Carole's post about the baby with the rash from Tide reminded me of the case
of my second son, Allan.  Allan had been in foster care for a month, before
the adoption agency got around to calling us about him.  When I got him, he
had an absolutly horrendous rash all over his diaper area.  Large areas of
skin were eaten right through.  Having dealt with skin allergies all my
life, I recognized it as a contact dermatitis. The foster mother had told
the social worker that the rash was from the formula and that it had
improved when she put him on a different formula (I couldn't imagine that
what I saw represented an improvement).  I knew right away that the rash was
from the perfume in the disposables she had him in.  I put him right into
carefully washed cloth diapers (and back on the formula the FM said caused
it-no breast milk yet), and by the next morning, there was no more broken
skin.  Several months later, I was out and stuck without a diaper and
borrowed a disposable from someone, and he broke out again.  Just one
example, of course, but I have seen alot of rashes on babies that have been
attributed to the diet, but have been due to something getting on the skin.

I have seen many babies with rashes on their faces, that have come from
detergent residue on the clothing of someone who was holding them.
Another thing I wonder is, when the baby is fed bottles of soy formula, who
feeds him?  I also wonder if there could be something the mother is wearing
that is causing the problem.  Also, bottlefeeding can be done without much
contact with the skin or clothing of the person doing the feeding, so that
could be making a difference, too.

I would suggest that this mother be especially careful with all bedding and
clothing, not just of baby's but the rest of the family, to get out all
detergent.  What worked for me was to put everything through a second cycle
with soap flakes, which got out all detergent and bleach, and eliminated the
need for fabric softener (which babies can also be allergic to).  I think
you can still find White King soap flakes in some places, or can just get a
bar of unscented soap and grate it.

So, essentially, I would try to eliminate all possible allergens, from both
mom's diet and the baby's environment.  I think the doctor's comments the
mother about breastfeeding make it pretty clear that he does not know
something that no one else does, regarding allergy to a protein in
breastmilk.  Pretty sad!

Sorry to take up so much space here, but I have taken a special interest in
this mother and baby, and sometimes there is no replacement for experience
as a mother, which I have lots of!



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