Bad breath for years

Tony22 · Post by **Tony22** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:18 am

Hi everyone; this forum looks pretty useful and since I've had problems with bad breath for years I thought I'd share my story.

I'm Tony, I'm a 21-year-old college student. I've had issues with bad breath since I was a teenager. I don't have it 100% of the time, but I get it pretty often throughout the day. Eating things and drinking can make it go away for a little while, but it usually comes back.

It's hard to describe what my breath smells like, but it's kind of a "rubbery/bitter" smell to it and sometimes more of a fecal smell. I often avoid talking too close to people, especially in confined areas, I hate that. I end up using a lot of mints to keep it less severe, but I still have it most of the time. I used to get made fun of more for it when I was younger; my younger brother especially seems to like to joke about it a lot of the time.

The worst part is I'm not always certain when I have it, so thankfully I know helpful people so I'll occasionally ask my parents or my closest friend to smell my breath and tell me if it's bad or not. They don't seem to mind doing that.

But yeah, so that's my story. Not too fun, but thankfully, I feel like I haven't gotten any comments on it in quite a while, so I must be doing something right...

coconuthead · Post by **coconuthead** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:15 pm

Tony, I'm also a college student. I feel your pain.

College evolves around being social. From public speaking, to communicating with advisors, to internships, part-time jobs, group projects, even ordering food from the cafeteria is a problem. Gosh I hate it all. Instead of college being the best years of my life, it's a total nightmare.

I've known that I've had BB since I was 10 (two close friends told me) but it didn't begin to affect my life until I was about 15. Before then, I was a confident person, with lots of friends who had bad breath and people never commented on it, not once.

Unlike you, I'm certain I always have it, although, I don't ask people.

sadmum · Post by **sadmum** » Thu Jun 13, 2013 11:37 pm

coconuthead wrote:

I've known that I've had BB since I was 10 (two close friends told me) but it didn't begin to affect my life until I was about 15. Before then, I was a confident person, with lots of friends who had bad breath and people never commented on it, not once.

Hi coconuthead....my situation is very similar to yours, as I also first noticed I had BB at around the age of ten, unlike most sufferers here who developed bb in their teens or later in life. Do you have any members in your immediate family that suffer from bad breath as well? Because I do, nearly everyone in my family has it or has had it, some severe while others have it mild and manageable. Mine has always been severe unfortunately!

I've reached a point where I've lost hope on ever finding a cure! I just don't think it's possible! But what I'm trying to focus on at the moment is to get it under control, by making it less offensive and reducing it's severity so it won't travel too far when I open my mouth. One of my family members has it at a very low level and can only be detected if standing within very close proximity to them. I can definitely live with that, I just wish I can achieve such thing and get it under control!

I'm so angry though as I feel the years are flying past me and I lost so many amazing opportunities in life because of this crippling condition! Sometimes I wish I had BO instead, I believe it's no where near as bad as BB. Wouldn't you all agree?

coconuthead · Post by **coconuthead** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:15 pm

Sadmum, no one in my immediately family has bad breath. I've never smelled bad breath from my parents. There have been times I smelled it from my siblings, but it's usually after they've eaten something like garlic, onions, or pizza. A mint or chewing gum usually solves the problem for them.

Although bad breath is crippling, I'd rather have this than BO. People with severe BO can't even leave their houses. Things we can do that doesn't involve communicating, a person with severe BO cannot do such as going to a library or museum, self-check out at Walmart (I love self checkout; it doesn't involve communicating, lol) or even walking on the same sidewalk with other people. I can do all of these things without people realizing I have chronic BB. It's not until I speak that my BB is apparent. And I cherish such things, because I am able to do them comfortably and without worries, whereas a person with severe BO cannot.

I believe that genetics play a part in why you suffer from BB. If others in your family have it too. It may be something within your family's genetic makeup that many of you are suffering from, more so than others, that may be causing this problem. Aside from BB do the people of your family suffer from any identical health problems?

angst-ridden · Post by **angst-ridden** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 7:27 am

Well there are BB types that can be smelled even if your mouth is tightly shut, like my BB for example, it goes out through the nose, unfortunately.

oneday4800 · Post by **oneday4800** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:53 am

I dont have a smell through my nose but i feel my BB slips out of my closed lips.

mindspace · Post by **mindspace** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 5:35 pm

What do you think-if bad breath can be smelled even if your mouth is shuit where it comes from-is it from nose(that's not my cause},is it from mouth(teeth,periodontal disease,throat,tonsils)or is it from lungs,stomach,gut,kidney,liver.

Tony22 · Post by **Tony22** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 2:56 am

Yeah, no one in my family has the problem except for me; and they don't have similar problems either. My roommate has kind of a BO problem though (enough to the point where his co-workers talk about it behind his back; but he works with animals so there's plenty of smells already. That must mean it's pretty bad).

And my bad breath seems to only come from my mouth, thankfully.

angst-ridden · Post by **angst-ridden** » Sun Jun 16, 2013 1:16 pm

mindspace wrote:What do you think-if bad breath can be smelled even if your mouth is shuit where it comes from-is it from nose(that's not my cause},is it from mouth(teeth,periodontal disease,throat,tonsils)or is it from lungs,stomach,gut,kidney,liver.

I think it comes from the throat. When I exhale from the throat, the nose rubbing starts. Also when I'm rinsing shampoo from my hair and I hold my breath, then I can slightly taste the air from the farthest part of my tongue.

coconuthead · Post by **coconuthead** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 3:16 pm

mindspace wrote:What do you think-if bad breath can be smelled even if your mouth is shuit where it comes from-is it from nose(that's not my cause},is it from mouth(teeth,periodontal disease,throat,tonsils)or is it from lungs,stomach,gut,kidney,liver.

If bad breath can be smelled while your mouth is shut and while you're holding your breath, then you have body odor. I don't it's possible to smell someone's breath with their mouth shut and with them not breathing through their nose.