5 year old with underarm odor

[mswanson502]

My son, who is now 5 years old, starting having underarm odor when he was just 9 weeks old.  It wasn't just a slight odor either.  He smelled like a grown man that had never worn deodorant.  It was very offensive.  His pediatrician told me to watch for other signs of puberty, but they never surfaced.  We used deodorant on him for about 6 months and it eventually went away.  
A few months ago (he was 4) it started back.  Now it's worse than ever.  Deodorant helps, but I'm more worried about what's causing it.  What could this be?  
Melissa

[Net_Comment]

There could be an underlying medical reason for it that your MD can investigate, however do not use deodorant on the baby.  Remove all deodorant build-up by rubbing the area with petroleum jelly and then soaping.

Scrub his underarm with baking soda (use hand - not wash cloth) - pat  dry,  wipe underarm with alcohol - let dry, wipe with apple cider vinegar - let dry, dust with baking soda. He will not be smelling any more in just one- two application.

Make sure you are only  using cotton clothes on him. Check to see if his cotton clothes have trapped bacteria on them by ironing the underarm area of the shirt - if it smell awful it has bacteria on it. You may need to try different things to find a solution for that. Wash in the hottest water with bleach all his sheets and towels and shirts. As well as the laundry of others in the family as he may have got the bacteria from one of the family members. Check the bathrooms and other areas he frequents for bacterial infestations ( friends, day care, school) that could be a source of this problem. Keep his towels and toiletries out of the bathroom. Sun his clothes.

See if he likes to eat the herb cilantro (coriander) - as that nixes odors and removes any kind of heavy metal poisoning in the body.  Parsley or candied fennel seeds (found in East Indian groceries) helps too.