3 yr old with underarm oder

My daughter will be 4 in OCT and has stinky arm pits and has had them since she was about 3.. I mentioned it to out Pediatrician at my youngest daughters apt and he said it was odd but didn't indicate he would like to see her for this problem. He seriously just said "hmmm thats odd, she might have to start wearing antiperspirant"

I'm having a hard time thinking that this is just odd. I don't think it is "normal" in the least bit for a child so small to have body oder. She bathes regularly, in fact she showers now instead of a bath. And I am gonna be honest here, I put deodorant on her before we go do things like gymnastics or dance or when she is around other children because I don't want her to be the "stinky" kid..

Am I NUTS to think that this is totally bizarre?

Is this actually common among little girls?

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Bridget A. Hewitt, RN]

Hi and thanks for using the forum.

It is not "normal" for your daughter to have underarm odor at this age, however, it is more common than you think.

My first suggestion would be for you to make an appointment for her with the pediatrician.  I know you mentioned it, but it was not at her appointment and the physician may have been focused on your other daughter.  My thought would be to rule out any kind of metabolic disorder (like a thyroid problem).

Do you use an anti-bacterial soap for your kids?  I ask this because sweat itself does not really have an odor.  The odor is caused when the sweat mixes with bacteria on our skin.  Sometimes a good antibacterial soap can help keep these skin bacteria from flourishing and may get rid of the smell.  

Next, I don't think you should  use deodorant.  Deodorants and antiperspirants are made for adults and they do contain chemicals that I would not really want to expose a child to.  This is going to sound a little weird, but I know one mom whose 5 year old daughter was having body odor problems.  She switched her child to organic milk, and within a week the odor was gone.  She felt it was related to the hormones in the non-organic milk.  This might be worth a try to see if this helps.  

I hope this helps a little. Good luck.

Bridget

[luvmy2grls]

Thank you!  I appreciate your feedback.  We (my whole family) use Dial bar soap in the shower.    So I think I will make an apt with the Pediatrician to see what might be going on.  I have Hypothyroidism caused by hashi's and was diagnosed with it AFtER my second daughter.  

So if after trying organic milk the problem hasn't resolved itself and the pediatrician is NO HELP what should I do next?  Should I take her to a pediatric endocrinologist?

Thanks you again for your help