Smell in 3 Year Old Daughter

My daughter now 8, but ever since she was in diapers she would get yeast infections. Sometimes she would complain that she was itchy and others I noticed a smell. We do emphasize wiping properly and I buy the flushable wipes, but I also would apply monistat to her. The pediatritian said it was totally fine. I buy the seven day cream since it is the cheapest and just wipe a little on the outside like I would a diaper cream. Now that she is old enough she applies it every once in awhile when she thinks she needs it.

I think I would help her wipe for a while. I would first start with a warm bath and drying the area well. I then would wipe her for a few days and see if that makes a difference; since she is not having any itching or pain. After that, if it is still odorous and red, take her in to make sure it is not yeast. If so at this age it is usually external and a little nystatin cream will clear it right up. I would also increase her water intake. Sometimes when my DD does not get enough water in during a few days, her urine gets so cooncentrated, it smells, making her smell and getting chafe too when she does not wipe correctly. You will be suprised at how many little girls even forget to wipe. Also at this age you want to make sure she is not doing any cross contamination of fecal matter to vagina. It is all so close at this age. I think I will just go to wiping her for a little bit and then reevaluate. If it is still there, then for sure take her in.....

I, too, have a nearly 4 yr old with the same issues. She does seem to wipe well, but does on occasion "forget" if I don't check up on her. One thing I've also made available are the wet wipes you can flush. Those are for #2 moments. We also have to take baths every other day to keep up on all of it as she also suffers and has for quite some time a rash on her buttox (allergies?).

You've alread had some very good responses. I wanted to add that if you are using bubble baths or anything with odor or chemicals in her bath, it can make little girls red and irritated in the vaginal area. My daughters would get redder when I let them have too much citrus at that age. Also, 3 years old is not quite old enough to be responsible for their toilet duties entirely. I agree that you should wipe her and evaluate anew if she understands how to do it correctly. Also, is the odor a normal urine odor or is it foul smelling? If it is the normal kid's urine not totally cleaned up odor it probably isn't infection. Infection doesn't smell like "normal" output.

Best wishes with your dear one,
C. Storm, retired midwife
____@____.com

I agree you should take her to the doctor if you can afford it. At the very least call your pediatrician's nurse -- I have done this on a number of occasions if I wasn't sure my children needed to be seen. Sometimes my 5 year old daughter will get red in that area and we give her a bath and pour baking soda in the water where she sits and then put desitin on her after she dries off. It usually clears up by the next day, but that area hasn't had an odor, it's just a little red.

Wipe her with a little vinegar and water.

IT could be a bacteria or yeast making the smell. When she wipes, make sure it is clean- then I would follow up with applying lavender oil to the area- you may want to dilute it in that region before applying it. You may also look at other anti-microbial essential oils- but please make sure they are very mild before applying in that region (learned the hard way myself once).

Also it is good to "Get some air down there." Have her spend some time with out pants or underpants on every day- for me I find it is easiest when I am preparing to bed- to put my night gown on and take off my undies- then before I actually crawl into bed I will put my undies back on. However, I have known families to have their children go underwearless all night for the airing out.

Little ones can have yeast infections, too. If there's a sort of yeasty smell that's probably what's going on.

Why not have your doc take a quick look?

It could be sitting in the bath with either bath oils or bubble bath or even the soap causing some trouble. Try rinsing her after washing her up and draining the bath or try showers rather then baths at least part of the time. Also someone mentioned a yeast infection... if she has been on antibodics shortly before it started then that could be a problem. For that you would need to have a doctor check her.

My daughter also had the same issue when she was about 3. We cut back the amount of juice she was drinking & made sure to give her pure water baths. So no bubbles :( . I also started making sure she was wiping correctly, front first, THEN back. Between those three things we haven't had any problems since. She's almost 6 now, and has been taking bubble baths again occasionally, but I make sure she's rinsed down before getting out of the tub.

Not sure if it's true, but I heard somewhere that Desitin can cause yeast infections in little girls. so we also cut that out.

It could be a yeast infection! I know it sounds funny that little ones can get them too. My daughter had one at that age hers didn't itch her so i took her to the doctor. Sure enough they gave me a cream that cleared it right up! I hope this helps! Good luck!

Sounds like a yeast problem. You could try giving her wipes soaked in tea tree oil and diluted in water.

I'd ask your doctor about nystatin(not sure if that is spelled right). It's a diaper rash cream, but also helps if there is any yeast. All girls get it at some point, even babies and toddlers.

Has she had a pediatric wellness exam in a while? You don't say how long this has gone on, but it seems like something they would have noticed, and certainly something they probably should check out. Redness could indicate skin allergy, eczema, or just plain chafing. More concerning is the smell could indicate an infection either bacterial or perhaps a fungus (like yeast or something like "jock-itch"). I'd get her checked out by a doctor as soon as possible, and in the interim make sure she's keeping dry and not wearing clothes that don't breath well like polyesters/synthetics. Maybe check out the types of soaps and lotions she's using to see if it's a reaction. Lastly, maybe an over the counter medication for fungal infections or an antibiotic ointment?

If it is a yeast issue make sure she eats yogurt and/or kefir every day.