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Fast Fact
Two medicines are useful for reducing fever in children: acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Children's Advil or Motrin). Acetaminophen is given every 4-6 hours, and works by turning down the brain's thermostat. Don't use under three ...
In children, smelly breath that persists throughout the day is most often the result of mouth-breathing, which dries out the mouth and allows the bacteria to grow. Children who consistently breathe through their mouths might have colds, sinus infections, allergies, or enlarged tonsils or adenoids blocking the nasal passages, so a visit to the pediatrician is in order. Thumbsucking or sucking on a blanket can also dry out the mouth.
Here is a list of some very uncommon, but telltale, odors (mostly from Mace, Goodman, Centerwall, et al: The child with an unusual odor. Clinical Pediatrics 15:57-62, 1976). Take a whiff:
Acetone - diabetes or acetone, alcohol, phenol, or salicylate ingestion
Ammonia - some types of urinary tract infections, or kidney failure
Asparagus - eating asparagus (very unusual in children;>))
Bitter almonds - cyanide poisoning
Cat's urine - odor of cats syndrome (beta-methyl-crotonyl-CoA-carboxylase deficiency)
Celery - Oasthouse urine disease
Dead fish - stale fish syndrome (trimethylamine oxidase deficiency)
Fresh-baked bread - typhoid fever
Foul - tonsillitis, sinusitis, gingivitis, lung abscess, or dental cavities (some of these are actually quite common)
Garlic - arsenic, phosphorus, organic phosphate insecticides, or thallium poisoning
Horse-like (also described as mouse-like or musty) - phenylketonuria
Rancid butter - odor of rancid butter syndrome (hypermethionemia and hypertyrosinemia)
Raw liver - liver failure
Sweaty socks - odor of sweaty feet syndrome (Isovalryl CoA dehydrogenase deficiency)
Sweaty socks - odor of sweaty feet syndrome II (Green acyldehydrogenase deficiency)
Violets - turpentine poisoning
Three-year-olds often stuff items in their noses, and then forget about them. When my son Kevin was three, he put five peas up his nose before anyone found out! Watch for the combination of smelly breath and a smelly, yellow nasal discharge -- especially from one nostril. You and I might not think of stuffing peas up our noses, but three-year-olds think outside the box!
Infections can be avoided both by decreasing the exposure to germs and by boosting your child’s immunity. Click here for 6 powerful ways to decrease germ exposure.
