12 year old did clamminess and and smells of seat all the time.

[Thoughtsfortheday]

My 12 your old dd has always been quite a sweaty child, even as a baby I had to bath her more than other two dc as her head often smelt like sweat, she always had clammy hands and when would touch her in at night she would always be sweaty to touch.

This has never really been an issue until puberty has hit and now became quite noticeable.

She showers daily, in clean clothes every day, takes deodorant to school with her but she still often smells of BO and of unwashed head. She is also very sporty and rides so spends most days in after school in a riding hat which i don’t think helps.

She is such a lovely, kind and gentle little thing and the last thing in the world I want to do is give her a complex but I also don’t want people to avoid her because she is smelly.

Just to add she is very fit and slim so not sweating due to holding any excess weight, but have wondered (and to an extent hoped) there might be a deficiency or over worked gland that may be a play...

Does anyone have any advice?

If it’s that bad or noticeable and has been since a baby maybe a GP visit is in order. There’s thing they can do to stop the sweating etc. Or even just for piece of mind that nothings wrong. Sounds like hygiene wise she’s doing great, although I did read something last week that mentioned exfoliating your armpits once or twice a week can help get rid of a build up of the BO smell etc. Could be worth a try

Sounds tough I think I was a bit like your Dd. Things that might help, short hair cut (bob length unless she wants it super short) so she can easily wash it daily, soap in the shower rather than shower gel/ body wash, showers rather than baths, really good anti perspirant deoderant.Sometimes clothes just need to be binned as they can smell fine when newly washed but start to smell as they warm up.

Honestly sometimes I need to change my top during the day if it's very warm. The plus side is I tolerate warm climates or hot days because I sweat so much I cool myself down very effeciently.

Tell her to wash with bar soap instead of shower gel and really make sure she washes her armpits and bum. Use a fresh shampoo such as a tea tree one (the Alberto balsam ones are good for long lasting freshness). Mitchum deodorant is the best you can buy IMO (the solid stick one).

Go to town on softener and use a laundry cleanser such as dettol antibacterial wash to get her clothes really clean and smelling nice. Those scent pellets are nice too.

Make sure she is eating healthily and drinking lots of fresh water, particularly if she is sporty.

Once you have done all these things, if she still smells, take her to the doctor, although this might really damage her confidence so proceed with care!

Most people don't use deodorant correctly.

You are supposed to put it on at night not the morning. It absorbs overnight and works the next day.

I use it day and night now but put more on before bed. I have to say I noticed a reduction in sweating.

One of mine smelt different. As he approached teens his washing had to be done at a higher temp and lots of his polyester sport stuff had to be binned.
I would ask GP before anyone else notices and opens their mouth. At least that way she'll have an answer ready.

Mine developed a Lynx habit so for the last decade we've breathed 1part oxygen to 4parts Africa, I really wouldn't recommend that!

Is she aware of the smell? It might be worth a trip to the GP just to rule anything out as it sounds like she's perhaps at the upper end of normal sweatiness.

You say she showers daily but does she shower properly? Does she know to use enough shampoo and really wash her scalp, not just bung some through the ends? I find bar soap better than shower gel for getting squeaky clean so it might be worth swapping that if you don't already use it.

Could her clothes be harbouring sweat? Bio powder detergent is probably the best for sweaty clothes and make sure you're washing at 40c, even the occasional 60c for things that will handle it to really freshen up get clothes.

Try Sure Maximum Protection stick,just discovered it,it's amazing. Others swear by Mitchum but that doesn't work for me at LL.

Thank you for the advice, it’s so hard as she is such a low maintenance girl but loves a bath or shower and I really feel bad about harping on to her to wash properly as she must feel like that’s all I ask her to do!

I will get some proper soap, we do use quite a high wash and fabric and softener but will look into some scent boosters.

Avoid Polyester & all synthetic fabrics.

If her hair is smelling, an anti dandruff shampoo is more likely to help. Tell her to leave it on the scalp for a couple of minutes before rinsing thoroughly.

My husband has to have his armpit on tops proper proper steamed
Bio wash

Put softener into the washing machine at the end to help boost fragrance

Get her to use Sanex Skin coloured lid roll on and spray

Has she got dandruff? Xx

Also,does she actually scrub her armpits? There's a chance she might just stand in the shower .

Is she putting deodorant on straight after her bath/shower every day? It took ages with my DD to drum it in that she needed to use it even though she was fresh and clean.

Mitchum deodorant roll on saved me!!

Introduce her to perfume! Xx

Or impulse body spray? This was all the rage when I was in school.

It's expensive but Aussie three minute miracle conditioner smell lasts the day.

I'd suggest roll on on sealed in with spray anti-perspirant. Proper soap in shower/bath (not Dove or similar moisturising soaps).

Hyperhidrosis is a condition which causes excessive sweating, so hands and feet as well as armpits. It used to be hard to treat but I believe Botox is now used quite effectively.

Am not suggesting this is what your daughter has, nor would treatment be appropriate yet even if she did have it, but maybe something to look into?

I would steer on the side of not giving her a complex but normal 'teen bodies start to smell more so you will need to self-care by doing xyz, and because of the riding hat lets look at how to look after your scalp better because its in a sweaty environment often'. I would also read up on conditions that involve excess sweating for future reference if she becomes concerned.

Australian Bodycare tea tree oil shower gel is your friend. Get her to wash pits, groin, bottom and between breasts first with soap, then wash all over with the shower gel.

All clothes washed either at 70 degrees plus, or using an antibac laundry cleaner if the fabric can’t take high temperatures. As pp said, anti -dandruff shampoo left on for a few minutes to begin with (anti bac too ), then used regularly. Decent deodorant like Mitchum. Her pits need to be bone dry before she applies it all over her pits to slightly outside the margins.

If these don’t work, definitely worth a trip to the doctor.

Dont layer perfumed smells on top of it - it won't work and doesnt address the root issue.

Are the clean clothes she's putting on smelling fresh before they're worn?

Does she get to shower properly after sport and change into clean clothes? Can the riding hat be sponged? Not sure what the protocol is for hygiene of riding hats!

I agree it sounds like a gp thing. Yy to properly cleaning armpits and a good deodorant.

My DS9 is a sweaty boy & I made a point of teaching all 3 dc to use either a body puff or flannel with soap under their arms to get rid of bacteria.

Also discovered a few years ago that my friend uses some sort of 'Oxy Action' spray on the underarms of her tops to get rid of stubborn BO smells. I've never smelt anything on her so it must work. I remember thinking at the time that that might come in handy as DS grows up!

She needs to soap her armpits, groin and feet properly.
Then decent antiperspirant deodorant like Mitchum.
Shampoo like anti-dandruff, but riding helmet will make her head sweaty.
Avoid synthetic fabrics.
Biological wash her tops and sports wear daily. Underwear/crop tops/bra daily as well.
Iron where possible.

Don’t just cover up BO with perfume. That’s grim. If full measures don’t stop the smell and she’s sweating excessively, get her to GP to consider Botox.

When I was a teen I had issues with really sweaty feet, especially in the summer when I had to wear closed-toe shoes at school. What really helped was something called 'Hibiscrub'. It's a bright red liquid that I think is used in medical settings to disinfect hands etc, but you can buy it fairly easily yourself. I found that on really hot days it helped get rid of BO smells on my feet and underarms. I used it a bit like a shower gel on those areas.

I found that if I had hair on my underarms this made the smell worse/made it stick around for longer, so if that's a problem consider shaving also.

Agree Mitchum is the best antiperspirant. I like the unscented normal version the best, and you can also get a stronger gel version which gives even more protection.