My daughter smells... could it be her medication?

[shockers]

My daughter, who is 13, smells terrible. She has constant bad breath and stinks of sweat despite showering every morning and when she gets in from school. She brushes her teeth twice a day too.

I am wondering if it has anything to do with her epilepsy meds. Her breath has always been a problem and her tongue is always coated.

The sweat smell is obviously to do with puberty. She can smell straight after showering though.

I help her shower and brush her teeth as she has SN and can be a bit slapdash if left to it.

I don't know what to do about it. I have seen people recoil from her because of the smell. She has enough to cope with socially, without this too.

Her diet is very good. She doesn't eat junk food or sweets and she isn't overweight.

Does she use deodorant? I was very surprised at how young DD was when she needed it.

Does she floss her teeth every day, especially right at the back. Also I saw on one of those embarassing illness progs that a cure for bad breath was to drink a yoghurt with probiotics. Good for the gut so reduces pongy breath.

She can't floss because she has braces (every tooth is wired) but she does use an interdental brush and mouthwash. She goes to a special school and recently all the children in her class got a hygene bag at school with deodorant etc in. It was an anti perspirant one which seemed to make the pong worse. I've just nipped down the street to the health food shop and got her a Tisserand roll on and some manuka honey cream for her face. We'll see how her pong and pimples get on this week. I will definitely try the probiotic yoghurt daily. She does have organic yoghurt, but not every day at present.

Thanks for the speedy replies!

If she can't floss , try getting her a waterpick .

They are for people who can't use floss very well .
And are safe for use with braces and dental work ( bridges , crowns ect).
Sort of pressure washer for your teeth gums...I've got one it's brilliant .
You can get a special head for tongue cleaning.

Try getting her dicolr ( sorry my spellings awful) deoderant.? . Sometimes you just have to keep trying different ones until you find one that works .

Second the probiotics , and vitamins too.

I feel your pain op , I've got a 13 year old dd who is exactly the same , except she has no formal dx. ( possible as) . I suspect it's just being a teenager ....some are just a bit more work hygiene wise .

I've just googled Waterpik and it looks like it might do the job, especially if it also cleans the tongue. I do brush her tongue but she gags, not a nice experience for either of us!

There is a waterpick especially designed for children with orthodontics ...it's the green one.

Thank you .

I don't know about epilepsy meds specifically, but meds can definitely affect body odor. It sounds like a lot of this is dehydration - that causes the breath to smell and increases ketones (worse if she is dieting) and can give an ammonia smell. Even if she is losing weight and ketoning, drinking more water can reduce this effect.

It might be worth going to the dr's about the breath thing. Ds gets terrible breath sometimes and it is linked to a problem with ear infections and his adenoids.

She's not dieting, we just have a healthy diet. She does drink plenty too. We have asked the Dr and the dentist (discretely, as I don't want her to become self conscious)but neither could identify the cause. She is on the maximum dose of meds for her height and weight.

Driclor is excellent but I'd be very wary of trying it on someone so young. I use it but it makes my armpits very, very sore and I know I am not alone in suffering that side effect. Maybe ask your GP or school nurse for advice.

I'll try this Tisserand one and see how she gets on with it first. I've never heard of Driclor before this thread, is it a specialist deo?

Epilepsy meds (phenytoin in particular) are very bad for causing gingivitis (gum infection) and gingival hypertrophy (gum overgrowth)
I would suggest using chlorohexidine mouthwash and taking her to the dentist so they can make a proper assessment of her gums
Hth

Waterpick is more effective at curing gingivitis than chlorohexidine mouthwash.

You can get a gel to help that works better too. It's called gingel and they sell it in boots . Unlike the mouthwash it stays on longer .

You'd need to check with your dds dentist about what would be more suitable for her .

I'm not sure I agree with that droves. Even the waterpik info suggests using diluted chlorihexidine in the waterpik to treat.
As you say, prob best to take advice from a dentist that has seen the extent of inflammation/overgrowth

This is it, there's nothing wrong with her gums, I think the smell comes from deep within...

Would still give chlorohexidine a try particularly if her Tongue is coated

When I had smelly breath, my dentist told me to eat granny smith apples, it helped a little bit... I ate loads! I know she has braces but If she used a knife?

I'll ask the dentist about the chlorohexidine. In the meantime, I'll be choppin apples .

I struggled with sweating and smell. Best thing I found was the cream stick ones. Sprays are terrible and roll on liquids are useless.
Make sure she's wearing cotton as much as a possible.

Thank you lisad, we'll have a go with the one we got today, but if it doesn't help, I'll get one of those... do you recommend any particular brand?

And we do wear natural fibres as much as poss... her school sweatshirt is acrylic though.

Mitchium is very good

Beat me to it mcqueeny

Thanks all for your help, lots to try now .