Freak Incident or Allergic Reaction?

I didn't post about this at first because I was too freaked out. But I'm posting about it now. That way, I'll have a record about what happened in case it ever happens again.

On Tuesday afternoon after I finished teaching, I came home to watch Ben. He hadn't eaten anything that day other than my milk and Similar Alimentum, which he has been on for the last few weeks ever since we switched him from Enfamil. All I had eaten was Quaker Oats instant oatmeal with peaches for breakfast and a bunless hamburger from Wendy's for lunch with pickles plus a Coke and a small Frosty.

I hadn't tried any new lotions on him that day. It had only been Vanicream and Vaseline. The only new thing I did was rub some olive oil on his head that I got at Rite Aid.

I was sitting on the chair and holding him around 3:30 or 4 p.m. when he just started throwing up. I was so surprised. I didn't know what to do. It was all over him, and all over me. When it seemed like he was done, I decided to give him a bath, but I couldn't find his baby bathtub. (It was drying over by the window). So I took him upstairs and bathed him in the regular tub. I thought he was okay then because he laughed at the cat, but he threw up some more in the tub and some more in the hallway once I took him out.

I took him downstairs, and he fell asleep sitting up. He also may have just been tired. He had been waking up a lot the last few nights. His skin looked whiter than normal. It almost looked as if all of his eczema was all gone.

When he would wake up, his face would turn red, and he would start coughing, and then he'd go back to sleep. At 4:30, I called his doctor. They said to bring him in tomorrow if he didn't feel better and to make sure he got lots of fluids. So, I made an appointment. After a while though, he woke up and stopped coughing. It almost seemed like he had been choking on something and was trying to get it up. But I couldn't figure out what. I remembered from the Baby First Aid class that if a baby is coughing you should just let him coughing because that can mean that he is trying to clear his airway. We had taken infant CPR, and I would have done it had I needed to. I also would have called 911 if necessary but he was breathing the whole time. Even while he slept, I watched for the rise and fall of his chest, and I didn't put him down until much later once I was sure he was okay.

Aveeno Baby

I decided to try Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion again yesterday since so many people have had success with it.

I put it on a small area, and he didn't seem to have any reaction so I put a little more on. I went to Giant Eagle to get a few things with Ben. He was scratching the side of his face with the cotton gloves on though by then, and it was bleeding. So I pretty much knew I was going to need to give him a bath.

I do bathe him in Aveeno Baby Oatmeal Bath, and that seems to help. Yesterday, however, I used the adult oatmeal bath because we only had one packet of the other, and they don't sell those at Giant Eagle.

One of the things I had gone to get was Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo. I can't use the regular Aveeno shampoo because of Ben's wheat allergies. A lot of people have said that they have had good results with the Aveeno Baby Wash, even those with sensitive skin, but because I know that Ben's skin is supersensitive, I used it only on his head. We had used it before a while ago, but I couldn't remember why we stopped, so I thought it was worth a try again.

The ingredients and potential irritants and warnings for this product can be found at: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=10001006.

Aveeno Baby Wash contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which can cause skin irritation in many people. I think that even Johnson's No More Tears contains a less irritating ingredients. In addition to irritating his skin, however, Johnson's No More Tears also worsened his cradle cap in some areas. I am actually not sure if the Aveeno Baby Wash irritated him or not because his skin was already irritated by Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion.

On the other hand, we did notice that his skin felt moister. I have begun to wonder if the Vanicream is drying it out, and that's why I was looking for a new moisturizer in the first place. I am also starting to wonder if the Vanicream is slightly irritating his skin because he itched after I out it on this morning.

We may have to just try one ingredient things. We tried cocoa butter a while ago when his skin was really irritated, and it did not seem to help. I am hesitant to try it again because I don't want to cause an allergy.

We've been using Neosporin on the sore spot on his face, and it seems to be helping. I think it would be healed by now if things didn't keep happening to reirritate his skin.

According to the Less Toxic Guide, you can use straight olive oil as a moisturizer, so perhaps we will try that with one spot on his head, but, again, I am hesitant to try it all over for fear of causing an allergy. But at least we can use Vaseline. And oat baths.