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Original poster

+++MISDEE++++red rings round clothwearing son's thighs

13 replies

peanutbutter · 21/04/2006 19:13

misdee - i posted a question on this 2 or 3 months ago if you remember (ds been wearing cloth since 3wks old but suddenly his eczema flared badly around his thighs when wearing cloth). You and others very kindly made some suggestions and I bought some stacinators and began washing the wraps after every 2 wears and the "burn" seemed to improve. sadly, it didn't last, and got so bad that ds has been wearing only disposables for the last 4 weeks. The flare ups quickly stopped and now his thighs are just dry, but certainly not red. the thing is, i have a drawer full of beautiful cloth nappies and i loathe buying & using disposables!! we can't afford at present to buy any more different kinds of cloth nappies (i did try fleece cuffed nappies - huggles - but it didn't make any difference). Is there anything else you could think of for me to try? I remember you saying this same thing had happened to your child & would really appreciate any advice to save me from disposables! thank you v much.

OP posts:
starlover · 21/04/2006 19:14

what do you wash them in?

misdee · 21/04/2006 19:16

have you considered wool wraps?

Original poster
peanutbutter · 21/04/2006 19:16

i'd always used persil non bio, but switched to ecover in the hope that it would help, but it didn't. I wash them on 60deg and sometimes throw in vinegar but not that often.

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Original poster
peanutbutter · 21/04/2006 19:27

not really. just can't afford to buy anything more nappy related at present. perhaps i'll wait a few months and then consider trying them.

OP posts:
jazzyp · 21/04/2006 20:57

Has the doctor had a look? My dd had the opposite, baby ezcema that would flare up and down. I switched to cloth and it helped a lot. Also use Aveeno oil in the bath and cream on the dry patches (on prescription from GP).

If you haven't already, try halving the amount of detergent you use when washing the nappies and also try every now and then washing at 60 with no detergent (it builds up in the fibres).

Also worth looking at diet? A couple of my friends babies react to strawberries, it can give a nasty rash... HTH

Original poster
peanutbutter · 21/04/2006 21:05

thanks jazzyp - we get aveeno oil and cream on prescription too. i'm sure it's not a diet thing - as soon as he's in cloth it's markedly worse until it's raging "burn" and i have to put him back into disposable. I only use the most sparing amount of detergent - but i think i'll get them all out of the drawer and put them on a really hot wash for a couple of goes and line dry them and try again.

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Cherylynne · 22/04/2006 10:53

hi my friends wee one used to get really bad nappy rash whenever she had any kind of fruit juice - especially orange juice. my son gets it if around his thighs too - i have to leave the leg bit of his wraps really loose so that they are not touching his legs much and i use loads of sudacream around the sore bit - but like you when it becomes too much i let hime wear moltex disposables for a couple of goes.
hope it gets better

Original poster
peanutbutter · 23/04/2006 10:22

thanks cherylynne. it doesn't seem that there's much left to do other than buying new nappies/wraps to try, and that's out of the question at the moment. i'm going to put everything through another hot wash and try again, but if he has the same reaction (he will) then the nappies will be packed away to the attic Sad

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maisiemog · 25/04/2006 11:37

Hi Peanut, sounds horrible for you and your ds.
We went through a rashy phase, and still do on and off. It seemed to coincide with the beginning of teething.
The first thing I did was 'strip' the nappies, and then stop using soap powder. I currently use and eco-ball that I got from ebay and some white vinegar in the rinse and wash at 60 degrees. I usually line dry or have a clothes horse indoors (tumble for 15 minutes immediately after spinning, to keep them soft).
This has helped and has actually saved money, as the eco-balls are cheaper than powder. You don't get that just washed soap powder smell, but hey, they're going on a baby's bum anyway! Grin
A 60 degree wash will kill off the bacteria and whatever, but I do 50 degrees sometimes as well, especially if there are any pocket nappies in the wash.
We started to use metanium on any red areas to heal them, and then put a generous helping of bepanthan on top, and at every change, this made a big diff, so did nappy-free times everyday.
I found that ds would be more red if he didn't drink enough water, I think his peep got a stronger and more 'corrosive'. Shock
Some babies don't get on with fleece, don't know if you have covered that though.
Another wrap that you could try is Cotton Bottoms, it doesn't irritate around the legs like Mother-ease wraps can, but doesn't have any fleece on the legs either. They are currently going on sale at a lot of Boots branches.
I have found hemp nappies are great for keeping the rashes down, as they are naturally anti-bacterial and very absorbent.
Rather than start buying new nappies, I would say, sell a couple of the nappies you have on the second hand forums on Hunnybeez or UKParents, or on Ebay, then take the proceeds and buy one or two new nappies to try. Again the second hand forums are great for a few bargains, might cheer you up. Smile
But don't stress too much, they are only nappies at the end of the day and he be out of them before you know it, and then you can start worrying about school instead. Grin

Original poster
peanutbutter · 27/04/2006 08:52

thanks maisiemog, that's some really good advice & you've cheered me up Smile. tbh I hadn't even bothered getting the nappies out and washing them again, because I felt so disheartened and knew it wouldn't make any difference. But - after reading your post I'm going to do that today. it's a beautiful sunny day here so i can get them all on the line. i'd looked at the eco-balls & i think i'll buy from ebay. I do have nappies I could sell - hadn't thought of that..Also a good point about water - he likes it but i don't always think to offer it regularly.
I actually feel excited Blush at getting ds back into cloth. thanks again for the advice x

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maisiemog · 27/04/2006 15:53

Hi Peanut, I'm glad I've cheered you up. I hope you find somethig that works for him, but don't get too stressed about it will you Smile.
Let us know how you get on as well.
Have you seen my nappy review blog \link{http://www.clothnappyreview.blogspot.com\here} It might give you some ideas about what you could try - even if it's only one cloth nappy a day.

Original poster
peanutbutter · 27/04/2006 19:10

wow maisiemog - that looks like you've got an lot of nappies! Really useful blog, thanks for the link I've bookmarked it. You're right, I'm not going to stress too much about the nappies, but it does mean a great deal to me to have him in cloth...I'll let you know how we get on x

OP posts:
maisiemog · 29/04/2006 22:44

Cool! Good luck Peanut. Smile

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