Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The case of the rashy baby

Just call me Nancy Drew (minus the cool convertible, blonde hair, and Ned).

At Zachary's two-month appointment last week, he still had some cradle cap and a little bit of excema. The pediatrician recommended baby oil for his head and a brushing out and slathering him in Eucerin and Aquafor. The first application of baby oil on Tuesday resulted in a bright read head for baby Z. I figured that he of the so-sensitive skin that we still have to use washcloths and not wipes on his tender derriere was sensitive to the fragrance listed as the only other ingredient beside mineral oil. And didn't repeat that process. For the rest of the week and weekend, I slathered him in the lotions to no avail. So, this weekend I tried the hard core Aquafor repeatedly all day. On Monday, he was so covered in a rash that he looked like he had a sunburn. So, we made a trip to the pediatrician (a fill-in as his regular one was out for the day) who was stumped and referred us to a dermatologist who we visited later that afternoon. The dermatologist presccribed two steroidal potions and gave me sample lotions. I was also advised to wash all his clothes in Tide Free and dress him in only cotton and to go back to giving him liquid formula instead of the powder we had just started.

By Tuesday, he had started to look a little better. This mornign he woke up all bright red again and all scratched up. I finally started lookign at all of the the ingredients of the different products we had used in the last week and the common deonoimator?- mineral oil. I didn't think someone could be allergic to mineral oil and it is one of the most common remedies for cradle cap and excema. But, apparently, for a small few it can cause a rash. So, all of the products we have purchased this week will be headed for the trash can.

4 comments:

Me said...

Nancy Drew indeed. Kudos to you for isolating the culprit!

Chief Family Officer said...

Wow, that must have been so frustrating! Not to mention a little scary. Great mommy for figuring out what the problem was - I hope all is well from now on!

Unknown said...

Smart mommy!

Fiddle1 said...

Ah, the detective work. Moms are the world's best detectives. I have to do the same thing with what i'm eating. so far, tomatoes are a nasty culprit that lead to more reflux and redness in the diaper area. I too think mineral oil made my baby's diaper rash worse. If Z ever gets diaper rash, you must try the Burt's bees diaper ointment. Also, I use washcloths with a little bit of baby wash and olive oil..it is so soft on her skin and there is no redness afterwards. Sounds like little Z may have some allergies when you start solids..though I hope not.