# Baby has constant skin rash - see photo - what is this?



## hippymama25

My 4 month old gets this red rash all over her belly, arms and legs almost every time I bath her, wet/wash her skin or put any type of lotion or oil. I've tried using only water with no soap, using baby soap, putting lotion or natural oil, not putting oil, and she just always gets the rash. I'm assuming it's just a normal baby rash, but is there anything else I should try to soothe her skin?


----------



## hippymama25

Oh, and I only bath her maybe twice a week.


----------



## lovemyseamonkey

My little brother is 11 and has gotten that rash since he was a baby. It doesn't cause him any pain or itch or anything. We used to just use some unscented/hypoallergenic Vaseline lotion to make sure his skin wasn't getting dry. If you're too worried, maybe take her to a doctor.
Hope something helps your little girl


----------



## Ratchet

How long does it last? Does it bother her?


----------



## Just1More

Have you tried switching laundry soap? Maybe it's something in the washcloth?


----------



## ZippyGirl

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Just1More*
> 
> Have you tried switching laundry soap? Maybe it's something in the washcloth?










Do you use a fragrance-free laundry soap, and no dryer sheets? I personally would love a worldwide ban on perfumey dryer sheets! They make me so sick. Here is a blog post about skin irritation and laundry soap and dryer sheets:

http://mommyfootprint.com/dryer-sheets-fabric-softner-a-household-toxin/


----------



## hippymama25

It does not seem to bother her and no I don't use dryer sheets. I think my detergent is free of fragrance.


----------



## fruitfulmomma

She only gets it with bathing? How long does it last? If you skipped bathtime for a week would it clear up?

It could be chlorine in the water, ours has it really strong here especially in the mornings, and my dd who has really bad sensitivities would break out when I bathed her when she was younger though it does not seem to bother her now. If that is the case you can get a filter for it I think.

My only other guess would be your tub cleaner not getting rinsed out all the way or soap build-up.


----------



## hippymama25

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *fruitfulmomma*
> 
> She only gets it with bathing? How long does it last? If you skipped bathtime for a week would it clear up?
> 
> It could be chlorine in the water, ours has it really strong here especially in the mornings, and my dd who has really bad sensitivities would break out when I bathed her when she was younger though it does not seem to bother her now. If that is the case you can get a filter for it I think.
> 
> My only other guess would be your tub cleaner not getting rinsed out all the way or soap build-up.


Well no, she just always has it, but it gets worse when I bathe her. So, I just bathed her today but had not bathed her for a week and she still has the irritated skin, but it's not as red. Her skin feels very dry/scaly to the touch, especially on her belly. After her bath today I gave her a massage with almond oil. I've tried using oil or lotion and not using it and it doesn't seem to make any difference whether I use it or not, her skin still responds like it's irritated. I use a baby tub that is new and I haven't cleaned it, just rinse with water and baby soap, so it should be fine. It must just be her sensitive baby skin. Thanks for your thoughts!


----------



## Just1More

I have a friend who has a little girl that had eczema from infancy that got worse as she got older. It turned out she had a zinc defienciency (sp? sorry. I'm lazy this am). I'm not sure if zinc goes through breastmilk, but maybe look into food intolerances, and vitmain/mineral supplements?


----------



## ChristmasLover

I'd put some coconut oil on her everyday. It's a miracle cure for most skin problems, imo.


----------



## Magali

My dd had something similar. I started washing her clothes by themselves in hot water with just a teeny tiny bit of scent free detergent, and gave them an extra rinse. That cleared it up. I tested it by washing her clothes normally with everyone else's now and then and it would come back. No amount of coconut oil helped, I just needed to wash her clothes a certain way. While it was clearing up I started using J&J's baby oil on her after baths because the rash was worse after baths. By the way I just looked at your babe's rash again and it looks exactly like my dd'd did.


----------



## McGucks

A local pediatric dermatologist said MOST infant skin rashes are caused by Johnson & Johnson's products. You didn't indicate using any of them, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

We use All Free & Clear and Bounce Free dryer sheets. Our LO has very sensitive skin, and this works for us.


----------



## hippymama25

Our pediatrician looked at her skin today and said she definitely has eczema. She suggested using Baby Aquaphor and trying to eliminate dairy from my diet! It surprised me that the dairy that I am eating would pass into my breast milk and bother her skin! She said to eliminate dairy for a week and see if it makes a difference and if it doesn't, it's probably not the dairy, has anyone heard of this? Also, doesn't Aquaphor have petroleum? I thought petroleum products were toxic or is that still a varying opinion?


----------



## McGucks

The dairy thing is very common. Did she tell you the many words to check for in looking for dairy in foods? It's not just the obvious stuff like skipping milk and yogurt.

Allergies can be outgrown...don't worry that it's a life sentence!

Glad you've found an answer and hope it helps soon!


----------



## hippymama25

No, she just said to eliminate all dairy, didn't give much else detail so I'm about to research online  I eat a lot of dairy so this will be really hard!


----------



## twelshrn

It's so hard to diagnose skin rashes. Sometimes you just never find out where it comes from. All you can do is try to eliminate all toxins from the environment, including laundry detergent, baby wash, synthetic fibers, disposable diapers, lotions, etc. Use only natural organic baby washes, diaper creams, etc. Use only non toxic laundry detergents (not any commercial free & clear because they are still toxic). You can check on pinstripes and polka dots for a list of non toxic detergents. Etsy.com has some wonderful organic baby creams. If that doesn't work then you can do an elimination diet to see if it's a food allergy. Good luck mama, hope your little one gets well.


----------



## Loreley

totally agree with you, twelshrn.

also, i would suggest to try out baby probiotics as well as udo's 3-6-9 oil. my baby developed something similar after his 4 month old vaccines - in our case, a possible immune reaction that came up in the form of eczema patches. after a lot of research, i started giving him some baby probiotics (to support his immune system) as well as massaging him daily with a mix of udo's oil 3-6-9 and a little bit of shea butter. the results were very quick to appear and now, at almost 8 moths, he is eczema free. i am aware of the fact that we were very lucky that he got such a good response to these, but i'm thinking that even if it's not under the same circumstances, the use of probiotics and omega-rich oil could only do some good to your little one.

good luck mama, i hope it will get better soon!


----------



## sk8boarder15

This is SOOO much like my son. It took us many many months to et his ezcma under control. We ended up using Califonia baby super sensitive soap in the tub, we use california baby calendula cream after his bath, we eliminated dairy and wheat (this helped more than anything!!). We use allen's naturally in the laundry, and only vinegar to clean the tub.

Also, taking fish oil really seems to help keep his skin healthy.


----------



## MarcellaSimmons

hi my baby has this and it is the milk when I was breast feeding she was always crying well she couldnt have breast milk at all, I had to put her on soy and she was good, when she had truned 1. I put her on whole milk and she got a big rash all over her so she had to have soy milk and it never came back well she has been having whole milk and this rash is coming back .


----------



## Kindermama

looks like eczema. use coconut oil or shea butter to soothe. eliminate all forms of dairy and avoid soy as well since they are often both the culprits. use coconut milk, vegan butter spread, coconut milk yogurt and well there really is no super yummy cheese substitute!


----------



## Shami

I second the recommendation for California Baby Products. Love the Calendula Cream. There is a lotion and a cream. If you are on a budget at least try the cream. I use it for my dry hands too.


----------



## marsupial-mom

Baths are very important. Try to bathe her at least once a day. Just soaking in water is good. No need for soap at every bath; soap dries the skin. Then after each bath moisturize like crazy. I really like SheaMoisture organic baby products for eczema.

Read this: http://www.nationaleczema.org/living-with-eczema/bathing-moisturizing


----------



## atkamm

looks like eczema to me too. we went trough sleepless nights with blood on sheets, constant scretching, strong med-steroids, allergy testing etc. at age 12 months my baby still has some flare ups on her cheeks (teething, food, weather? -still do not know), and on very very dry skin on her feet. i would love to try omega oils and other natural remedies, but turns out that she is allergic to milk, eggs, wheat, soy?, penuts, wheat. i am sooooooooo affraid of a reaction (hives, anaphx. shock etc). she drinks neocate only, we bath her in oilatum and put CeraVe all over after bath. hope she will outgrow all of it and will be super healthy and happy (as she is now). mama loves you  P.S. good luck, lots of strenght and hope for all of you struggling moms


----------



## pek64

What's the tub made of??


----------



## C is for Cookie

It looks similar to what DS had for his first year. I tried creams upon creams, used natural soaps, oatmeal baths...and they worked temporarily. Found out he had allergies to the nuts I was eating (I was on a raw vegan diet which utilizes a lot of nuts) and it went through my breastmilk. He also had allergies to the cat and dog dander. But after every bath, it looked worst.







He still has some eczema now but we still have the cat and the dog roaming around.. We avoid nuts products though and it helped a little. When the cat was gone for a couple months though, his eczema cleared up A LOT! My suggestion would be that if there still a rash at around 1 year old, get allergy tested (the blood sample kind, not skin testing)


----------



## C is for Cookie

I second that baths are important. The water moisturizes the skin but make sure they are short, frequent baths. And then, make sure to moisturize after because water vaporizes from the skin, leaving it dry.


----------



## lehua

*thanks*

I know this is years old posts but it really helped try to figure out my sons sudden rash. Also just fyi if anyone does read this; my family and I practice holistic remedies. Anyway I and my children are allergic to soy and apparently it's also in cows milk as cows feed on it. Just as we pass everything in our milk. For years I thought it was lactose although lactose free still gave me discomfort. I will never give my children cows milk (animal with 7 stomachs??) I make almond milk for my family. However it did not occur to me until reading this, that my son may have developed an allergy now at 14 months. So thank you for keeping up this post and moms for posting help


----------



## Farosi

hippymama25 said:


> My 4 month old gets this red rash all over her belly, arms and legs almost every time I bath her, wet/wash her skin or put any type of lotion or oil. I've tried using only water with no soap, using baby soap, putting lotion or natural oil, not putting oil, and she just always gets the rash. I'm assuming it's just a normal baby rash, but is there anything else I should try to soothe her skin?


Hi There

I know this Is a old post, but I saw the photo you posted and my 4 months old has the same rash problem, especially after bath. Wondering if you found out the reason why. Was the dairy?detergent?? I tried lot of things and it's not going away.
Any help, advice would be great

Thank you so much


----------

