When does the smell appear in children? Bad breath in a child: symptoms, causes, treatment. Why does children's breath smell like acetone? Unpleasant smell in the morning

Bad breath is always a sign of ill health and may be the initial manifestation of a serious illness. Therefore, it is very important not to ignore this symptom.

Halitosis, halitosis, ozostomia, fetor oris are medical terms that reflect such a phenomenon as bad breath.

It is common among adults and is a major social and psychological problem for some people. But not all parents pay due attention to this symptom in their child. Statistics on this problem in children are unclear, but pediatricians, gastroenterologists and dentists often encounter it.

Bad breath in a child - always a sign of ill health, and may be a manifestation of a serious disease at an early stage. Therefore, you should always strive to find out the cause and eliminate it. There are many possible causes of bad breath in a child.

Insufficient oral hygiene

The most common reason Bad breath is caused by insufficient oral hygiene. Most often, parents turn to the dentist with this issue, and if his recommendations are regularly followed (frequently changing toothpaste and toothbrush, rinsing the mouth after every meal, regular and proper brushing of teeth), the problem disappears.

Violation of the composition of the microflora of the oral cavity and nasopharynx

This is the next most common cause of bad breath. Foci of infection (usually chronic) and diseases of the oral cavity (caries), nasopharynx and oropharynx (tonsillitis, pharyngitis, adenoiditis), middle ear (otitis media), bronchopulmonary system, functional disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, metabolic abnormalities are provoking and supporting factors disrupting the species and quantitative composition of the oral microflora.

These changes lead to excessive growth of putrefactive microflora, the result of which is the formation of volatile compounds that are perceived by the olfactory apparatus as an unpleasant odor.

Disorders of the functioning of the salivary glands

Of great importance in maintaining a healthy child’s oral cavity is work of the salivary glands. Violation of their function leads to a decrease in saliva secretion and the appearance of dry mouth.

Saliva has a complex chemical microelement and ionic composition, contains enzymes (amylase and maltose, proteases, lipases, lysozyme, phosphatases), immunoglobulins (mainly secretory IG A, also serum IgG and IgM), mucins and much more. Such a complex composition ensures the performance of many functions: digestive, barrier (moisturizing and cleaning the oral mucosa), bactericidal, enamel protection (phosphorus and calcium metabolism, which, in turn, prevents the development of caries). The composition and quantity of saliva are subject to daily fluctuations and depend on diet, drinking regimen, and metabolism. The work of the salivary glands is controlled by the central nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions).

Causes of decreased saliva secretion may include stress, sleep, dehydration, taking certain medications (antiallergic, antisecretory, antidiarrheal, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, anticholinergic), vegetative-vascular dystonia (a very common diagnosis in all age groups).

Deviations in the functioning of the salivary glands (qualitative and quantitative) lead to impaired cleaning of the oral cavity, excessive growth of putrefactive microflora and the appearance of an unpleasant odor.

Nasal breathing disorder

Nasal breathing disorder(with chronic rhinitis, adenoiditis) is not a harmless phenomenon. Impaired nasal breathing leads to constant drying of the mucous membrane, and as a result, a persistent disruption of the microbiocenosis of the oral cavity and nasopharynx occurs, which, in turn, leads to a decrease in the barrier function of the oropharyngeal mucosa. Due to a decrease in local immunity, the frequency of acute respiratory infections and exacerbations of chronic diseases of the nasopharynx and stomatitis (always painful and acute) increases. It has also been proven that impaired nasal breathing reduces cognitive function (memory, attention, psychomotor coordination, speech, counting, thinking).
Thus, a vicious circle is formed - the occurrence of inflammation, as a consequence of a violation of local immunity, which is a consequence of inflammation and a violation of microbiocenosis, etc.

Digestive disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

The spectrum of pathology here is very wide - most often these are functional motor disorders, reflux esophagitis, hiatal hernia, which usually manifest themselves during critical age “periods of traction” (in girls at 6-7 and 10-12 years old, in boys at 4 -6 and at 13-16 years old), periods of intensive growth of the axial skeleton (when the internal organs do not keep up with the pace of its growth).

The consequences of these processes are: impaired motor skills, metabolism and chronic intoxication, which will cause unpleasant breathing.

Some Other Causes of Bad Breath

The specific odor of acetone from the mouth may be a consequence of diabetes mellitus and electrolyte disturbances in the child’s body.

The cause of stale and unpleasant breath may be pulmonary pathology (tracheitis, bronchitis, bronchoetasis and abscesses).

How to eliminate bad breath in a child?

The above indicates the variety of causes and the possible serious consequences of an incorrect approach to the diagnosis and treatment of bad breath (treatment will be consistent with the diagnosis).

A one-sided approach to assessing the child’s condition and a view of the child’s body as a set of organs (skeleton, abdominal organs, excretory, central nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine and reproductive systems) leads to the fact that parents independently and in a chaotic manner begin to consult with various specialists. This usually leads to loss of valuable time and lack of the desired result.

There is no need to self-medicate and randomly drag your child to doctors, because then you take full responsibility for your child’s health. The only right decision- immediately contact your child’s doctor (pediatrician). Pediatrician sees and evaluates your child as a single, complex whole, comprehensively analyzes all information about him, and the result of this work is a correct diagnosis in the shortest possible time.

Examination algorithm here the traditional one is the collection and complex analysis of anamnestic data, assessment of the physical development and condition of the child’s body, drawing up a plan for further examination (additional consultations with specialists, laboratory and instrumental research methods), which should lead to the correct diagnosis and the prescription of adequate treatment.

Krasavin A.V., chief physician of the children's clinic "Markushka", pediatric gastroenterologist

Having felt an unpleasant odor from a child’s mouth, many parents simply do not pay attention to it, attributing it to the characteristics of the food that the child consumed. However, such a manifestation can often be the initial signal of certain diseases in the baby related to the functioning of internal organs.

Main causes of odor

There may be several reasons for the appearance of an unpleasant odor in a child’s mouth:

• Food, causing the appearance of microbes that have a certain odor. These are some types of juices and drinks, onions and garlic, uncontrolled consumption of sweet foods, corn and cheese. Most often, after the first rinsing or brushing of teeth, the pathology disappears without a trace.
• Child has bad breath may be caused by poor hygiene. If the baby is not accustomed to brushing his teeth after every meal or rinsing the oral mucosa, then he will definitely appear. In addition, at the age of 5-7 years, when teeth are replaced, a large number of bacteria accumulate in the oral cavity. With insufficient oral hygiene, bacteria actively multiply, causing an unpleasant odor. Moreover, you need to watch not only your teeth, but also your tongue. The tongue is cleaned at least twice a day to avoid the appearance of a white coating.
• Damage to the mucous membrane by fungal infections. A child may develop strong odor from the mouth as a result of a violation of the normal ratio of microorganisms and fungal bacteria. When a fungal infection that penetrates the body disrupts the microflora and there are more bacteria, fungal inflammation appears, and as a result, an unpleasant odor. The manifestation of a fungal infection in the oral cavity is possible when the child has a disease of the mucous membrane, when parents actively use antiseptic solutions to irrigate the throat. The beneficial microflora of the mucous membrane is disrupted and a fungal infection is activated.
• Mucus in the sinuses. This disease, which is very common in young children, can also be accompanied by bad breath in the child. A sour taste appears in the mouth, which goes away only after brushing or rinsing. The so-called seasonal allergies dry out the mucous membrane, preventing natural moisture from accumulating in the required quantity.
• Chronic tonsillitis, inflammation of the tonsils and adenoids. Any pathology associated with ENT diseases causes bad breath in a small child. This is due to the fact that the inflamed organs become loose, pathogenic bacteria begin to activate on their surface, and plaque or purulent mucus appears. During illness, parents should take care of oral and nasal hygiene, rinsing and rinsing. The mucus may be purulent in nature, and the smell from the mouth will also acquire a characteristic purulent tint.
• An unpleasant odor in the mouth occurs in a child if the baby is diagnosed with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Most often, the pathology is caused by gastritis or gastroduodenitis with high acidity, accompanied by sour belching.
• Another reason could be frequent stress and anxiety in a child When, under the influence of the autonomic nervous system, the production of saliva is disrupted and the oral mucosa becomes dry, pathogenic microflora develops.

But how can we explain when, in the absence of all the above reasons, parents still notice the spread of this phenomenon? What else could cause this? It often happens that after experiencing severe stress or fear, a child develops a similar pathology.

The smell of acetone from a child’s mouth: causes

The first signs of increased acetone in the body are its characteristic unpleasant odor. Our body feeds on energy by getting it from glucose. The moment the blood stops carrying the required amount of glucose throughout the body, we begin to look for energy in other sources, including getting it from the accumulation of fat. The smell of acetone from a child’s mouth indicates that a significant proportion of acetone has entered the blood along with the broken down fats. This substance begins to be produced in large quantities and is excreted from the body through urine and saliva.

The smell of acetone from a child’s mouth can be associated with the aroma of pickled apples. This is the first signal that the child is developing a number of diseases associated with intoxication of the kidneys or liver, dehydration, and diabetes.

In this case, the child must be examined for blood sugar levels, make sure that the baby drinks a sufficient amount of fluid, and his body is not dehydrated.

How to rid your baby of bad breath?

The first thing to do is to determine the cause of its occurrence. Parents should consult a dentist if their child has bad breath in the morning: diseases of the dentition, gums or mucous membranes are a common cause.

The pediatrician will also help you understand the problem. It is possible that the child will need a number of additional examinations and consultations with other specialists (ENT doctor, gastroenterologist). It is imperative to exclude foci of chronic infection in the child (chronic tonsillitis, dental caries). In many cases, infection from these foci spreads throughout the body, causing more severe pathologies.

If you notice bad breath in a child aged 1-2 years, you need to reduce the amount of sweets your baby consumes. This is especially true for chocolates, cakes and pastries with rich creams. If your baby loves sugar, switch it to honey. This natural product will not only replace candy for your child, but will also eliminate discomfort. At the same time, you can add citrus fruits to your diet - oranges, tangerines and lemons will increase natural moisture, increase salivation and eliminate the problem.

Dr. Komarovsky: what to do if a child has bad breath?

Pay special attention to cases when the child has a fever and bad breath. This is clear evidence that the baby is infected and an inflammatory process has begun in the body. Contact the clinic immediately, since such symptoms indicate the onset of an infectious disease, and you simply cannot do without the help of doctors. You will need to consult a doctor in any case, because only a specialist can establish and prescribe a diagnosis and treatment!

A child’s bad breath cannot but worry his parents. After all, this phenomenon does not always have relatively harmless causes related to lack of hygiene or food eaten the day before. Sometimes such a baby requires a full medical examination, which will help identify the cause and eliminate it. We will talk about why a child’s breath may smell unpleasant in this article.

Origin

Strong unpleasant foul odor from the mouth is medically called “halitosis.” This concept does not imply any one specific disease. This is a whole complex of problems with the human body that can cause rapid growth of anaerobic microbes, which create this “aroma”.

If a child has bad breath, this is not always a sign that the problem lies in poor oral health. “Problems” can be caused by “malfunctions” in the ENT organs, the digestive system, and the kidneys. Thus, the root causes of bad breath can be quite varied, but the mechanism is always the same. Aerobic microbes live and develop in the mouth of a healthy child. Their task is to prevent the development of anaerobic “brothers”, which include streptococci, E. coli and a number of other microorganisms.

If the balance of microflora in the mouth is disturbed for some reason, and anaerobic bacteria begin to predominate quantitatively and qualitatively over aerobic bacteria, a foul odor appears.

Anaerobic (smelly) bacteria feed on protein deposits on the tongue, teeth, and gums, and when multiplying, they release volatile sulfur and non-sulfur compounds. Depending on which compound is formed, what your breath will smell like depends on:

• methyl mercaptan- a simple gas that gives off the smell of rotten cabbage and feces;
• allyl mercaptan- a colorless gas that produces the smell of garlic;
• hydrogen sulfide- gas with a sweetish odor, giving the smell of rotten eggs, feces;

• dimethyl sulfide- a gas compound that gives a distinct chemical odor of sulfur or gasoline;
• putrescine- an organic compound that gives off the smell of rotting meat;
• dimethylamine- a compound that causes the smell of fish and ammonia;
• isovaleric acid- a compound that explains the smell of sweat and spoiled milk.

There are about two dozen more such compounds, and their chemical compositions and features have no practical use for parents. After all, the main task is to find the source of the spread of anaerobic microbes.

Halitosis is eliminated only when its true cause is eliminated.

Common Factors

The reasons why a child has bad breath can be physiological or pathological. In the first case we can talk about:

• violation of hygiene rules- insufficiently thorough cleaning of teeth and gums, rinsing the mouth;
• nutritional features- smelly breath becomes due to the foods that the child eats (garlic can spoil the exhaled air even a day after eating it, and the onion smell persists for up to 8 hours);
• small wounds and ulcers in the mouth caused by natural causes (teething, for example).

The list of pathological causes is more extensive; it includes various ENT ailments, dental diseases and problems with the digestive system:

• caries, stomatitis, periodontal disease, etc.
• pathologies of the upper respiratory tract (chronic or prolonged runny nose, adenoiditis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, tonsillitis);
• diseases of the lower respiratory tract (bronchitis, tracheitis, pneumonia);

• diseases of the digestive system (gastritis, stomach ulcers, enzyme deficiency, which leads to disturbances in the digestive processes);
• diabetes;
• kidney disease, renal failure;
• malignant tumors and neoplasms of internal organs.

Nonspecific causes deserve special attention. Children often have bad breath not only because they have a certain disease. The smell can have psychosomatic causes - severe stress, fear, fright, prolonged psychological experiences. Another reason that parents should be aware of is disturbances in the surrounding microclimate. If a child breathes too dry air, the mucous membranes of the nose and oropharynx dry out, as a result of which aerobic microbes cannot effectively resist anaerobic ones, and bad breath appears.

If a child eats irregularly and skips meals, the smell may be the smell of food that is not completely digested in the stomach and rises up the esophagus. This does not mean that the child has digestive disorders; in this case, the smell is a signal for parents to establish proper and rational nutrition. Most often, bad breath in children is a consequence of gastroesophageal reflux, which is very common in childhood. When they occur, some of the food is thrown back into the esophagus. This problem is age-related, and in most cases it is successfully “outgrown” by children.

At the same time, children with helminthic infestations often do not suffer from bad breath, and their parents bring them to see a doctor due to completely different symptoms.

Character of the smell

Some pathologies have unpleasant and characteristic symptoms of halitosis in their symptoms. So, there are odors that should definitely alert parents and force them to immediately visit the pediatrician:

• Acetone. A child's breath may smell like acetone due to the development of diabetes. And if a child develops an unpleasant acetone odor against a background of high temperature, this may indicate the development of acetone syndrome. A faint odor of acetone may accompany periods of fasting.
• Rotting. A putrid odor appears with complicated caries, with serious dental problems. If there are none, then the child should definitely be examined by a gastroenterologist, since the smell of rotting meat often accompanies diseases of the stomach, duodenum, and pancreas. It is characteristic that it appears at the very initial stage of illness.

• Sweetish smell. A pronounced sweet smell with cloying undertones may indicate a purulent process. It usually develops in the nasopharynx, oral cavity, and throat. This smell can be observed in a child with sore throat, bacterial rhinitis, and adenoids. If the ENT doctor does not find any pathologies, it is imperative to show the child to a gastroenterologist, who will examine the baby’s liver. Some liver pathologies are accompanied by the appearance of a sharp sweet odor from the mouth.
• Sour smell. The appearance of a pronounced sour odor may indicate that the child has reflux. In a baby, such a smell can occur often, as a reaction of the body to the introduction of complementary foods, to a change in the formula. In this case, the smell has a certain shade of sour milk. A sour smell in children aged 2-3 years always indicates stomach problems. An examination is required.

• Smell of ammonia. This smell appears during periods of severe illness associated with intoxication of the body. If the appearance of the smell was not preceded by a disease, this should be especially alarming - an ammonia smell with a sharp manifestation often accompanies kidney disease and the development of renal failure. A faint ammonia smell may indicate the development of diabetes.
• Yeast smell. A child's mouth may smell of fresh yeast due to candidiasis. Fungi of this family, when multiplying, emit a specific odor.

• The smell of rotten eggs. This smell usually appears in diseases of the stomach and intestines. Sometimes it smells like feces. The symptom requires mandatory examination by a gastroenterologist.
• The smell of iodine. The aroma characteristic of this antiseptic in children usually appears due to the oversaturation of the body with iodine. This substance tends to accumulate, and therefore if a nursing mother takes iodine preparations, and the same substance is contained in complementary foods (in a mixture, for example), then a corresponding odor may appear from the mouth of a small child. In children over 10 years of age, the appearance of an iodized odor may indicate iodine intolerance.
• Metallic smell. The smell of metal from a child’s mouth may indicate the presence of ailments associated with the occurrence and development of anemia.

Diagnostics

Parents need to observe carefully to understand what else, besides bad breath, has changed in the child. All internal diseases usually have additional symptoms and signs:

• For sour smell, it is important to make sure that the child does not have heartburn, his stomach is not bothering him, and his bowel movements are fine. And if there is a hydrogen sulfide “aroma,” it is imperative to monitor whether the child has belching, nausea, or whether vomiting occurs frequently.
• With a bitter smell You need to examine the baby’s tongue and oral cavity for the presence of a yellow or grayish coating, which is characteristic of many pathologies of the liver and gall bladder. If an acetone or ammonia smell appears, you need to take the baby’s temperature, collect urine for analysis, and then go to the clinic.

Sometimes bad breath is a far-fetched problem. Overly impressionable mothers and grandmothers find it where it really is not.

After all, if a child has bad breath in the morning, before he has had time to wash his face and brush his teeth, this does not indicate the pathological causes of the phenomenon.

There are home tests for halitosis. The first is carried out using a spoon. Using the handle of a cutlery, carefully take a little plaque from the child’s tongue and evaluate it for smell. The second involves the ability of saliva to “absorb” odors. The child is asked to lick the wrist and wait until the saliva dries, after which the smell is assessed. Both methods are quite subjective.

Your doctor can tell you more about the presence of the odor and its probable causes after he conducts an accurate medical test for halitosis. The study is called halimetry. It involves a simple procedure - the child will be asked to exhale into a special device, and an analysis of the exhaled air will show whether it contains hydrogen sulfide, sulfur and non-sulfur compounds. The entire study takes no more than fifteen minutes. If bad breath is detected, the doctor may take samples of plaque from the tongue and inner surface of the cheeks for bacteriological examination. Samples of the child's saliva will also be sent to the laboratory in a sterile container.

Parents will be given directions to visit such specialists as a pediatric dentist (dentist), otolaryngologist, gastroenterologist, nephrologist. The dentist will examine and sanitize the oral cavity. If diseased teeth or gums are detected, the baby will immediately receive the necessary treatment. An ENT specialist will evaluate the condition of the tonsils, nasopharynx, and larynx. If diseases are detected, adequate therapy will be prescribed. The gastroenterologist will perform an ultrasound of the abdominal organs, and, if necessary, an endoscopy with mandatory sampling of gastric juice for acidity (especially if there is a sour breath). Based on a urine test, the nephrologist will draw a conclusion about the state of the child’s excretory system.

To get the most reliable result, the day before visiting the doctor, the child should not be given foods containing sulfur compounds - garlic and onions, as well as spicy foods.

If possible, you should stop taking all medications. In the morning before going to the clinic, the child should not brush his teeth, rinse his mouth, or use a freshener or chewing gum.

How to get rid of it?

Treatment of halitosis should be based on treating the cause that caused bad breath, since there is absolutely no point in fighting the effect without eliminating the cause. Typically, treatment for bad breath includes general and specific recommendations. General ones apply to all reasons without exception. Private - relevant when the underlying disease is identified.

• The child must brush his teeth properly. This should not be done immediately after the baby wakes up, but after breakfast, and then in the evening after dinner, just before bed. The brush should be comfortable, moderately hard, and have a special “platform” for cleaning the tongue and cheeks. Show your child how to use it correctly. Children from 6-7 years old can use a special device - dental floss - when brushing their teeth in the evening, since a brush alone is not enough to completely clean the oral cavity of small food particles and protein plaque.
• Upon reaching one year of age, a child can begin to use children's toothpastes. They are created taking into account the fact that a toddler can swallow them and do not cause any harm to the child’s health.

• All dental problems must be identified and treated promptly., therefore, the child needs to be taken to the dentist at least once a year, or better yet twice, for an examination and sanitation of the oral cavity.
• Proper nutrition will help make your breath fresh. Sugar, sweets and baked goods contribute to the formation of protein plaque on the tongue, gums and teeth. But fresh fruits and vegetables, on the contrary, help cleanse the mouth and promote normal digestion. Fermented milk products must be present in a child’s diet - they contribute to the development of proper digestive function.

You should not feed in large quantities food that promotes the formation of molecules of organic compounds of sulfur and non-sulfur nature. These foods include onions and garlic, corn, cabbage, carbonated drinks, especially sweet soda.

• It is important to attach great importance to the problem of bad breath during adolescence. At this time, when the body undergoes significant changes at the hormonal level, such a problem may appear, especially in girls, especially during menstruation. In this case, oral hygiene procedures must be carried out using special medicinal dental products - gels, pastes, rinses.
• The correct microclimate also plays a huge role in oral health.. The child should not breathe dry and dusty air. To do this, it is recommended to buy an air humidifier and set it at 50-70%. With such humidity, saliva is produced in sufficient quantities, its antiseptic properties are at a high level, and it can easily cope with bacteria that penetrate the oral cavity.

It is especially important to adhere to these indoor air parameters in apartments where children from one year of age and older live. They quite often “pull” everything into the mouth, resulting in microtraumas of the oral cavity, and the likelihood of infection increases significantly.

Treatment of halitosis with medications

Common methods:

• Strange smell from the mouth due to illness, usually disappears as the child is cured of the underlying pathology. In this case, medications are prescribed by the doctor depending on the diagnosis established during the examination.
• In some cases, dental gels are used to treat halitosis itself.(“Metrogil-denta”, for example). Children are prohibited from using adult alcohol-based products to rinse. For rinsing, you can use a preparation such as “Chlorhexidine solution”. Doctors recommend that young patients rinse their mouths with a decoction of chamomile (prepared dried preparations are sold at any pharmacy). The smell of medicinal herbs effectively eliminates unpleasant bad breath. And teenagers can use antiseptics, for example Asepta.

• Triclosan product which has long been considered an excellent oral antiseptic for the whole family, is not recommended for children, since recent medical research has shown that the drug increases the risk of developing allergies.
• Effective antiseptic "Celitpyridine" exists in the form of lozenges. They can be given to children from 6 years old. But the drug "Camphomen" - a combined drug for irrigating the oral cavity and performing inhalations, helps quite well, but it is not recommended for children under 5 years of age.

You should not try to mask your bad breath with the above medications. Treatment will only be effective and correct when it includes both local treatment of the oral cavity and the main therapy prescribed by the doctor based on the results of the examination.

• Folk remedies They cannot act as an independent treatment for halitosis, and therefore it is better to abandon them. With the permission of the attending physician, you can use only some recipes from the arsenal of alternative medicine - herbal rinses with chamomile, lemon balm, mint.

Prevention

Measures to prevent foul, unpleasant breath consist of an integrated approach:

• proper hygiene of the oral cavity, teeth, rinsing the mouth after each meal;
• timely visits to doctors and adequate treatment of diseases of the ears, nose and throat, stomach, intestines, kidneys, as well as systemic allergies;
• balanced diet;
• strengthening the immune system, vitamin therapy.

Dr. Komarovsky will talk about the main reasons for the appearance of an unpleasant odor in the next video.

The most pleasant smell in the world is the smell of a newborn baby. The baby smells of milk and vanilla, in addition it smells of tenderness, velvet, affection and love. The child grows up and acquires an individual aroma characteristic of a person. One morning, the mother will be horrified when she smells the baby’s foul breath - a picture familiar to some parents.

Where does bad breath come from in children?

Normally, the air from children's mouths is neutral and does not attract attention. But from time to time a sharp, unpleasant aroma is felt, causing anxiety among parents. The reasons for the appearance of a child are different, let’s look at the most common:

More often, odors are temporary and not associated with pathology. They change throughout the day, appearing and disappearing. This is normal.

Smell at a certain age

As a child grows up, the odors coming from a child's mouth change. Age characteristics will tell the parent the reason. What is the difference between the aroma of the breath of a baby and a teenager:

What smell indicates illness?

Sometimes an unpleasant odor appears as a symptom of illness. How to understand when it is enough to carry out a hygienic procedure, and when a doctor’s help is required? Halitosis is not a disease, but helps identify an associated disease. Rate the scent and compare whether it matches the description:

• Purulent or putrefactive, accompanies diseases of the ENT organs: tonsillitis, sinusitis, etc. Smells of pus are felt in the presence of stomatitis and dental caries. Examine the oral cavity; you may quickly find the source of inflammation.
• Sour speaks of gastrointestinal pathologies, dysbacteriosis or candidiasis of the oral mucosa.
• The smell of rotten eggs indicates an abundance of hydrogen sulfide gases in the stomach; rotten breath indicates possible stomach diseases.
• A sweetish aroma is an alarming sign; a cloying sweet smell indicates liver disease.
• If you feel the taste of acetone in your baby’s breath, this may be a consequence of diabetes or gastrointestinal diseases, and requires urgent medical attention.
• The fetid smell of rot appears during a cold, ARVI, or runny nose, which means that an inflammatory process is developing in the body.
• If bile enters the esophagus, the child may smell like vomit, although he has not vomited.

Directly, breath aromas are not a symptom of the disease, they do not need to be treated, but together with other signs they give impetus to a correct diagnosis if you see the signs: high temperature, runny nose, unnatural color of urine, pain, the child gets tired quickly. If the smell does not go away for months, go to see your pediatrician. The doctor will conduct a comprehensive examination.

How to get rid of bad breath?

If the “aroma” is the result of a disease, follow the doctor’s instructions. Be sure to follow the prescribed procedures and undergo the prescribed additional examination. When the root cause is eliminated, the smell goes away. What to do if the child is healthy, but the smell is still present? The well-known doctor Komarovsky in Russia gives recommendations:

• The baby's mucous membranes should be moist - this is the main principle in protecting against viruses and microbes that infect the nasopharynx. If the air at home is dry, you will need to ventilate it more often and install a humidifier. Let it work even at night, because during sleep the walls of the nasopharynx dry out. In the absence of a humidifier - place basins with water, hang wet towels - choose any way to achieve humidity of at least 50%. Humidity indicator - dry crusts in the nose; if they are present, hydration is required.
• Maintain a plentiful drinking regime; the child’s body constantly needs clean drinking water. This is especially important during illness. If a preschooler does not drink water well, you should come up with games with drinking water, get a beautiful mug or sippy cup, and teach him to pour water on his own. Liquid removes toxins and breakdown products, it is important to drink a lot.
• Keep your mouth clean. You need to start hygiene from the first days of life. The baby's gums and tongue are wiped with a cotton swab; with the appearance of the first tooth, use a soft brush. You need to clean your teeth and tongue twice a day using toothpaste, rinsing after each meal.
• The baby's diet should remain varied, including cereals, vegetables, fruits, fermented milk products (in the absence of individual contraindications), some meat, fish and other protein foods. Reduce your intake of sugar and sugar-containing foods. Replace with fruits, candied fruits, dried fruits, marshmallows. Start the first complementary foods with vegetables; do not rush to introduce meat into the diet. If your breath smells bad after eating food, it is better not to give such food for now. Avoid carbonated drinks and packaged juices.
• It is acceptable to give your child water acidified with lemon to stimulate salivation. If the baby doesn’t like the water, in the future it’s enough to show the lemon, saliva will come out automatically. Offer sour fruits, they are useful for maintaining the microflora of the oral cavity and intestines.
• Daily walks are required. If the child walks for 2-4 hours every day in good weather, this will strengthen the immune system. The body will begin to cope more successfully with germs and bacteria.
• Get regular check-ups with your pediatrician and dentist on time, even if there is no reason to visit the doctor. The doctor will assess the child’s development, check health indicators, examine mucous membranes, and give advice.

How to mask bad breath if you can’t eliminate it completely

One of the causes of bad breath is taking medications. The aroma will accompany the child until the medication is stopped, becoming stronger with each dose received. Or, a more frequent case, is when the baby eats something odorous (fresh onions), and you need to take the child to classes or on a visit. How to mask or eliminate an unpleasant odor:

1. Brush your teeth, gums and tongue with a mint or pine aroma paste, rinse your mouth with an alcohol-free mouthwash.
2. Hold it in your mouth and chew another product with a strong but pleasant odor. For example, mint or lemon balm (possibly dried), citrus fruit zest.
3. Rinse your mouth with a decoction of herbs. They remove odors well: oak bark, mint, chamomile, lemon balm, rose hips.
4. Give your teenager a coffee bean or a piece of ginger. Coffee absorbs foreign odors.
5. Use an alcohol-free refreshing spray or sugar-free chewing gum.

Don't mask the smell unless you know the reason. Perhaps this is the only sign of a hidden disease.

Your baby's scent is light and delicate. With proper care, it will remain pleasant for many years. Compliance with the rules of hygiene, daily routine and nutrition and timely contact with a pediatrician is the key to good health for children. Take care of him.

All parents are concerned about the well-being of their children, and their child’s bad breath causes concern. Its appearance not only interferes with full communication with peers and the social development of the baby, but can also be a symptom of one of the serious diseases.

Usually, infants and one-year-olds have a milky breath smell. During this period of life, lactic acid bacteria work especially actively in the growing body, and their metabolic products suppress any foreign odor. The mouth of a child 2 years and older should also not smell bad. But often children develop a putrid or sour smell from their breath - this phenomenon is called halitosis (or halitosis).

We suggest you figure out what factors can provoke bad breath in a child, and what parents should do to identify and eliminate its cause.

Why does halitosis occur?

Various reasons can cause a child to have bad breath:

1. Halitosis is often caused by eating foods with a strong and persistent aroma (such as cabbage, onions, garlic, etc.). Moreover, the child’s breath smells not only after taking them, but even the next day, since aromatic substances are well absorbed by the mucous membrane. When some hard cheeses are digested, sulfur compounds enter the intestinal lumen, which have a characteristic persistent odor.
2. Often, bad breath in a child can be caused by an unbalanced diet. For example, the answer to the question of why a child’s breath smells rotten is often an excess of protein foods in the diet. The body cannot quickly digest them, so rotting processes begin in the gastrointestinal tract. Excessive consumption of foods rich in carbohydrates causes fermentation in the intestines. Eating sweet foods provokes the active development of bacteria in the oral cavity, the waste products of which also smell unpleasant.
3. Common causes of bad breath in children are anxiety, stress and other emotional disturbances. With strong experiences, the secretion of saliva decreases, the mucous membrane of the mouth is not cleansed naturally and deposits appear on it. Such plaque is an excellent breeding ground for the development of pathogenic microorganisms. The use of certain medications (antiallergic or diuretic) also leads to impaired salivary secretion.
4. One of the answers to the question of why a child’s breath smells is poor oral hygiene. With irregular brushing, deposits appear on the teeth, gums and tongue in which microorganisms develop.

Make sure your child brushes their teeth regularly

The listed reasons can cause halitosis in a healthy baby, but in some cases such manifestations are symptoms of a serious disease. Halitosis often indicates diseases of the nasopharynx or oral cavity. Caries and gum disease provoke the smell of rot in the mouth. The same effect occurs with inflammatory processes in the mouth and nasopharynx: increased mucus secretion, sore throat, gingivitis, stomatitis, inflammation of the adenoids and even a common runny nose.

The second most common cause of halitosis is diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: the esophagus, stomach, digestive glands, and one of the intestinal sections.

If the baby has an unpleasant odor, parents must first normalize his diet, personally monitor oral hygiene, and eliminate the causes of the worries. If these measures do not bring the desired result within a few days, you should consult a doctor for an examination and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Survey

In case of halitosis, the first thing you should do is visit your dentist. In addition to the treatment of carious teeth and gum disease, the microflora of the oral cavity is examined in the dental office, which will help clarify the picture of what is happening to the baby.

If no dental problems are identified, you need to visit a pediatrician.

At the pediatrician's appointment

Various diseases have their own specific smell, so it is important to correctly describe its character to the doctor:

1. With stomach diseases or ulcers, the gastrointestinal tract often smells like rotten eggs.
2. Sour breath odor in infants and older children indicates increased secretion of the stomach.
3. With low acidity, the body does not have time to completely digest food, so the oral cavity may smell rotten.
4. Diabetes mellitus is the reason why a child’s breath smells like acetone.
5. In case of kidney disease, it smells like ammonia, and in case of liver problems, it smells like raw liver.
6. Metabolic disorders can cause the smell of sour cabbage.

To determine the exact cause of bad breath, the doctor prescribes additional tests, including blood, stool, urine tests, ultrasound examination of internal organs, as well as consultation with other specialists (otolaryngologist, gastroenterologist, endocrinologist).

How to eliminate an unpleasant odor?

Since the appearance of halitosis is influenced by various factors, each case must be considered individually. If its cause is a disease, the problem should be dealt with by an appropriate specialist. Once the underlying cause is treated, halitosis usually goes away as well.

To eliminate halitosis that is not caused by a disease, follow these recommendations:

• Strictly follow the rules of hygiene. Bad breath in a child 1 year of age and older often disappears if you brush your teeth twice a day with a special silicone brush and clean your tongue with a gauze swab moistened with boiled water. Older children should brush their teeth themselves with a soft baby toothbrush. Parents should teach how to properly brush their teeth and tongue.

If a child refuses to brush his teeth, he should not be forced to do so. Coercion causes a negative reaction, and at the slightest opportunity the baby will avoid the procedure. It is better to teach gradually, starting with rinsing the mouth after each meal. A bright toothbrush or a rinsing cup with your favorite cartoon character will also help you quickly get used to the procedure.

• Normalize your baby's diet. Instead of sweets and other foods containing sugar, it is better to introduce him to honey and dried fruits. Fresh vegetables and fruits also help eliminate the manifestations of halitosis. Their use reduces the number of bacteria in the oral cavity; they also help clean the surface of the mucous membrane and eliminate plaque formed on it.
• Always listen to your baby's problems, even if they seem funny. In stressful situations, give more water - this normalizes salivation.

Important! Children should not use mouthwashes, special lozenges or breath fresheners. They are also contraindicated in lotions that contain alcohol. It is better to rinse your mouth with decoctions of medicinal herbs: chamomile, sage, oak bark. These decoctions do not have an unpleasant taste, so children will be happy to carry out the procedure.

Halitosis is a disease that not only creates difficulties for a child when communicating with peers, it can also indicate serious disturbances in the functioning of the body. Therefore, when an unpleasant odor appears, all measures must be taken to identify and eliminate its causes.

Mothers constantly monitor the health of their children. When a special smell appears from the mouth, they begin to look for the cause of this pathology. Bad breath is caused by various reasons, the main one of which is irregular oral care. However, in some cases, the symptoms that appear may indicate serious problems with the baby’s health and the need to visit a pediatrician. Why does my 2 year old child have bad breath?

Types of bad breath in children

There are several types of odor that a child may experience. To determine it, you do not need to visit a specialist, but you can do it yourself.

Types of odors:

1. Chemical. It occurs when taking antibiotics or other medications. Sometimes this may indicate the presence of diseases of the digestive system.
2. Sweetish. The smell may indicate liver problems in your baby. To avoid serious problems in the future, you must urgently contact a gastroenterologist.
3. Rotten. Sometimes when a child burps, a disgusting smell reminiscent of rotten eggs appears. This may indicate diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes such a smell is felt with severe lesions of the excretory system.

If a child is 2 years old and has bad breath, then the mother needs to go with the baby to a medical facility.

Food

The child is old enough to try some foods without an adult. A temporary deterioration in the smell of breath can be caused by garlic, onions, celery, and smoked meats. When food debris is mixed with saliva, various enzymatic reactions occur in the mouth in the form of fermentation. Bad breath in a child (2 years old) appears for the same reason, so parents need to brush the baby’s teeth to eliminate it.

Digestive system problems

A particularly nasty smell in a baby can be caused by heartburn or belching, which occurs constantly. The mother needs to watch the baby after eating. If a baby develops dysbacteriosis, he will be bothered by flatulence and increased gas formation.

If there are problems with the sphincter, then some of the stomach contents can be thrown into the esophagus, which causes acidic breath in the child. Along with this symptom, there may be bitterness in the mouth, nausea, hiccups, and vomiting. When intestinal pathology occurs, a black coating is noticeable on the baby’s teeth, which encircles their necks. When parents notice a special odor from a child’s mouth, it is best to go to see a specialist.

Oral hygiene

Poor quality dental care contributes to the formation of plaque, in which pathogenic microorganisms constantly multiply. They cause bad breath in a child. 2 years is the time when the baby’s teeth continue to cut, so it is extremely important to prevent unsanitary oral conditions during this period. Parents should constantly take care of the cleanliness of their baby's mouth. If he refuses to brush his teeth, then perhaps the reason is a toothbrush or toothpaste that he does not like. The sooner you can form the right attitude towards oral care, the faster situations related to bad breath will be resolved.

Parents should monitor this process constantly. Sometimes they do this until the child is 7-10 years old.

Pathologies of ENT organs

The oral cavity and adjacent organs influence the content of saliva, its composition and properties. If chronic diseases of the ENT organs appear, then its viscosity increases. This is caused not only by the microflora of the oral cavity, but also by the habit of not closing the mouth. Saliva normally cleans teeth of food debris. During sleep or mouth breathing, this process is disrupted. Instead of a way to cleanse teeth, saliva turns into a factor that promotes the proliferation of microorganisms and bad breath in a 2-year-old child.

Colds and acute respiratory infections

When a child has a sore throat, along with a fever, a bad breath appears, which becomes foul. Children 2 years of age are prone to developing this pathology because they begin to attend kindergarten and their immune system weakens.

Viral stomatitis is characterized by viscous saliva, redness and swelling of the gums. When the tongue is affected, plaque appears on it, as well as pain when caring for teeth and eating.

Bad breath in a child (2 years old) occurs due to stomatitis, which is characteristic of diseases such as chicken pox, scarlet fever and herperangina.

Doctor Komarovsky about the causes of odor

Factors that cause bad breath in a child can be of different nature. If the child is 2 years old, bad breath may be caused by bacterial growth. After all, microbes secrete waste products that smell like sulfur. Typically, saliva has a detrimental effect on microorganisms, but if its properties and composition are changed, then they begin to multiply intensively. As a result, bacterial infections occur in the nose, bronchi and trachea.

As Dr. Komarovsky says, bad breath in a child (2 years old) cannot be caused by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, because it does not penetrate outside due to the closing of the stomach valve. But the food your baby eats can negatively affect the freshness of your breath. This usually occurs when eating garlic or onions. This smell should not cause concern because it goes away on its own.

Komarovsky believes that bad breath in a child can occur due to disease of the maxillary sinuses. This is due to the appearance of pus in them. An unpleasant odor is present in sore throat and other inflammatory processes in the larynx and tonsils. Even an ordinary runny nose causes the child to breathe through his nose, saliva dries out and pathogens develop.

The real cause of bad breath in a child (2 years old) is the pathological condition of the teeth. If there is swelling and redness of the gums, caries, then it is necessary to urgently contact a pediatric dentist.

The doctor emphasizes that the specificity of this indicator also plays a role in determining the cause of bad breath. If you smell acetone, your child may develop diseases such as diabetes or gallbladder disease.

Komarovsky warns that the sweetish smell should make parents wary, because it is accompanied by serious pathologies of the liver or kidneys.

In any case, the child’s unpleasant breathing is a reason to urgently contact a medical facility.

According to Komarovsky, parents can cope with changes in the microflora of the oral cavity on their own. To do this, it is necessary to maintain the indoor humidity level in the region of 50-70%. To do this you need to purchase a humidifier.

To achieve a sufficient amount of saliva, the baby needs to constantly drink lemon water. It consists of plain water, lemon juice and a slice of lemon. An acidic environment can irritate the receptors, so active production of saliva will occur and the microbes will die.

If bad breath occurs due to a runny nose, the child should be given saline rinses and given more warm liquids.

Diagnostics

If an unpleasant odor occurs, a child (he is 2 years old or older, it does not matter) is taken to the dentist. If the doctor does not observe any pathology associated with teeth, then you should contact an endocrinologist, gastroenterologist or otolaryngologist.

The baby is still too young to complain, but the mother usually notices the smell. When diagnosing, its nature is determined - constant or periodic, and the time of formation (morning or evening).

It is important for the doctor to find out where the smell comes from. It happens that the research and tests did not reveal any pathology. Perhaps this is an individual characteristic of the child, which can be found very rarely. In this case, you should monitor your oral hygiene more carefully.

How to get rid of the smell?

If a child experiences bad breath, all measures should be taken to get rid of such a symptom.

First of all, if a child (he is 2.5 years old or older) has bad breath, he needs to be shown to a pediatrician to determine the exact cause. Effective treatment is usually prescribed by a doctor; you should not treat the baby yourself.

Mom can do the following:

• to normalize the composition of saliva, you need to create an appropriate microclimate in the children's room;
• give your child more water;
• regularly visit a doctor to check the condition of the oral cavity;
• If your nose is stuffy, you need to rinse it with saline solution.

To get rid of bad breath forever, you need to approach the problem comprehensively. The correct treatment is prescribed by the doctor, but parents must also follow individual recommendations.

If a child is 2 years old and has bad breath, he should not eat a lot of sweets. It is best to give honey instead of sweets, which has bactericidal properties.

The baby needs to eat a large amount of sour fruits. They cause increased salivation and significantly reduce odor.

Parents should ensure regular oral hygiene, which should begin from the age of 6 months. You can buy special soft brushes for this. When the child grows up, he will learn to brush his teeth himself. His parents should teach him how to properly clean his tongue and cheeks. Mothers can do this by example.

It is good to rinse your mouth before going to bed with decoctions of medicinal plants, which will help improve the microflora of the oral cavity and freshen your breath.

Conclusion

In preventing an unpleasant odor in a child, following simple rules for oral care will provide invaluable help. Proper nutrition is important, eliminating sweets from the diet and including fresh fruits. These recommendations will help significantly reduce the likelihood of odor. Sometimes this is not enough, so only a doctor can prescribe the correct treatment.

Bad breath from a child is always a cause for concern for parents. Children are susceptible to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver no less than adults, and it is much more difficult for a child to deal with the symptoms of various diseases. Why does a child have a putrid odor from the mouth?

Putrid breath is a sign of disease

My breath smells bad, what should I do?

The smell of pus does not refer to stale breath in the morning, which every person occasionally experiences. During the night, while the child sleeps, his body continues to work as a coherent system. Any malfunction of the digestive system or liver dysfunction is expressed in harmless symptoms that are often neglected.

What causes a child's breath to smell like pus or rot? Specific odors allow you to narrow down the search for the problem. Babies may develop a stench similar to the smell of ammonia, urine and acetone.

Such symptoms should not be ignored by caring parents.

Determine the danger of such a symptom

Morning plaque on the tongue and bad breath are often the result of phenomena that are not dangerous to the health of young patients. Poor nutrition, consumption of low-quality food and even worms can easily provoke an unpleasant, nauseating odor. How to determine whether a stench is dangerous or not? First, you should find out if the patient has other complaints. Apathy, general weakness, pain in the gums or stomach.

Stomach problems are the cause of unpleasant odor

Bad breath, especially persistent bad breath, is a sign of illness, not a disease that needs to be treated.

Identifying the root cause of your baby’s illness will allow you to prescribe effective treatment. Once the underlying problem is addressed, the stench will go away on its own. Temporary measures: personal oral hygiene, rinses and mints only help to hide the manifestation of a serious disease, and then not for long. A constant unpleasant odor is a signal that parents are obliged to respond to if they value the health of their own baby. How to find the cause of bad breath and eliminate it without harm to the baby?

Causes of bad odor

The phenomenon of bad breath has an official name. Halitosis is an unpleasant odor that occurs periodically in humans and is not normal. The disease occurs frequently, and children and adults suffer from it equally. The stench manifests itself in children from a very early age, and it is almost impossible to protect the youngest family member from halitosis. When younger family members smell like pus, and the unpleasant odor is not removed after regular oral hygiene, parents need to think about the baby’s condition and seek help from a specialist as soon as possible.

Thrush (candidiasis) - the cause of the odor

A serious problem arises even among infants, who are entirely dependent on their mother and father.

Why does the symptom appear in a baby with good parental care and proper nutrition?

The appearance of bad breath in children is preceded by the following negative changes within the body:

• disruption of the gastrointestinal tract;
• improper absorption of foods with characteristic aromas;
• baby’s protein diet, monotonous diet and lack of nutrients;
• increased stress in children;
• poor oral hygiene;
• pathologies of the liver or gallbladder (bile ducts);
• eating foods and dishes with a lot of sugar;
• bacterial infections of the mouth or gums.

Often the stench is accompanied by the formation of plaque. Parents should pay special attention to what color the baby's tongue becomes. A yellowish-white coating indicates liver disease when it fails to cope with its main function - cleansing the body. Plaque with a bad odor may indicate problems with the gallbladder and its ducts. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis after a thorough diagnosis of a small patient (examination, thorough diagnosis and laboratory tests). A minor symptom indicates not only poor nutrition, but also more serious diseases.

Advanced caries and purulent pulpitis are the cause of the smell

Treatment of the disease

After determining the cause, all that remains is to help the child fight bad breath. The first step, which should not be neglected, will be a review of the baby’s diet. Children love sweets and it is no news to parents that limiting the amount of goodies they consume is a difficult task. It is necessary to take a radical step, even if the problem of unpleasant odor does not lie in dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract. Sugar in dishes or tea is replaced with honey, which is healthy and safe. The little patient's diet should contain a lot of vegetables, herbs and cereals rich in fiber. Dietary nutrition, even gentle, will allow the baby’s body to cleanse itself of accumulated bile or, in the case of helminthiasis, waste products of worms. The child should drink at least a liter of purified water per day.

After the first stage, parents take measures to normalize the functioning of all internal organs of the baby:

Oral hygiene

The simplest rule that children are taught from infancy is to wash their hands and brush their teeth every day. Oral hygiene will protect your little family member from problems with tooth enamel, inflammatory processes of the gums and mucous membranes, and the appearance of plaque after sleep. It is difficult to accustom children to personal hygiene, but all the efforts spent will create the foundation for the health of children in the future.

Instead of store-bought rinses, home-made herbal decoctions will do. The natural base solution will not harm the child and will help restore the oral mucosa. Chamomile, sage and calendula are popularly known as natural antiseptics and calming plants. To improve the taste of a homemade rinse, decoctions and tinctures of medicinal herbs can be combined.

The more water the better

Getting your baby to drink a lot of water is also not easy, so the daily diet should be diluted with compotes, fruit drinks, and natural juices. Parents are required to ensure the quality of the food and water their child consumes. Liquid (water or compote) allows the intestines to quickly cleanse themselves of harmful substances, decay products and accumulated toxins.

Diagnostics

Self-medication is not only risky, but dangerous for the baby. A disease that is not treated properly does not go away on its own. Delay on the part of parents can result in serious complications for the little patient. Modern diagnosis of even a minor disease guarantees that the baby is not in danger.

Diagnosis of the cause of bad odor in a child

When compiling an anamnesis and during the initial examination, all the complaints of the little patient are listened to, because the accompanying symptoms help in determining the disease. Nausea, vomiting and loose stools indicate problems with the intestines, but plaque with the smell of rot is a sign of liver pathology. After dental procedures, your baby may experience bad breath. The cause of the unpleasant symptom is stomatitis or poor-quality materials used to treat the baby’s baby teeth.

What is dangerous about bad breath from a child?

What is smelly plaque and what should you expect from it? The nature of the smell plays a vital role in the rapid diagnosis of young patients. Halitosis, caused by a specific disease, and not an accidental manifestation of poor nutrition or weak immunity, in most cases has a distinct odor that is difficult to confuse with similar symptoms. The smell of rot or ammonia indicates problems with the esophagus. The digestive system works around the clock, and changes in its functioning are expressed in external signs (allergic reactions, rashes, plaque and bad breath). Inflammation of the stomach causes a stench reminiscent of rot.

Diseases that can cause bad breath:

• pharyngitis;
• angina;
• stomatitis (incorrectly treated or left unattended);
• advanced caries;
• inflammatory process of the gums and oral mucosa.

Parents can examine the baby's teeth and gums to determine the external manifestations of inflammatory processes. If the oral cavity, tongue and tonsils are clean, then it is highly likely that the main cause of bad breath is esophageal dysfunction. Bad breath in the morning is not always easy to recognize; several diseases that occur at the same time can cause similar symptoms. A consultation with a specialist will allow you to eliminate guesswork and help your baby in the initial stages of the disease.

In the future, prevention, proper nutrition and personal hygiene will protect all family members from these types of symptoms.

If a child’s breath smells like rotten or has a strong stench, what are its causes? To begin with, parents should remain calm, because an increased stressful environment will only worsen the problem. The child should feel protected and confident that his parents will be able to help him. An unpleasant stench, which appears only occasionally, will serve as the right signal to reconsider the diet and lifestyle of the family. Persistent symptoms are discussed only when seen by a specialist.

Bad breath always indicates some changes in the functioning of internal organs, not for the better. And if My child's breath smells like acetone (Komarovsky E.O. speaks of this smell as the sweetish taste of spoiling apples), then most likely the child has acetonemic syndrome (a disturbance of metabolic processes in the body).

It can be primary and secondary.

Primary - metabolic disorder (carbohydrates, uric acid, purines, lipids).

Secondary - is a consequence of an existing disease (somatic, surgical, infectious, endocrine).

Komarovsky E.O. - acetone in children

The main source of energy for the child's body remains glucose. The liver produces and stores glycogen. Adults have quite a lot of it, but children have a deficiency. With a lack of glycogen, the child’s body switches to consuming fat and protein cells. When they are broken down, excess acetone (ketone bodies) is produced.

During acetonemic syndrome, the internal organs of a child (liver and kidneys) are not able to remove excess acetone from the body due to the peculiarity of their functioning. Once you reach adolescence, the picture will change dramatically.

Acetone crisis is the appearance in the body of a large amount of undigested fatty acids. It is during their partial removal through the lungs that we so clearly detect the smell of acetone. They accumulate in the blood, causing acidosis (acidic blood).

According to Dr. Komarovsky, there are some reasons that cause the syndrome:

• fasting or poor diet;
• pathological changes in the liver;
• improper functioning of the pancreas or adrenal glands;
• infectious diseases;
• liver damage;
• concussion.

Depending on the identified cause of the disease, a treatment regimen is determined.

How does an acetonemic crisis manifest itself?

• sudden profuse vomiting always associated with food (after or during);
• weakness and lethargy;
• refusal to eat;
• acute abdominal pain;
• against the background of pale skin, circles under the eyes;
• low body temperature;
• smell of acetone.

If you have the above symptoms, you should remember the danger that acetone poses to the entire body. When Child's breath smells like acetone, Komarovsky recommends combining diet and treatment to solve the situation.

Acetone in children, treatment (Komarovsky)

It must be said right away that the smell of acetone can be overcome at home (if the cause is related to poor diet). But this does not apply to all other causes of the disease. The entire course of treatment must be carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

Instructions for actions at home:

1. Cleansing enema (1 teaspoon of soda, 250 ml of water).
2. Alkaline drink every 15 minutes.
3. If there is no vomiting, give dried fruit compote.
4. Regidron - 1 liter should be taken per day (a teaspoon every 2 minutes).
5. If appetite returns, give lean food.
6. Prevention: healthy lifestyle, walks in the fresh air, sports, balanced nutrition.

On the issue of prescribing medications, Dr. Komarovsky E.O. speaks about the prescription of drugs exclusively by the attending physician.

How to do it read here.

If a child is vomiting profusely, it is possible to take Smecta or Phospholugel (enterosorbents). Despite all their harmlessness, the wrong dosage can lead to negative consequences on the body.

Read also:

Diet after acetone in children (Komarovsky)

In such circumstances, it is necessary to prepare:

• porridges exclusively cooked in water (buckwheat, oatmeal, corn);
• mashed potatoes;
• biscuits and baked apples;
• lean meat;
• vegetable soups;
• milk and fermented milk products (ryazhenka, kefir);
• 1 boiled chicken egg;
• fresh vegetables and fruits;
• still mineral water, dried fruit compote, rehydron, juices in glass.

This diet should be followed for at least 3 weeks with 3-4 daily meals.

At the same time, we remove from the diet: pickles, smoked meats, seasonings, fatty foods, sweet carbonated drinks.

1. Food should always be freshly prepared.
2. It is advisable to eat at the same time (routine).
3. Prohibition on drinking sweet water.
4. Do not overfeed.
5. Limit sweet and fatty foods as much as possible.
6. Mineral water only from the pharmacy
7. Juices in glass.

Recipe for a drink with raisins and apples.

Take 30 g of raisins and rinse well with hot water. Peel a couple of apples, remove the insides and cut into small cubes. Place the raisins in boiling water (1 liter) and cook for 30 minutes. Add chopped apples. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat. Let it cool and strain. The drink is ready.