Have you ever been talking to a group of people when you notice they start to grimace and back away? Suddenly, you notice a rancid smell and you realize it is coming from you. It's your breath! As hard as you try, you can't rid of your problem. It's embarrassing and it is making things difficult in your social life and at work.
Possible Reasons for Why Your Breath Smells Like Poop
1. Oral Hygiene and Conditions
Most of the time, mouth conditions are the root cause of bad breath odor. The most common of these ailments is poor oral hygiene such as failing to brush and floss your teeth. Gum disease, ill-fitting dentures and cavities can also cause bad breath. If you smoke or drink alcohol excessively, eat strong foods like garlic and onions, or suffer from sinus problems or dry mouth, it all can cause breath smells like poop. Even vitamin supplements and medications can cause strong mouth odors.
2. Dehydration
When you drink fluids with lots of caffeine, sugar or alcohol, you can cause dehydration of your system. This will lead a dry mouth and foul smelling breath. You can fix the problem by drinking water. Also, try sucking on sugarless candy to stimulate saliva production.
3. Allergies
Allergies often cause bad breath. The condition causes a runny nose, watery eyes and coughing. If left unchecked, you may develop a sinus infection, lung infection or sore throat. When you treat allergies, you usually take an antihistamine to battle the congestion. However, by doing so, you dry up your nasal passages and end up with dry mouth. Your breath smells like poop from the lack of moisture. This can usually be remedied by hydrating yourself with lots of water throughout the day.
4. Sinus Infections
When you have a respiratory infection such as strep throat, sinus infection or mononucleosis, bacteria drip from your nasal passages onto your throat. This will almost always lead to bad breath. While you are sick, drink lots of water. When your infection clears up, so should your bad breath.
5. Ketoacidosis
When you skip a meal or wait too long in between meals, your stomach acids turn sour and escape through your mouth. This can result in breath that smells like poop. To prevent your stomach from producing too much acid, eat small meals throughout the day and drink plenty of fluids.
6. Stomach Disorders
Many times your breath smells like poop because you have some type of stomach disorder. GERD, acid reflux, ABS or an obstructed bowel can make your breath stink. Sometimes a doctor will have to do an endoscopy to look down your throat and into your stomach to see if there any digestive problems.
7. Upper Respiratory Infections
When you have an infection in your lungs, it is called bronchitis. Your lungs become irritated and when you cough, your breath has a bad odor. As with other sinus infections, once you clear up the problem your breath should return to normal.
8. Diabetes
When you are suffering from diabetes, you will often find that your breath smells like poop. When your body does not produce enough insulin, it has a hard time metabolizing glucose. Because of this, it has to use fatty acids to do the job, which causes bad breath. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes and notice your breath stinks, contact your doctor and make sure your sugar levels are in check.
9. Kidney Failure
When your kidneys are failing, your body excretes toxins into your body and out through your lungs. As you breathe out, your breath will have a urine smell. You will have to meet with your urologist to get advice on how to fix your problem.
10. Liver Failure
Liver failure can cause your breath to have a fishy odor that is omitted much the same way as urine breath with kidney failure. Again, your doctor will have to investigate the problem and advise you on possible remedies.
Ways to Deal With Breath That Smells Like Poop
The cause of why your breath smells like poop will determine how to treat it. There are several options. Often times, you can treat your bad breath at home.
- Something as simple as brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day can take care of the problem.
- You should also avoid alcohol, tobacco and foods with strong odors like garlic and onions.
- While you are working to treat your condition, you can eat herbs like mint and parsley to help cover up your bad breath.
- If you are suffering from dental issues, you will need to see a dentist to take care of the problem. Besides getting your teeth and gums cleaned, you can have abscesses and cavities treated. Antibacterial toothpaste and mouthwashes are available by prescription so your dentist may prescribe them to help with your bad breath.
- Sometimes you have any underlying medical condition causing your breath to smell like poop. In this case, you will have to see a doctor to diagnose and treat the problem. Usually when you start to feel better, your breath will smell better too.