what is it in sunscreen that causes ds1 an allergic reaction??

[mad4myboys]

ds1 is 3, gets mild ezcema, has food allergies but i cant find a sunscreen that he dpesnt come out in what the doctors call an allergic rash. even tried one simple do for kids, derived from sunflowers and that is 'natural'. wasting so much money, anyone had this prob or recommend one?

Pretty sure with ds it is the perfume (which is in nearly all of them...) luckily simple works for ds - I know there is another one (v. expensive) which has been recommended by other MNs, hopefully someone will be along soon who can remember the name of it!

could be anything really. Perfume, an oil, preservative.

I use ZO1 - available online. It's a zinc based sunscreen (like skiers use) but clear. My DS1 (also 3) has loads of allergies and this is the only one I trust. HTH

struggling to google anything at the mo stupid computer. i found on boots.com avene do one that is supposed to be anti irritant, anti free radical.... but never hear of it before (i have used avene face creams before and found them great thou)

I get a strong allergic ezceme type reaction to high factor sunscreen. The best one I have found in this country is Clarins suncream. It is, unfortunately, almost the most expensive suncream in the world.

I asked my uncle, who is a GP in South Africa, about which ones were most likely to cause a reaction. He said it was often due to a particular chemical that is used in lots of different suncreams. Unfortunately, I can't remember what it was, but it was a long chemically sounding name. In SA it was possible to find a few suncreams that didn't have this ingredient, but its much harder here.

However, I think as others have said it is possible that a variety of things could set of yor ds's ezcema, so it may be worth trying lots until you find one that is OK.

To be honest, my reaction is so bad, I tend to only put suncream on the kids when there are others around to apply it.

its so hard, its not his ezcema that kicks off, it is an allergic reaction to the sunscreens so it is a wierd rash

Sunsense is the only one my DD can have. Others just bring her out in 'island' type eczema break outs. DD2 is allergic to soya which is in some lotions too.

oh he cant eat soya either!! better check for that, is it known by any other name? In lotion form i mean, does it have a chemical name?

Riemann P20 is very good - My DS1 comes up in a rash with any other type - i think it's the oils in them. It was recommended to me by a nursery nurse and is apparently used alot on the continent as you only need to put it on little ones once and it lasts 10 hours - also it's none greasy.

Peanut oils in alot of them too.

Mad4Boys - on the Ambre Solaire one it just lists Soyabean Oil. DD's face swelled up like a balloon. How bad did we feel???

Port - which ones have peanut oil? None of the paediatric ones I no and we have an anaphylactic child. Would be really interested to know of the names as it is so easy to miss these things.

BBF - probably not many do these days - was more common in the past. Arachis Hypogaea is what will be on the label (apologies if i'm teaching grandmothers how to suck eggs).

Articles that I have read on this say to avoid octyl-methooxycinnamate, benezophenonoe-3, homosalate amongst others which can all penetrate the skin and have been shown to have potentially oestrogenic properties.

My mum has trouble with almost all suncreams, she is allergic to octyl-methooxycinnamate. The only one she has found she can use so far is from Green people.

Look for anything containing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide - act as barriers, don't penetrate the skin and are thought to be safer than chemical filters or Optisol - a broad spectrum filter (effective against UVA and UVB) based on titanium dioxide. You could also try Loreal products which contain mexoryl but you will probably find these are perfumed. HTH!!

yes it does have soya in. can anyone find the ingredients of the simple kids 50+spf sunflower one? i threw it away and on simples website ingredients arent listed

Have you tried Green People unscented sunscreen for kids its factor 25 and my DD who suffers from eczema is fine with it.

Have just seen a snippet about a new mineral powder sunscreen from Mineralogie (in June Good Housekeeping mag) - called Loose Powder Shaker, has SPF26 - made from "micronised titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, blocks all UVA and UVB, and pollutants". £27 which is expensive though, but it wouldn't set off any allergies and it doesn't block your pores (I use mineral powder foundation so I presume it's the same stuff).

Ohh, pinkteddy has identified the one my uncle (the GP) said often causes allergic reactions. It's the octyl-methooxycinnamate.

Another ingredient to watch out for that frequently causes allergic reactions are anything with the word parabens. This can be methylparabens, ethylparabens etc. Also formaldhyde.
I have seen these ingredients in all sorts of hypoallergenic creams, shampoos, bath gels, baby wipes etc. If my sister uses anything with parabens in she quickly becomes covered in a red, sore rash.
Try anything without these ingredients and see if things improve.

E45 reflective is the only one my son can use. The national excema society have a list of suncreams and common ingredients people can be allergic to for reference

I use UltraSun Sensitive on my youngest as he used to be sensitive to certain suncreams (no idea if he still is, I haven't bothered to check!)

Another thing to think about - are you 100% sure that he's reacting to the suncream, and doesn't have a sun allergy?

If I'm out in the sun too long or didn't apply suncream very well, I get a nasty allergic rash that's very itchy and only clears up with several days application of hydrocortizone (can't spell it!) I've only finally worked out it's not an allergy to the lotion this last week, as I forgot to sun tan lotion part of my neck and while I wasn't out long enough to get burned, I got the same rash just in that place (fortunately am on heavy duty antihistamines at the moment, so only took a day to clear up with they hydrocortizone thingy)

erm well he def gets prickley heat rash like i do when hot/in the sun... yes pretty sure its to the sunscreen. Really confusing isnt it! So much to try to remember, i really thought the simple sunflower one was going to work, supposedly being 'natural' and for skin that irritates easily....

hi, im having the same sun cream night mare my ds2 aged 5 has just been diagnosed with a solicylate intolerance which means we have to reduce the amount of benzoates, solicylates and histamines he eats and uses, as they are in everything from suncream to hair shampoo, most fruit and veg and pretty much any food that has a shelf life i would safely say im in hell trying to feed him and stop allergic reactions my poor boy! any one else in the same boat?

my ds is seeing an allergy specialist next week as he keeps having allergic reactions and not sure what it is. how was he diagnosed with this allergy? quite a strange one?

I have super sensitive skin and so does dd. She had terrible eczema as a baby (luckily out grew it around age 2). Both of us react terribly to all sorts of creams and things. I only use, and have never had any trouble with, Coppertone Waterbabies. I buy it in the USA, but suspect you could order it over the internet in the UK.

PABA is the only sunscreen that has a reputation for causing allergic reactions in a small % of consumers. The others are pretty safe for allergy sufferers.

Parabens is not an allergy problem. The bad news surrounding paraben has nothing to do with human health.

All risks have to be weighed up against the very real risk of sun damage.

I find sunscreens a bit of a faff to apply, so my strategy is to avoid the midday sun and to seek shade (and by extension, UV clothing) as much as possible. Beyond that, I am not frightened of sunscreens - they are our friends.

"Parabens is not an allergy problem. The bad news surrounding paraben has nothing to do with human health."

Sorry can you explain what you mean by this?