As a new-mom you think the scary skin reaction stages you face in the newborn months would be over by the time your babe reaches the toddler stage. Well let me tell you, right as Mila hit the two-year mark she developed a very scary rash on her neck which later spread to all of her back. She’s not in daycare and her eating patterns were the same, so all that we could attribute it to was heat rash, eczema, an allergic reaction to grass or perhaps laundry detergent sensitivity (her dad took over laundry duty for the first time that week).
At first we began to notice small patches of red behind her neck, so I was very careful with bathing her and made sure not to irritate the skin further. Of course within hours, I began searching to see if perhaps this was a bug bite, heat rash or an allergy to something she may have eaten. After ruling all those options out I knew it had to be an allergy to either her detergent or the grass which she had recently began to play with/on more.
Even at the toddler stage I don’t use fabric softener for her laundry. I stick to either using just baby detergent and vinegar as the softener option or nothing at all. My husband had decided to help with laundry that particular week and when I asked him how much he used he showed me, and it was a bit more than what I normally used. Still I didn’t completely believe that could be it.
Well by day two the rash continued to spread towards her shoulders and by that evening I noticed the parts affected by the rash were warm to touch. By then I had used some baby skin cleanser to gently moisturize the skin and help refresh it, I used eczema lotion (which seemed to make it worse), and I was closely monitoring the rash to make sure it didn’t spread to other parts of her body (i.e. legs, feet, hands, stomach, face, etc.) I knew that if the redness and rash did not improve I would have to call her pediatrician. I should also mention that I washed all of her laundry and bedding that her dad had laundered and used the second rinse feature to make sure that no detergent was left on.
The next day, I happened to be shopping at the pharmacy for some vitamins and I happened to walk past a small baby product section. They had several different eczema related lotions but the Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatment caught my eye. The box had several individual oat bath packets and I figured I wouldn’t lose anything by trying it that evening. Besides, I was already planning on calling her doctor to see her the next day. That evening I drew a warm bath (I still used a small Ikea bath tub for her at the time) and used half a packet. I gently poured the bath water on her back and let her sit in and play for a while. It’s almost as if the relief was immediate for her, as she just wanted to sit in an relax. I followed the same bedtime routine and hoped that things would improve.
The very next day, I immediately checked her neck and back. One immediate improvement was that her back was no longer warm to the touch. The redness was still there but had decreased and the rash did not spread. I was convinced that the oat bath worked, so I tried it again that evening. Sure enough, it continued to work and by day 3, the rash was disappearing. I was so happy because this simple, low tox and inexpensive solution gave my toddler immediate comfort and helped avoid a doctors visit.
I’m so grateful that we found a solution that helped us weather through this allergic kink. Here’s to simple solutions that help makes our mama lives a bit easier.
xoxo,
The Sun Queen