DS, 11, and BO problems

[sufferingicecakes]

DS has been wearing deodorant since age 7 as he suffered from early adrenarche. He now seems to be going through full puberty but he is really suffering from BO despite our best efforts.

He has always sweat a lot, even as a baby, but despite mentioning it to a GP it has never really been investigated further. He did have blood tests with the early adrenarche and that showed low cortisol but within range. Everything else was fine.

Despite showering daily, wearing deodorant and changing all clothes including pyjamas daily, he still smells. I have tried several 24 hour deodorants but have not noticed any difference. We hang the blazer outside at weekends but I am really getting to the end of my tether with this!

Can anyone relate to this? Any advice? Can this be a medical condition?

Is it deodorant or antiperspirant?

Good point! He is wearing a deodorant and anti perspirant.

Has he tried shaving his armpits? The bacteria that cause the BO smell cling to the hairs too, so if you reduce the surface area available for them, there will be less of them and hopefully less odour.
Persue the matter with GP, if you've noticed, others will too & it could impact his self esteem.
Have you looked into the Botox injections for overactive sweat glands?

A simple thing he could try is rubbing a few drops of tea tree oil into the whole area of his arm pit a couple of times a week. I find this really works for me when deodorant isn't enough, I assume it kills off the bacteria that makes the smell.

When he showers is he ACTUALLY washing his pits properly? Boys often think standing under the shower doing nothing well... is all that is needed? And using deodorant properly?

Can you wash his pits in the mornings then liberally apply deodorant for a week to test this out?

If it is a genuine problem then GP. I think it is possible to have sweat glands removed.

Does he smell or the clothing? A quick wash programme is rarely enough to get rid of BO smells.

All very good points thank you.

I do not think he has a lot of under arm hair yet, I think he is in the very early stages of puberty.

I am beginning to think it may need something like Botox or one of these really strong deodorants. He seems to be wet under the arms even first think in the morning.

I have wondered how well he is actually washing (I do keep nagging) and I do think I will need to wash him and apply the deodorant to see if that makes any difference.

I rarely do a quick wash, but I have started putting in more detergent and the clothes seem to be OK.

I will also try the tea tree oil. I assume that needs to be heavily diluted.

Could you actually wash his blazer? Hanging it out may make it smell fresher temporarily but the bacteria is still there.

Maybe he needs to wash twice a day.

There are extra strong deodorants like Driclor that might work better. Also you could tell him to apply extra deodorant in the loos at lunchtime, maybe? My ex used to use Driclor and he usually smelled fine so I assume it solved the problem.

I think the Blazer may well be the problem. Can you wash it at all? I was ds's each half term as it would stink otherwise.

I have recommended this product on here before. It is called TRUST. It is available in boots and costs about £8 for a tiny pot. It sounds like a hippy herbal product and I have no idea if it will work for your son, but I can tell you that it worked like magic for mine.

My ds had the same issues. He was showering twice a day and still smelling really bad. His shirts still stank after a boil wash. He could smell himself and it really bothered him.

He is almost 16 now and honestly, he can do a full day at school including playing football at lunch time and when he comes home I could put my nose in his armpit and not smell anything other than his body spray!

It is not an antiperspirant. It doesn't stop the wetness, but stops the smell completely. DS uses it alongside a normal antiperspirant. He now only has to use it twice a week.

As a first point I'd be popping in the bathroom with him and washing him myself. Use an antibacterial or silver soap and not shower gel and use a sponge to create a decent lather. I'd then dust under his arms with a medicated powder and then poly deodorant. He's still quite little so there shouldn't be an issue with you helping for a while. I still wash my 9 year old because I swear to god he just is so ineffectual and just faffs about

I suspect with your intervention you may see a change in this

Presume you have tried the 48hr Mitchum anti-perspirant.

Most school uniform shirts and polo are not 100% cotton and this is the perfect terrain for bacteria to grow. Try washing them with an antibac wash, usually called sport wash or similar.
However I would agree with you that the usual measures do not work for the unusual, and I think trying botox in the armpits would be a good idea.
If he is not ready for the needle, maybe have a go at antibacterial body wipes he can easily use in the school toilets and see if it makes any difference.

Thank you some really good ideas here. Lots of products I did not know about. Will look for anti bacterial talcs and try something like Mitchum. Also did not know that there were anti bacterial washing detergents. I will also look for Trust. I can feel a trip to Boots coming on.

DS was whiffy at that age. I quizzed him on how he washed his underarms - swapping shower gel for actual bar soap(coal tar was a hit) and advising that he washed nog only the armpit but the top of the arms too.

He smells much nicer now that he washes properly (still smells if he has a day in his pit though)

The clothes might smell fine when washed, but when they warm up they can reek. Try a slosh of zoflora in the wash. Or napisan if you're washing whites. And do shirts at 60 degrees if possible.