Hormonal smell - can it start before any other puberty signs?

[NewName4ThisWeird1]

Starting a few weeks ago, my son has developed the ability to stink out a room! The smell is difficult to describe but not too unlike walking into a zoo 😀 I notice it in his bedroom and in the small computer room where he does his homework. I open the windows and it goes away in about an hour. Another change I've noticed is that, while his school uniform and day clothes do not smell, his sport kits now really do after he's played football, etc. So his sweat glands are definitely getting more active. The enigma is that HE doesn't smell. And his bed doesn't smell, and his room is clean. I'm thinking the smell is likely linked to hormonal changes but he is only 11 (12 in the summer) and has no physical signs of puberty at all.

My questions are:

Can the 'teenage smell' start BEFORE the other key signs of puberty? If so, does it mean that full-blown puberty is imminent?

Or should I worry that the smell may be caused by some type of medical condition?

I think it must be linked to puberty, my eldest is in his thirties now but I recall that smell vividly long before any other signs. A couple of friends also remarked on it with their sons, we had all stepped up cleaning, changing bedding etc but it was still there, opening windows did help a bit.

Thank you, @Evenstar. Sounds perfectly normal then!

Yep DSS started to smell long before any of the other signs started to kick in.

Like your son it was most prevent if he had been active / playing sport. He's 12 now and needs deodrant most days

My DS and a friend's DD both had this hormonal smell like fried onions around 12 - 13 years old, don't notice it now though

Thank you, @Caffeineneedednow and @JackieO22 . All very reassuring!

This is the start of puberty. It’s called adrenarche.

Yes I noticed the smell with DS1 before any other signs when he was in Y5. Started with deodorant thereafter. Weirdly I'd say DS2 is Tanner stage 2 just turned 12, but as yet doesn't have any smell at all except for if he hasn't washed his hair but that's a different kind of unwashed slightly sweaty hair smell.

I should say with DS1 the smell lasted for about 12-18 months until physical signs of puberty began.iirc.

Thank you, @muckymayhem and @Ikeameatballs I'm off to google Adrenarche and Tanner stages! Been a long time since I covered those concepts at school and I can't remember much. Great news that it may be many months yet before full-blown puberty!

Starting to smell was the first sign my 11 year old was going through puberty.