Burt's Bees Buttermilk Lotion

[chs89]

A little backstory...Last night DS was filthy so I gave him a bath (usually DH does this, but he was out). I used his usual CA baby bubble bath and shampoo. His skin seemed dry (he has slight eczema) so I slathered him with Burt's Bees Baby Bee buttermilk lotion since it was the closest of the several "safe" lotions.

Fast forward to this morning...Not an hour and a half after he arrived at daycare we got the call to come get him for a mysterious rash which they wanted checked out to confirm it was not contagious. After lots of fun waiting at the clinic (we live in Canada and have to go to the clinic not the ped for emergencies like these) the doc said it was either an allergy or viral. She couldn't confirm either, and did not know what it was. His ears and throat were fine, though he does have a cough (we've all been constantly sick this winter). As an allergy and eczema sufferer myself it really looks like an allergy, and is only on his legs and tummy which is where I put the lotion. Back, arms, hands, and face are all fine.

Anyone experience a reaction like this to the buttermilk lotion? I saw an older thread here which had been closed. Any theories? He has had almonds before and has never had trouble with dairy...maybe the coconut oil? We have food allergies in the family from both sides, though DS has never exhibited any signs. I haven't finished introducing him to nuts, he's only had almonds and walnuts so far. He gets lots of rashes and there is the eczema problem so I haven't noticed a link with the Burt's Bees before, but we don't use it often either. Unfortunately they won't allow him back at daycare until we can prove it's not contagious (ie, an allergy) so I am motivated to solve this ASAP, but I certainly would not want to expose other families to something contagious.
TIA!

[meg-momto2]

my DD had a really bad reaction to it as well. in fact i just did a patch test a week or so ago and it was definitely the lotion. i suspect the dairy aspect of it in our case even though it came back negative on her Alcat test. DD has had peanut and cashew butter with no reaction. we also use Charlie's Soap(coconut oil based) with no reactions. i never called the company because i didn't make the connection right away. could you do a patch test on an area with no rash? i'm not sure if that will be sufficient for the daycare but at least you'll know if it's the cause.

[txtarheel]

If he's always had eczema and always had dairy, I'd say it could be a dairy allergy that manifests itself as eczema. Burt's Bees buttermilk bath soak was my DS's first exposure to milk (while nursing before he ate it himself) and he broke out in hives from it. We're not prone to eczema here, but a lot of the mamas here will suggest milk elimination to deal with it.

[chs89]

Thanks for the advice!

We did a patch test on his back and it did get a bit red. We've been giving him Benadryl to calm the first reaction which has helped. I doubt it's milk causing the eczema since had dairy for at least 5 months before he developed it, and I have always eaten dairy (and bf). DS' eczema appears to be weather related, as is mine, and caused by the wet, damp weather we get in the spring and fall here in the NE which results in lots of mold.

[sbiddy1]

I used the Burt's Bees Buttermilk lotion shortly after the holidays and my daughter broke out in a bad itchy rash. When I took her to the doctor he said it was some kind of allergic reaction and it might be from wearing new clothes which made sense since it was right after the holidays. I tried to use the lotion again recently when she had dry skin and that evening she came home from daycare with an even worse rash. I have no doubt it was the lotion.

[ms sig]

Hey, I found this thread when I was looking up Burt's Bees Allergies. Thought I'd add my experience for the record. My baby is definitely very allergic to this lotion.

I've used it several months ago on him a few times and he seemed to get a rash from it, but I also thought that it may have been something that he was eating since we were introducing solids at the same time. The doctor said the rash was an allergic reaction and excema-like. We even made an appointment with a specialist, but then it just faded over time so we canceled the appointment. Well, I forgot about my suspicions and used it on him again last night after his bath. This morning he woke with a huge bright red rash this morning. I thought for a moment that it may be a sunburn, but that doesn't make any sense. It's on his back and the top of his arms and chest, exactly where I put the lotion on him, and it's worse than the other times.

I called Burt's Bees and they said to give him a bath to wash off all the lotion that may still be there. I didn't think about that, but it makes sense. They also said to call my doctor who might want to prescribe a cortizone cream to help with the symptoms. And they said to go in to see him tomorrow if it doesn't look better.

I'm a little mad at them because they couldn't tell me what the "fragrance" listed is, except to say that it's a blend of all natural oils. But it could very well be that he's reacting to one of those oils, but I'd never know because they said it's "proprietary" i.e. their company secret. They said that people can react to anything, which is theoretically true, but there's definitely a range of allergens that are much more common than others. It would be very helpful to know what the other ingredients are to help me narrow them down and so that I could try to avoid them in the future. 

I wonder. Has anyone who had this allergy notice any other allergies?

[abelitz]

I just wanted to add that Clorox has owned Burt's Bees for a few years now, and many of their formulas have changed since that transition.  They are just not as "clean" as they used to be.  And I am suspicious about their "fragrance."  I doubt that they are still using only essential oils to add aromas to their products.  The reason I say this is on many products, individual essential oils are still listed separately (like peppermint and lavender), and then there's the ingredient called "fragrance."  If the fragrance was made of essential oils, why bother listing a few of them separately? 

Just my two cents...  :)

[ms sig]

Oh, I had no idea about Clorox owning them. It's good to know. They were a lot more unfriendly then I had assumed when I talked to them. They didn't seem mom and pop at all, which I mistakenly assumed they were. My son is doing better now -- the bright red color has mostly cleared up, but he still has the bumps from it.