Bad breath in 16 month old

[monkey-lamb]

Twice this week I have noticed bad breath in my 16 month old DD. It smells kind of like poop. I noticed it on Wednesday and again today, but not yesterday. We haven't made any significant dietary changes. I gave her spaghetti for the first time this week as well as cheese, but she didn't really eat the cheese. She ate ground beef in the spaghetti, but she has had that in the past. I have noticed episodes of bad breath in the past, but this is a very distinct smell and is unlike her other bouts of bad breath. It is so strong that when I nurse her in the night, I can smell the scent on my breast when I go back to bed. I nurse her right before bed and once or twice during the night, but this is not new. I have read that bad breath could be caused by putting food in the nose or by food getting stuck on the tonsils and hardening. I am trying to decide whether or not she needs to see a doctor and whether or not it will wait until Monday or if I need to take her somewhere tomorrow.

Anyone have any experience with bad breath in a young child?

[JessicaS]

Are you brushing their teeth? If it isn't going away with brushing I would probably be concerned and check with the Dr.

[monkey-lamb]

Yes, I'm brushing her teeth twice a day. It gets better when I brush her teeth, but it does not completely go away. Then suddenly I don't smell it anymore and it is back the next morning. Kind of comes and goes.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

any fevers? Any exposure to Herpes SImplex 1?

[monkey-lamb]

No fevers or exposure to Herpes Simplex I. Everything is completely normal except her breath is off. She had a fever two weeks ago and her breath smelled differently but not like this.

[monkey-lamb]

I'm taking her to the doctor tomorrow. I spoke to a nurse who said it sounded like the incidents of food of the nose she has encountered in the past.

[JessicaS]

Ow!

Let us know how she is doing.

[MilkbarMom]

Is it possible it is "tonsil stones"? There is a technical name for it, but basically it is crud like plaque stuck behind the tonsils.

[ScarletBegonias]

has she had antibiotics recently?

dd has had abx's twice: the first time was for Lyme disease at 36 mo, the second was for dental surgery due to an injured tooth.

abx's kill EVERYTHING, and i knew there would be h*ll to pay after she took them. even supplementing with pharmaceutical-grade probiotics (900 billion per dose), as soon as the round of abx's were up, her breath smelled sooooooooo bad. it smelled like my fil's breath who has diverticulitis (a condition of the colon, one side effect is horrific breath).

i cleared it up and she started smelling sweet again. after she took the next round, same thing: horrid breath. probiotic's again and she started smelling sweet.

[monkey-lamb]

Interesting idea, ScarletBegonias. She did take amoxycillan starting on NYE. That's a very narrow spectrum antibiotic,and I would have expected the problem to have started before now if that was the culprit.

I did read about the tonsil stones a pp mentioned. It could be that as well, though I don't know how to confirm that.

We took her to the ER today, and they looked at us like we were crazy. Her pediatrician insisted that it couldn't wait until Monday, so we didn't know what else to do. They x-rayed her sinus area and saw nothing. She is seeing an ENT on Monday. I know baby's breath is not supposed to smell this way, and I just feel like something is not right.

[2xy]

I was also thinking tonsil stones. They're often caused by post-nasal drip, and post-nasal drip in general can give people bad breath.

She might also have decaying food stuck between her teeth. That stuff can smell terrible, and I think most people do not floss their toddlers' teeth.

[ScarletBegonias]

Originally Posted by monkey-lamb

Interesting idea, ScarletBegonias. She did take amoxycillan starting on NYE. That's a very narrow spectrum antibiotic,and I would have expected the problem to have started before now if that was the culprit.

from what you describe, and if an x-ray showed nothing in her sinuses...... and especially since she just took abx's (and amoxycillin at that - same thing my dd took the first time)..............i would say pretty much unequivocally abx's are the culprit. get her on probiotics stat, and if you're good about making sure she's taking them/eating plain yogurt, you will notice a huge difference in a few days to a week.

seriously, the answer is much simpler than x-ray's and er visits! (i've btdt, it's no fun with a little one!) and if i am wrong, the probiotics will at least help her to re-balance her system after the amox - they are definitely not going to cause harm in any way!