BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Food Allergies => Topic started by: Tao on June 01, 2010, 02:03:08 am
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Hello All,
I just had to share this site with other mommies in hopes that it may help you as it has helped me. My DD has had horrible eczema since 4 months old and so many doctors diagnosed this as food a multiple food allergy issue. She was always red, itchy and miserable and swaddling her made everything 10 times worse. While I do believe that she does have sensitivities to some common foods like nuts, I always had this inkling in the back of my mind that her eczema was also due to the chemicals and detergents that we use within our household. After doing a google search, I came across the following site and it has changed our lives:
www.solveeczema.org
This very dedicated mommy was tired of giving her son topical steroids and medications to treat his horrible eczema so she took it upon herself to try to find a solution. After her driven research, she found that the chemical Sodium Laureyl Sulfate is in many shampoos, household detergents, and dishwashing liquids, which is very harmful to many young babies who are delicate and sensitive. After switching her detergents over to soap, her son's eczema disappeared. We are now doing the same thing with my daughter and while we are still waiting for the soaps to arrive, I started washing her clothes in plain water just for 2 weeks to see and her eczema on her legs are completely gone. Amazing!
All this time, I kept thinking it was food allergies, but most likely she has atopic eczema caused by the detergents and pollutants we have in our very own home.
I hope this helps you if your LO has eczema or even asthma. As mommies, we are always trying to do detective work, and it makes a world of difference when we can help our babies without constantly medicating them.
Best wishes! Please let me know if anyone else tries this or has heard of this. I would love to partner up and support each other as we find solutions together!
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Thanks Christine! We didn't have bad excema, but this might help someone else. Appreciate you posting..
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Thanks Christine! After being under control for a long time, Stan's eczema is flaring up quite badly again. I've just ordered some Dr Bronner pure soap so we can do a test.
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Oh good Anna. I'm glad to hear that this might help. We are superwashing everything at this point and I really am beginning to think that Sophie's eczema is more atopic rather than food allergy related. It's amazing how many chemicals are out there that are not good for our little ones AND for us. It looks like, from my brief research, that sodium laurel sulfates are the main culprits in many allergies, skin issues and even asthma. I guess technology doesn't always make things better! Let me know how it goes. I am in the process of learning myself!
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Did you do the 'test' with pure soap followed by barrier cream and see a difference? I am concerned that I won't see enough of a significant difference to make a call if we should go ahead and switch over all our products.
I just was looking at the list of ingredients of the moisturising cream that is prescribed by our Dr and it contains an SLS. I have ordered some Dr Bronner soap but I expect it will take a few days to get here and I am impatient to test this theory! I am wondering if I can get something pure enough just at the regular pharmacy, but I don't really know what I"m looking for on the label.
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Hi Anna,
I did do the test and I didn't see a significant difference when I did the test with Cal Ben Soap. I used aquaphor for the barrier cream. However, I must say that we started this week superwashing everything, all her clothes, her blankets, towels etc. and I notice a HUGE difference in her skin. It's not completely gone and is still rough in many areas, however the redness and the inflammed patches that always arose is gone. This is a significant difference for her because for the longest time she was red and itchy and bleeding.
I told my husband that even if it doesn't make a HUGE difference that at least I know the products are not harmful to her or us. In my crazy research lately, as I've become so passionate about all this, I came across another brand that also creates "pure soaps" but has a more significant line of products and they published the following link which shows how these "bad" ingredients like SLS affects not only our skin but health. I was thinking that maybe this list will help you when researching what ingredients to include:
http://www.keys-soap.com/dd.html
I know what you mean about being impatient! When I first found this out, I thought the products couldn't get here soon enough. I wish we lived close so I could just drop some by to you =). In my research it sounds like anything that is hard to pronounce really shouldn't be used. I know it sounds extreme but there are so many ingredients out there nowadays that it's hard to realize the real effect it has on us....I would wait Anna for the Bronner soap in order to really be sure if it works...
Good luck. Keep me posted!
P.S. Thanks for the WI WO advice...I felt so much better after reading your post. I think I will try giving her some meds before her nap tomorrow and stick to a quick walk in.
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I am going to tag along here. We have had "Keratosis Pilarus" as our diagnosis. Rough bumpy skin nearly head to to, minus his torso. We went toothpaste, shampoo, body wash free and saw a bit of improvement. I use the seventh generation free and clear products for laundry and cleaning. I will have to look at that site a bit more regarding chemicals to avoid.
Currently we are using the Cleure products, which are paraben, dye, petro-chemical, triclosan, synthetic fragrance, sulfates, phthalates, GMOs, and Salicylate free. Not as much improvement as we had with the product free run.
The cleanser has: purified water, isododecane, glycerine, coco-betaine, isoparaffin, carbomer, dimethicone, vitamin E succinate, and pottassium sorbate...
It is so hard to make heads or tails of it sometimes. Ds's skin is best just after naps (but not always) with the air cleaner running (and free of the dog). A bit of a puzzle...
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Tao, where did you order the products, btw? We live in the midwest of the US...
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Hi Jean,
I, too, feel that no products worse best on my DD. I usually rinse her in just water and put very diluted Cal Ben's Soap on her hair and later it up and rinse very very well. Here are two links that the mom on the blog recommended. I personally bought from Cal Ben:
www.calbenpuresoap.com
or
www.vermontsoap.com
After switching over my DD's skin is SO much better. We took her to the doctor and even the doc noticed a huge difference. She was amazed. I do notice that I have to superwash the clothes like the blog suggests. This is what we did:
1) First load with 1 oz of Cal Ben Laundry Soap and 1/2 scoop of Borax
2) Second load with 1 oz of Cal Ben Laundry Soap only
3) Same load with water only
4) Same load with water only
After I superwashed, I still do an extra rinse after I wash her clothes with soap the first time. The other thing I did that may have helped (as we have two dogs in the house as well) is:
1) Buying Hepa filters for different rooms. I am looking into purchasing the IQAIR which is supposedly the number 1 air filter on the market. The whole house one can clean air up to 93% which can help with future asthma which many kids who have eczema later develop.
2) We have the Miele vacuum which also has a hepa filter to help suck up all the pollutants.
When I first researched all of this my DH thought I was crazy =). After all it is a lot of change and very hard work, but after we steam cleaned our carpets and saw that the water was completely pitch black, we realized how much "junk" our daughter was breathing in, touching and playing in on a daily basis.
I'm sorry this is a much longer response than you had expected but since her success, I am so happy to share with others.
I wish you the best of luck Jean. Let me know if you have more questions!
Christine
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Christine, you just superwash the clothes once, yes?
I have got soap flakes for laundry. It's so confusing to me, what products are OK and what are not. Stan's eczema is pretty bad right now. The main problem here is baths - Stan makes SUCH a fuss if there is not bubbles in his bath. Burts Bees makes an SLS free bubble bath, but I don't know what ingredients are and are not OK.
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Stan's eczema seems worse but I haven't been meticulous about going SLS free and I'm really confused about what ingredients in particular to watch out for. His skin is super, super dry and nothing I am using seems to help it stay soft.
All his (and our) clothes, night nappies, towels, bedding etc have been changed to just washed with pure soap. His bubble bath changed to a Burts Bees one which seems to have very few and quite natural ingredients and is SLS free (I honestly don't know how I could get him in the bath without bubbles - and again, not sure what ingredients to watch out for), likewise shampoo.
I was hping to see some improvement by now, but it's really only been a week or so, does anyone have any advice? Or can link me to the page on the site which has a list of ingedients that may aggravate (I can't find one!)?
I had to use the steroid cream again tonight.
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I saw the short term experiment of washing a leg with just soap, and then putting the cream on. I think we have to do just plain vaseline, as aquaphor has some extra ingredients in it that we avoid.
At our allergy apt, the allergist thought it looked like classic Keratosis Pilarus, as it is not behind the knees or in the elbows, and such. He said it is considered a variation of "normal". He wasn't like this when born, though?? It seemed to slowly develop at about 9 mo, when he started to eat more solids, wore sunscreen, and we switched baby products to burt's bees and california baby. So, we could just try nothing and say maybe he will outgrow it, or we can keep trying new things. I feel better trying new things to see if anything will help.
I should do the quick test the site mentioned and try super washing some of his clothes and see if that helps for a few days. The carpets (I wish we had hardwood floors and am about ready to tear them out) should be steam cleaned. We have a carpet cleaner that is not a steam cleaner. Did you just rent a steam cleaner? We have a vaccum with a hepa filter, but perhaps it isn't enough.
XXX and thanks for the info!
Anna, it is funny that you mention burt's bees. I cannot tollerate those products (my skin breaks out terribly when I have tried to use three of the products). And I used it on H for quite some time. We are using the cleure ones now, and it seems better (but not perfect by quite a stretch). H seems sensitive to lots of fruits and veggies, though, so I blame the "natural" ingredients in those products. WE go low salicylate for his diet, and there is no salicylate rating for a lot of the plants, fruits and veggies that are in those products.Hmmmm.... Interesting coincidence.
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HI Anna,
I'm sorry to hear that Stan's eczema is flared. It's so tough when it gets aggravated. In my experience, when DD is having a flareup I do need to use some steroid creams to calm it down while trying to find a solution. On the Solve Eczema site A.J. does mention that during the process of supercleaning, during hte "in between" stage where soap and detergent are mixed, eczema does tend to get worse until more further washes and ALL detergent seems completely gone. I know, it seems a bit silly that it takes SO many washes to get detergent out but I did actually experience that. After a week of Superwashing, DD's skin seemed super dry and I had to use aquaphor a lot. What also helped is that before I would only use it before bedtime which was our normal ritual. However, I started using it three times a day before first and second nap and then before BT. It really really helped. I think part of eczema is that their skin doesn't produce the natural oils to help skin stay supple and protected so they need a little boost with the barrier creams.
Regarding which ingredients to truly avoid...I know that every baby is different and while SLS is usually the culprit for most skin issues with our LO's there are others. Unfortunately Anna I am not completely knowledgeable of ALL the ingredients that we need to avoid but I also did find this information on the site that might help. Apparently some products list vegetable based surfactants and I guess that in many cases just the word "surfactant" isn't really helpful because it is not very natural for our baby's skin. Here is some info on that site that may help:
The word “soap” means absolutely nothing on the FRONT label of the product and is commonly used for detergent products. Even organic or “natural” products that say “soap” on the FRONT label are often all detergent and contain no soap.
Some products on the market are a combination of traditional soap and “nonionic vegetable-based surfactants.” I do not know if these products are okay for children with this allergy. I suspect that some of them may be, particularly if the nonionic surfactant is a minor ingredient relative to the soap, but I would not recommend trying them initially because the effect is unknown. If you clear up the eczema by making the entire switch, you can always experiment with new products later. But this switch is so much work and fraught with so many pitfalls as it is, I would not personally recommend adding an unknown like a combination product to start.
Many cleaning products on the natural-store shelves are made from 100% nonionic vegetable-based surfactants. I do not know if these products are okay for children with this allergy. I strongly suspect that they are not. I would consider them detergents for the purposes of this allergy. Parenthetically, a spokesperson from Nikwak pointed out that their company deliberately does not use nonionic vegetable-based surfactants in the soap washes they make for waterproof high-tech outdoor fabrics.
Water conditioners like Borax or Oxo-brite are not detergents and are okay so long as one does not have an individual allergy to them. I use them in addition to soap, not instead of. Many soap-based washing products contain other ingredients to boost the efficacy of soap, which is okay, again, so long as one does not have an individual allergy to the ingredients.
Even if you do everything by the book, and your child’s eczema proves to be caused only by detergents, you will probably still have detective work to clear the eczema 100%. Be diligent and don’t guess. If you want to make this switch and have any concerns that something MIGHT not be traditional soap, don’t use it. Stick with what you know.
Soaps do a marvelous job of cleaning in soft water; in my personal opinion, the result with soaps is better than from detergents in soft water. But since the introduction of detergents, which work over a broader range of water conditions, home water softeners have become rare. Absent soft water, consumers complain that soaps don’t work as well, and stopped using them. At the end of the 20th century, true soap flake makers began to pull their products from supermarket shelves. Ivory Snow, once the premier soap flake for baby clothing, became a detergent about ten years ago. White King stopped selling soap flakes in stores around 1998. I do not know of any traditional grocery or natural foods chain that sells true soap flakes anymore in the United States, though they can be found in markets in countries like France and England. I have a provided a list of online sources in the List of Products.
“Natural” and “Hypoallergenic” Hype
Some soap products can be harsh and drying; many fine soap products are not. Finding them is the trick. Many baby books recommend “superfatted soaps” for babies.
Be aware of advertising hype as you try to locate products. Consumers Union sponsors a site to explain labeling terms http://www.eco-labels.org/home.cfm.
One term you can completely ignore here is “hypoallergenic.” According to the eco-labels site, “There is no government or official definition for this term.” According to the evaluation by Consumers Union, “The hypoallergenic label is not meaningful.” And “…the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that ‘There are no federal standards or definitions that govern the use of the term ‘hypoallergenic’. In 1974, the FDA tried to establish definitions for the use of the term hypoallergenic, but the regulation was overturned in court. Manufacturers of cosmetics labeled as hypoallergenic are not required to submit substantiation of their hypoallergenicity claims to the FDA.” Furthermore, “The FDA ‘does not know of any scientific studies done to see if ‘hypoallergenic’ products produce fewer allergic reactions than those that don’t have the claim.’ The same is true for the terms ‘dermatologist-tested,’ ‘sensitivity tested,’ ‘allergy tested’ and ‘nonirritating.”
The term “natural” is no more helpful. “There is no government or official definition for this term except on meat and poultry products.
** Anna, I have a friend who tried using Burt's Bees Products and the eczema worsened. The difficult thing is that Stan may be allergic to some of the natural ingredients in the bubbles. It's hard because he's a child and wants to be able to have fun during his bath, which he should be able too; however, our dermatologist did reecommend that Sophie stay away from bubbles as they are very drying.
** On another note, I brought our daughter to swim the other day and she was in the water for 30 minutes and when she got out her eczema was amazing. The allergist said that they hydration from soaking in the water really helps too but maybe the bubbles are affecting him somehow.
I'm sorry that I can't be of more help. One thing that the author of the site mentioned that really stood out to me is that there ARE definitive causes of eczema but the most difficult thing is finding out WHAT!?! I started adding a column to Sophie's sleep log and writing notes throughout the day of how her skin looks based on what she eats and the activity she is doing. I realized that when she was on the carpet a lot rolling around she would get really flared which I think is due to either pet dander or all the detergent we used in the past with our steam cleaner.
My last attempt to be able to help you is to give you AJ Lumsdaine's email address. She is the mother who has been dedicated to help other eczema mommies fight through this and I have emailed her on several occasions and she always rights back with great insight. She has done a great deal of research for us already so maybe she can better answer your questions!
mamalumsdaine@yahoo.com
Keep me posted. I hope you find some relief for Stan soon!
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Hi Jean,
Yes, you can rent a steam vac (like the Rug Doctor) which we have done in the past but made the mistake of using hte detergent that came with it to do the shampooing. I honestly think the residue left from past steam cleans is what was aggravating Sophie's eczema. On a good note, we recently just purchased the Rug Doctor as they now offer an at home version and we use the Cal Ben's Shampoo as the detergent rather than what they recommend. It has made a tremendous improvement on Sophie's skin. I love The Rug Doctor personally because it really cleans and sucks out all the dirt. We made several passes over our persian rug downstairs and all three times the water that it removed came out completely pitched black. I couldn't believe how disgustingly dirty the rug was! It took 5 passes, soap once, and 4 rinses with plain hot water to get the murky water to somewhat of a clearer color. Just yesterday I had DD play on that rug and she had short sleeves on. In the past, it would have left her with a red ring around her wrist but she walked and rolled around on it and she was fine afterwards!
If you do end up steam cleaning I would recommend using a pure soap to do so rather than the harsh detergents they recommend because that would just bring you back to square one. Also the reason why we decided to invest in a steam cleaner was because we knew the rentals probably had all the detergent residue that other customers used before us. Purchasing one allowed us to start fresh with a clean one. I realized we made so many investments lately but just decided that the improvements I saw in Sophie's skin was well worth it. I don't know if this is the complete answer but it did help us so I wanted to share in case it helps you too!
Let me know if you have any other questions! It's hard when we don't iknow what is going on with their skin!! So frustrating and heartbreaking at the same time...
best wishes...
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Dh has been washing H the past few days and he said he hasn't really been using much soap again (like our soap free trials). His arms look amazingly good tonight!?? His cheeks are pretty good too. As the dr said, the condition can vary so much. The other thing is that he is on budesonide for a bout of wheezing (that lead to an er visit and us getting a nebulizer machine and a reactive airway disease diagnosis). It could be the lack of soap, the meds (but it is supposed to only affect the airway as an anti inflamitory), or something else. I will read through more of the post when I come back! :-)
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HI Jean,
Sorry to hear about the Reactive Airway Disease. I guess there is a link to children who have skin issues tend to also have bronchial and asthma issues later on...
I am glad to hear about the skin. I, too, do not use soap on Sophie really, only on her hair when it is oily. It dries them out whether it be soap or detergent, I think water works best...especially since the water hydrates!
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I said soap, but I meant any skin cleaning products. Opps! I need to get better at this new language. :-) I went to the natural food store, and I did not find any of the products, so I came back to look closer at the website and see if there are any ingredients to look out for. I see that biokleen has "soap flakes", but I wanted to see if that is in fact detergent free... There was another product that was Burgies All Natural Laundry soap (but it was a liquid), so I think that is probably detergent also.
I am thinking about using just Dove sensitive skin for him, but I am even unsure if that is detergent free. Need to do some more reading, I see! Thanks so much for this thread!
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I think this may be just too difficult for me. I can't steam clean nursery's carpets, or the cleaners they use on the mats that the kids sleep on, or my mums carpets (or even, heck our carpets). I mean I guess I could if his eczema was REALLY bad but right now it's more just annoying. And most of the products on her sites aren't available in the UK, and without knowing what ingredients are and aren't tolerated... well, I'm just floundering.
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Hugs Anna! As I mentioned, I am having a hard time with products,too. Although I could spend the money on the cal ben.
But, I think I am going to try using ivory soap to make my own laundry wash per the www.recipezaar.com website. Plug in detergent for recipes. I saw Dove sensitive skin is not recommended. I would have to find the washing soda, though.
BUT I wonder why Ivory soap is not listed as one you can use under the body soap section??
I called a place with a product called Burgies All Natural Laundry Soap (made here locally), and she said it was not detergent. It was soap and essential oils. I called cleure, and she said their products are neither detergent or soap. They are mild non drying chemical. So go figure there?? Biokleen laundry powder is a detergent per the person that answered the phone there.
This is a time consuming project, but I am hoping it will help. The reason I think it may is that when we go product free on his skin, he seems better. H's skin does not appear to be itchy at all. He has never scratched at it; it is why the allergist thought KP and the lack of it being in classic excema places?
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Anna--I know what you mean. It is very overwhelming and it still a mystery that constantly needs to be worked at. I wish you all the best and hope that you find something that works for his particular situation. It's so tough isn't it!
Jean it sounds like you are doing a good job researching. It's tough and requires a lot of asking around. I think the main thing to consider and make sure is that the detergent soaps do not contain SLS or any form of SLS or surfactant...Let me know how it goes. I"m still learning through this whole process but I have seen a tremendous difference in Sophie's skin so I'm hoping that I've hit it on the head. We have been steroid cream free for a week now. Good luck!
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I went out again tonight and read labels at Target, the Natural Food Store, and Trader Joes. Most have some kind of surfactant. Trader Joes doesn't have the Soapworks products any more. So, I am looking for products that are completely sls free and surfactant free, correct?
I bought Ivory bar soap, Dr. Bronner's baby variety, vaseline, Borax. I see that the Borax box says it is ok for carpets, sinks, and other things. I wonder if it will work as the initial cleaner or if Dr. Bronner's can work as a surface cleaner? Both are not listed in that area. Any thoughts on that one?
I think I may start off with the quick test and pick out some outfits that I will start to cycle through the laundry to get us started. When I think about it, I have no idea where to start. I don't have all the products to start in the kitchen. I did see some recipes for dishwasher detergent... They could use a section on the site as far as a step-by-step guide to doing an initial cleaning of your house. Room-by-room guide as to where to start...
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Hi Jean,
To answer your questions:
So, I am looking for products that are completely sls free and surfactant free, correct?
This is what I got from reading her site several times. The thing is she can only speak from experience so it's hard to say if there are other chemicals in the items you are looking at that may be irritants. I do know that looking at the ingredients in the Cal Ben products I bought that most of it just says Pure organic soap and cocoa butter as a moisturizer. There is really nothing else in it. She included a product list on her site that lists what she's used personally that works and shares some that others have used and had success with. It is hard because there is no exact science to the exact ingredients that we are looking to avoid other than basing it from other's experience. If you go to www.solveeczema.org, then click on The Solution, then click on "read the labels" located on the left hand side there is a link that says "list of products". These are based on what she's used and what others have used. I have only tried Cal Ben and it seems to work for us so I didn't go out and investigate others. I know this is not an exact answer but I hope it brings you in the right direction.
I, too, used Borax as a laundry booster but only used it for laundry. I never tried it on hard surfaces and am not sure if it is a soap in itself or just an agent that boosts the effectiveness of soap. It may clean but may not completely remove the detergent. I may not have read correctly in your former posts but did you end up ordering Cal Ben? Just wondering if you were just waiting for the products. I ended up waiting until I had everything so that nothing could fall between the cracks. I figured if I do it, I will do it completely so that I can really see if it's making a difference. Otherwise I will keep guessing if it is because I forgot this or that and then it will drive me nuts not knowing. I hope this helps =).
Regarding where to start. I know this is a time consuming project and I felt overwhelmed in the beginning so I knew that in order for me to do it right, I had to do a "brain dump" and list everything that I knew I had to clean or wash. I made a checklist on an Excel file that I would be happy to share. What I did was I categorized the things I had to do. For instance:
1) Laundry:
a) Sophie's Laundry
* Jackets
* Pants
* Socks
* Blankets
* etc.
b) Linens
* All towels
* All pillow cases
* Blankets
Then, I went onto hard surfaces by room:
1) Kitchen
* Sink
* Dishes into dishwasher by cabinet. I would wash one cabinet at a time so that I would not miss anything. I know it sounds a bit meticulous but like I said I didn't want to have any room for error so it would help me determine it's effectiveness...
You can try this "brain dump" method. I pretty much walked into each room with a clipboard and jotted things down into categories. I even went to the car and listed things like carseat cover, jogging stroller cover, travel pack cover etc.
Like I said, I am more than happy to share but I don't think I can attach anything here or on a personal message. If you feel comfortable, you are more than welcome to send me a personal message with your email and I can send it to you or I can copy and paste everything here, if it helps.
Next to the checklist, I made little boxes and I would literally put a check after each wash so I knew which was I was on since you have to do so many. It has really helped me to stay organized and sane. Otherwise, you are right, where do you start!?
Once I had the plan, the materials and a game plan on where to start...everything else fell into place. I also wrote down a few things to buy:
-small towels (to replace sponges)
-scrubs to wash the sinks and the bathtub with.
Then I gave away:
-all my detergent items, even cleaners that contain so many of the bad chemicals that i was spraying hte house with and the furniture with!!
I probably overwhelmed you with information here. I just want to be able to help you if I can. Let me know =).
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An interesting note is that dh did not bathe H last night, and his skin was worse this morning. Usually we had been doing a couple of baths a week in winter (since the dr said limiting baths is better for kp); now that it is summer it is more like every night (to wash off the sunscreen). Washing everynight is also a factor in his skin being better even though it is mostly just water, it seems. I did wash with Dr. Bronners this morning, dried with a paper towel, and vaseline on his skin. I did an arm and a leg. I put him in long sleeves, too. So his legs have sunscreen and his arms do not. Of course his clothes still have detergent on them, but we will see if there is any difference. We have used the Dr. Bronner's baby wash before, though. Hard to say if that will show any difference. I should look to see how long before the skin condition was better per the person on the website.
Adding one more side note: we have been double rinsing our clothes for several weeks, also.
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Jean,
AJ does mention on her site that washing every night is very helpful because it helps to get rid of the detergent that has accumulated onto his skin during the day. Washing helps to get the residue off then the barrier cream locks in the cleaned skin. Some moms sometimes will not wash and add barrier cream and notice a worsening in the skin because in other words the detergent is trapped under barrier cream and onto the skin.
Do you know if the sunscreen has any ingredients that may be aggrevating? Maybe last night the sunscreen wasn't washed off hence the worsening in skin this a.m.? Not sure, just a guess...
Let me know how the Dr. Bronner's test goes. Also, I emailed you the checklist. Hope it helps to save you some thinking time...
Take care,
Christine
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We used the Dr Bronner Hemp Baby wash in the shower, followed by (somewhat?) superwashed towels and Vaseline (can't get Aquaphor here) and his skin did stay soft for at least 12 hours. It's hard to say about the eczema because he still has chickenpox sores which he is scartching, but I think it was somewhat better.
(PS I used it all over, because his nappy came off in the night and he was soaked in pee from head to toe!)
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No sunscreen yesterday. ??? I try to avoid using it as it just adds to the confusion and chemicals on his skin. But days like today, I have to. It is HOT, and it is a stretch even having him in long sleeves (but I wanted to experiment w/o sunscreen). BTW, the arm that was washed with bronners/vaselined looks really good (even with long sleeves with detergent). The other has red bumps. I really need to take a pic for you to believe it, I think. Both legs looked pretty good this morning and they look the same. I think I will do one cheek, leg, arm tomorrow and continue the experiment.
Anna, stan has the chicken pox? Poor dear!!! Sending lots of hugs for that! Was that a part of the bumpy bottom?
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Yippee Jean! Yeah for the clear arm! I've noticed too that when it's hot, I still have to keep Sophie in a long sleeve very thin shirt as it helps to prevent exposure to residue that is probably still in my home. Glad to hear that!
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Jean, yah, he got the first spot two weeks ago. Was a nightmare week (extra spots on top of his eczema) but all the spots are NEARLY all gone now.
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Could the products you are using in Stan's bath to make bubbles be causing a problem. I know that my ds can't have anything like that as it makes his eczema flare. I know James would love to have bubble bath but its just not worth it. We have tried a few simple ones in the past that are supposed to be ok for children with eczema with terrible results. Having said that we can't use any kind of soap on James either we just wash him with his emollient.
Kelly
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It could be, I guess. Although for a long time we were using the same product and his skin was almost clear. This most recent flare up happened before we changed products.
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Anna,
I'm really glad to hear that Stan's pox are almost gone. Hugs to you!
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http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/SD0604/OrganicShikakaiBabyMildBodySoap.htm I used this the first time we used Dr. Bronner's.
http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/BAB.htm Am using this. I decided to go back to the website, and I realized the two products are different. I examined them closer, and I noted grape juice is one of the ingredients in the first. We KNOW he can not tolerate grapes at all; one weekend of him eating grapes from our grapevines and his behavior was CRAZY! Oh, and the refluxy nwings were ridiculous. We tried it before knowing about the grapes...
His skin is better than when using the cleure products. But, I am using the Dr. Bronner's all over his body, so it is hard to tell the difference, iykwim. The one with the vaseline looks looks a bit better. His skin was so flat this morning, and when we left his room and were in the room next door for a bit, it seemed to get bumpier. He rubs his face on his lovies a lot (which were just washed with detergent), so I was able to superwash two of them today. I think I should I keep them just for his bedroom?
Today, I made my own laundry detergent per the recipezaar website; I had to adjust the amts for a 4 oz bar.
One 4 oz bar of Kirk's Castille bar soap (or any soap like fels naptha or ivory)
400 ml of Borax
400 ml of washing soda
Use 1-2 TBLS per load of laundry; this will be a lot cheaper if he can tollerate it well! Just watch, he will wake up in spots tomorrow.
I shaved the soap with a grater, gave it a spin in the food processor, and put it in a clean containiner.
Did one super wash including his bedding, lovies, a pair of pj's, and a couple of outfits. We do not have a front load washer. It takes so much water...
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How are you both doing? His skin is better. His skin does get worse when he leaves his bedroom in the morning. I noticed that his skin felt really smooth at music class tonight. I was surprised, as it had a strong scent of some kind of cleaner in the lobby. But the lesson room was fine.
I made another change today; I used the recipezaar.com recipe for dishwasher "detergent". I was skeptical that something so inexpensive would work. I used 1.5 tsp washing soda and 1.5 tsp borax in the compartment, and I used vinegar in the rinse aid dept. It will take a while for all the rinse aid detergent to be gone, right? I hope sooner than later, as I haven't filled it in a while. No residue on the dishes.
This spring, we invested in a water softener system (that also removes chlorine) and a reverse osmosis water cleaning system. Our city has really hard water, so we decided to take the leap. I do think it is making a difference with our laundry and dishwasher, and the homemade soaps are working well.
The other thing I read was that you can use the Bronner's in a one to six ratio (soap to water) in a foaming soap dispenser. The bottle says it will not work and gum up, but the poster said that it may do that every 3 to 4 times you refill it. I would like a bunch of them, and I am having trouble finding the dispensers. I see that Pampered Chef sells them for about $12 new. Buying foaming soap with dispensers from the store would be the cheapest, and then emptying it out. Funny that filled ones are cheaper than unfilled. What do you both think? Maybe that is one of those questions for the author of the website.
Sorry for sounding so cheap! We spent a lot of money going to "greener/safer" products when H was born, and then the expense of continually trying products for H's skin. I can't even count how many abandoned sunscreens, lotions, meds there are in the closet. My last purchase of Cleure products was about $80. ugh The good news is that this is so much less expensive (until we decide to get a steam cleaner, a new vac, clean the air ducts, and probably more).
I copied this from amazon regarding the uses for Dr. Bronner's. I think I may start using it to clean the house.
Product Features
All Natural Organic Certified Ingredients; Bio-Degradable;Packaged In 100% Post Consumer Recycled Bottles; No Animal Testing And Cruelty Free
Top Selling Natural Soap In The USA
Cleans Body; Floors; Bathrooms; Counters; Walls; Dishes; Pets; Fruits & Vegetables; Great For Shaving
Mild And Gentle For Babys; Sensitive Skin; Chemically Sensitive People
Great For Camping; Backpacking; Traveling
Sorry for the brain dump; I figure it will easy to go back and see what I did when. XXXXX
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Hi Jean,
I think it's great that you found an inexpensive alternative. I completely understand what you mean about costs. We've spent so much on Sophie already..it's funny because my girlfriends and I will chat and while they spend money on the cute clothes, I'm buying odd things like a vacuum tube etc. All in all, we want the best for our little ones, right? I will look into the Dr. Bronner's items. I don't think we have them in our town but I will see where I can find it.
Yesterday I noticed SOphie's hands getting red again and I'm not sure if it's from being out or from our carpet. We really need to get the rest of the carpet steam cleaned!!!
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I know what you mean about the cute clothes. We tend to do the same like saving our money for the safer water, saving to tear out this carpet, or replace our OLD ratty sofa (that happens to be nicnamed "the rat"). We have waited so long to replace it looking for prducts that have safer glues, fabric finishes, and are particle board free, etc. BTW, what is a vaccum tube? :-)
I saw that even Target is selling Dr. Bronner's soap,now. But you have to look in the more "organic" section of the make-up aisles. It is on the bottom, here. I have seen it at Trader Joes and our local natural food store. It is harder to track down the baby variety, but I found that at Target.
XXXX
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Thanks for sharing Jean. I will go check it out. We have a Target here too. Today I noticed red bumps on some parts of Sophie's body. I think maybe I gave her something she couldn't eat and it was from food becasue they looked like mini hives...Poor thing, if it isn't one thing it's another!
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Poor baby! I hope she is over it soon, and you are able to track it down. XXX
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Hi Jean,
I was thinking about your Heath today. How are things going? Also, you know what's crazy...we went to visit a friend yesterday and Sophie was barefoot walking around on her carpet. Her skins been clear lately and the minute we got into the car both feet were red and bumpy and she was scratching them like crazy. I was thinking...hmm..I wonder if she'll react to whatever's on her carpet and boy did she!
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WOW, that is interesting. Poor dear! I hope all it takes is a bath to clear it all up, so she is feeling better!
We still have massive amounts of cleaning to do. We were so busy over the weekend, and we did not have time to work on cleaning the house. Nap times seem to get so short. I think we need to do a lot of the cleaning when I have extra hands on the weekend. His skin is always better if he bathes frequently. If we do not catch a bath at night, it takes two days to get it back to where it was. It is always better after sleeping in his room, too. I am not sure if he is tollerating the laundry soap I made, but we are also on a run of using a lot of sunscreen (making it really difficult to tell). I am going to steer the course and go detergent-free; it is making a difference, and it is more healthy anyway. I wonder if I could really use the Bronner's as dishsoap as the description on amazon suggests. That would help, too.
Sending hugs your way, and hoping Sophie is back to normal tomorrow. XXXXXX
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How are things going? I had to fish a ways back to find this. Been meaning to post for some time. :-)
I started a post on making my own soap. I ordered the Vermont Soap, and we have been using that to clean. Using Bronner's on the skin. We are on a bad run lately. We skipped a bath for several days, and we haven't still gotten back to where we were after a couple of weeks. Hmmmm....
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Christine, you just superwash the clothes once, yes?
I have got soap flakes for laundry. It's so confusing to me, what products are OK and what are not. Stan's eczema is pretty bad right now. The main problem here is baths - Stan makes SUCH a fuss if there is not bubbles in his bath. Burts Bees makes an SLS free bubble bath, but I don't know what ingredients are and are not OK.
I'm not sure if you ended up finding a non-irritable bubble bath for Stan, but as I was reviewing my order from Cal Ben today, I noticed that their pure soap shampoo can also be used as a bubble bath. Since the shampoo is detergent-free, I think it would be okay to use it as both shampoo and bubble bath. I just thought I'd throw that idea out there. Hope you're having better luck controlling his eczema. I just ordered a bunch of soap products today, so we'll be ridding our house of detergents once they come in. We're also thinking about trying wet wraps today, and I also ordered Melaleuca's Intensive Skin Therapy lotion (which should come in approximately next week). All other treatments...you name it, we've probably tried it - well, except the bleach baths, we're holding off on those as long as possible. But for some reason, I feel particularly hopeful about these three new treatment plans we have in store for Landon. Wish us luck! :D