My son's breath smells of poo

[Janey46]

I have taken him to the dentist who said he has no dental problems, I took him to the GP who was spectacularly unhelpful and just said it was one of those things but really it is utterly foul. Soon he is going to start getting comments from other children and he is quite a sensitive boy, I don't want this to destroy his confidence (he is 8yrs old)
Please does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to help him? I am really worried for him but no-one seems to want be able to help
Thanks

[Chunkamatic]

Does he drink enough? Sometimes dehydration can have an effect on breath. Have you tried using a tongue cleaner/scraper?

[sausagesandwich34]

what is his stomach like, does he have any issues with bowel movements etc?

[Littlefish]

Did the GP look at his tonsils. Could he have tonsil stones?

[Janey46]

The GP didn't bother looking at him

His stomach is ok. He doesn't get pains or upset stomach. He will not poo at school (!) so sometimes rushes in when he gets home to go to the toilet but that is about it and probably neither here nor there!

He doesn't drink a great amount, I will try to encourage him to drink more.

What will the tongue scraper do - apart from scrape his tongue...? Is there something it will remove that brushing won't? I didn't even know such a thing existed!!

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Tongue scrapers get rid of all the dead cells on your tongue and therefore the bad breath. Wouldn't be without mine!
There is a new mouthwash on the market that is over the counter that can get rid of the sulphur smell too.

[cocolepew]

Is he constipated? Even if he is going when he gets home, he might not be emptying his bowels properly if he's holding it in during the day.

[Janey46]

I don't think he is constipated, he doesn't have any problem going for a poo when he does go. He takes about 1/2 the time dd does

I'm not sure about the mouthwash route, I know there can be some problems from using mouthwash too much and he is quite young - I might ask the dentist as I have to take dd for a check up soon. I bet he'd like a go with the tongue scraper though

I did read that it can be as a result of lactose intolerance, has anyone experienced this? I wondered whether to cut out milk and see if that makes a difference?

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

I'm sure he would like to see what a scraper can gather !

[Saltire]

Have you thought about it being cattarh/sinusitis/sinus infection?
I am on my third lot of antibiotics for those, the main symptom were smelly breath and a really strange "poo" smell whenever I leaned forward or blew my nose.

[MrsPennyapple]

I would go to another doctor and let them know you are unhappy that your concerns are not being taken seriously.

I have heard of this problem before on another forum, and other posters seemed to think it could be potentially serious, and they should see a doctor. I don't mean to alarm you, I just don't want you to be fobbed off by a doctor if there could actually be something that needs addressing.

[MsBrown]

Tonsil stones! My dd suffers terribly from them. I took her to the dentist too who told me she had perfect teeth, and her bad breath may be down to dehydration.

So i took it into my own hands. I got a torch and shone it inside her mouth. i could see a big yellowish stone jutting out of her left tonsil. I gave it a prod with a cotton bud and it fell out. The smell was foul. Like something had died.

Anyway, two years later, dd is on the waiting list to get her tonsils removed! No more bad breath.

Have a look with a torch and see if this is what your son has.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith

[Janey46]

Saltire - he has had this on and off for a year at least I think. He definitely has spells when it is worse/better. Not sure that would fit with the sinus infection? Have you had pain/discomfort with yours, he hasn't had anything like that.

Sorry if it seems I'm dismissing ideas, I'm just pretty sure it isn't some things (constipation or sinus) as I think they would have other repercussions (tummy ache/cold/headache) and perhaps be more concentrated whereas as this is a more sporadic recurring problem. I could be wrong though!!

[DoctorAnge]

I would say tonsil stones as well. They smell like poo. It needs sorting out.

[Janey46]

I'll DEFINITELY have a look for tonsil stones in the morning when he wakes up!
Does your dd have any other symptoms from the stones?

Part of the reason, I'm ashamed to admit, that I haven't taken him back to the GP is due to me. My mum is obsessed with bad breath and used to make a point of mentioning if I ever had bad breath. I remember one time she frogmarched me into school with a bottle of TCP and insisted that the school nurse make me gargle with it every lunchtime which of course made me smell even worse and stick out like a sore thumb. As a teenager, it was social death (thanks mum). Consequently I am also paranoid about bad breath but desperately don't want to pass that on to poor DS (very laid back dh agrees about his breath, it isn't just me being neurotic!) If I take him to the GP again and explain in front of him that his breath honks I am concerned he might start stressing about it

[MsBrown]

Nope, there's no other symptoms, Janey. Just the bad breath.

However, she often gets ear infections which the ENT has recently said are caused by the tonsil stones.

DD will often complain of having a 'yucky' taste in her mouth, being able to feel something at the back of her throat, and will sometimes lose her appetite when she gets a particularly large one which has built up.

But really, this past year, she's not been complaining as much. I think she's just got used to it.

The smell is the main 'give away' symptom though. When she has a large one, the smell is so bad you can smell it as soon as you walk into her bedroom in the mornings.

Definitely don't be put off going to the GP. Best your son hears you talking about his bad breath rather than other children talking about it in front of him at school.

I've actually started my own thread about dd's tonsil stones. The GP was very dismissive of them and said that bad breath wasn't enough reason to get her tonsils out. He clearly didn't understand how bad the smell was, and how it impacted my dd.

Thankfully the ENT has taken a more sensible apporach and has put her on the waiting list for an op.

If the smell is really bad in your son, you should be able to see the stone when you shine a torch in his mouth. However, it might be buried in one of the crypts in the tonsil, or behind a flap, so you may not see it.

They're horrible. And nothing gets rid of them except getting the tonsils out. No amount of gargling, changing diet etc will close over the holes in his tonsils, thus stopping bacteria/food building up inside them. Just in case the doctor says 'he'll grow out of it'.

[FaceLikeAPickledOnion]

Post nasal drip? Does he snore? My ds had terrible breath, nasal spray has helped a lot (prescribed by gp)

[FossilMum]

I second MsBrown's suggestion as a possibility.

I'd never heard of tonsil stones before, but about 20 years ago one morning I coughed terribly and up came a ghastly foul-smelling lump that was obviously some horrid crud that had been stuck somewhere in my throat for some time, though without giving me any symptoms. Had a sore throat for a few days afterwards. Had suffered from recurrent tonsillitis as a child. GP had a look down and said that I had "unusually wiggly tonsils", that they looked a bit red, and that, yes, something had probably been stuck in there but was now gone.

[Janey46]

Ok, so it is impossible to get a good look at his tonsils but I couldn't see anything like a stone when I did. Also, although his breath is awful you can't smell it when you walk in his room in the morning, only when you are close to him. I did notice two things though, one thing is his tongue is very furry (ick! In his defence he hasn't had breakfast yet or cleaned his teeth) and also despite me saying it wasn't the case yesterday , a thick yellow link of catarrh running down the back of his throat! Off to the doctors again I think!
I will also get them to have a look for tonsil stones while I'm there.
What concerns me though is if it is a catarrh thing this time, what has caused it every other time? Is he always have catarrh problems? I wonder if there is anything I can do about it?

[cocolepew]

My Dd would get really gunky eyes if she eats too much dairy (its snot over flowing from her sinuses, nice). Maybe it happens if he has a bit more than usual or you are on the right track with the lactose intolerance?

[EllieCook]

could be tonsils - try getting him to eat some raw fennel. It's crunchy and quite mild in taste but I find it very cleansing. I use it on fast days (I do the 5:2 "fast" and on fast days sometimes the breath can be a bit .... unsocial.) :) I hope you find the problem!

[ByTheWay1]

Those who think it might be cured by removing tonsils ... I've had my tonsils out - but the place where they were can still collect the stinky crud.... sorry ..... I've found if I drink more with meals it doesn't get stuck, less of a problem.

[MsBrown]

Really, ByTheWay?!

I asked the Ent that exact thing: "Once dd's tonsils are out, will she definitely not get tonsil stones anymore?"

He looked at me llike i was mad. He said, "Of course that's what it means. No tonsils mean no tonsil stones."

I felt really daft, despite having read similar stories to yours - people still getting food etc stuck in crypts where there tonsils once were... Oh diddums.

[ByTheWay1]

Yep really - not as often and not as big, but yes, I still get the odd one - maybe only 2 or 3 a year now though, and they do come out more easily - sometimes a cough in a particular way will dislodge...

[Saltire]

janey - I have had no pain or discomfort - well the odd bit when I had a cold - but it mostly the horrible taste/smell. The doc said it was a sinus infection causing the smell. It really was like poo, every time I leaned forward, or blew my nose, sometimes It was so bad I started to gag.
Sorry everyone TMI!

[Janey46]

A little update: saw GP who was useless! Couldn't see any tonsil stones (fair enough). Kept talking about tonsillitis and how that could be problem if the bad breath kept returning. I KEPT telling him DS has not had tonsillitis (I think I might have noticed if he had ) - he couldn't see any catarrh at all (there was loads this morning!)
He said, there's nothing anyone can do, suggested maybe I could take him to the dentist (I had told him about a minute earlier I had already taken DS to the dentist ).

So basically I am none the wiser. What next?! (apart from trying tongue scraper!)