I'm ready to give up

bloverde

LO is 21mo. Cloth since birth. He's a rash-y guy with eczema in general, but his bum is frustrating. For a few days he was in "natural" disposables while I treated yeast. Back in the cloth, and he has a rash on the convex surfaces as well as his thighs within hours. I wash every 2-3 days, cold rinse, hot wash, extra cold rinse. I've tried 5 detergents, innumerable rash creams, using liners with non-safe creams. We change every 2 hours. We have mostly BG 4.0s, but I've tried putting him in pre-folds for the last month to have cotton against his skin per the allergist's recommendation. Nothing works. I don't want to use disposables because of the environmental factors as well as cost, plus, gross, they smell bad. But it's so frustrating. I wish I could just potty train him and be done. Is there something else I'm missing?

TJ1979

Did you treat your cloth for yeast by washing with bleach it tto and gfse?

blondolphn

Also, is he on antibiotics?

bloverde

Bleach and GFSE. Rinsed 3 times after that. Never had antibiotics in his life. He's BF still, and I've not had any either.

bloverde

Eczema

bloverde

The waxelene website says it containes Vit E derived from soy, which he's allergic to. He's also allergic to coconut. I've tried oatmeal baths in the past. This rash has basically been since birth and goes away when we use disposables to treat yeast or travel.

freezorburn

Try evening primrose oil for the eczema.

Is it possible you have buildup in your diapers?

TJ1979

Goat milk soap? And lotion.

bloverde

Allergic to milk. Still gets a rash when I use a fleece cover. I lotion him with allergy safe lotion from out allergist 4x per day. I rinse until suds are gone. How else would I know if it's build up?

freezorburn

Any smells coming from wet diapers?

There's detergent buildup and then there's mineral buildup. 

What kind of water do you have?

bloverde

Water is middle of the road. Smells aren't coming from diapers fresh off him. The pail can get stinky after 2 days. But I get my nose all up in wet diapers after washing and they smell like nothing.

bloverde

Like I said in OP, every 2-3 days.

freezorburn

What detergent are you currently using, and which ones have you also tried?

You mentioned coconut allergy -- some detergents have surfactants derived from coconut (and I hope they would be labeled as such), is it possible that there is some tiny amount of residue causing irritation?

Just brainstorming.

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bloverde

We've used Rock n Green unscented, Charlie's, Allen's and plain Tide. None of those have coconut. We used Ecos in the past, which has coconut, but stopped after we found out about the allergy.

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Into+the+Kitty

SecretAgentKate said:

crap.  i'm as bad as you.

Inside, we all are as bad as MK.

jcwinsto

Well, if it truely clears up when in sposies then it can only be a couple of things. An allergy to the PUL, elastic, or detergent (although maybe not the detergent if you've tried all those and he still breaks out). Or a reaction to some sort of buildup on the diapers. Maybe try a mineral strip and an ammonia strip. You could try prefolds and a wool cover to see if it is an allergy to the dipes.

Mandmeesh

A milk allergy doesn't usually include goat milk. Babies allergic to cow milk can do goat. Just putting it out there

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Mandmeesh

SecretAgentKate said:

Mandmeesh said:

A milk allergy doesn't usually include goat milk. Babies allergic to cow milk can do goat. Just putting it out there

Not true for either of my very milk allergic children.
Oh

bloverde

Ok, lots of new suggestions! He is definitely allergic to goat milk. You're lucky if your child tolerates it, because most don't. He sees an allergist. It's definitely eczema. It goes completely away with disposables. It's still there when I use a fleece liner, so not a wetness issue. Not the PUL, since it's still there when I use prefolds/microsuede and fleece cover. Maybe still build up and/or ammonia? And I have never tried hemp/bamboo. So I can try that. I'll look up how to strip. Thanks!

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freezorburn

A lot of hemp and bamboo are also blended with cotton ....

I would try that ammonia theory first.

ElleBeeDub

Also... is he a multiple-times-a-day poo-er? I know it seems crazy, but I swear G's bum is worse when he poos in cloth vs. disposables sometimes.

Or... are you using cloth wipes with your diapers and disposable wipes with your disposables? Could it be something in your wipe solution (or maybe he needs a little extra something in there to help him get extra clean?)?

How long have you kept him in cloth after he starts looking red again? Do you leave him in them, or do you immediately switch back to disposables?

Have you thought about raw silk liners? G has a wetness sensitivity, but he also gets red with fleece, so we use silk.

Do you use a cream/barrier/moisturizer at every change? He's allergic to coconut oil, but could you try a different oil (I know olive oil is one of the best oils for the skin) to give his bum some extra love?

I know these are all just shots in the dark, and I agree the ammonia theory is a great starting place. Just wanted to toss out a few other options.

Chichigo

You said you wish you could potty train him. Have you tried? Some children are ready at his age. Try in very gentle ways while giving him some diaper free time.

YellowLily2013

Yeah I'm wondering if it a polyester sensitivity. Since I'm assuming she uses PUL cover and the fleece liners don't help.

If try prefolds with wool or that combo with the silk liner.

bloverde

He poops 3 times per day. And I can tell when he's going, so he gets changed immediately.

He won't give me warning, and I've tried putting him on the potty as soon as I catch him, but he freaks out and won't go. We have carpet and he pees everywhere if I give him diaper free time. Then DH freaks out.

We've tried cloth wipes with 3 different sprays, cloth wipes in water, disposable wipes, and straight up washing his bum under the faucet.

He's been in disposables for maybe a total of one month of his life. The rest of the time is cloth. So he's had a rash >90% of his life.

We currently use aquaphor at every change. It's done the best so far.

I've never thought about silk. Where do I even find that? I'll have to look at the care too.

ElleBeeDub

I bought some Hemp Babies Raw Silk liners from Cottonbabies.

You might think about making a solution of water and a tiny bit of whatever soap you've found that doesn't irritate him and use that to wipe him each change.

If aquaphor is working, I'd say keep using that at each change or maybe look into finding an oil that he's not allergic to. We're lucky in that we can use coconut oil, but we pretty much have to slather it on at every change to keep the redness at bay.

Do you notice it get better or worse when your son isn't feeling well? We always have a worse time with eczema when G is under the weather. (Not that that helps... But it's nice to know)

Mandmeesh

You could do diaper free time in the kitchen...unless it's carpeted as well. Just an idea