Every person is part of society. It is difficult to imagine situations in which we can do without communication, be it communication with friends, colleagues, love relationships, business interviews and much more. You need to look good in any situation, but that’s not all. Your breath odor is very important. It should be fresh and not disgusting. If your breath smells like shit, then this is bad not only from an aesthetic and social point of view, but also indicates the presence of serious health problems. In this article we will indicate the reasons why this phenomenon may occur, and also learn how to get rid of it. Please read the information provided carefully to ensure you are as safe and equipped as possible.
How to test yourself?
Quite often, a person does not even realize that he has an extremely unpleasant odor from his mouth. If your breath smells like shit or another unpleasant odor emanates, this indicates the presence of quite serious and dangerous diseases. So check yourself right now. In any case, there is no need to panic; today almost any pathology can be treated.
So, in order to understand that you have bad breath, follow these steps:
- The simplest, but not free, way is to buy a special device with which you can determine the freshness of your breath.
- The check can be done very simply and trivially. Bring your palm to your mouth and exhale air into it, then smell it.
- Dental floss can also help. Use it, then also bring it to your nose.
- You can ask a loved one to help you. Breathe on him and ask him if his breath smells like shit.
- Also pay attention to the appearance of the tongue. If it is completely white, or there are small white dots on it, then this will indicate the presence of an unpleasant odor almost 100%.
Principles of treating unpleasant odor
If your breath stinks of feces, you need to find out the cause of this condition. Next, the underlying disease is treated. If this is a pathology of the digestive system, the doctor will prescribe an appropriate treatment regimen. For helminthic infestations, anthelmintic drugs (Pirantel, Vormil) are prescribed.
It is imperative to follow all the rules of personal hygiene - brush your teeth twice a day. Using special rinses, you can quickly remove bad breath.
In what cases is there no reason to worry?
If you're wondering why your breath smells like shit, think about what you recently ate. Very often this happens after the stomach begins to digest food with a specific smell, for example, onions or garlic. This phenomenon will go away on its own in a couple of days. But if you add to all this an alcohol-containing drink with a curd dessert, the smell will be simply incredibly terrible. If this “pleasant aroma” does not disappear within a few days, then this may indicate serious problems with your health.
Breath smells like shit: possible causes
There are several reasons that contribute to the occurrence of strong odor from the mouth. Such reasons are extremely dangerous, as they indicate the presence of diseases. So, most often a child’s breath smells like shit due to diseases of the digestive or respiratory systems, as well as due to pathologies of the oral cavity itself.
The presence of an unpleasant odor is a symptom that should never be ignored.
Recommendations for the prevention of high acetone in a child
To avoid high levels of acetone in a child, as well as to prevent repeated relapses, it is necessary to adhere to the following preventive recommendations:
- Provide your child with complete and balanced nutrition.
- Make sure your child does not skip meals or overeat.
- Monitor the level of physical and emotional stress of the child.
- Always have something sweet on hand.
- Keep glucose in ampoules, a glucometer and test strips for high acetone in your first aid kit.
Types of pathologies
Quite often, an unpleasant odor in the mouth appears as a consequence of diseases of the digestive system such as ulcers, gastritis or enteritis. Pathology can also occur due to improper digestion and stagnation of food. There are diseases in which food begins to accumulate in pouches on the walls of the esophagus. This is what makes your breath smell like shit.
The causes of the phenomenon may also be associated with diseases of the respiratory system. The presence of such an unpleasant phenomenon may indicate that the patient has serious pneumonia, which has already acquired a purulent character. Bad breath also indicates serious forms of pneumonia and tuberculosis.
Also, the smell of feces from the mouth occurs if the patient suffers from purulent tonsillitis, sinusitis or other dangerous diseases that affect the throat or nose.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract make it difficult for waste products to leave the body. As a result, they stagnate and form a fecal odor. Patients with diagnosed diseases are at risk: diabetes mellitus, gastritis, esophageal dyskinesia, enteritis, pancreatitis. Stagnation of food and feces, a sweet taste, infection with parasitic worms (helminths), etc. are dangerous. If you have an iron taste in your mouth, visit a gastroenterologist. Violation of the functions of the pancreas directly depends on the appearance of amber; it is not recommended to resort to self-medication methods; it is better to consult a doctor immediately.
Pay attention to your teeth
According to dentists, it is problems with the oral cavity that most often lead to bad breath. Diseases such as caries, pulpitis, thrush, stomatitis, periodontal disease and many other ailments can cause an extremely unpleasant odor.
In the first place among all causes is caries. As is known, this pathology occurs as a result of the proliferation of bad bacteria that can destroy tooth enamel. If the disease actively progresses, this leads to the appearance of carious cavities in the tooth, in which quite a large amount of food can accumulate, which gradually begins to rot. It is impossible to clean such a cavity with a toothbrush at home.
Food can also get trapped in pockets in the gums. They cannot be seen with the naked eye, making them extremely difficult to clean. Food that begins to decompose causes your breath to smell like shit. Treatment for such a phenomenon should be based on the cause that caused it. Keep in mind that even if you use mint paste and mouthwash ten times a day, it will not solve your problem. It is very important to take an integrated approach.
Errors in nutrition
With certain errors in nutrition, unpleasant symptoms may also appear. When consuming certain foods, such as fermented milk products, poultry, eggs, halitosis occurs after some time. This symptom is due to the fact that with a large amount of protein foods and amino acids, when they are broken down in the intestines, sulfur elements are released, which cause a foul odor.
Refusal from previously consumed large quantities of sweets can also provoke the appearance of an unpleasant aroma, since the body undergoes a restructuring and breakdown of carbohydrate structures to ensure energy balance. Seeing a doctor is mandatory, since such dysfunction can become dangerous for the functioning of the pancreas.
Solving dental problems
So, if you have halitosis (fecal odor from the mouth), it is very important to first consult a dentist and cure all pathologies associated with diseases of the teeth and gums. Be sure to tell your doctor about the problem that is bothering you. Please note that caries is a fairly common pathology, and quite often it is difficult to notice with the naked eye.
Therefore, do not ignore visits to the dentist, because he will not only be able to help you get rid of oral diseases, but also, if necessary, determine your further actions.
Can the child himself determine the presence of a problem?
The taste buds on the tongue do not detect odors, and any comment about stale breath from others can upset the baby. If the child is over 5-6 years old, he can be taught several rules for self-diagnosis of oral odors. What is needed for this? You can determine the smell in one of the following ways:
- The child needs to cup his hands and bring them close to his face, so that air space appears between his lips and palms. When you exhale through your mouth, you can feel the smell (if any).
- Use a dry toothbrush to “walk” over your teeth and tongue. There may be some residue left on the bristles of the device. You can smell it just a few seconds after the procedure.
- You should collect the plaque at the root of the tongue with a teaspoon. If there is a specific smell, it will be felt within a few seconds. This procedure can be dangerous if it is carried out by the child himself, so parents can do it for him.
Intestinal diseases create the cause of odor
Treatment of serious pathologies of the body
If your breath smells like shit, treatment options may vary. It all depends on the origin of such a phenomenon. If the cause of bad breath is the presence of certain diseases of the digestive system, it is very important to get tested and check the acidity of the stomach. Depending on the results obtained, the doctor will be able to select the necessary medications.
If a patient has pathologies of the respiratory organs or respiratory tract, accompanied by the occurrence of inflammatory processes, then in this case one cannot do without antibacterial drugs, which are usually selected on an individual basis, taking into account all the characteristics of a particular person’s body.
Please note that local treatment will not give any results. Of course, you will be able to get rid of the unpleasant odor for a while, but it will be very short-lived. It is very important to eliminate the cause itself, and then the effect will disappear on its own.
Treatment of halitosis with medications
Representatives of medicine consider folk remedies to be ineffective; the complexity will still appear: the causes are not easy to eliminate. There is a disease. Official medicine eliminates the cause, and folk medicine eliminates the effect. Doctors strongly recommend going to the dentist (problems with the teeth or the mucous membrane of the jaw - gums are possible), then to a gastroenterologist (difficulties with the digestive system).
Important Tips
Let's look at what you can do if your breath smells like shit. Dentists will tell us what to do. Such recommendations will help freshen your breath at least for a short time, as well as keep your mouth clean and fresh. Here are some of them:
- Never ignore brushing your teeth. Do this twice every day. Also use dental floss and toothpicks regularly, and don't forget to rinse your mouth with antibacterial products. They eliminate a large number of pathogenic microorganisms.
- Visit your dentist in a timely manner, even if you think you do not have caries. After all, such destruction of tooth enamel is not always noticeable.
- Eat fresh apples regularly. They will not only massage your gums, but also disinfect your mouth.
- If you do not have the opportunity to brush your teeth in the morning or evening, brew black tea and rinse your mouth thoroughly. Dentists also recommend rinsing your mouth every time after eating. This should be done using purified water.
When to go to a gastroenterologist?!
— Elena Evgenievna, what complaints do patients most often come with?
— The most common: abdominal pain and heartburn.
There are many causes of abdominal pain: from functional disorders due to stress to serious illnesses.
Often there is pain in the right hypochondrium due to dysfunction of the biliary tract, and a feeling of discomfort in the epigastric region due to gastritis. In spring and autumn, peptic ulcer disease often worsens.
The situation may worsen due to stress and dietary errors. Moreover, as a rule, these two factors are interrelated: a stressful state for many is a trigger for eating disorders: someone’s appetite increases or, conversely, disappears, and the person eats irregularly or overeats, reduces control over the quality of food, etc. All this inevitably leads to problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
Heartburn is not a separate disease, but a symptom:
burning sensation behind the sternum. In fact, this is a chemical burn from the acidic contents of the stomach when it is thrown into the esophagus, where the environment is often alkaline. This leads to damage to the esophageal mucosa by hydrochloric acid and the protein-breaking enzyme pepsin. Sometimes with reflux disease there is no heartburn, but there is a feeling of a lump in the throat, difficulty swallowing, pain in the chest, which is confused with angina. All this significantly reduces the patient’s quality of life. This disease can and should be treated. Frequent reflux of acid from the stomach into the esophagus, especially with an admixture of bile from the duodenum, can even lead to cancer of the esophagus.
Treatment is usually long-term, since the situation has developed over the years, and it cannot be changed instantly. In addition to medication, changes in lifestyle and eating habits are required. With the help of medications, we can reduce the amount of acid produced, which will lead to less of it being thrown into the esophagus, and accordingly, heartburn will appear less. There are also a number of drugs that absorb acid and remove it. These are quick-acting remedies. They help get rid of heartburn for 30–40 minutes. Typically, these are the drugs that are actively promoted in advertising and will be offered by the pharmacist at the pharmacy. The patient must, of course, follow the doctor’s recommendations.
Meals during reflux disease should be in small portions so that the volume of food eaten does not exceed the volume of the stomach, and for better control of appetite, frequent portions: 4-5 times a day. Food must be chewed thoroughly to break it down as much as possible and release more saliva, which, having an alkaline reaction, neutralizes the acid.
For reflux disease, boiled, baked, stewed vegetables, liquid porridges, pasta, lean meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, cottage cheese, stale bread and crackers, jellies, mousses, jelly, puree soups, and dairy products are recommended.
They increase acid formation in the stomach and therefore are not recommended: smoked foods, fatty, spicy, salty foods, mushrooms, raw vegetables, sour fruits and juices, carbonated drinks, brown bread, baked goods, fast food, strong tea and coffee
— Does heartburn result from poor nutrition or is its occurrence genetically determined?
- Both.
The peculiarity of the sphincters between the esophagus and stomach is genetically determined. A fairly common problem is connective tissue dysplasia, that is, its increased elasticity, which results in flat feet, varicose veins, “unstable vertebrae,” and weakness of many sphincters, including the esophagogastric and esophageal opening of the diaphragm. That is, they do not close tightly enough, and food easily passes from the esophagus into the stomach.
The number of parietal cells in the stomach is also genetically determined, which determines the quantity and quality of hydrochloric acid they produce.
Heartburn in pregnant women
Pregnant women often complain of heartburn. This is due to two main points. Firstly, as the baby grows and the uterus enlarges, intra-abdominal pressure increases, the load on the stomach and intestines increases, which can provoke the reflux of acid and bile into the esophagus. By the way, this often leads to constipation in pregnant women. Secondly, pregnant women have a special hormonal background aimed at reducing the tone of the uterus and, at the same time, the sphincters of the esophagus relax, which can result in acid reflux.
If you have similar problems, you don’t have to endure and wait that “it will go away on its own after childbirth”... Contact a gastroenterologist right away. The doctor will select treatment: there are drugs approved for use during pregnancy. Also, together with a gastroenterologist, you will discuss how to change your diet and lifestyle in order to get rid of this problem.
Ideally, contact a gastroenterologist at the stage of pregnancy planning - this way you can avoid many problems with the gastrointestinal tract that arise during this period in a woman’s life.
— One of the very common diagnoses is gastritis. What is the reason for this and how is it treated?
— Gastritis is an inflammation of the gastric mucosa. This diagnosis is, indeed, very often made, and often without proper grounds. This diagnosis is made morphologically, that is, after a morphologist describes the existing inflammatory changes as a result of a biopsy of the gastric mucosa. Then it’s gastritis. Only on the basis of complaints, a competent doctor can write only “functional dyspepsia syndrome” in the diagnosis.
Complaints with gastritis are quite varied: it can be pain, a feeling of a full stomach even with a small amount eaten, belching, vomiting, etc. This depends on the characteristics of the production of gastric juice, on the vegetative status of the patient, on the characteristics of his lifestyle, eating pattern - everything is very individually.
Myth
Probably everyone has heard the opinion: “if you eat dry food, you will get gastritis.” In fact, this is not true! Food should be without additional liquid; it should not be washed down with water, tea, coffee, etc. Liquid dilutes the acidic contents in the stomach and impairs the quality of food digestion. But eating “on the run” is really not worth it - the most important thing for a good digestion process is chewing food thoroughly! A large amount of saliva released during chewing is necessary for the absorption of food.
What causes gastritis?
Stress, systematic violation of the diet, violation of the frequency of meals, abuse of semi-finished products, concentrates, spices, sour, hot, peppery, salty, smoked, fried, too hot, too cold or otherwise thermally, chemically or mechanically irritating foods, carbonated drinks, coffee , alcohol, smoking; lack of thorough chewing of food.
In addition, gastritis is often caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium needs acid-free conditions to exist; for this, it “envelops” itself in a cloud of urease, an enzyme that creates an alkaline environment. All this damages the mucous membrane to the point of its atrophy, and can also lead to the development of stomach and duodenal ulcers, significantly increasing the risk of developing stomach cancer. 95% of gastric ulcers and 85% of duodenal ulcers worldwide are associated with Helicobacter pylori infection. Other causes of damage to the gastric and duodenal mucosa are frequent use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
In the treatment of gastritis and peptic ulcers, drugs are used that reduce the acid production of the gastric mucosa and improve its healing, and if Helicobacter pylori is detected, a course of antibacterial therapy is used. The patient must be prescribed a gentle diet.
All these measures are prescribed only by a doctor. Self-medication can be not only ineffective, but also harmful to the patient.
— Is stress also one of the reasons for the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?
— Yes, the classic triad for making this diagnosis: stress, pain, bowel dysfunction (diarrhea, constipation or their alternation). The very name of the disease contains its essence: the intestine is irritated, sensitivity is increased.
The unusual thing about this disease is that the patient has no visible damage to the intestinal mucosa. No examination can establish what is actually happening to the human body, but the disease clearly manifests itself.
The mechanism of symptoms is related to the characteristics of the intestines. The intestine has its own nervous system, which is part of the autonomic nervous system. In stressful situations, the entire nervous system of the body begins to malfunction; the brain gives incorrect signals to the intestines, which incorrectly inform the brain about the processes occurring in it. As a result, intestinal motility is disrupted, the pain sensitivity threshold is reduced, and even minor discomfort causes severe attacks of pain.
In addition to stress and a low pain threshold, the risk of developing IBS is increased by poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, hormonal imbalances (for example, in pregnant women), and genetic predisposition. IBS can also develop after certain infectious bowel diseases.
The main difficulty in IBS is that the symptoms are very unpleasant, and correction must be carried out, first of all, on the psycho-emotional state, which is quite difficult without the help of a competent psychologist. At the same time, there is still a problem that often patients do not even admit to themselves that they need psychological help.
When making this diagnosis, it is very important to be alert for cancer. However, in our time this is always important, even in young patients, but especially in older people. IBS appears more often in young people, so if similar symptoms are observed in mature patients, the doctor must first rule out cancer.
— During antibiotic therapy, doctors often advise taking probiotics or prebiotics. Is this really necessary?
— Antibiotics affect the intestinal flora, this is indisputable. Often, against the background of antibacterial therapy, a patient develops dysbiosis (“dysbacteriosis”), that is, a qualitative and/or quantitative change in the ratio of microorganisms that live in the intestines. Dysbiosis is manifested by stool disturbances, flatulence (excessive gas formation), and the presence of inflammation on the mucous membrane. To prevent the development of this unpleasant condition, it is recommended to take pro- and prebiotics.
Probiotics are drugs
or biologically active food additives that contain live microorganisms that are representatives of the normal human microflora. They are designed to restore the disturbed balance of microorganisms inhabiting various human mucous membranes, and therefore are used for the treatment and prevention of immunodeficiency, dysbiosis and related diseases. Probiotics stimulate the immune system at all levels, which has been proven in numerous clinical studies.
Prebiotics are food ingredients
which are not digested by human enzymes and are not absorbed in the upper sections of the gastrointestinal tract. They stimulate the growth and vital activity of beneficial microflora: breaking down into fatty acids, they increase acidity in the colon, inhibiting the growth of opportunistic microflora, which also creates favorable conditions for the development of normal microflora.
Prebiotics are found in dairy products, corn flakes, cereals, bread, onions, chicory, garlic, beans, peas, artichokes, asparagus, bananas and many other foods. They also exist in the form of dietary supplements.
There is an opinion that probiotics in tablet and liquid forms are less effective, since they cannot always pass through the highly acidic environment of the stomach, where bile is aggressive to bacteria. And only capsules are designed to dissolve in the colon - where bacteria should live.
Not so long ago, synbiotics appeared on the market - combination drugs that combine pre- and probiotics. Today they are considered to have the most advanced mechanism of action.
I recommend choosing drugs that normalize the microflora together with your doctor - because it is quite difficult for a non-specialist to understand all the variety of existing drugs, and it is unlikely that you will be able to understand what is suitable in each specific case on your own.
— Why are constipation dangerous?
— Constipation is a condition characterized not only by a decrease in the frequency of bowel movements: less than 3 times a week, but also by the appearance of dense, dry stool or the absence of a feeling of complete bowel movement or bowel movement with straining or the use of additional techniques by patients to empty the bowel.
Long-term constipation causes:
- chronic intoxication (poisoning), which leads to sleep disturbances, unmotivated fatigue, increased fatigue and, finally, to depression, deterioration of the skin and hair;
- the formation of intestinal diverticula (protrusions of the wall), which can cause abdominal pain, and if an infection occurs, inflammation of the intestinal mucosa (diverticulitis) and the need for intensive antibacterial therapy or surgical treatment if intestinal obstruction occurs;
- varicose hemorrhoidal veins, chronic anal fissures;
- colon cancer.
You need to start solving the problem of constipation not with self-medication, but with a visit to a gastroenterologist. There are many reasons for constipation. These can be very serious diseases. Only a competent specialist can understand this. By solving the problem of constipation on your own, you can significantly worsen your condition.
— Is such a delicate problem as flatulence treated?
— Flatulence (increased gas formation) is associated with fermentation. There can be many reasons: insufficient bile secretion, insufficiently concentrated bile, disturbances in the secretion of pancreatic juice - usually problems with the sphincter of Oddi. All this leads to changes in the bacterial flora of the intestines. As a result, flatulence develops. This is a common problem, but it can be solved. Although I won’t say that it’s always simple and fast. The main thing is to find the root cause, since flatulence can be a symptom of various diseases.
— Sometimes a person suffers from bad breath or an unpleasant taste in the mouth. Is this a symptom of some disease?
- Halitosis - bad breath - can occur for various reasons. First of all, I would recommend visiting a dentist and checking the condition of your teeth and oral cavity. In second place are ENT diseases. If everything is in order in these areas, then, indeed, halitosis may be a consequence of digestive problems.
As for the taste in the mouth, this can be a symptom of certain diseases. But here everything is very individual: the taste can be sweet, bitter, sour, metallic, etc. It can be constant or appear only after eating or, conversely, on an empty stomach, etc. Therefore, you need to look and look for the reason.
— Often, patients who have undergone an ultrasound of the abdominal organs find out that they have a kink in the gallbladder - how serious is this?
— Deformations of the gallbladder - kinks, membranes, etc. increase the risk of bile stagnation. The gallbladder should normally empty almost completely after each meal. Because the gallbladder has to work harder to contract, some patients may experience pain. After its reduction, part of the bile may remain behind the bend and “stagnate,” which can lead to the formation of stones. I recommend that patients with gallbladder deformation monitor their condition: see a doctor, do an ultrasound of the abdominal organs once a year to see the condition of the bile and gallbladder. If an ultrasound diagnostic doctor notes that the bile is “viscous,” “heterogeneous,” “inhomogeneous,” etc., it is important to immediately contact a gastroenterologist and undergo a course of therapy to prevent the formation of stones. It is especially important to take gallstone prevention seriously if anyone in your close family has these problems.
— What methods can be used to prevent gastrointestinal diseases? Maybe I need to take medications or have tubing done?
— You should not use any preventive medications without a doctor’s prescription. All medications have side effects and are not recommended to be taken unless indicated.
To carry out tubage (a procedure that involves taking choleretic drugs to simultaneously empty the gallbladder), certain indications and contraindications are also required. More often, the doctor prescribes this procedure in combination with other therapeutic measures, selects medications, etc.
The best prevention of gastrointestinal diseases is proper nutrition: small portions, thoroughly chewing food to a pulp. You need to eat at least 4-5 times a day, be sure to have breakfast within an hour after a night's sleep. The volume of water drunk per day should be at least 1.5 liters.
Try to minimize the amount of food that provokes the development of diseases. We have already listed them above: fast food, pickles, smoked foods, fried, spicy, etc. Add physical activity: it has been proven that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to gastrointestinal problems, while abdominal exercises, brisk walking, and yoga have a beneficial effect on intestinal function.
Organize your lifestyle in such a way as to maintain health for a long time - and you will protect your body from many unpleasant problems.
Use of traditional medicine methods
If the smell of feces occurs due to inflammatory processes, then they can be eliminated with the help of traditional medicine. However, it is best if such measures are auxiliary.
You can rinse your mouth using mint, oak bark or sage. Such herbs not only perfectly eliminate unpleasant odors, but also relieve inflammation quite well.
You can also use tea tree oil. As you know, such a product has an incredible antibacterial effect. Therefore, add a few drops to a glass of water and rinse your mouth thoroughly before going to bed.
Strawberry and sorrel leaves also have a good effect. Chop the leaves thoroughly and add a glass of boiling water to them. Let the drink brew for several hours, then rinse your mouth with it after eating.
However, do not forget that traditional recipes are not suitable for everyone. Therefore, be sure to consult your doctor before attempting self-treatment.
Poor oral hygiene and bad habits
In half of young patients, the appearance of an unpleasant odor is associated with poor oral hygiene. Also often the cause is the child’s consumption of a large number of sweets, which negatively affect the condition of the teeth.
If there is no proper hygiene, food particles remain on the surface of the dentition, tongue, and in the interdental space, plaque accumulates, causing inflammatory processes. The food slowly decomposes, causing a foul odor. Therefore, for fresh breath, you should thoroughly clean the surface of the dentition, using special toothpastes for children, and rinse your mouth with water after each meal.
