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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Allergic to Diapers

My daughter seems to be allergic to pretty much everything.  I found out within her first week home from the hospital that the Dreft laundry detergent we had bought would have to be given away.  All of the clothes I had washed in preparation for her arrival had to be rewashed with detergent that was free of all perfumes and dyes.  Heaven forbid an old dryer sheet get mixed in with her baby clothes.  She'll break out in a rash from head to toe.  We can only use sensitive skin wipes, and her cheeks must be coated with a petroleum jelly based ointment before going outside or the puffy, redness will ensue.  

Because of all of this, I should have known better the first time I put that Huggies diaper on her little butt.  Since she was born, we've used Pampers diapers.  We received Pampers Swaddlers at baby showers and loved them, so we just stayed with that particular brand.  Now, she's in the Cruisers.  I usually buy the diapers when I go to town, but we ran out the other day.  I sent my husband to the grocery store to buy more, and he came home with a package of Huggies.  They're a few dollars cheaper, so I was hoping they would work.  

Upon changing the first of the Huggies diapers, I noticed a deep red rash.  It was different than a typical diaper rash.  It covered the entire area, was dry, and wasn't broken up into separate bumps.  I simply can't stand my daughter having diaper rashes.  I don't want her to be uncomfortable or irritated, so I constantly change her diapers and keep the area clean and dry.  When I saw the new rash, I cleaned it, let it dry, then covered her in Desitin.  That usually does the trick, but it didn't work this time.  I repeated this process each time I changed her diaper, and it was only getting worse.  Her diet hadn't changed; she hadn't been exposed to anything unusual.  After about two days of this, I decided it had to be the diapers.  I found a few Pampers in a diaper bag and used those until we could get back to the store.  After 3 of the Pampers diapers (and the cleaning, drying, and Desitin), the rash started to get better.  It's been about 24 hours now, and the rash has improved significantly.  It had to be the Huggies.  

I don't know if it is something in the Huggies diapers or the fact that my daughter is just used to the Pampers and reacted poorly to the switch, but I won't be using Huggies again.  I'm not saying Huggies diapers are bad or that you shouldn't use them.  I'm sure there are babies out there who are allergic to Pampers as well.  Just consider the diaper allergy as an option if your baby suddenly develops terrible diaper rash and you've explored all other causes and treatments.  

To read more about diaper rash symptoms, causes, and treatment, click here.  

7 comments:

  1. lavay's daughter's son is also allergic to huggies, he said many babies have the same problem with that particular brand. which strikes me as odd because they are one of the more popular ones. anywho, that's totally my kid. give her back.

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  2. Yea, Jane said Jill was allergic to Huggies as well. Weird indeed. And it is odd that I have the kid with your hair color and allergies. :)

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  3. Hey! Thanks for stopping by my blog!! :) I am following you now! Have you ever thought to jump into the awesome fun non-rash having world of cloth??? Seriously, it is awesome! I am doing it with my last baby and WISH I would have done it with the 2 before her:) If you ever want to know more let me know and I can help! :) I love talking cloth. And believe me when I say it is SO much easier than is probably perceived:)

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  4. What size diapers is she in now? Because Pampers JUST came out with Swaddlers in Size Three! I'm so excited about that because I was dreading switching to something else.

    Also, I don't know if you know about Amazon Mom, but if you're in the US, you can buy most any diaper (and sensitive wipes!) for 30% off with free 2 day shipping on amazon.com. Then magazines like Parents, Parenting, and BabyTalk (which is a free magazine) often have 20% off coupons that you can stack on top of the 50% off. I commonly get a box of 154 Swaddlers for $20! TOTALLY love it!

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  5. I'm definitely checking out the Amazon thing! Thanks!

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  6. Hi guys, do you think it's possible that I myself am allergic to Pampers? With both my kids, I have experienced dry, wrinkled fingers that burn and itch when they were both born. I can't get it to go away and the only thing I can imagine is that it's the Pampers (with my son I switched to Target brand as he got older and I didn't have the problem again until my daughter was born and I used the Pampers again). The diapers and wipes are the only thing I can think of that my hands touch constantly and it doesnt touch the rest of my body.

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