17 answers

Allergic to Disposable Diapers?

Our daughter has broken out about 6 times in the past 8 months with severe welts. This started when she was in cloth diapers and then later in disposable diapers. We contributed the first couple of breakouts to lavendar. The first time was when I used Essential Lavendar oil in her wipe solution and the second time when I put lavendar lotion on her. (It took the second time to figure out the connection!)

Then in the past week, she has broken out 3 more times. At first we thought it was us changing our dryer sheet brand to Bounce. We've since stopped using it (and will NOT go back to dryer sheets or any fabric softener after everything we've read) and washed all of her clothes again (All Free and Clear and vinegar).

A friend suggested it was the disposable diapers we were using. She said it was like dog food and that you shouldn't change brands. We had been doing just that. We have been using whatever diaper I found the cheapest and was actually using one brand during the day and one at night. We've since changed out all of the diaper stations in the house to one brand and so far it seems to be helping.

Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else and if this is something she may grow out of. Did your child continue to have allergic reactions to oils, perfumes, etc.?

NOTE: We use a doctor recommended allergy medicine (similar to Benadryl) each time she breaks out and this seems to take care of the reaction.

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Thank you to all of you who have responded. It makes me really believe we are on the right track with the diapers (at least switching between brands at the momemt or it could also be the brand we took away). This wasn't a normal diaper rash, but a bunch of welts that were around her diaper area and down her legs. The other times when we used the lavendar the welts were all over her body. She is 27 months old and we are nearing the end of diapers! Thank God!

I think she is just a sensitive little thing and we'll just have to keep everything that touches her free of dyes and perfumes. We'll have to keep a check on baby #2 when he/she comes in April, too!

It is amazing how many chemicals todays kids are exposed to on a daily basis that our parents never had to worry about. Thanks again!

Featured Answers

My son wasn't able to were Huggies for more then a few days. Actually we use to by Huggies for my dauhter & Pampers for my son (they are only 15 mo. apart). Huggies leaked less for my daughter, but my son would get diaper rash if we left him in them to long. Daipers absorb different & the companies use different things to make them, so different kids will react to them. Yes, getting cheap diapers is nice and I tried them all with my son - for him Pampers was the only ones we didn't have to deal with diaper rash from... he could wear the others safely for about 2 days, but after that he was SOL. So, sometimes we would have to use his sister to get to payday, but only if it was only a day or two away.

Good luck finding the problem... remember it can take a body up two 3 days to react to something they are allergic to. So, try to think back atleast 3 days when you notice the brake out & see if anthing was different.

As for fabric softner... I didn't use it with my little ones. My daughter broke out from it - she is now 5 & we are just now able to use it.

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It's funny reading the responses how different kids react to different brands. My son had problems with the cheaper diapers, and especially Luvs if I remember correctly. We had to stick to Huggies. We also often used wet paper towels instead of wipes. FYI, he had sensitive skin for years and now has mild asthma and allergies as a teen.

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It's funny reading the responses how different kids react to different brands. My son had problems with the cheaper diapers, and especially Luvs if I remember correctly. We had to stick to Huggies. We also often used wet paper towels instead of wipes. FYI, he had sensitive skin for years and now has mild asthma and allergies as a teen.

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There is no reason to not "switch between diaper brands" unless there is a sensitivity.

It sounds like she simply has some skin allergies/sensitivities. My son has sensitive skin and can only use Pampers diapers. We have to use "free" detergent on him also (I buy either Tide free, Cheer free, All free or Up & Up free...whatever is cheapest) and I use regulary downy fabric softener.

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our daughter has an allergic reaction to pampers brand diapers. we don't use them anymore, after we discovered that, but we did use a benadryl type medicine for it when it happened, which worked great each time. other kids i know have outgrown their allergies, but in some cases it took over a year to outgrown them. so my advice would be to avoid it as much as possible, and to take care of it when it does happen.

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Both my children have a fragrance allergy. It was determined by their diapers. Exact reaction you experienced. Diapers have a very high fragrance in them as well as bleach in many as well. The safe brands I have found are seventh generation. They are bleach free and fragrance free. You can buy them from diapers.com at a bulk price. I also eliminated all fragrance from soap, lotions, etc.

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My daughter is allergic to Huggies Snug and Dry, but is doing well with the new organic Huggies. She kept getting diaper rashes and seemed to have a permanent rash on her lower back where the stretchy part goes. The organic ones are expensive, but very nice. I'll wait a while and then maybe try some cheaper brands. Unfortunately, I'm sensitive to the scented kind!

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My son wasn't able to were Huggies for more then a few days. Actually we use to by Huggies for my dauhter & Pampers for my son (they are only 15 mo. apart). Huggies leaked less for my daughter, but my son would get diaper rash if we left him in them to long. Daipers absorb different & the companies use different things to make them, so different kids will react to them. Yes, getting cheap diapers is nice and I tried them all with my son - for him Pampers was the only ones we didn't have to deal with diaper rash from... he could wear the others safely for about 2 days, but after that he was SOL. So, sometimes we would have to use his sister to get to payday, but only if it was only a day or two away.

Good luck finding the problem... remember it can take a body up two 3 days to react to something they are allergic to. So, try to think back atleast 3 days when you notice the brake out & see if anthing was different.

As for fabric softner... I didn't use it with my little ones. My daughter broke out from it - she is now 5 & we are just now able to use it.

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Keep her air dry as much as possible during these breakouts if it was an allergy to diapers laundry soap etc it would be all over her body not just in the diaper area.As for wipes they can be irratating even the nonperfume/alchol kind rinse them with warm water prior to changing the diaper then let air dry apply a zinc oxide diaper cream.I had 2 really bad breakoits with both of my girls as newbies it was from the Pampers brand because of the blue lining inside caused irratition but was shortlived.Make sure to change diaper as soon as baby poops or wets.

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Our daughter was allergic to Pampers. She would break out terribly when we used them. So we switchd to LUVS and she was fine.

Make your own wipes! Cut a roll of bounty paper towels in half. Stick half a roll in a container. Mix 2 cups water, 1 Tablespoon rubbing alcohol, and 2 Tablespoons baby oil together and dump over 1/2 roll. Let sit for 20 minutes then pull the cardboard tube out. The wipes pull out from the center of the roll and work great! We've been using them for over 6 months already and it is way cheaper than buying wipes!

I can't imagine it is good for her to keep having to take allergy medication so definitely try a different diaper and some new wipes! (PS> I've never heard that diapers are like dog food and you shouldn't change it.... Everyone I know switches between different brands from time to time.......)

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