Unbelievable! Sudocrem and attitude!

[woadie]

Hi all,

I've been a member of mumsnet for just a short while, and generally I don't feel the need to speak out, preferring to read. Most of my questions have been asked before so I always find excellent advice from the Mums in here just by looking through threads :)

This, though, I have to share!

My daughter (mow 11 months) discovered she could get the lid of the sudocrem a couple of months ago. She also decided to dip her hand in and take a nice big mouthful of the stuff before we could grab her. Sudocrem everwhere and a good amount noshed off. We would have taken this as a one-off incident but she did it again. Both times we piled up to the doctor and both times, yes she had side effects.

She will try to grab whatever nappy rash cream we have to hand. Luckily for us, it's only the sudocrem she can get the lid off, and it's only the sudocrem she seems to favour wanting to eat. Less luckily for us, we like the sudocrem best!

So, we scooped the sudocrem into a jamjar with a good screw on lid, and I decided to contact Sudocrem to tell them what happened and point out that their pot design is a bit rubbish for our child (who I would take as a pretty average baby/toddler).

Their reply was basically to keep the pot away from her (doh! yes I think as a mum I know that one, but we all know nappy change time!). But more to the point, my daughter was then sujected to a lab-rat set of questions with very shallow apology but plenty of interest in side effects.

I was pretty disgusted and decided just not to reply to their email but today I got a second one from the same lab person, again requesting info:

"Further to my email, I am writing to follow-up the incident whereby your 11 month old daughter ingested Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream on two occasions. I sincerely hope she is well and has fully recovered from both events.

It is our duty to follow-up such medication errors, and I would be most grateful if you could provide us with the following information for our safety records:

(1) Your address, or if you do not wish us to have this detail, the geographical area in which you reside.

(2) The initials of your daughter.

(3) How much of the 125g pot of Sudocrem do you think she managed to eat on each occasion? Also, do you happen to know the dates of these events?

(4) Did your daughter suffer any side-effects from the ingestion of Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream? Has she fully recovered?

(5) Did you take her to the doctor? If so, what was the outcome?

I thank you in advance for your time and co-operation regarding this matter. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes (name)"

Now, am I right to feel so utterly ANGRY about this?!!!! My daughter is the most precious thing in tjhe world to me, and much as I wqould hate any other parents children to suffer through sudocrem ingestion, I do not wish my child to be seem as some lab-rat to add to their case studies!!!! As much as anything, it was the whole tone of this that set my teeth on edge.

What do you think?

By the way, my daughter had runny poos for days after each ingestion, much as the doctor said she would, so eating sudocrem isn't something I would like her to do again.

Thanks for reading :)

I think OP is projecting her guilt onto someone else (in this case Sudocrem).

MissalReader I really don't think it can taste all that horrid. I have heard of countless children who love the stuff and will try very hard to get a mouthful of it!

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about - this thread is hilarious. YOU make a mistake (twice) in keeping the Sudocrem too near your (you admit it yourself) wriggly baby, and then get angry with the company for trying to follow up a complaint about the packaging? Would you have got angrier if they HADN'T followed it up? I'm not sure what you want out of all this!

I always used Sudocrem at my (wriggly) children's nappy changes (every time with DS2 - he has sensitive skin and eczema so was very prone to nappy rash at the drop of a hat). I think it's great stuff. Good that the lid is easy to get off with one hand while you're trying to keep them on the mat with the other hand. I used to put the pot slightly behind me - can't understand how your baby is reaching that unless you've actually got up and gone to the other end of the room or something.

Hopefully this is a lesson learned, OP - do not try and blame others for what is essentially YOUR mistake. Which you made twice.

[getting more angry at "attitude" of OP with every bloody second now, actually]

ps. this is a wind-up, surely? Cos I'm getting wound up......

Hmm, chipmonkey, you're probably right. Actually, this great love for the stuff is probably to be expected from a generation that is happy to eat bottled veg purees... [vom]

I think it is your duty to share the side effects she suffered, tbh. I hardly think answering those basic questions is giving the same status as a lab rat!

And really, in your life time as a parent you are going to come across many unsuitable containers for various things. The one thing you need to do is keep it stuff out of her reach. The lid design for the sudocream is handy, as you can flip it off one handed! It is up to you to make sure it is out of her reach, next to you when you change nappies, not within in her grasp.

They are usually much more courteous in their request for further information Maybe they aren't happy that you didn't reply to the original email requesting the same info?

Also, sorry, but you shouldn't have put it into an un-labelled, glass jar either. ld.

I think this is also a harsh lesson in the fact that not everyone is going to be overly concerned for the safety of your child. They expressed their concern, I don't understand what more you wanted?

Sorry - not seen you mention it, but assume the reason you refer to dd/yourself as 'lab-rats' is because they've asked you to feed it to her again and describe further side effects?

Thought not

Google the MHRA. The manufacturers will have to be compliant with all regulations and will have procedures for reporting adverse events and any reactions to the product. This is to protect babies (especially ones who are allowed to eat the Sudocreme ).

It's not a food product, and it's not the manufacturer's fault that you have been irresponsible with the container. If your DD squirts cream cleaner into her mouth will you say it's the manufacturer's fault for not designing an impregnable bottle? Or if you find her chewing the toilet brush like it's a lolly willl you be getting angry with Ikea?

If your baby had eaten the cream once, fair enough, accidents happen, but you LET it happen again. You can buy Sudocrem in a small tube if it's so hard for you to keep the tub out of reach. You need to look at your attitude to home safety and please do respond to Sudocreme's questions.

Fayrazzled DCs out of nappies now but they never, ever had any hint of nappy rash or even any redness using a barrier cream at every change. That's why I was a convert .

But agree with you that the OP is over-reacting to the letter. But so are some of the other posts. It is frustrating when you complain about one thing (the easy access tops - which I don't think they should change, btw) but have a letter back about something else (medical problems/side affects).

Still, I think the sudocrem manufacturers were just doing their job diligently, and the OP should fill out the form.

just to say if you don't think you have a civil duty to share your experiences for the sake of others that may not get off so lightly then there is no hope!

thanks to all, this has been the best thread ever!

Anyway, where would we be if none of us had our Sudocrem stories to tell? our Siamese cat had a streak down her back for months afterwards Just to add though - the cat did not manage to get it off with her paws

fascinating thread this

woadie - you are learning something that all parents suddenly realise.

Your baby is no longer a 'helpless baby' but a very curious thinking being with an infinite capacity for exploration and with fine and gross motor skills that are improving at an exponential rate.

In 12 month time I guarantee you that every cupboard door handle in your kitchen will have bits of string or plastic ties round them and the TV remote will have had the battery cover removed and lost/ingested.

Better start installing some shelves to put things like this on and get some cupboard locks and stair gates.

You OP made a mistake (twice) what I don't understand is how your baby managed to get it into their mouth. I've been changing baby and they've stuck their fingers in the cream.. a quick uh oh, NO and baby wipe have meant its not been ingested. It sound to me like you left your baby unattended with the closed jar of cream and lkow and behold they've reached it and opened it.
This is Sudocrem's fault HOW?

Toddlers spread Sudocrem all over themselves and everything else with one lapse in concentration. It's very simple, Sudocrem needs a screw on lid! That shouldn't be too challenging for any adult, but stop the need to police the pot.