Bad breath

[Noses]

Has anyone experienced bad breath due to cirrhosis? What is the smell like?Someone I know has cirrhosis and his breath has started to stink. Noticed this a couple months ago. Back then it was worse, currently milder. It also gets worse after smoking/drinking coffee. This person has smoked/ had coffee throughout his life and has not had this problem before.

[AyrshireK]

My hubbies breath and even his skin started to stink before he had his transplant and it was far worse when he was dehydrated when fasting for scans etc. His was the fetor hepaticus which was linked with his cirrhosis. At times it smelled like dog poo other people may describe it differently.

Fetor hepaticus, also known as hepatic foetor or breath of the dead, is a distinctive smell on the breath of people with severe liver disease. It can also be detected in urine and sweat. The smell is caused by a buildup of toxic substances in the blood that the liver can no longer filter out. It's different from bad breath because it's constant, not related to diet or oral hygiene, and can't be washed away. Fetor hepaticus has been described as smelling like a combination of rotten eggs and garlic, or sweet and musty.

That's not to say what's going on with your individual - smells can also just be oral hygiene related, infection or gastro-intestinal.

It should be mentioned to his doctors.

Katie