Skincare For My 2 Year Old?

[dylansmom]

I know that I haven't posted in quite a while, but I could really use some sage advice, and thought that perhaps someone here could help.

My 2 year old son has really sensitive skin. I took him to see his Pedi back in August because he has these little raised bumps all over his legs, arms, and cheeks. He has only had these since maybe 1 1/2 years old, if that long. I thought that maybe they were just baby acne, which is why I let it slide for so long, but when they got more raised looking and in more abundance, I took action. (Definately not rashy at all, just little bumps.)

His doctor says that they are common in children with senstive skin, and put him on a skin cream regime of only using Dove Sensitive skin body wash for his hair and body both, and then also a mild steroidal skin cream on the affected areas, and seal it up with some Cetaphil cream at the end of the process.

Even when I was doing the routine faithfully each day, I noticed that the bumps got a little smaller, but it still never really "cured" or took care of the problem completely. It was like putting a band aid on the problem without really curing it.

So with all of this said..........I got to thinking that maybe there is something out there for people with sensitive skin that is all natural, not tested on animals (not sure if any of the above mentioned is, and if so I'll be really angry to know that), and that will actually take care of the problem once and for all.

I don't mind using a product on him each day, as long as it is actually going to do something for him! And the more natural it can be, the better. He's only 2, so I want to take good care of him.

Thank you to anyone who can offer me any help. I hate to see my poor little guy go through this.

[ilovemydragon]

Make sure you use perfume and dye free laundry products.

[dylansmom]

Oh no! I totally did not even think about that Kat! I wonder if that's what's been bugging his skin all along, and why it won't heal up completely!?!?!?!

I feel like such a moron. I'll have to see what's available on the market for laundry detergants like that.

I have been online looking at natural bath and body products and have found some promising leads with Arbonne, Nature's Gate, and Avalon. All pretty reasonably priced too.

Thank you so much for the tip! Now I'll have to snoop around and see what I can find for the detergent too.

[SallyK]

I'd be happy to send you a sample pack of Arbonne's baby care line.

But ilovemydragon is right...watch out for the laundry stuff. Seventh Generation always has coupons on their website but my favorite is Ecos and Ecover.

[MEM]

definately change laundry detergent! A friend of mine has bumps on his arms and back similar to what you're describing and it is a allergy to detergent (he won't change soaps and has learned to live with it, but you don't have to!).
If the seventh generation stuff doesn't work, you might want to try the detergents that museum workers use to clean delicate fabric, as it doesn't leave a residue. I don't remember the name of it right now, but my mother is a textile curator and always knows this sort of stuff. I'll try to remember to ask her later.
But definately try seventh generation stuff first, the detergent they use in the museume is expensive.

[dylansmom]

Thank you so much for the replies! I would LOVE some samples of the baby products from Arbonne! I will PM you my address right now.

I'm going to try the Watkins laundry detergent and hopefully it will do the trick. I sell Watkins and we have quite a few different types of laundry detergent (although I've been using a store bought kind for quite some time because it is cheap and all we could afford).

I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't using my own products first, since I believe in them whole-heartedly. But money has been so tight lately, that we're making every dollar screem in agony I think.

Watkins doesn't test their stuff on animals, and this particular one is perfume/dye free, so I think it'll do the trick. If not we'll have to try a different brand.

All of Watkins products are cruelty free and high quality, which I love!

[momofcutie]

It sounds like your son might have eczema. It's a fairly common condition that a lot of kids eventually outgrow (or at least they improve dramatically over time.) My son was diagnosed with it at age 18 months. He had always had sensitive skin-we couldn't put him in clothes with snaps because he would get a little rash where the snaps had touched. But he didn't have a major eczema flare until we switched laundry detergents. We had been using baby detergent, but I switched to Surf. And all these red raised patches of skin suddenly appeared. They were warm to the touch and very itchy.

We tried over the counter hydrocortisone cream (which did nothing), then we were given a prescription for Dermatop. That worked a lot better. So that was to get it under control. Keeping it from flaring up is key. If your son has itching, I recommend Caladryl Clear. Needless to say, we switched back to baby detergent!

Anyway, the doctor told us to use Eucerin products. They don't test on animals and they are unscented. They worked great for my son. We liked the lotion and cream and the Aquafor is good for protecting skin from chapping in the winter. We'd smear that on our son's cheeks before going outside in the winter. Some kids with eczema react to essential oils and things like that, so you even have to be careful with natural products.

My son no longer reacts to snaps, but he does get a red rash around his mouth when he eats spaghetti sauce, Ranch dressing and cinnamon. We will keep on using baby detergent for him. We use it for us too. (My husband has sensitive skin too.) I'm looking into the Method baby detergent at Target. Let me know how your experiences go! I'm interested too!

Danielle

[misq17]

I've had little bumps on my skin (the worst on my upper arms and legs) as long as I can remember. I don't really worry about it any more.

[momofcutie]

I also have little bumps on my upper arms. If they are dry and look like little hard pimples and are pretty much always present, that's called Keratosis Pilaris. It's a harmless dry skin condition. I've found that exfoliating and using lotion helps.

Sorry if I sound like I think I know everything! :)

Danielle

[dylansmom]

I did a search online for eczema and his doesn't look at all like any of the pictures they have shown.

I also have the Keratosis Pilaris and his doesn't look like that either.

His is not red at all, it is little (sometimes bigger) white bumps that are raised on his legs, arms, and cheeks. His cheeks are a little red sometimes, but nothing like what I saw in the pictures.

His doctor seemed to think it was harmless, so I'm guessing he's getting these due to the contact with laundry detergent or some other skin irritant.

I don't use lotion on him on a daily basis, so it can't be that, and neither dh or I wear perfume/cologne, so it's not that either. It has to be the laundry detergent.

I'm ordering some of my Watkins perfume/dye free stuff here very soon, and I am hoping that takes care of the problem. I've heard only good things about that detergent, so I'm hopeful.

[momofcutie]

My son's rashes didn't look like any of the pictures either and since he doesn't have any problems when we avoid scented things, I've often wondered if it's really contact dermatitis rather than eczema. I know that contact with offending stuff (like scented laundry detergent) can *worsen* eczema, but I'm not sure that it's the same thing as eczema. If you find out, please let me know! Good luck!

Edited to add that the diaper rash cream from Arbonne really works well for soothing sensitive skin. I don't know if your son has reactions to bug bites (like mosquito bites) but alot of kids with sensitive skin do. We put the diaper rash cream on them and the redness and swelling go away faster.

Edited again to add this link:

http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/2-ch/47-kids-excema-treatment.htm