My nephew is suffering from severe dry skin and baby acne. The doctor has recommended a few things.
1) Stop using Aveeno baby soap and use Dove soap.
These things have been done and it seems that the skin is getting worse. Any suggestions from you mothers out there that have dealt with this recently? There are so many harsh chemicals in stuff now-a-days, (even stuff that promises it's fragrance/dye free).
What soaps, lotions, and detergent did you use with your baby?
By Christy from Charlotte, NC
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Our pediatrician said the doctor she learned from told patients to use Crisco or Vaseline (petroleum jelly -- not Vaseline lotion). I used Aquaphor ointment on my daughter, or I think they had a creamy petroleum jelly product (don't know if they still make it). I've since found Bio Oil and jojoba oil. If you do some reading up on jojoba, it's really great! I order mine online (Vitacost), but I imagine it shouldn't be too hard to find locally. I don't know if these oils are recommended for use on babies.
I didn't wash her too often, because I didn't want to dry out her skin any more. I tried to moisturize her skin as quickly as possible after bathing, to seal in moisture. I used Dreft on all of our laundry while she was little, and when she got a little older, I switched to a dye-free/perfume-free detergent (which is what I used prior to having her, too).
I hope your baby's skin improves soon. We still battle rough, dry patches in the winter. But it's getting better! Best of luck!
DS#3 went throught the same thing. I was getting so frustrated with it, that I was about ready to take him to a pediatric dermatologist. Our dr ordered us a prescription Eucerin compound that helped some, then triamcinolone cream which really helped. What made the biggest difference, though, was when he was diagnosed with allergies to cats--the pediatric allergist was amazed that his numbers for cat dander were so high considering he was only 7 months old when initially tested--and eggs. Since we have exiled the cat outside and eliminated all egg sources from his diet and mine (I'm breastfeeding), his eczema has pretty much cleared up. He still has a few stubborn patches, but the triamcinolone takes care of those in a few days.
As far as washing him, as others have said, be careful not to overwash. Young babies don't get that dirty on a daily basis, and a daily bath generally isn't needed. We are currently using Dove Sensitive, the kind that is supposed to be free of everything. For general lotion, we are currently using Vanicream, again, free of everything.
I hope this helps! I know it can be very frustrating!
The best thing we did is too quit bathing our children every night. During the winter and dryer months I think we bath the girls once a week unless they had been doing things to get dirty.
You might try Lansinoh cream and baby wipes. They are sold at Target, Amazon, Babies R Us, and drugstores. The cream is for nursing mothers, but it is excellent for skin problems. The cloths seem to do a fine job of cleaning all parts of baby without any irritation. Any other pure New Zealand lanolin cream would also work. For washing clothes, All Free & Clear or Charlie's Soap Powder (Amazon) have worked for my family.
A few facts about Lansinoh products:
Lansinoh uses ultra-pure, medical-grade lanolin.
Lansinoh Brand Lanolin is the only lanolin available that contains no preservatives or additives.
Best wishes to you and yours!
I never put soap of any kind directly on the baby; I did use a tiny squirt of Mennen Baby Magic bath in the bathwater. Mine had little hair, so I didn't even bother with shampoo till they were older. I used baby wipes (any kind without alcohol) on their bottom only.
I used Ivory Snow for her laundry. Technically, I think it may remove the fire-safe coating from their jammies, but I didn't see that as a bad trade-off. (Less chemical exposure, as far as I was concerned.)
If I wanted to clean them up between baths, it was just a wet washcloth. I didn't use lotions at all until they were older.
My kids didn't have problem skin, but I always used Ivory Snow to do their clothes until they were well over a year old.
I never heard of baby acne. It sounds like she has exema. You will need an RX from a dr. This is probably caused by a food allergy. Also the fire coating from the PJs is toxic. It takes 60 washings to remove it from clothing.
Four generations of my family are allergic to Ivory and Dove, even though the doctors say it's mild. We get extremely painful dry skin,pimply bumps & a painful rash. So it could be that Dove making it worse!
You can over-bathe a baby too much & strip the protective oils from their delicate skin. Don't bathe the baby with soap every day. After a bath, use plain shortening to rub him down with instead of baby oil or Vaseline. Baby oil & Vaseline are petroleum by-products, in other words, what is left over after they make the oil you put in your car! It does not absorb into the skin like shortening or olive oil does.
You might want to run his clothes through a 2nd rinse to get rid of any soap residue also.
Good luck!
Our youngest daughter suffered from excema. We took her to a pediatric dermatologist and she told us she could write an RX for an expensive lotion, but the best thing to use was petroleum jelly. We only bathed her once a week (quick clean-ups in between) and we didn't dry her off. We took her from her bath to the bed where a towel was laid out. We laid her on the towel and covered her with petroleum jelly. It took both my husband and I to do it because she was so wiggly. Once the petroleum jelly was absorbed in her skin we were able to take the towel and pat her dry and get the grease off of her. I know there are those that would not want to use a petroleum product, but my daughter is almost 17 and it still keeps her excema at bay. I even use it for my dry skin when needed.
We washed all of our kids clothes in Dreft until they were probably 5 years old. We used just a little Johnson's Baby Bath in the bath water. She uses Johnson's Baby Bath Gel now because she has problems with allergy to soaps.
When my daughter was a baby, she is now 26, she had atopic dermatitis. Her dermatologist recommended Arm and Hammer laundry detergent. Also don't put soap on the baby's skin at all. You can bath only dirty areas in Moisturel body wash and use Vaseline if necessary. Good luck!
My son would get red bumps and dry skin especially on his cheeks when he was little. One doctor said it was Keratosis pilaris and another said it was eczema. Waxelene was what worked for him. It is a petroleum free Vaseline alternative. It also worked as a diaper rash cream. www.amazon.com/
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