contact dermatitis

[fanjodisfunction]

I suffer from contact dermatitis though things like fairy liquid and washing detergent. I mainly use ecover now seems to work. I use simple stuff on my face but had a reaction the other day where my face went blotchy and burned. the next day my son had contact dermatitis on his face, we had shared a bath with simple bath stuff in it.

I've just been washing him in hot water now, no soap or anything. can anyone recommend a sensitive wash for my son? I bought e45 stuff but it seams to have irritated his dermatitis again.

thank you I shall have a look at one, guess I should try it out on myself first before my son.

I find that petroleum -based emollients aggravate my skin. Aveno is excellent. You can also try oats-in-a-stocking in the bath.

Cold-pressed virgin coconut oil is very good for soothing inflamed skin, as is cold-pressed virgin sunflower oil. You only need to spread the merest drop on your skin.

Do you use fabric conditioner? It's a demon for triggering contact dermatitis. Sometimes it may seem that you're ok with a product, but it actually sensitises your skin to react when ecposed to other chemicals. Try using Surcare products. I find them even better than Ecover.

BTW how old is your ds?

he's nearly ten months.

thank you so much for the recommendations, I'm guessing this is my problem too petroleum based stuff. I've been complaining about my skins reactions for years but thought simple was helping, how wrong I was. can't have my son going through the same.

Simple might not be the problem. I use Simple, too, and it does not cause me any problems day-to-day. But if I have a flare-up then Simple is not mild enough. That's when I turn to the pure oils and Aveeno. Have a look also at My Trusty Sunflower Cream. I use the fragrance-free one as I have a diagnosed fragrance allergy.

At 10m you don't need to use any soap on your ds unless he is actually dirty. Water alone is perfectly adequate. "Actually dirty" means puke, poo, animals, or mud from a place where animals are likely to have been. Oats-in-a-stocking are fine, and make a great bath-toy.

thank you six I don't use any products on him really, he's in reusable nappies and has bamboo wipes with water for clean ups. just in the bath like to make sure he's getting clean enough.

I will look out for all you have suggested, for me and ds.

I have read a lot of criticism of Simple. Apparently their products often contain chemicals that cause or have the potential to cause problems, or that are very close to fragrance chemicals (I won't use their rosemary or menthol products). For me, however, it boils down to cost. I cannot spend £10 on a bottle of shower gel or shampoo! I have found only two affordable fragrance-free ranges: Simple and Waitrose Pure (which I find excellent). Other companies do bits and bobs, and it's a matter of trial and error finding what suits.

Have you had your irritable skin investigated? It never occurred to me that what I had was not normal, until I had a very severe and disfiguring episode which finally drove me to the doctor. Learning that I actually have an allergy, and strictly avoiding my triggers, has made such an amazing difference!

thank you so much six I will think about going to the doctors. I was thinking today about my dermatitis and how I had never thought that it could be a mixture of products too. but I'm thinking now that it probably is as well.

my ds face has gone down and he's not been rubbing it for a while now but I can still see little blisters on his face, think I might wait till they are completely gone before I add anything to his bath again.