Why does infants have bad breath? Treatment of causes and advice from Dr. Komarovsky

A person is never so vulnerable to various diseases as in the first months of his life. Natural immunity has not yet been developed, but the child is already open to a number of bacteria and viruses. Therefore, it is not surprising that mothers and doctors monitor every alarm signal from the baby’s body. One of these signals is the smell of sour milk from the mouth. What does it mean and what to do in this situation? The answer is in this article.

Reasons for appearance

If the baby is healthy, then the oral cavity is populated with opportunistic and resistant microorganisms. Their balance does not cause diseases. The cause of violations lies in a number of factors:

1. A child’s breath smells sour when the body’s defenses fail.
2. Breathing will change when children consume radishes, onions, garlic, and cabbage.
3. Fetidity will appear with an excess of protein foods, since fermentation increases acidity.
4. Excessive consumption of sweets negatively affects the freshness of breath.
5. With gastritis, when the stomach does not work properly, a problem appears.
6. With increased acidity of the stomach, juice enters the esophagus. In such a situation, sourness appears.
7. The stench is caused by a stomach ulcer, which can develop in a child as young as 2 years old, or an esophageal diverticulum.

If your breath smells like sour milk, it is possible that it is thrush. Curd-like deposits appear in the mouth. Infants can develop viral infections. The systematicity and correctness of hygiene procedures plays an important role. Also, problems appear at the time of teething, inflammation of the gum tissue, and decreased salivation.

The nature of sweaty odor

The smell of sweat is a purely individual thing. Why does sweat smell different from person to person? It depends on many factors. Sweat glands are present in every person; they work actively throughout a person’s life. But the number of sweat glands varies from person to person: in some, these glands are located close to each other, in others - less often. The thickness of the skin also affects the amount of sweating. The sweat itself does not contain a pungent odor; it appears when the waste products of living microorganisms that live on the skin of every person join the sweat. Different shades of this smell are influenced by the individual characteristics of people, the frequency and quality of hygiene procedures, and various diseases.

Why can a child smell unpleasant?

The sweat glands in infants are adjusted to full function only by the end of the first month of life. Until this moment, an unpleasant sweaty aroma cannot emanate from an infant. Why do babies begin to actively sweat after the first month of life? This is due to insufficiently mature thermoregulation processes in children.

Also, the baby’s parents themselves contribute to increased sweat production in the child. After all, often, mothers and fathers, fearing that their child might freeze, begin to actively dress and wrap him up, moreover, in a warm, stuffy room. This is a serious mistake in caring for babies, because children are able to actively warm themselves with the help of movements, crying, and screaming. But the child still cannot cool himself down. Of course, the child’s body saves itself from overheating by excessive sweating.

Also, babies, unlike adults, are characterized by the same sweating in all parts of the body. The child sweats equally a lot from the top of his head to his toes. At the same time, the baby does not smell of sweat, because children’s skin has not yet fully formed its own microflora, and little children have much less bacteria living on the skin than adults. Normally, baby sweat does not have a pronounced odor. The smell of baby's sweat may contain only a subtle hint of acid. And then, only in the case when the child has been sweating profusely for a long time, for example, at night, and they have not yet had time to bathe him.

If the baby begins to smell with a pronounced sour note constantly, despite regular bathing and without overheating, you should pay attention to this symptom. It may be a sign of illness in the baby.

But before you panic, you should still thoroughly check the baby’s skin, especially the cervical folds. It is in them that breast milk often ends up, where it sours very quickly, and a sour amber emanates from the baby. If everything is fine with this circumstance, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Which doctor should I contact?

If your child has problems with the chewing organs or there are inflammatory processes in the oral cavity, good pediatric dentistry is needed. An experienced dentist will figure out what factors are causing the problem. Only after this will therapy be prescribed. Often, the oral cavity is sanitized, carious lesions and gingivitis are eliminated, and periodontal disease is treated.

Bad breath can cause diseases such as gastritis, stomach ulcers, and colitis. In this case, you should contact your pediatrician. If necessary, the little one is sent for a consultation with a gastroenterologist. Symptoms such as regurgitation, frequent heartburn, and gas formation may appear. Artificial people often develop dysbacteriosis. The baby's breath smells sour because he is not fed mother's milk, which contains life-giving microflora. That is why pathogenic bacteria actively multiply, causing stench. Only a doctor will be able to determine which functions of the toddler’s gastrointestinal tract are impaired. Sometimes it is enough to adjust your diet. It happens that to eliminate the problem it is necessary to get rid of the pathological processes of the internal organs. Surgery is performed extremely rarely.

Differences and features of bad breath

Depending on the cause, bad breath in children may have specific manifestations that are characteristic of the development of certain pathologies.

What smell, what does it indicate?

1. Acetone. It is the result of the accumulation of acetoacetic acid and acetone in the child’s body. This symptom is considered quite dangerous, since it may be a sign of tachycardia, urolithiasis or diabetes.
2. Putrefactive. Characteristic of the symptoms of ENT diseases, esophageal disorders and some dental diseases (caries, periodontitis, etc.).
3. Sour. A sign of gastritis, disturbances in the level of acidity or other pathologies of the functionality of the pancreas.
4. Rotten. A symptom of improper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, which may be associated with the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide in the stomach. Rotten breath also occurs in children with kidney or liver diseases.
5. Acetic. The aroma of vinegar occurs with intestinal dysbiosis, dysfunction of the pancreas and periodontal disease.
6. Purulent. The appearance of purulent odor from the mouth is a serious sign, which in most cases signals the occurrence of a hidden purulent process inside the tissues of the teeth or even internal organs.
7. Sweet. Appears in children with liver diseases, more often with cirrhosis of the liver.
8. Chlorine. The aroma of bleach can indicate the progression of periodontal disease and bleeding gums.

Against the background of high temperature in children, due to severe overheating, active reproduction and then decomposition of bacteria occurs, which form pathological mucus - pus or sputum. It is these secretions that often accompany acute respiratory diseases, in which purulent breath is the norm.

Prevention

Prevention and treatment of dental diseases in children should be carried out every six months. Children should be seen by a pediatric dentist. It is necessary to treat the underlying disease, then the stench will disappear. If it is caries, it is necessary to carry out sanitation, get rid of stones and install fillings. An illness in an infant requires proper feeding of foods that are well absorbed by the newborn’s body. If you have abdominal pain, you should not delay a visit to the pediatrician to avoid complications. It is important to constantly adhere to these rules:

• Systematic daily thorough oral hygiene.
• If the chewing organs have just erupted, it is worth using a finger brush.
• Parents should supervise the process of cleansing the tongue, incisors, canines, molars, cheeks, and palate.
• For cleansing, dentists recommend using sterile gauze wipes, which the mother should soak in boiled water.
• Older children should use mouth rinses and dental floss.

It is important that children do not eat a lot of sweets. The child's drinking regime should be sufficient. It is not recommended to give your little one soda or store-bought juices. It’s better to cook compote for your child and squeeze the juice out of the fruit. Avoid family scandals and conflicts. After all, constant stress and negativity weakens the baby’s delicate nervous system. Only love and care create excellent preconditions for good health.

What other reasons could there be, besides possible diseases?

The body of absolutely any person at any time contains one or another fungal infection.

But the point is not in its presence, but in certain conditions that are favorable for it and this infection begins to act:

• The immune system malfunctions, which leads to serious disruptions in its functioning.
• When performing surgical interventions.
• During use or after use of antibiotics.
• While wearing teeth straightening devices such as braces.

A pathology such as reflux in childhood can develop due to poor functioning of the sphincter. This type of deviation can occur due to the genetic predisposition of the body or due to some disease in the digestive system.

General troubleshooting methods

In order to treat a disease such as thrush, it is imperative for children to use solutions such as:

• Fluconazole;
• Nystatin;
• soda solution.

Compliance with the dosage depends entirely on the parents themselves . If the dosage is not followed correctly, then harm to the mucous membrane is extremely likely. The same process entails a deterioration in the state of the stomach microflora and so on. If the mucous membrane has been damaged, then the most positive way to restore it will be to use a Retinol solution.

Drug treatment can only be prescribed by a doctor who has carried out all the tests and found out the true cause of such an illness. Also, the type of treatment directly depends on how advanced the disease is. There are tips from medical experts that will definitely help you cope with such effects as bad breath:

1. This includes drinking more water than before.
2. Use more fresh foods in your diet, that is, those that have not been thermally processed.
3. Use lean meat.
4. Use dairy and fermented milk products.

Pathological diseases such as sinusitis, runny nose or allergies are all the sphere of activity of an otolaryngologist. For example, to treat sinusitis, antibiotics and a course of treatment with them will be prescribed.

There is a place for the process of bowel dysfunction or bloating . Such processes can occur for two most common reasons:

1. Completing a course of antibiotics.
2. Spoiled food.

In this case, pediatricians prefer to use a course of drugs called probiotics. If the child is overtaken by thrush, then folk remedies can be added for medicinal purposes. This includes the use of chamomile-based tinctures or a plant such as calendula. These tinctures are used to rinse the mouth or wipe it with a special swab.

Note! Starting from six months, it is advisable for children to use oral treatment with carrot juice.

Preventive measures

To promptly prevent the appearance of halitosis in your baby, you must follow a few simple rules:

1. Brush your baby's teeth thoroughly twice a day, starting when the first tooth emerges. It is necessary to teach your child how to use a brush and toothpaste correctly to remove plaque from the surface of the teeth.
2. Adhere to the age-specific nutrition system, introduce vegetables, fruits, and foods rich in phosphorus and calcium into your child’s diet.
3. Eliminate sugar, chocolate, and other sweets from your diet and replace them with honey.
4. Give your child plenty of fluids, especially drinking water.
5. Visit your dentist regularly to prevent the development of caries.

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Treatment of unpleasant odor

In most cases, osostomy does not require special treatment. It is enough to systematically thoroughly brush your teeth and gums, review your diet, limit your consumption of sweets, give him enough liquid per day, and the unpleasant symptom will disappear on its own. If after a few days it does not disappear, you need to consult a specialist, undergo an examination and determine the cause of halitosis.

Parents should be especially concerned about the smell of acetone emanating from the baby - in this case, it is necessary to urgently call an ambulance or take the baby to the hospital to prevent the occurrence of acetone syndrome.