Infant Itching

For my allergies I can only use dye-free & perfume free liquid detergent. I also can not use dryer sheets.
I use about half the amount of soap and add white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser on my machine. I put tennis balls in the dryer in lieu of dryer sheets.
It can take several rinsings to get out any soap reside left over in clothes depending on how much is in there. If you're washing them and suds are still in the machine then there is still soap in them. I would try running her clothes through one more time with no soap added and see if any more suds appear in the machine. You could add some white vinger if you'd like.
I remember when my husband and I first moved in it took a few washings to get his shirts totally rinsed out. He was allergic to the detergent his mom used but never figured it out. It was always fun when he'd wear a shirt I hadn't washed yet in the very beginning, the rash would start back up. I ended up taking everything out one time and washing it all to get rid of the worst of it once and for all LOL
A nice oatmeal bath is always soothing to itchy skin.

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I can't tolerate most detergents either, and fabric softeners not only give me skin reactions, but breathing trouble as well. I've been successfully using Ecover and Biokleer detergents, available in the nutrition sections of some stores like Fred Meyer.

And I generally add one cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle to help remove all residue – it also helps deodorize and soften clothes.

For the itch/rash itself, you might wish to try another product that I've found to be wonderful; Florasone cream, also sold in nutrition centers. It has a bit of an herbal smell, but really does a number on itching, and I've read a number of reviews by people who said it helped heal terrible rashes. I would try just a small area to start, and avoid any open/weepy areas because it can have a slight sting.

Oatmeal in the bath can be soothing. Test it first: Make a slurry in a cup of hot water and apply it to just one patch of skin, and give it 24 hours to make sure she won't react to that as well.

Ask your doctor about the benadryl before giving it. You'll need to know a safe dose for your sweetie. I'd also ask if cortisone cream would be a reasonable thing to try (though Florasone cream may be even more healing).

I've also known adults (including me) and children to get amazing relief from a good homeopath. The first visit includes an extensive interview and can cost a couple of hundred dollars (be sure to ask when you call), but follow-up visits are cheaper than an M.D.'s office, and the remedies are affordable.

Be aware that just because this was diagnosed as contact dermatitis, that may not be the only problem. There could be other allergens or irritants at work, too. Bath soaps, shampoos, moisturizers, and many common foods, including milk, eggs, many grains and acidic fruits. Keep looking for answers if clean clothes don't significantly improve your poor little's condition. Good luck!

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I would look into food allergies. My daughter reacts this way to gluten and some people do to milk. I our case nothing shows up on testing for her allergies are not allergies per say but a digestive problem. Also look our for using Aveeno if she is allergic to wheat for it is nothing but!

Good luck,
h

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As any cloth diapering mama can confirm to you, rinsing twice (most washers rinse with cold water) will not be enough to remove detergent that is build up on your clothes. You will need to "strip" your clothes to get rid of the remaining allergens.

Load your washer normally, make sure it is not too full and run a HOT wash cycle WITHOUT any kind of detergent. If you have a top loader, you will easily be able to see whether the water is still sudsy, if it is, run another hot cycle and check again. Keep running hot cycles until the water rinses clear.

Make sure your water is hot enough, you may have to turn up your heater to get a good temperature.

Depending on the fabric and how much detergent has built up on it it can take several wash cycles to clear. When I cloth diapered I had to strip my diapers every three months or so, even though I was only using 1/4 of the recommended detergent... our washer just sucks.

In the future use a clean rinsing detergent (Charlie's Soap, Sun Country) and use the least amount needed for clean laundry.
It will be weird at first, but almost all people use too much detergent, causing it to build up on their washables. With Charlies Soap for example I only used 1 tablespoon of detergent for a load of soiled diapers and they came out just fine.

Good luck!

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Benedryl and a hydrocortisone cream should do the trick. If it doesn't clear up within a day or two, take her back to the doctor who may prescribe a different antihistamine and/or topical cream. My daughter who has eczema couldn't tolerate dreft, I have to use perfume-free, dye-free detergent, and use 1/2 the amount suggested.

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Dreft is really just as bad as anything else on the market. It's says "baby" but it is still full of toxins. If you're on city water then you have chlorine and fluoride to deal with and that can cause problems with a little one that is already affected by something else. Most itchy stuff really comes from the inside out. Contact dermatitis will really only happen if there is an "nutritional" or "toxin" issue to start with. Good nutrition, a removal of synthetic chemicals from the home and even principled chiropractic care can get rid of these symptoms. If you want specifics let me know and I can go into detail for you.

God bless,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

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HERE: Planet, Ecover, these are proper to wash clothing. Dreft is not. Use perfume free no scent ever for your child from underwear to towels and bedding.
SHOP ONLY AT THE HEALTH FOOD STORE. Start eating organic food and using healthy products to clean with. Use them forever. Many housewives who have cancer got it from cleaning products. Do not use bug spray.

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter gets eczema and bad itching from time to time. I think it's milk (so I have her on almond milk). But her doctor also recommended mild soap like Cetaphil or Aveeno, and not to bathe her in hot water and a lotion like Aveeno for Eczema. It could be that your child's skin has become so sensitive from the detergent that it continues to itch. Also the more you scratch, the more it itches so Benadryl for a few days might help break the cycle.

I second the hydrocortisone cream too. Forgot that!

1 mom found this helpful

Dreft is terrible! Never use that on sensitive skin. It is full of chemical softeners that make the fabric soft, but still exposing her to irritants. You will need to strip the detergent out of the clothing as was suggested below. Then use an ecologically friendly detergent that has no perfumes or dyes. This should resolve her issues if it is from the detergent.

If it is an allergy to food, look at what she is consuming. Milk is the number one allergy for most children as it is full of antibiotics, bad bacteria, completely processed and lacking in all of it's enzymes and probiotics. If you can't give up dairy, try switching to raw milk. It is full of healthy bacteria, digestive enzymes and worked as medicine for thousands of years until the dairy industry became industrialized.

Another area to look at are the soaps, lotions, shampoos, etc you are using. Most products are full of toxic ingredients and will cause a reaction in sensitive people. Using organic, natural products will great reduce the exposure to toxins and help alleviate her suffering. If you vaccinate, you will also want to look at delay schedules and getting them one at a time to watch for reactions to the toxins and poisonous chemicals in them that are designed to create an immune response. There are clinics that offer preservative free vaccines and even pediatricians who will work with you on determining which ones you really want/need and which ones are worth getting. Many parents are choosing to avoid vaccines all-together due to the toxins, bad reactions and deaths that can occur from them and the fact that there is no recourse if your child is hurt or killed by the vaccine.

As for Benadryl, if desperate, give it a shot for a little relief. But a bath with some epsom salts will help draw out toxins and irritants and is less reactive. Benadryl will make some children very sleeping and others extremely hyper. So you may not want to give it for the first time unless it's convenient for your child to either pass out on you or start running around like crazy!

As the others pointed out, Dreft is not free of dyes and perfumes. Biokleen, Country Save, Soap Nuts, Seventh Generation, etc. are good. They seem pricey, but you only use a couple tablespoons per load, so in the long run it's about the same. Don't know if you go to Costco, but they have Ecover which is really inexpensive, smells great, and is free of everything.

You shouldn't have to put your baby on any medications. Usually rashes are a result of allergies or food intolerances. Check in with a Naturopath or Nutritionist for an actual cure, rather than just repressing symptoms with medication. Benadryl is helpful for her suffering because it is a histamine blocker, which means it blocks the allergens/irritants from causing the itching reaction. You could give her a dose for quick relief, but I wouldn't use it for more than a day or two. I second the oatmeal bath.

Learn about a good diet for your daughter, and you shouldn't have to cut anything out as long as her diet is well balanced and she has plenty of good bacteria in her gut to digest everything properly. You can buy powdered acidophilus with FOS at a SuperSupplements or GNC type store and sprinkle a teaspoon over her applesauce/cottage cheese/yogurt etc. once a day. Blessings on your baby girl!

My son got this so bad I would have to shake the dead flaky skin out of his cloths! Eucerin is better than Aveeno, it feels runny, but is so gentle. Mix a small amount of it in your hand with hydrocortizone and apply as needed. Along with the new laundry soap that should help. Also, only bath every 2 or 3 days, and avoid soap. Instead use Cetaphil, and just put it on and wipe it off.

Even Dreft has perfume. Try a no perfume etc. detergent. I use All Free and Clear. Also, try a lotion like Aveeno. Check out the cosmetics database to find something safe for you: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

Benadryl can help but it will make her sleepy. Find a detergent that has no, and I mean no perfume or scent in it, rinse it three times if necessary. I am allergic to most detergents and us unscented Arm and Hammer. But it now has additives so it might be too much for your child. Try some of the new detergents that have come out from the green earth movement.

If you use Eucerin get the kind that goes on easily, not the kind that is hard to apply. Experience....

Poor baby, she must be miserable. We have lots of rash and allergies in my family. I use All Free and Clear and double rinse our laundry, and avoid fabric softeners, especially those dryer sheets which leave a residue in the machine that continues to release with heat. Yuck!

We've had good luck with Aveeno products, the colloidal oatmeal for the tub helps itching. My daugher used pure jojoba oil to moisturize her skin, anything else had too many additives. It's expensive, Trader Joes carries it for about half the price of Whole Foods. The Aveeno lotion is the only one I'm able to tolerate.

I hate using Benadryl and Cortisone because of the side effects. However, sometimes it is necessary to break the itch cycle and give the skin a break so it can heal. So we use these sparingly.

If you can figure out what's causing the rash and eliminate the source, that is the best scenario. This is easier said than done, and we have found that every doctor has a different approach. The dermatologist treats it as a skin problem, the allergist looks for allergies. The best advice I got was from our GP who had me keep a diary of all food and environmental factors to try to find a pattern to the rash.

Washing everything again is probably the best thing to do. You can also try using "magic lotion". She might be too young to get it, but any basic lotion (we use cetaphil or aquafor) will work. Just tell her how much better it will help her feel and tell her that's it's lotion to stop the itching. Sometimes the power of suggestion is huge. It also might actually help her if she's having dry skin too.

I would get a second opinion. Sounds like your first doctors guess is not correct.
M.

I know of a product that is used for people who have these types of allergies. kids who have had asthma, eczema, etc use this to stop these type of unwanted reactions. It is called Fresh Laundry (scent or non-scent) - the scent is so light that people who cannot usually handle scents can handle this these scents. But Shaklee does have non-scent also. These are truly non-toxic cleaners and have saved so many people from having to go to the hospital with asthma attacks and eczema. My girlfriend had a child who had eczema so bad it was bleeding. She changed to Shaklee and within two weeks the eczema was gone. If you are interested in this product or products for true non-toxic product go to http://nontoxicproducts.myshaklee.com

N.

Dreft is one of the most horribly perfumed and chemical-laden detergents on the market. I think it's shameful that they market it as a baby's detergent. I can't imagine all those perfumes and chemicals being safe next to a baby's sensitive skin. Yuck.

You've gotten lots of good suggestions of scent- and chemical-free detergents. Please follow up on these and your daughter will thank you (in baby talk, of course).