Toddler's Sensative Skin

Hi J.,
I have partnered with a wellness compnay that has addressed these issues. Tide actually has a fiber glass filler in it and it is common for certain people to have an irritation from it. Melaleuca is dedicated to giving their customers safer products that cost less. They also have a great soap and lotion that works for rashes and eczema for children and adults. And Laundry detergent that is safer and concentrated so it costs 50% less than Tide or Dreft. If you'd like some more information please call or email me!
J. Grigg ###-###-####
____@____.com

we use ALL CLEAR, baby soap for bath time, and aveeno lotion, and take zyrtec, and even after all that i still sometimes have to cut the tags out of her clothes because they bug her

J.

Julie,

Most fabric Softeners and laundry products have chemicals in them that cause problems. When you think about it, we wear clothes washed in those products all day and then sleep on sheets washed in them. Take a look at this website: http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/products.htm. You can find out information about the products you are using. Also, if you have a few minutes watch the Toxic Brew Movie. The Toxic Brew Movie is a Canadian News program on toxins in the home. You can view it online at www.theglobalsuccessteam.net. Click on enter the site and look for "Watch the Toxic Brew Movie".

I am a Shaklee distributor and, of course, love the products I market. My daughter has an 8 month old, and I gave her all the Shaklee Get Clean products for her home plus the baby personal care products when Sarah was born. When my daughter was a baby, I had to use baby laundry products until she was 9 years old because of her sensitivity issues. The only time my granddaughter has had a problem was when my daughter was using Johnson's baby shampoo. As soon as she switched to the Shaklee baby shampoo, her cradle cap went away. Now she is a believer.

Educating yourself on exactly what is in the products your children are exposed to can give you answers.

yes, it is entirely possible your tot is sensitive to detergent or foods or both. try switching to a "free and clear" detergent like ALL and use the same kind of dryer sheets, if you use those. a child's immune system is immature until age 3, at the earliest, even as late as age 6 (learned this in my breastfeeding support group), depending on the source of information you read. so, your child may be sensitive for a long while yet. my son has eczema and we see a homeopathic dr. for his sensitivities/allergies to foods, household elements, detergents, etc. the more natural the products, the better the response will be (see safecosmetics.org, great database to find out what lotions and products are not good for your kids and you). if you 've introduced any new foods, take those out and see if it gets better. switch to the diff. detergents/softeners. note that food sensitivities can become worse (permanently or temporarily) if she's ill or trying to fight off any other kind of allergen.

Fabric softeners is one of the worst things for sensitive skin. My father is a chemist and one of the people that worked on Downie. He has grumbled for years that it is one of the worst things every invented!
If you or your child have sensitive skin you may want to think about changing a number of things.
A. NO fabric softener! Use only liquid wash for clothes, preferably Arm and Hammer, no scent or dye.
B. Use Dove soap (the original), it is the least harsh soap on the market.
C. Suave shampoo is the most mild, preferably none of the heavy perfumed ones.
D. Nivea hand creme is good too.
If you have to have perfumes in your home stick to smells that are more natural like cinnamon or lavender. It is much more boring but best for wee bodies...and adult bodies. Hope that helps.

It is very possible for your child to be allergic to fabric softner or the laundry detergent you are using, babies and toddlers have super sensitive skin, my 6 month old daughter broke out extremly bad because i accidentally put a fabric softner sheet in with her clothes! And then my six year old step son recently broke out really bad from using zest body wash, so just remember that they have very sensitive skin! If it gets any worse especially after you stop using the soap or whatever, I would take your child to the doctor right away!

If you like to use fabric softener like I do, I recommend switching to a natural one. These softener sheets (http://www.shaklee.net/kaat_owens/product/00306) are veggie-based (and actually work better than bounce!). I have switched to natural cleaning products and with the natural detergent and fabric softener I can wash the whole family's clothes together.

Stop the new detergent now!! I could still be something else, a food allergy would not necessarily show up as a rash all over her, it could be spotty. But, do stop the new detergent. I actually use the baby detergent I was using when my children were babies because of what happened last summer with my toddler... She has always had very sensitive skin, but I never would have imagined that a switch in formula of the liquid detergent that I had been using for the previous 6 months would have caused such a severe allergic reaction!! It started off as a mild, spotty rash. Within 2 weeks, my daughter's rash was everywhere, bright red, weeping (looked infected), and itchy, which meant she kept scratching and making it worse. She spent half the summer on steroid creams because it took my husband and I almost 2 months to figure out the cause. The company had changed the formula in that laundry det.!! It looked the same, smelled the same, I never thought to read the label. Honestly, I was thinking she was reacting to sun block. Her ped. had no idea what to test for in an allergy test, so we scheduled a basic test to start with, but figured it out before that appointment. Once I went back to baby det. her rash cleared up considerably, and it didn't require steroid creams to keep it under control. This allergic reaction started a chain, and my little girl was diagnosed with eczema. Evidently, a severe allergic reaction can trigger eczema in people predisposed to it. I was so mad and upset!! I called the company, and they simply apologized and offered a refund on the bottle of det. in my cabinet. My story may be a bit extreme, but it is what it is. I don't mess with products with chemicals in them anymore. We still don't know exactly what she was reacting to, and I pray we never come across it again. Her ped. has told me that it may not be just one chemical, but a combination of them, in which case we would probably never know for sure.

My husband is allergic to any kind of detergent that is powder; he breaks out in those kind of red bumps you were talking about. But, I can use any kind of liquid detergent!

Absolutely! I cannot use any detergent or fabric softener w/ perfume or I itch all over my body, it's awful! I had to rewash all my stuff (including sheets) in dye and perfume free detergent and fabric softener.

You might also want to switch to Jason bath and lotion products for your baby. THey have a line of totally dye and parfume free products that are great. Health food stores carry Jason products. Rewash all clothes and bedding and bathe baby with gentle cleansers and lotion up with gentle, chemical free lotion and she'll probably start to recover just fine. Weleda also has calendula lotion that is very gentle and healing.

Babies' skin is much more sensative and add to that that some people just have more sensative skin. Tide is BAD. You want to switch to something like ALL free and clear. And fabric softeners are really bad, too. Not only are they perfumey but they fade darks, break down the fibers in your clothes faster and are horrible for you.

Did you know that according to the National Cancer Association's 15-year study concluded that women who work in the home are at a 54% higher risk of developing cancer than women who work outside the home? It's because of chemicals--chemicals in our cleaners, fabric softeners, laundry detergents, etc that make the air in our homes more toxic than the air outside! Switching will be good for EVERYONE in your home.

We are total victims of very effective marketing! As consumers we need to educate ourselves. If you MUST use a commercial fabric softener, you can find dryer sheets that are free and clear also w/o the dyes or perfumes. (The perfumes in that stuff are just a host of harmful chemicals anyway--did you know that air fresheners are full of neurotoxins?)
However, upon having my baby, we switched to vinegar. It's a natural fabric softener--you just add it to your downey ball like you would any other fabric softener (fill 1/2 way). Also, your clothes WON'T smell like vinegar. Works like a charm--and A LOT cheaper.

As for static cling, you can buy these ball things at Linens N Things to put in your dryer with clothes and they prevent static cling. I even saw some pink ones in the baby section at Meijer recently by the Dreft. (Dreft is a scam by the way!)

Anyone who would like more info on this stuff and what to do instead, just email me. I have archived numerous articles on this stuff. Blessings!!!

i agree with the other mom... yes you can see sensitivities like your daughters when you make changes especially. examine all the 'new' things you have introduced, changed, etc. it's not impossible to see a sensitivity to something that hasnt changed, so once you've ruled out the new changes, and dont see improvement, visit the idea that she needs to be tested for either environmental or food allergies.

however, we had a situation with my daughter about 2 years ago... she had a large patch (about the size of her 10 yr old palm) on the back of her leg, that was red, rough and scaly but did not itch. to this day i do not know what caused it... but it took a prescription cream applied for two weeks to get rid of it...and it's never been back.

so sometimes, it's simply a skin ailment... i would bring your daughter to the doc to have it looked at if the eliminations don't show improvement.

p.s. - is she using pull ups? sometimes the seams can irritate the skin... i think it's called contact dermatitis? don't quote me on it though... :)

good luck!

First of all, yes they can be sensitive and allergic to laundry soap, fabric softener etc. Hers sounds just like a surface allergic reaction. Which is an allergic reaction to something that was on the surface of her skin. Maybe the soap in her pants, since the rash was mostly on her legs. Switch to DREFT or IVORY for all her laundry and this may just do the trick. I have a 20 yr old daughter whom since birth has been allergic to alot of foods. Allergies to foods show themselves in a different manner. For example. She is allergic to nuts. When she ate peanutbutter for the first time (before we knew of her allergy) her bottom lip swelled up (huge), and so did both of her eyes. This is a severe reaction of course. She was also allergic to milk. If she ate something that unknowingly had milk in it, her eyes would tear up, her breathing got worse and worse and she had to throw up. SO, usually food allergies dont show up as a rash on the skin. This has been my experience. GOOD LUCK L.

Is your toddler wearing underwear? If so, my daughter can not tolerate that elastic around the leg opening and waist. She gets a terrible rash and it took a while to clear it up. I have to buy her underwear with cloth over the elastic. Plus we wash all the family clothes in ALL free and clear. I do use fabric softner, but the ALL seemed to help.

Hi J. ,
Laundry detergents and softeners are extremely irritant on the skin itself. I have been a customer and rep for a company that provides non toxic products for you and your family .
I would not go back to store bought laundry products since being with Melaleuca for 5 years . If you or anyone else would like to hear how to be a customer and use safe products for your home and family , email me or check my website if you want more info .

Shay Snyder
www.workathomeunited.com/shay
____@____.com

I have the exact same rash on my 29 mo. old son. I took him to the Dr about a week ago, and she said he had a skin infection, likly caused by the splashes and splatters associated with potty training. She prescribed a cream for me which I've been using for just over a week. It has stopped the spreading, but he still has the rash, so I'll be calling today to see what our next steps are. I would have your dr. take a look at it - it could be the detergent, it could be irritation from wearing underpants vs. a diaper, it could be a skin infection - - - your Dr. should be able to help you.

I just went throught this with my toddler. We went to an allergist. It started onher back and hands then spread. Turns out she was allergic to antibiotics. But she also had sensative skin. So we had to quit using dryer sheets and switch to a perfume and dye free detergent. We have to clean the drum of the dryer with a wet rag if a dryer sheet was used in the previous load.

We also had an allergy test done. Hope that helps

Yes, your child could have a reaction to a change in detergent. ANd no, if it's a food allergy it doesn't have to show all over the body...in fact some food allergies don't even physically show on the body. Maybe try rewashing all your son's clothes in the regular detergent and see if it makes a difference. You may want to ask your peditrician about possible allergy testing. (We found out recently that my 3 year old has a slew of food allergies and it has made a world of difference.)
Good Luck.

If it is not soap/softener, it may be polyester. We had the same issue, and it turned out to be the polyester clothing. We changed to all cotton and everything was fine.

I think that my daughter is going through the same thing. I got extra scented dryer sheets for the first time (she's 18 mths) and she broke out in red/clear little dots on her face, tummy and sides. I'm going to try to get the regular sheets I had before. We didn't use scentfree, but I just used the cheap regular scent from Walmart (which now they don't sell). It seems to be clearing up. I hope the same goes for you.
H.

J.,
As other moms have stated, yes, it could be a reaction to a change in detergent. My son has sensitive skin as well and we use Shaklee detergent and softener (stopped using dryer sheets when he was born because of the possible irritation it could cause).
Also, if you're wondering about possible food allergies, there's an alternative doctor that I've recently taken my son to see (he's allergic to eggs and this doctor discovered he's actually allergic to the sulphur in eggs, which, in turn, means he's also sensitive to cruciferous vegetables, beans, garlic and onions--yikes!) Her name is Dr. Heather Wisniewski and her practice, Restorative Health Care, is located in Glen Ellyn, IL. She performs a treatment called allergy elimination--which removes the allergic reaction and allows the patient to eventually eat the foods they were previously unable to. (Also works for environmental and pet allergies). Her website is www.reshc.com if you're interested.
Best of luck to you!

Both of my kids and my husband have sensitive skin. I try to use all unscented/dye free products. We really like California Baby products. They carry shampooss, conditioners, sunscreens etc, even bubble bath that is safe for little girls to use. You can get these products online, at Whole Foods and some things at Target (including the unscented shampoo/body wash). I also try to use as many Shaklee cleaning products as I can. They have an all purpose cleaner (called H2) that I use and my 4 year old can even help clean the bathroom because I don't have to worry about fumes or her skin. Lastly, food allergies do not necessarily show up all over her body. They can be localized. My son's reaction to milk was just around his mouth. I would recommend taking out all the things you use that have perfumes etc for a while and if you really miss them try adding one at a time and see what her reaction is. Good luck!

Hello J.,
Let a Doctor or Dermatologist see the rash to determine if it is an allergic reaction or due to something viral or a bacteria.
If it is an allergic reaction that is just causing a skin irritation then try using All Free and Clear for laundry, that is what my dermatologist recommended for my son when he had a rash. If it is turning into eczema-I like Aquafor. Also it could very well be something she is eating. Keep a food diary and mark if there are any flare ups. The rash does not have to be over the entire body for it to be caused by a food allergy.
I highly recommend limiting sugars- especially high fructose corn syrup.
I like the book on Allergies-
Is This Your Child by Dr. Doris Rapp
the web site is
http://www.drrapp.com/