Do I say something, or not?

[grace0418]

We were visiting some friends tonight who've recently had twin girls. They are adorable and we had a lovely evening. At one point my friend happened to mention that one the twins had some skin irritation and they couldn't figure out why.

Well, after dinner I was helping them get the babies fed and ready for bed. They bathe the girls every night as a way to calm them. Which is fine, I have other friends who do that. The thing I noticed right away, though, was that my friend bathed them in soapy water and didn't rinse the suds off. Granted, it was no tears baby soap, but still I would think that not rinsing off soap could potentially lead to skin irritation.

I kept my mouth shut. After all, I'm not a mom. But now I wonder if I should've said anything. It just seems intuitive to me that could possibly be the issue, but I don't want to be the nosy person offering unsolicited advice. Especially since I don't have kids of my own.

What do you all think?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear grace0418...

I think I would have said something...

I might do it like this: Since they brought up the skin irritation, that would make a perfect point to start.

It's a tough place to be!

:hug:

[grace0418]

2. So do you think I could possibly be correct? I wasn't sure if it was extremely common

to bathe a baby in sudsy water and not rinse.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. It's a reasonable hypothesis.

Especially since they brought it up...

Soap isn't especially good for skin, esp. baby skin, and leaving it on is something I wouldn't do.

:shrug:

[question everything]

4. I agree. And, pehaps, it is not too late

Next time you talk to them said how sweet the new babies are, ask how they are doing, since you remember the mention of the skin irritation and if it still persists, you can say that you wonder whether some of the soap may linger but, that, of course, a pediatrician should be able to comment better.

[grace0418]

5. Thanks! Both of you.

It definitely seemed odd to me but then I started thinking, well perhaps nobody rinses of their kid after a bath. What do I know? Maybe I'll try to find a way to bring it up.

[supernova]

6. If they look at you askance

you could perhaps ask if, when they take a shower, they soap up, and then turn the water off and get out?

:shrug:

Yes, we all need to rinse off after soaping up.

:hug:

[Skittles]

7. wtf?

I would have said something

[LynneSin]

8. I don't think it's the soap

that stuff is made to be extremely non-reactive on folks and especially babies.

It could be an allergy to something else - clothing dye or food.

[grace0418]

9. I suppose, but the directions on the soap itself say to rinse it. If a baby was prone

to sensitive skin (only one of the twins had any issues), it seems to me that even the mildest soap could cause problems if it wasn't rinsed off.

[LynneSin]

10. As someone with sensitive skin - there are other things that can cause the rash

I need to wash new clothes before I can wear them because clothes dye can cause issue.

However, even still, you could make a "did you see" this comment in casual passing and I'm sure the parents would be upset about it. It's all in how you word it.

[REP]

11. When I was a sprog, I was super-sensitive to it; gave me a rash that everyone thought was measles!

I must have been a fun baby; my skin is so freaking weird my diapers had be washed and bleached in special detergent, then line dried, then IRONED to keep me from breaking out in non-diaper-rash rashes (or so I'm told; my memory is a little hazy!).

[bluedigger]

12. That might be it, but...

Everybody seems to think its strange not to rinse off, and I think that's odd. I haven't taken a bath in years, and, yes, in the shower, I rinse off. But I don't ever remember emptying the tub, and running another after to rinse with, like doing dishes. You just dunked the suds out of your hair and jumped out and dried off. Were they pulling the babys out of the bath covered in soap suds? :shrug: Tough call.

[grace0418]

14. Actually, yeah, they were covered in suds and they just wiped them off. And on the

rare occasion that I take a bath, I do usually quickly rinse off in the shower afterwards.

[Dangerously Amused]

13. I would call her and say,

"...you know, I was just discussing this same issue with another friend, and she said that it turned out that her baby's skin irritation was caused by not rinsing her baby off enough after a bath. I guess her baby was just really sensitive to soap and needed extra rinsing."

Something like that, a helpful suggestion that (hopefully) wouldn't be perceived as calling her mothering skills into question.

Good luck!

[grace0418]

15. Good one. I'll have to see how to work it into a conversation. I'd hate to see the

poor little one keep having skin problems if there's an easy solution. Thanks!

[david13]

16. Say something. That's what friends are for.

[MorningGlow]

17. Something else...

It might be the soap, yes--that's entirely possible. And it could just be the water of an every-evening bath. My son's skin was always so sensitive that we simply couldn't bathe him every night. If we did, he'd break out in a rash and scratch himself silly (when he got old enough to do that). In addition, the water at the house we're in now was loaded with minerals, which made him itch even worse. The best we could do (till the village switched water sources at the beginning of this year) was, again, bathe him every few days (kids don't usually get so filthy that they NEED to have a bath every single day--it's not like they're working in the mines, you know?), spot-clean him in between, and load him up with lotion, especially on his knees and elbows. So that might be something else to look into. :shrug:

[datasuspect]

18. i'm from the old school and we shoot from the hip

i'd have said, "HEY, WHAT THE HELLSAMATTER WIT YOU? RINSE THE GODDAMN BABY OFF!!!!!"