Baby Acne & Allergies
 

Poor Caterpillar (7 weeks) is horribly broken out. She has
been for several weeks, and I suspect she will be for
several more weeks. My copy of Sears' The Baby Book says
that baby acne onsetting before 2 weeks and spreading into
the hair and down the neck can be a sign of allergy. Hers
didn't start early (nothing until 3 or 4 weeks), but it
covers her entire head and neck, and is headed down her back.

We're using unscented detergent and fabric softener, and
haven't noticed a relationship to unscented, hypoallergenic,
or regular baby wash. So if she's allergenic, I suspect
it's to something I'm eating. Fortunately, the prime
suspects would be dairy and wheat. Unfortunately, my
primary food source for the last 9 months has been cheese
sandwiches, so eliminating them will make me unhappy.

No other allergy symptoms - no diaper rash, excessive
spittiness, fussing, etc.

Does it make more sense to wait a few weeks and see if it
clears up on its own, or try messing with my diet?

Phoebe :)

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

DD had baby baby acne - I tried eliminating all sorts. In the end it just
cleared up of its own accord around 3 months.

ROSIE

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

Phoebe & Allyson wrote:

Does it make more sense to wait a few weeks and see if it
clears up on its own, or try messing with my diet?

Couple questions:

How often does she get a bath?

Have you tried vinegar in the rinse instead of fabric conditioner?

What type of soap/shampoo do you use on her?

Is there anything that you've recently eaten that you didn't before?

E

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

My son went through he same thing. It looked alot like eczema. I was very
upset because it looked so ugly. I had him at the allergist to test him for
a bunch of allergies. I was told he has a sensitivity to dairy and to put
Elidel cream on his rash. It helped a little but still didn't get better.
Then a Mom asked me to check if he had thrush. He did. The Dr. gave me
niastatin cream for the rash and stuff for his mouth. The rash cleared right
up. I was so happy. It was that simple I couldn't believe it. I still have
to stay away from dairy though.
I have a thing for cheese too. I eat alot of it and it's been hard for me to
eliminate it.
I also use dye and perfume free detergent but I don't think that makes a
difference. His skin has been nice since I used that cream and I stay away
from dairy.
Kris

"Phoebe & Allyson" wrote in message
...
Poor Caterpillar (7 weeks) is horribly broken out. She has
been for several weeks, and I suspect she will be for
several more weeks. My copy of Sears' The Baby Book says
that baby acne onsetting before 2 weeks and spreading into
the hair and down the neck can be a sign of allergy. Hers
didn't start early (nothing until 3 or 4 weeks), but it
covers her entire head and neck, and is headed down her back.

We're using unscented detergent and fabric softener, and
haven't noticed a relationship to unscented, hypoallergenic,
or regular baby wash. So if she's allergenic, I suspect
it's to something I'm eating. Fortunately, the prime
suspects would be dairy and wheat. Unfortunately, my
primary food source for the last 9 months has been cheese
sandwiches, so eliminating them will make me unhappy.

No other allergy symptoms - no diaper rash, excessive
spittiness, fussing, etc.

Does it make more sense to wait a few weeks and see if it
clears up on its own, or try messing with my diet?

Phoebe :)

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

Phoebe & Allyson wrote:

Does it make more sense to wait a few weeks and see if it
clears up on its own, or try messing with my diet?

Try squirting breastmilk on it to see if that will clear it up. DS baby
acne was really bad abourt age 3/4 weeks and I was grossed out by how awful
it looked. One morning I squirted the breast milk on it, and within just a
few hours his face was all cleared up! Whenever it came back for the next
few weeks, I just squirted him again and it cleared up.

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

I'd wait a few weeks. With ds, who was ff and had milk allergy and very
sensitive skin, we couldn't use any kind of fabric softner at all, even
unscented. DD (the one i'm nursing) has very mild eczema (she gets a
few patches here and there) and the doc hasn't recommended I eliminate
anything). Ped said if she was ff, she would probably be like her
brother was. At two months, we started using hydrocortisone 0.5 % (per
her ped). Applied a very thin layer at night, and usually by morning,
it was gone.

I know with this heat we've been having, dd gets a "rash" on her head,
face, neck and back if we've been out at all. Could be heat??

HTH,
Jodie

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

My daughter had acne as an infant, too. I was told it was "normal
baby acne". But it got worse while I was breastfeeding. I eat a LOT
of dairy..so I suspected dairy was the problem......when i cut it out
completely (which was painful!! :-(( )....the acne was completely
gone.

It wouldn't hurt to rule out dairy or wheat as the culprit.
My partner found lots of yummy soy product for me. ;-) (Be careful
though.....some soy products have milk proteins in them.)

My daughter is now 18 mos old..... When she was about 13 months old I
gradually introduced dairy back into my diet....and she didn't have
any problems. She cannot have dairy.....she gets belly aches.

Chris (Debbie and Brittany)

PS. Brittany is 18 mos old and still nursing!! wooo hooo



Phoebe & Allyson wrote in message ...
Poor Caterpillar (7 weeks) is horribly broken out. She has
been for several weeks, and I suspect she will be for
several more weeks. My copy of Sears' The Baby Book says
that baby acne onsetting before 2 weeks and spreading into
the hair and down the neck can be a sign of allergy. Hers
didn't start early (nothing until 3 or 4 weeks), but it
covers her entire head and neck, and is headed down her back.

We're using unscented detergent and fabric softener, and
haven't noticed a relationship to unscented, hypoallergenic,
or regular baby wash. So if she's allergenic, I suspect
it's to something I'm eating. Fortunately, the prime
suspects would be dairy and wheat. Unfortunately, my
primary food source for the last 9 months has been cheese
sandwiches, so eliminating them will make me unhappy.

No other allergy symptoms - no diaper rash, excessive
spittiness, fussing, etc.

Does it make more sense to wait a few weeks and see if it
clears up on its own, or try messing with my diet?

Phoebe :)

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

Hi -

If you're worrying about your breastfed baby's skin and think it MIGHT
be a food allergy, you'll want to read the excellent book by Dr. Doris
Rapp, "Is This Your Child?". It's an easy read, very clear and
informative. (And if your child has eczema and your doctor has NOT
recommended eliminating any foods from your diet, you MUST read the
book, take some action, and think seriously about the quality of your
doctor ...

My two cents,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

Elana wrote:

How often does she get a bath?


Not very! She's really not spitty and I try to get her both
clean and air-dried with each diaper change, so we only put
her in the tub once or twice a week (usually after she's
been in the heat and is sweaty). It's just too much effort
(and it makes her hair so dry and flyaway), even though she
likes it. I do wipe her face down with a damp cloth once a day.


Have you tried vinegar in the rinse instead of fabric conditioner?


Diapers and most of her clothes get a vinegar rinse. Then
the diapers go on the line (so get no fabric softener), and
clothes go into the dryer with an unscented dryer sheet.


What type of soap/shampoo do you use on her?

We started out with Johnson's baby wash, which says it's
hypoallergenic, but is scented. She got two baths with one
of the lavender baby washes, which makes her smell really
nice, but seemed to make her spottier. So we switched to
California Baby's Sensitive Skin wash, which is completely
unscented. No improvement.


Is there anything that you've recently eaten that you didn't before?

Nothing I can identify that I've eaten more than once, and
if it was a one-time thing, I'd think she'd have stopped
reacting.

Phoebe :)

Baby Acne & Allergies
 

K.B. wrote:

It looked alot like eczema.


What is eczema supposed to look like?

Then a Mom asked me to check if he had thrush. He did.


I think we're thrush-free. Every time I get a little
soreness, I inspect her mouth for any suspicious whiteness,
and myself for any suspicious redness. So far, I haven't
seen any, and any odd sensations have cleared up on their
own within a day.

Thanks!

Phoebe :)