My Baby’s Neck Smells like Fish
When you realize that your child is smelling like a fish, the smell is not always from your child’s neck, but possibly she is suffering from a syndrome known as Fish Odor Syndrome, a scientific name known as Trimethylaminuria. The condition should not scare you because It is not a health problem. You are in a better position because you have identified the condition early enough. You will be in place of controlling the syndrome until your child is grown up. In most cases, the condition is known when children are already grown up.
You need to know the cause of Trimethylaminuria. Your child will inherit the faulty gene from you as their parent. The defective gene will cause the body of your child to produce Trimethylaminuria in excess. Your child will release an unpleasant smell through the body fluid. E.g., sweat, urine, or even breathing, and when she had grown, they will release the rotting fish smell in their reproductive fluids.
You will feel more effective if your child is a Girl because the condition affects girls because of their hormones, namely Estrogen and Progesterone. The syndrome does not have many effects on Boys.
The fish odor smell will be more intensive when your child is sweating, peeing, and urinating. It would help if you were attentive to recognize when your child is sweating, urinating, or peeing. Take your child and clean her or change your child the clothing that is having an unpleasant smell. There is no other symptom apart from the Fish Odor Smell.
The specialists advise you to avoid some of the protein food that will encourage your child’s body to produce more Trimethylaminuria. This food includes Eggs, Beans, and Fish.
Your child cannot break trimethylamine. Trimethylamine is a chemical found in specific protein food. Your infant’s body has no bacteria responsible for breaking trimethylamine into small body chemicals that do not smell. When trimethylamine accumulates, your child’s body breaks trimethylamine chemicals down into body fluids.
Your toddler has a faulty gene called FMO3. Parents are carriers of the defective gene, the reason why it doesn’t have any effect on you as parents. Your child has two faulty genes, and this is the reason behind its precise impact on them.
You can help your children and avoid inheriting faulty genes to your infants by going for a genetic testing/Genomic testing. Genetic testing will help you find the genes that can cause health problems, and It will diagnose the rare and healthy conditions that your child can inherit you.
As we have discussed earlier foul fishy odor is not a healthy condition. Therefore, there is no known cure for this syndrome. But you can use the following guideline to minimize its effect on your baby.
Small Exercises
As soon as your child is a young train, the child on how to avoid demanding activity and heavy tasks that will make them sweat, e.g., excessive crying, playing
Avoid Distress
Train your child on how to stay relaxed from their pressures and stress. Avail yourself and encourage your infant every time.
Use of Drench and Soap
Wash your child with body shampoos/ Drench, which have a relative PH value of 5.5 to 5.6. They have low acidity, which will help soften the skin of your kid’s body.
Use Deodorizers
Apply Deodorants to your child’s armpits. When you use them from now even when your baby will get used even when grown. Deodorants block the sweat gland, which will prevent sweating
Practice Tidiness
When washing your baby’s clothes, use detergents, soap, and Jik, and when leasing them, use Star soft or Downy softeners. Cleanliness will help you minimize the fishy smell.
You can try treating your child using antibiotics. They are used to treat and to prevent bacterial infections and prevent bacteria from spreading. The specialists discourage you from buying them over the counter. Request your doctor to prescribe antibiotics that will work well with your child’s body.
The specialists discourage excessive use of antibiotics. They are very dangerous if they will get used to your child’s body. Suppose your child is at a high risk of bacterial infection. In that case, the doctor will discourage antibiotics because the infant will suffer from a condition known as antibiotic prophylaxis.
Your child will not feel comfortable living with this syndrome. Your kid will feel embarrassed, isolated, and dispersion may result. Speak and encourage your child, and help your kid cope with the situation as he grows up. Join with her counseling sessions to raise her self esteem and her emotional support.
You outsource for mothers who have children with the same condition and let your child grow together with them. Let her know that she is not alone in this journey. As she grows together with others, she will learn how to cope with her situations and challenges.
When you realize Fish Odor Syndrome is severe, you can use Riboflavin (Vitamin B2). Riboflavin is a vitamin used for average healthy growth. It will help your baby’s body break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to produce energy.
You can use Riboflavin syrup or give your child Riboflavin sources like plain yogurt, mushroom, fortified breakfast cereals, and milk. Avoid exposing them to direct sunlight. Sunlight is Ultra Violet light, which can destroy Riboflavin.