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Original poster

Amber bracelet causing eczema?

23 replies

Kerri092 · 05/11/2018 20:47

Looking for some advice - I’m a first time mum.
My wee boy is 6 months and around 2 weeks ago had a really bad rash. After a trip to the doctors and a morning in a&e it was said to be eczema and they gave me anti biotic to use for a week, steroid cream to use twice a day for a week and epiderm cream to use as often as needed.

At the time of his first flare up he was wearing his new amber bracelet to help with his teething. I took it off during our a&e visit, and only put it back on again last night. Today he’s had a massive flare up again and his skin is red raw and inflamed. Does anyone think he could be possibly allergic to the amber bracelet? Or just a coincidence. I’ve googled it and it says it could be possible but quite uncommon. Has anyone else experienced this with their baby?

OP posts:
SharkSave · 05/11/2018 20:50

Well if it helps, there's no scientific research that Amber teething bracelets alleviate teething pain so you can stop putting it on him anyway!

NorthernRunner · 05/11/2018 20:51

Yes my daughter had this, suddenly her skin flared up around the backs of her knees and lower back. I never really got to the bottom of what it was. Like you my little one was prescribed Hydrocortisone cream, epiderm and a third moisturiser. I was also told to only bathe her every other night.

I think Johnson’s products were the cause of my daughters bad skin. I switched to child’s farm and she hasn’t had a spot of bother since

Yonijust · 05/11/2018 20:54

My DD was like thos as soon as I switched from BF to Cows milk.

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Eminybob · 05/11/2018 20:55

If amber teething bracelets were to work (which they don’t) then you are putting untested, unregulated, unknown quantities of whatever anaesthetic substance they claim to contain against your babies skin. So it wouldn’t be surprising if it caused eczema.

BathFullOfEels · 05/11/2018 20:56

Just take the amber bracelet off - they do nothing, they’re a choking hazard and they make you look ridiculous.

SharkSave · 05/11/2018 20:57

Has he just started weaning? Could he be reacting to something he's eating?

AssassinatedBeauty · 05/11/2018 20:58

Amber is inert at body temp, so very unlikely to be causing eczema. It could be the fastenings on the bracelet though, or just that the skin underneath is a little sweatier or clammier.

I'd just stop putting it on him, it does nothing for teething anyway, and then you can rule it out as a cause of the eczema.

DaisyDreaming · 05/11/2018 21:01

Goodnsss knows what else might be used except for Amber when making them. If you believe they can work then they are leaking their mysterious properties onto his skin. I would remove and see if it improves

Original poster
Kerri092 · 05/11/2018 21:09

Yeah that the same places as my wee one. And also under his neck. I’ve binned the bracelet. Il phone the doctors and see if it improves. Thank you

OP posts:
Original poster
Kerri092 · 05/11/2018 21:11

He’s breastfed and recently started weaning. But everything he’s had recently is food he’s tried before with no reactions so I’m thinking it’s unlikely to be that. I’ve binned the bracelet and carrying on with the creams and I’ve put gloves on him tonight so he can’t get to it. Thanks everyone for your advice!

OP posts:
MVLipwig · 05/11/2018 22:28

If he’s biting the bracelet, there will be spit on it right by his skin irritating it. That could be a cause

NamelessEnsign · 05/11/2018 22:36

If the bracelet has any metal - perhaps in the clasp - he could be allergic to nickel, or cheap metals.

EnidButton · 05/11/2018 23:38

Was just going say does it have any metal on it or mixed into it? A nickel allergy rash looks very very similar to eczema. Itches like mad and can get weepy when scratched.

Or if there's no metal, he might have eczema and the bracelet is an odd coincidence. Or like pp it's the moisture causing irritation.

Hopefully it'll clear up now you've got rid of it.

Original poster
Kerri092 · 06/11/2018 00:58

No metal clasps or anything on it. It’s just a pull on one. And I had it round his ankle because anything he gets hold of goes in his mouth. Hopefully there will be a difference by morning

OP posts:
eatthepineapple · 06/11/2018 11:46

My lg (10 months) wears one and had a flare up of eczema when she started eating solids. Treated with hydrocortisone cream and another one and it has since settled so I think it was the introduction of food plus swimming pool water. Still in Amber and all is fine.

Not sure it works for us but fwiw we actually notice her being a bit more mardy if we forget to put it on... We figure it can't be doing any harm. I reckon they simply work for some but not others. 3 and a bit teeth in and she has coped really well (but obv I don't know how she would've been otherwise!)

SharkSave · 06/11/2018 11:52

No, they don't work

BathFullOfEels · 06/11/2018 12:06

But they can do harm eatthe - they’re a choking hazard. There is absolutely no proof they do anything at all, other than potentially choke babies and, it would appear, cause rashes. Despite what you may ‘reckon’.

missyB1 · 06/11/2018 12:13

I wish they would ban these bloody Amber bracelets/ necklaces for babies, they are a known choking and strangulation risk. I was horrified when I saw a friend putting her toddler son to bed with the necklace on, she took great offence when I pointed out that it might be a bit of a risky thing to do.

picklemepumpkin · 06/11/2018 12:52

I'm allergic to elastic, so the stretchy bit could be causing the problem.

MaudeLynne · 06/11/2018 13:00

Could be the elastic in the pull on. I'm sometimes allergic to my bra.

MaudeLynne · 06/11/2018 13:05

It could also just be a sweat rash type thing caused by contact with the skin. Are you sure it's amber and not plastic? I saw a few made of plastic at babygroup, they were 'amazing' and 'very expensive', and still made of plastic.

Annajohnsdottir · 06/11/2018 15:23

It does sound like an allergic reaction to something considering how his skin has developed eczema seemingly out of the blue and also where it's occurring. The knees and backs of knees, inside of elbows, chest, face and back are common sites when allergies are at play. The allergen doesn't have to touch these areas for it to appear there either. I've seen this from experience as my son is allergic to cows milk.

You may find his eczema takes a few weeks to recede completely. To help it go faster apply the epiderm twice a day to keep topping up the moisture levels in his skin and always after a bath. After a particularly bad flare up (not too dissimilar from your poor son) we were advised by our DS dermatologist to apply the steroid cream when he woke up, give that an hour or so to sink in and then apply the epiderm. We then reversed that in the evening before he went to bed. So he ended up having four lots of cream a day to bring down his eczema flare ups. Before we used the epiderm sporadically but being consistent with it really helped!

AngeloMysterioso · 06/11/2018 15:43

I had really awful eczema as a baby because of dairy in my diet

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