My daughter is one year old at the end of this month. Breast Fed. Hates Formula. Drinks lots of water from sippy cups. And of coarse eats her balanced share of solids. She has recently, in the last month, gotten a mysterious dryness in patches all over her body, with the acception of her face and diaper area. At first I thought it was the strawberries she ate. But it's been like 3 weeks now. It almost looks like ringworm, big and small patches, but the round(ish) formations of the dry patches aren't red and we don't have any cats. It doesn't seem to itch her at all.
I'm beginning to think it may be our laundry detergent. I ran out of baby detergent and have been using regular Gain and liquid fabric softener. LOVE the strong fresh smell of clean laundry.
This morning I noticed her skin on her belly to be loose. Like tissue paper, wrinkly when I rubbed it gently. We have been fighting off colds so for her to be fussy is pretty par for the course.
I'm giving her plenty of liquids.
Any feedback or suggestions??
thanks,
S.
I would also switch back to a baby detergent or to a fragrance free regular detergent. Also, my son is 3 and I still don't use fabric softener on his clothes because he has sensitive skin.
regardless of our thoughts & ideas, this has gone on long enough to warrant a trip to the doctor! Peace!
Take her to her doctor and have him/her take a look. When my oldest was 1 1/2 she got a rash that looked similar to ring worm, but not quite. Her ped wasn't able to make a determination, but prescribed an RX. I felt uncomfortable with the diagosis so made an appt that afternoon with a dermatologist who said it was a rare reaction to the herpes virus. She came in contact with it somewhere - maybe even just playing outside. After a couple days of medication it lessened and eventually went away.
My daughter is 3 and gets really bad dry patches on both her legs (below her knees) - they are not itchy or red, just very dry. If I rub Aquaphor ointment on her legs it definitely helps but I need to do it daily - otherwise it just comes back. She used to get them on the back of her shoulders and at one of her check-ups, her pediatrician noticed them, asked if there was anything that was often rubbing on them (no), and then recommended the Aquaphor. I would have her seen by your pediatrician just to be sure.
sounds like its probably eczema if its bad they will prescribe a hydrocortisone cream to help clear it up but you could try bathing her less often and using a lotion like eucerin cream. If you switched laundry detergent then yes that is most likely the cause.
P.S
you can get ringworm in other ways besides from an infected cat or dog.
Hi S.,
I would start a food diary, and look at what foods she craves. Pull them for minimum of 2 weeks (1 at a time) and see if it clears up. Don't panic if she gets worse for about 4 days, stick with it, and see if there is any difference. You will also need to take that out of your diet.. If you are going to do glutten (wheat, barley, oats & Rye) or milk - you will have to be very dilligent in reading lables esspecially in the things you eat...they hide milk in so many things as caesin & whey. She sounds like she is having an allergic reaction - since she is drinking water, as well as you say, I would not think dehydration...I would keep a diary on her BMs as well at the same time, as well as wet diapers, that will give you a pretty strong clue if you are on the right track as far as food allergies go. These kinds of food allergies are not the break out in hives or have breathing issues - these are gut food allergies that tend to cause this kind of break out. You can search IgG allergies. You can also do an IgG allergy test (very different from an IgA or IgE) at the Dr.s if you want to - and you have insurance that will cover it. Make sure they test for many many types of foods. We tested for 96 different foods and discovered so many things - I truly wish we had tested when my kids were as little as yours.
D.
See her pediatrician as soon as you can to find out if it is excema, ringworm, or just allergies to laundry soap. S/he may even be able to help if it is the laundry soap by giving a 'script for some meds to heal it.
In the meantime, run all her clothes through the rinse cycle again (or the entire wash cycle) to get rid of more residue of any soap or fabric softner. You can use vinegar to soften fabrics, and there is less chance of any allergic reaction. (Once dry, the vinegar smell is gone.)
It sounds like a touch of baby exzema. Not much to do except keep her skin moisturized. It usually goes away on its own. It's not like adult exzema. You could ask her pediatrician if she has an appointment coming up. Both my kids have experience this, and it's gone away after a month or so :)
Take her to the doctor... if you haven't been able to figure out what is wrong in 3 weeks you need their help to figure it out.
Ring worm can be gotten in many ways... you don't just get it from cats. You can get it from another person as well.
My duaghter does get red rashes often - but she has other healt issues. I do have to give her oatmeal baths now & then to help her out. But hers itch and I make sure I get her in an oatmeal bath if the rash is there for more then a day. We use regular oatmeal bath or Johnson's Oatmeal bath for kids... which ever one we have. But she is also 6 now - so maybe the Johnson's would work better for you kid.
Good luck - but if I were you... I'd be heading to the doc's today.
If she is continuing to have wet diapers as usual and has tears when she cries she is not dehydrated. I also think it's the laundry detergent. It's best to use a mild detergent with no scents or perfumes with babies. Their skin is so much more sensitive than ours.
Her skin may be dry. Have you tried using an emollient cream or lotion with no scent or perfume?
I'd switch back to baby friendly detergent for her clothes and use an emollient on her skin.
This isn't dehydration. Your baby would become very lethargic. She would not be crying or reacting to anything at all. I have allergies and Gain detergent has always given me problems. One thing you could check is to see if the detergent contains bleach. This could irritate a baby's sensitive skin. It does sound like it is the clothes since her face and diaper area are not affected. Try a generic brand that does not contain bleach. These brands work just as well and you get more for your money. The name brands have too much perfume and fragarances in them, which could also be bothering her.
I would probably skip the hydrocortisone cream since these patches are not red, itchy or inflamed. My child also had some dry skin color patches on his body. The doctor suggested his skin is just sensitive and to switch to a gentle fragrance free laundry detergeant. I use CereVe cream on him, which helped immediately. It's very gentle and rich and thick but not at all greasy. Aquaphor is good too, but it's so greasy. BTW, my daughter has had ringworm, although no pets in our house. I was so surprised to hear from the pediatrician that actually ringworn spores are everywhere and even airborne, so even with no pets one can get it.
Not dehydrated.... take her to the doctor, but if i'm right it is dermatitis atopic commonly called eczema, nothing serious, it'll go away with time, like my son, and if it is, he/she will prescribe her hydrocortisone 1% (over the counter) for the dry patches over her skin when they appear, it could be something you are eating now and passing through your milk, but I am strong on this, that it is the detergent, so why don't you try switch to fragrance-fee. and never ever use fabric softener on babies, no matter how great the smell is, they don't need it... rinse all of her clothes twice.
hope this helps
oh and you could buy at safeway this soap called "cetaphil", it is amazing with your baby sensitive skin... besides it has this fresh smell.. when i was in mexico my son's pediatrician prescribed it so I bought it there but here you can find it without prescription.
I would say eczema and switch back to a fragrance-free detergent asap. Also, use a good fragrance-free moisturizing cream (Cetaphil or Aquaphor) on those spots. And I agree that you should talk to the ped as well.
