Sunscreen allergies?

[spencersmommy]

I'm using TruKid sunny days on my kids, but my 5 year old has a rash all over his body, legs, arms and now back. It looks a little like hives, raised red welts. Do you think this is a sunscreen allergy? I can't think of anything else it could be. TruKids is chemical free, no PABA, so I'm at a loss at what to try now...anyone else have this problem? I'm taking him to the ped if it's still rashy tomorrow...it's been 2 days now. Thanks in advance for any help!
Amy in CA

[infomama]

I would guess that he may be reacting to an ingredient (doesn't have to be a chemical per se as people have sensitivities to lots of stuff that isn't chemical in nature) in the sunscreen. If you can get the rash under control without going to the doc then I would try California Baby. May take some trial and error. Good luck.

[dcmom2b3]

I've had problems finding a sunscreen for DD that won't cause a rash (or exacerbate the heat rash and allergic hives that she's also prone to.) Jason's kid's sunscreen works pretty well for us -- it's mineral based. Other moms I know swear by Vanicream's sensitive skin sunscreen. I'm going to try that next.

[thomma]

My dd has very sensitive skin on her face. I could only use California Baby on her face up until this year when she had a reaction to it. Now I'm using Blue Lizard which seems to be okay so far.

Good luck finding something that works-

Kim
ds&dd 5/03

[JBaxter]

various sunscreens cause hives on different of my children. We use California baby or blue lizard here. Its much worse with the spray types.

[pinkmomagain]

My dd1 gets reactions on her face to some sunscreens. For her it involves swelling of her eyes and lips. We have had to experiment quite a bit. For Faces Only (Coppertone, I think) seems to be OK for her.

[DrSally]

Sounds like a reaction to the sunscreen. What are the ingred? Is it just titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide? Are there other sunscreen ingred? I always react to any sunscreen ending in "--cinnimate". Maybe post the label. My guess is it does have other sunscreen ingred in it other than the physical blocks (the least likely to cause a reaction). hydrocortosine works for me when I accidentally have a reaction to sunscreen.

ETA: I see it truly doesn't have chemical sunscreen ingred. It could be one of the many other ingred though that is causing a reaction. There are other mineral based sunscreens that have fewer ingred.

[bubbaray]

That totally sounds like a reaction to the sunscreen to me. Both of my girls are super sensitive to sunscreen (and other lotions) and we know how to treat that kind of reaction in them -- benadryl for the allergic reaction and various topical steroids. But, we've BTDT soooooo many times and we have a variety of prescription ointments etc. from their specialist at Childrens' Hospital. In your case, I would take your child to the dr. You need to avoid scratching as it can lead to a staph infection, requiring strong antibiotics. Again, BTDT.

IME my girls will react to both physical and chemical sunblocks. AND, the physical ones don't seem to provide them with any protection. Its VERY frustrating. Currently, we seem to have success with Banana Boat Kids spray sunscreen. Whether they will be able to use it the whole summer, I have no idea. Often we get nearly through a bottle, I buy a new bottle and then they start reacting to the new bottle. Its weird.

I suggest buying a few different sunscreens and seeing what works. If none work, then you are left with SPF clothing and full-coverage bathing suits....

ETA: we tried pretty much all of hte sunscreens posted by others here. Blue Lizard didn't cause a reaction in my girls, but they burned every.single.time I used it -- it was like using babyoil and putting them out to bake in the sun!

[graciebellesmomma]

My dd reacted to many sunscreens. We found that one we bought in Tahiti did not cause the rash or clogged pores that many others did. It was a French brand and when my friend went to Paris, I had her buy 10 bottles. Then when our Irish friends came to visit same thing. You get the picture. Not an ideal situation, but it worked.

Last Winter we were skiing in Tahoe and all of our sunscreen was in Maui, so we took a risk and bought children's Ocean Potion and found that it did not cause a reaction. Which was good news. It's only about 8 dollars a bottle compared to 18.00!!

A bath in warm oatmeal water and oral benadryl soothed our daughter when she broke out. I hope he loses the rash soon.

[bubbaray]

My dd reacted to many sunscreens. We found that one we bought in Tahiti did not cause the rash or clogged pores that many others did. It was a French brand and when my friend went to Paris, I had her buy 10 bottles. Then when our Irish friends came to visit same thing. You get the picture. Not an ideal situation, but it worked.



Could you post or PM me the name of the French brand? Thanks!