Teenage boy convinced he has body odour problem...

[Blinkingecksake]

I really hope someone can help because I just don’t know what to do.

My teenage son is convinced he has a body odour problem. I have never smelt a bad smell on him - ever. His clothes or bedroom don’t smell either.

It is majorly interfering with his life. He is taking himself home from school and increasingly spending all his time in his bedroom.

He has refused counselling but has agreed to see a doctor - tho has agreed this before then refused to go. He has cried today because he says I just don’t believe him, which breaks my heart. I totally believe he thinks the problem is real but I accept that is two different things.

I think he is anxious and depressed, I also think he wants to smell 200% clean which isn’t possible, we all have our own smell which we can sometimes smell ourselves if we put our head in our jumpers that no one else can smell and I’ve tried to explain this but he’s not having it.

Can anyone recommend a really strong deodorant till I can get him to the docs so at least he will consider going to school? I’m a single mum and he won’t talk to his dad, I just feel lost and useless and I don’t know what to do. Any help or ideas very gratefully received. Thanks

Sure do a stick one that is about £5 and is a 48 hour one.

I assume someone has told him he does smell at school or something.

The problem may be that as you are used to him you may be noseblind the same way smokers cant smell that their house/they smell or dig owners etc.

My teen does a lot of sports and gets whiffy but this works really well.

Pretty common paranoia in teens, my brother was the same. I wonder if hormonal changes affect their sense of smell? (Pregnancy sure does, so why not puberty?)

Don't make a big deal of it, buy good deodorant and look on it as an opportunity to get him doing his own laundry :)

Thanks for the replies. We’ve tried the sure one - he says it doesn’t work. He says nobody has said anything but he can see from the look on their faces - but I just don’t see (smell!) it. I generally have a good sense of smell but don’t want to make him feel unlistened to.

I’m trying not to make a thing of it but I can see he’s desperately unhappy, hardly venturing out of his room beyond the essentials and his attendance has dropped below 75%. Good thought about the hormones affecting smell, I’ve also been thinking about Aspergers and sensitivity to smell. Thanks again

Well teenage boys do get whiffy and they sweat a lot. Both of mine went through a phase of being overly worried about it though not to the extent you describe.
I promised to be honest and if they ever smell at all I will tell them. That way they trust me to be honest.
There are some extra strong deodorants around but I guess you've tried that. Maybe try asking a pharmacist? He might feel better if he thinks it's been recommended. Maybe try getting him to sniff a clean shirt and a sweated on one to tell the difference?

Thank you Cataftercat, that’s a great idea about the shirts I’ll try that. We’ve got a GP appt so we’ll see how that goes. I don’t think he smells at all, but I do believe that he genuinely believes he does so I need to help him resolve that and change his thinking.

I'd buy him some nice aftershave rather than really strong deo that might only make him sweat more everywhere else.

Thanks, he carries some in his bag but doesn’t feel it helps. As I say, I do think his thinking has become skewed and we somehow need to change that. Yesterday he was really upset because he said he smelt. I gave him a hug and couldn’t even get a whiff. He then got more upset because he said I didn’t believe him. It’s so hard! But appreciate worse for him and he’s upset. I just find it hard to know how to help him.

Mitchum or driclor deodorant's are good.

Wash and conditioner his clothes in strong smelling fabric conditioner? Buy shower gel and shampoos with nice scent such as this:
www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/heath-hair-body-wash/555692-588487-588488
Take him out to choose some stuff.

I daresay though if it is psychological that no amount of nice smellies will change his mind. You are doing exactly the right thing getting to the GP.

I got my ds something called Trust from Boots. I swear it is magic!

My ds really was quite smelly despite showering with soap twice a day, using antiperspirant and body spray. He uses this stuff and although it does nothing for wetness it leaves him completely odour free even after a day of school and football.

I don't know how it works and it is herbal based I think but it worked for him.

There is a condition called olfactory reference syndrome I tried to share a link and failed. It may be worth having a look at.

Thanks everyone, really helpful Dancinggoat have had a quick look at that syndrome and will look properly later, but it looks spot on - thanks so much, bit of a lightbulb moment!