Solve this baby's skin allergy to sunscreen

[srhs]

Ok, mamas, hit me with your knowledge. DF's 12-mo had an allergic reaction to suncreen--rash, swelling, etc.--went to ER, did benadryl, scary stuff.
Culprit was Water babies*.

Big sis has egg and dairy allergies, btw.

12-mo saw the allergist today who was very skeptical about a sunscreen reaction. They did the traditional skin tests on her back, and none of them reacted. Allergist put a small spot of the Water babies on her arm, and she immediately got a rash on her tummy, started rubbing her itchy eyes, etc. Allergist was fairly stumped, even told my friend he "googled it" and didn't find much, lol.

Soooooo, what do you think she is reacting to? I realize a lot of us here already think the chemical sunscreens are full of nasty stuff, but my personal concerns for my DC are more longterm and systemic than immediate allergic type reaction. I already sent DF the SafeMama and EWG Suncreen info, and she plans to try small amounts of those type to test, but she'd like to know what the actual reaction is to, of course.

Thoughts?

ETA fixed list to exact WB product:
*Ingredients from drugstore.com
Active Ingredients: Avobenzone, Homosalate, Octisalate, Octocrylene, Oxybenzone

Inactive Ingredients: Water, Dimethyl Ether, Sorbitol, Styrene Acrylates Copolymer, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Sorbitan Isostearate, Benzyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Polyglyceryl 3 Distearate, Fragrance (Parfum), Methylparaben, Acrylates/C10 30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA

[brittone2]

It could be anything. Reaction to the chemical block, reaction to the fragrance (my mom frequently reacts to topical products w/ fragrance).

Formaldehyde is something that is often carried along w/ other ingredients (won't be on the ingredienet list) and my mom has received + allergy testing for that recently. http://www.ewg.org/report/toxic-tub/31209

eta: I have no idea if any of those ingredients would be triggers for any food allergies off the top of my head. Do you know what testing they did do? I am not sure how often they test for formaldehyde reactions but they tested my mom for that specifically because she has so many problems w/ personal care products (perfumes, makeup, soaps, clothing detergent, especiallky if any of the above are scented....).

etaa: this lists some potential side effects of chemical blocks. A few mention contact dermatitis or slight to moderate skin irritation for example:
http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/full-report/nanomaterials-and-hormone-disruptors-in-sunscreens/

[lablover]

My DS had a reaction to Water Babies when he was 9/10 months old. It wasn't as severe - we were at the beach and he woke up from a nap and had splotches on his face/body. I initially thought that DH had done a terrible job putting sunscreen on him, because it looked like a sunburn. We switched to Banana Boat Kids (also a chemical sunscreen) and he had no problem with that. These days I usually use physical sunscreens, but I do think years later I borrowed Water Babies from someone once when we were out and he was fine with it, so I think he outgrew whatever sensitivity it was.

[daisymommy]

I find it sad, odd, and humorous that unless an ingredient isn't something egg, dairy, nuts, gluten, etc. a doctor can look at that long list of chemicals that no one can pronounce, and then be "puzzled" as to why a baby might react to them. Good grief. It's like putting a chemical science experiment on your child. Of course they might react to it!

Out of 80,000 chemicals that are currently registered for use, only 200 have ever been tested, none of them are required to be tested in combination with other chemicals, and they are tested for the average 150 lb. man. Not a child.

[cckwmh]

PATCH testing (either done by a derm or an allergist) would test for this. Is it different than the typical allergy tests.

[DrSally]

I have an sunscreen allergy (hives, redness, local swelling). DS's allergist said they are one of the most common allergies. I only use a physical block (zinc or Titanium dioxide) or Avebenzone. I can't use anything ending in -cinnimate. Read labels very carefully b/c many zinc or TD based sunscreens also have chemical sunscreens in them as well. Makeup (down the road) and lipbalms often have a lot of chemical sunscreens too.

[srhs]

It could be anything. Reaction to the chemical block, reaction to the fragrance (my mom frequently reacts to topical products w/ fragrance).

Formaldehyde is something that is often carried along w/ other ingredients (won't be on the ingredienet list) and my mom has received + allergy testing for that recently. http://www.ewg.org/report/toxic-tub/31209



I think you are on to something! I remember the BBB thread about this article, and I have been far more diligent about washing clothes first if not for it. I mentioned this to DF, and she said DD did get little rashes to unwashed clothes as a newborn!

I find it sad, odd, and humorous that unless an ingredient isn't something egg, dairy, nuts, gluten, etc. a doctor can look at that long list of chemicals that no one can pronounce, and then be "puzzled" as to why a baby might react to them. Good grief. It's like putting a chemical science experiment on your child. Of course they might react to it!

Out of 80,000 chemicals that are currently registered for use, only 200 have ever been tested, none of them are required to be tested in combination with other chemicals, and they are tested for the average 150 lb. man. Not a child.

I couldn't agree more. I'm telling you, this is THE allergist in our area, albeit a small area, but still.


PATCH testing (either done by a derm or an allergist) would test for this. Is it different than the typical allergy tests.

Could you be more specific for me? Would test for the formaldehyde?


I have an sunscreen allergy (hives, redness, local swelling). DS's allergist said they are one of the most common allergies. I only use a physical block (zinc or Titanium dioxide) or Avebenzone. I can't use anything ending in -cinnimate. Read labels very carefully b/c many zinc or TD based sunscreens also have chemical sunscreens in them as well. Makeup (down the road) and lipbalms often have a lot of chemical sunscreens too.

Sounds so snobby, but I KNEW the BBB mamas would know more than this allergist. So weird that he would act so puzzled. I'm telling you...he didn't really believe her that it was the sunscreen, especially since it's "hypoallergenic" :rolleyes:

(eta: the :rolleyes: is to the dr & the mfr, not my DF who is a sweetheart)

[DrSally]

YEah, hypoallergenic and "for Baby/kids" means *nothing* when it comes to sunscreen. If you look at the ingred, they are identical to the adult versions. Just marketing. I learned through trial and error (a few times buying the wrong kind, they all look so alike) about reading labels. IIRC, Oxinate is also one to avoid. I think it's another name for one of the -cinnimates.

ETA: Blue Lizard and neutrogena make pure physical blocks. Read the labels very carefully on neutrogena, as many of theirs do contain chem sunscreens and the bottles look very similar.