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.

Facial Sore

Most of Ben's eczema flareup is clearing up though he does have what looks like a little diaper rash at the edge of his diaper on his back.

We've cut back the amount of baths since his skin is not inflamed. We last bathed him on Wednesday and are thinking of skipping the bath tonight because his skin was very dry Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

I called the doctor's office yesterday to ask if it would be okay to put Neosporin on this one sore on his face.

Other spots have healed, but this one spot just keeps flaring up. At times, it has appeared like an oozing sore. It doesn't look infected, but every time it would start to heal, it would flare up again, or he would scratch it or rub against it. It's an awkward place--on the side of his face--the perfect spot for rubbing against and within easy reach of his hands.

We do use cotton gloves on him most of the time though he has learned to take them off.

Since the return phone call that we got from the doctor's office was of no help, we decided to try Neosporin. It is gluten-free, and none of the ingredients looked to be particularly irritating, but you never know.

We applied it last night and then this morning. We want to apply it when we can watch him since obviously we don't want him to get it in his mouth. The skin appears to be, hopefully healing, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.