HELP! I'm so frustrated and so tired of seeing my little babe like this. :( He's been allergy tested and he's only allergic to eggs and peanuts. I've scrutinized everything that's gone in his mouth for a week now, and there hasn't been a trace of either. I thought maybe it could be something in his crib, but I just washed his sheets over the weekend with the same detergent as always and he slept in that same crib all weekend, when his face improved. I just don't get it. He ate his normal breakfast this morning.
Yeah, kiddo. I feel ya!
UPDATE as of November 2011: FINALLY found a solution! Read about it here.
Could he be having a reaction to his pacifier or the saliva that builds up on the pacifier? A friend of mine has a four-year old who has a similar red rash on the side of his mouth where he constantly licks his lip. I hope this helps. I feel so bad for your little guy (and you)!
ReplyDeleteHey girlie, his rash seems eerily like this one http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/skin_eczema.html
ReplyDeleteCould it be a case of Infantile Eczema?
Chelsea, my son Isaac had that awful rash while he was teething.... it took forever to get the teeth through, but with all the drooling, and such it was horrible. His was on his neck and under his chin. I feel your pain, your poor little sweetie. Have you used organic baby products on him? We stay away from anything with Parabens, and Proplyne Glycol those are both very harmful to the skin. Also what type of laundry detergent are you using? Have you ever tried Charlies Soap? Just some things to try out... eleminate as many preseratives as you can, and go as natural as possible.
ReplyDeleteBoo. We're still rashy here, too, and it waxes and wanes the same way as Ben's does. We saw the dermatologist today, and she gave me the usual eczema spiel which I (and you, I'm sure) have heard plenty already - apply Vaseline, not too many baths, hydrocortisone cream, etc. I asked her if she thought it was food related and she said no. Blah.
ReplyDeleteIt's getting to the point where I think we might just have to wait it out, and hope some relief comes when the weather gets warmer. I don't know what else to do :(
Is Ben's diaper rash still better?
Poor, poor Ben.
ReplyDeleteMy ideas are just guesses--I haven't even googled them to see if they're possible, but here goes:
1. Allergic to saliva--his own or possibly the dogs' saliva?
2. Severe dry skin reaction (tried Aquaphor? you probably have)
3. Has developed a latex allergy or something (pacifier, bottle)
4. Has developed an allergy to the laundry detergent you've always used--try switching.
5. Agree with Mama's Blessings--teething a possibility
Poor baby
ReplyDeleteOuch! I know how he feels, I have a rash just like this on my hands. His looks just like mine. California baby has some great lotions for excema.
ReplyDeleteHas he been eating acidic foods like tomato or orange lately? When I eat them it makes my excema flair up. Excema flair ups and food can be related to each other. I sure do hope he gets better. poor baby.
My mom is a registered nurse and I showed her the pictures of your little boy... She said you should look up information about Kawasaki Disease. The blistery rash around the mouth made her think of it right away. Just a suggestion :) I hope he gets better soon!! Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteWow - you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for all the advice and suggestions! I've been looking into all the things suggested here and I think we've decided to take a trip to the dermatologist.
ReplyDeleteHi there...I am a chiropractor in MOntrose, CO and help people work through situations everyday when they can't find answers. Many of the things written above are definitely the things to try first. When I see things that linger I will go to the diet. Organic food is fabulous but still can be full of processed things and sugar and gluten. I have a couple ideas and I can help you long distance if you would like it.
ReplyDelete1.the skin is hugely influenced by the endocrine system (pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, and also the hypothalamus). Steroid creams help temporarily and hydrating the skin is only temporary. I have organic whole food supplements for all of these areas (Standard Process..check them out). We have seen miracles with the skin.
2.The first thing I would try would be to take him off all sugar, meat, wheat (gluten) and dairy. I know this makes it hard but it is only temporary until the appropriate area can heal. In a sense you are giving the gland and/or organ a break in order to heal. What you have to do here is get a juicer (Target has a fantastic one, Jack LaLane) and juice everything (nothing creamy like bananas or avacados or onions). Juice the greens and the color...because these nutrients are so concentrated he will get a huge amount of what are called C-proteins (cruciferous proteins). The concentration is so therapeutic to the entire body. Some examples are...(remember minimal fruit sugar, just enough to make it palateable, but I guarantee you he will aquire a taste for it within a day or so. And if he is hungry enough he will drink it)...kale, spinach, romaine lettuce (all but iceburg), celery, carrots, beets with their greens (these are the most important due to the large amount of healing), radishes and their greens (these are blood purifiers), any and all greens you can find, pear, apple, lemon, orange, kiwi, pineapple and watermelon (small amounts due to the high sugar), brocoli, brussel sprouts...etc...whatever you have in your organic section.
Make enough for the day...after 12 hours the nutrition value is cut inhalf.
I had to do this for my twins at age 5...one of them was given a death sentence b/c the medical profession could give me no answers...vomiting and weight loss and fatigue...it was so bad, I had spent so much money and time and effort to have them all throw their hands up...it got around my town an Herbalist called me and was firm with me and I heard what he had to say....within two days my girls were 90%...we continued juicing as a family for 3 months....all my skin irritations that I had had since childhood were gone. During my pregnancies I was covered (literally) in eczema...tried it all some would help short term and others not at all. This juicing re-set my body. My children have never been the same. We now juice a couple times a week and they love it! It is so alive in the body.
You can add nuts but the elimination of the other irritants and the addition of the concentrated nutritients should help....for a huge batch...you will only have one apple, orange and lemon or pear..minimal...ecxema feeds on sugar.
Please feel free to call
970-433-2951 cell
Mandy Areman
ugh. SO frustrating! Could it be a toy that he constantly sticks in his mouth?
ReplyDeleteWhile juiced kale sounds gross to me, Mandy might have a good experiment! That's the hippie in me coming out. :-)
I have seen clinically that allergies are usually just a sensitivity and those come from areas that are weak...so instead of treating the symptom, or the toy, or the paci, or the sheets...I would try a fundamental approach, if those eliminations have proven not to work. Gotta raise his tolerance...this should be done as a family to achieve the best results.
ReplyDeleteSo..... I finally got Collins allergy test back in. It said he had no IgE associated allergies. (one of the markers they look for in allergy testing via blood). His Dr. office said to start him back on milk so I did... day one two flushable poos and 1 chili, day two two chili poos and one watery, day 3 and he SCREAMED as soon as he poo'd because it ate his skin away within seconds... I stopped the milk and day 4 he had his chili poos again and today we gave milk again...(he has a mild eczema rash on the rest of his body, but his bum looks like Bens facial rash) we shall see what tomorrow brings. I did get a sugestion from a GI Doc who said if it continues to rest his bowels (stop all dairy again and bad fats (penut butter, butter, red meat, ect...) and give plenty of chicken, fish, fruits and veggies (fresh not cooked) and give him probiotics daily. After one week start him back on yogurt and if he tolerated try cheese and then milk.
ReplyDeleteIf you google probiotics children eczema it brings up good info.
Also, the CL on the Jan. board rushed her daughter to the er after her face swelled up after eating something. Her pedi did a skin allergy test first which showed 3 allergies (one to egg, macadamia nuts and cinnamin I think...) They followed up with the blood test to see the severity. It said she was very allergic to eggs (she feeds these to her daughter daily and never has an issue) and said she was not allergic to the macadamia nuts (The ingrediant she ate that sent her to the ER). I think instead of doing more allergy testing I will just try my elimination diet. UGH.... this is so frustrating. I do really feel your pain sister. (and Collin feeds Ben's pain)
Good luck at the dermatologist. I hope you have a good one. HUGS. We have no pediatric dematologists down here and most of the adult ones I have seen suck. (Though I tend to be very critical of Dr.'s)
Ciara
Poor little guy :( I hope you find what's going on with him. It might be excema though. My hubby has it bad in all kinds of weird/random places. My 3 1/2 yr just started the first signs of it on her arm, near her elbow but on the side that is close to her body. Have you tried cortizone? Do you use anything scented? That might agrivate it. Also, when did it start? When winter came? It could be a symptom that is prevalent when the weather changes. Keep us informed!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if you found a cure. I came across you site, because my son is suffering from the same thing. If you know of anything that would help could you please email me at medw14@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi...
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has this identical rash, has had it for weeks and I was wondering how things are going now? did it take care of itself or did you do something that helped?
thanmks
LIsa
He grew out of it. I'm chalking it up to allergies and eczema. My daughter who is 7 months is now getting the same thing, right after starting solids, so now I'm totally convinced it was related to foods BUT just a sensitivity they have to outgrow. If I remember correctly, my son had this rash 5-6 months? It's no fun, I'm so sorry!
ReplyDeleteIm glad to hear that he grew out of it. So theres hope after all! My son is having the same issue. I took him to the Dr and he said it could be an allergic reaction to the cows milk found in his formula or acrodermatitis enteropathica. Im freaking out. I hope it just goes away! Im doing hydrocortisone mixed with an anti fungal cream 3 times a day. It looks a little better but as soon as I think its going away it comes back. Then he's rubbing his face on anything he can rub his face on. I hate this...
ReplyDeleteMy son has this very same rash. His doctor says its from excessive saliva due to teething.
ReplyDeleteOn our third child and all three have been exactly the same at 20 months (when the molars start coming) they have got the rash around the mouth, chin and nostrils. With Jack the eldest we tried everything, nothing worked and some treatments made it worse. The best advice is to keep the chin dry if possible and regularly apply vaseline. Our youngest Sam is 22 months old and has the rash hence this post.
ReplyDeleteIt clears up soon after their 2nd birthday lasting around 5 months.