he's got something going on with his sinuses or a cold or something but he washes his hands and confirms they smell fine afterwards (until the smell comes back) so it's not that he has a funny smell up his nose as it's not constant. He smells everything else normally... Cakes, coffee, my perfume.. it all smells fine to him.

As gross as it is, Dh and I have both had a really good smell of his trousers, pants etc just in case he has had some drips after using the loo and nothing. I've put all his pants and trousers on a hot wash and it hasn't helped.

If it carries on much longer (it's been 3 days) I will book a gp appointment but just wondering if anyone had experienced anything similar?

Is he being bullied at school and being taunted that he smells by any chance? Bullies make up all sorts of horrible lies like that.

@egontoste I guess that's a possibility. I work near him in school and haven't noticed anything but obviously I'm not next to him all the time. I'm outside his classroom with a 1-1 during class and on his playground at lunch and break. I'll bring it up with him later.

He first started talking about it Friday morning but didn't seem too distressed but this weekend he's changed his clothes numerous times a day. Feel so bad for him

This symptom may be caused by a brain tumour which may affect his sense of smell. Get him checked out right away.

I found this and it seems to fit the bill:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_reference_syndrome

Hopefully your son will outgrow this, Upsidedown. You're doing everything right, reassure him as far as you can and talk about other things to take his mind off it.

I think it's worth saying that although altered smell sensation can be a feature of brain tumours, it's an uncommon one in children (and loss of smell sensation rather than a change more typical). OP you don't mention any other worrying features are present so that is very reassuring.

Since this type of disease has been mentioned, www.headsmart.org.uk/ is the best resource to check no other features.

HAs he other symptoms of OCD? Is he particularly stressed? Is he enuretic?
A GP visit might be worthwhile.

Hi OP, it may well be psychological, but it's worth getting him checked out. Type 1 diabetes can cause a change in body/breath smell. It's usually described as 'acetone' -- like nail varnish remover or pear drops, but the urine smell isn't that dissimilar.
Especially important if he has been drinking/eating/weeing a lot and has lost weight.

Thanks for everyone's replies! He's woken up this morning with a horrid cold/sore throat/chesty cough and announced that the smell is gone! Hoping it was just a weird response to the start of a cold. Once he's a bit less snotty I'll see if he mentions it again.

Other than the cold symptoms he's completely normal... Usual appetite, drinking, weeing, sleeping, everything! So not overly concerned now he's gone all nice and snotty. Must be the most random ever sign of a cold coming!