Itchiness

Does he have thick hair and is he getting hot? When my son was little and he would get hot his head would itch, he got a really short hair cut. Tried different shampoo, washing powders? Sometimes you never find out it will just stop. Good luck.

What laundry detergent do use? I have son that suffers from chronic hives and I have all free and and scent and dye free fabric softner.

As for what he is allergic too, many allergies progress over time so he may be showing symptoms things he has been exposed to for a long time and in rare cases like my son it may not have any real answers. He has a mild form of sensory disorder and his hives appear to be stress related, now the tricky thing, what causes the stress. Well for him everything, noise, sight sound, touch, heat cold. I use the softest sheets I can find and always had issue with clothes. Especially around collars waist band. Always try to find the softness, no tags etc.

He is older now and has grown out of much of it, it didi get worse before it got better and we had to hav e him on low dose allergy meds everyday for several years.

I would suggest getting a referal to an allergist, you may get answer you may not, but you should be at least be able to find some kind of plan to help him through. When they are itchy liek that all the time the end up cranky which can lead to behavior issues, and bad habit s cna be formed during that time.

Good luck poor guy I have so much sympathy for him.

Try the chewable Bendadryl tablets. They are not so bad.

I agree with the other posters:

Sounds like a possible allergy, I would try to go see an allergist or at least get him on some kind of regular allergy medicine for a few weeks to see if that helps. Allergies are really bad this time of year for many of us.

Detergent could be an issue: I would make sure that you are not using too much detergent and do an extra rinse.

Also.. I would bathe him every other day, or only if he's particularly dirty. Wash his hair less frequently. My boys have very short hair and I find that a rinse in the shower & a shampoo once a week or so works just fine, the shampoo could also be irritating to him.

Of course, all this depends on how dirty he gets!

One other thing that helps with dry skin is to take a regular dose of essential fatty acids, check with herb market or whole foods... they have some formulas for kids & it's good nutrition too. or you can grind up flax seeds & mix them in oatmeal or a smoothie. Good luck! I feel bad for your little guy.

This is going to sound very bizarre, but have you installed the new flourescent lightbulbs in his room? The exact same thing happened with my dgtr last year and we did all the things you are trying. Someone suggested to me that the new lightbulbs can cause itchy skin for some people, I changed her bulbs back to normal ones and the itch went away!
Good Luck!

Hi B., congrats. on the baby girl. I know you are excited. It sounds like you have been given some wonderful advice.
I have 7 wonderful grandchildren and the oldest & the next to the youngest are very fair and have had problems with itching and rashes. When we went to the coast last summer my 2 year old grandson completely cleared up in 2 days. So when we got back we started bathing him in sea salt. You can get it most anywhere. Also in the fall when he started having problems again, we started giving him showers instead of baths both really help. You might try that. Hope you get him relief soon. God bless you & your family.

Have you changed laundry soap lately or bath soap?

What is going in his body? He could be allergic to something he is eating.

B.,

Your poor little guy! I feel bad for him! I would definitely experiment with other products to see if changing things would help.

I occasionally get an itchy scalp. When that happens I use Herbal Essences "degunkify" shampoo for a while. The fronts of my legs (shin area) get itchy sometimes and I use the HE shampoo for a body wash when that happens. Tea tree oil shampoo also seemed to help.

You could also try something from Arbonne (I don't sell it - just heard that it's good stuff).

I take Zyrtec for my (year-round) allergies. I've tried other products, but this works best for my body. Even with Zyrtec, I develop the skin/scalp itchiness sometimes.

Changing laundry detergents sounds like a good idea.

You might also try checking for food allergies/sensitivities. You can get a book called Prescription for Nutritional Healing that describes how to check for that - probably a lot of other books will describe how to do that. Check the library first.

good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Your family is changing and this could be a sign of stress to him as he is the youngest and your are pregnant and he senses changes coming. What is the temp of your house? Is it hot and dry or cool? Check to see if he sweats at night around his neck as this could be the cause. I have a problem this time of year with the outside temp going in and out and it usually settles around my neck and itches and discolors and clears up in a month or two. Talk with him and really listen to what he has to say so that you can get a handle on this before the baby comes. Good luck to you and your family. The other S.

What about Claritin or Zyrtec for kids? I take Zyrtec myself for hives and it cured my itchy scalp also!! I don't know how they taste, but they last longer without the side effects of Benadryl.

Could it be dry skin? Especially if he has no visible signs of a rash. Maybe try a fragrance free lotion or something gentle enough for young skin. I also agree that it could be laundry detergent. Try fragrance free detergent and fabric softener (that's all we use in my house and it's no more expensive than the regular detergent). Also, cut back on the warm baths. That could also irritate/dry out his skin. It could also be some kind of nervous or bored habit. Keep a record of when you notice him doing it to see if there is a pattern.