2.4 year old itches in the bath

[sheeplikessleep]

Not a biggie, but just wondered if anyone had any similar experiences.

DS1 is 2.4 and itches (using his arms, on his legs, so not sure if it's his arms or legs itching) as soon as he goes in the water and it's quite furious itching. We don't add any bubble bath or anything (I do wash his hair / use body wash, but he itches way before that and we've been using same ones for nearly a year now with no problems before).

No rash or anything untoward. Water not too hot or cold.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Not sure what it is but i get this everytime i bath, i have ezcema and even when im not having a flare up, when my skin looks normal, water still irrates it and i find myself itching everytime im in there.

DD2 (3.5) has dry, sensitive skin but not excema and gets a bit itchy in the bath so i put a few drops of junior oilitum in while running the bath.

thanks mumgonecrazy. i might try buying some oilatum junior too.

dh thinks it's because i've recently changed washing liquid, but i didn't think that would start when he gets in the water (he doesn't itch at any other time). he used to get baby eczema, but hasn't had that (visible rash) since he was a baby.

thanks for posting.

DS2 is like this, he's 5 now.

He only bathes 2-3 times a week and we use E45 wash or emollient cream for him to wash with.

Also we apply cream as necessary, diprobase is the best but I think that's prescription only. Our pot lasted 3 years but has finally gone so we just use emollient cream which you can buy from a pharmacy.

One thing that makes hard water nicer (I'm assuming you've got hard water) is to put softener in it; that really helped my son who had bad eczema. There is chlorine in town water remember not a lot but he may be allergic to it. Also see if you can get a soap without sodium laureth sulfate in it which is a dirt cheap soap first designed to remove oil from garage floors!!! Look at the bottles and you'll see that the large manufacturers use this as their first ingredient!!! EVEN IN THE BABY STUFF!!!!

Try giving him oat baths: a handful of oats in a piece of tights tied tightly at both ends, then swished and squashed in the bathwater. He can play with the bag. A couple of tablespoonsful of cornflour in the water is also nice. Again, he can play withthe conrflour.

Don't use bodywash, he shouldn't need it at his age, and only shampoo his hair if really necessary (ie visibly dirty, or dirty to the touch, or smelly) rather than routinely.

chlorine - try one of these
www.allergybestbuys.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/crystalballbathdechlorinator-901024m.shtml

thanks all for posting.

i'd like to wash him with something, as his fingernails come back with mud under them when he comes back from the childminders and he is into everything and seems quite attracted to mud and grime at the moment!

the stuff we've used is paraben free, 'gentle' eco wash stuff and as i say, we've been using it for about a year without problems.

i think we have emollient cream locked away which we used when he was a baby, so i might try cleaning with that again or the oats idea.

does anyone think it could be changing fabric wash? would it start to affect him in the bath?

thanks

shitemum - that looks great, but it's £40! if it was cheaper, i'd go for it, but i'll try the other suggestions first and hopefully it will improve. i'll bear it in mind if the cheaper suggestions don't work though. very convincing product though and we do live in a very hard water area.

Thiws is really interesting my ds1 who is 16 always gets blotchy and itchy in the bath....we joke hes allergic to water and hes a soap dodger but he did have eczema when he was younger ....well fancy that,another of my 'issues' sorted thanks to mumsnet .

My DD get something similar. She says she "red itchy ankles". It only happens sometimes, I think when the water is a bit too hot, I don't ever add bubbles or use any kind of soap on her.

If she gets hot and itchy I rinse her ankles off with the shower with just cold water and it seems to do the trick.

It could be your washing powder but if he isn't itchy at any other time, like when his clothes are on, then it's probably something else.