Not good. His entire face swells up and gets huge red welts on it. Thankfully, he doesn't really seem worse for the wear through it all.
Off we went to the pediatrician to try and figure out what went wrong. Her reaction = "huh, weird. I've never seen that. I think you should see an allergist." Thanks. Off to the allergist we went to try and figure out what's wrong. Her reaction = "huh, weird. I've never seen that. There is no actual test for allergies to sunscreen or the sun so it's all trial and error. Try putting him outside without sunscreen on for a day and see what happens." See what happens!?!!? Uh...do you notice the whiteness of his skin and the redness of his hair?
Ultimately, we tried many different combinations - no sunscreen (only outside for an hour), sunscreen on a cloudy day, sunscreen on a sunny day, sunscreen for babies, sunscreen for kids, sunscreen with parabens, sunscreen without. Finally, we deduced that yes, he does have an allergy to chemical sunscreens. Now we have the kid with the white face because we have to use zinc oxide as a physical sunblock.
8 comments:
That is both sad and hilarious. :)
OMG, I don't know what we would do if Isabella couldn't wear sunscreen (she is also see-through and a flaming red head)! We use kid sunscreen on her face and SPF 100 everywhere else... re-apply every few hours and walk away with only a little color. Poor Buster
Oh, poor boy!! Actually, poor parents since you are the folk who have to try and manage it! Looks like uv-protective clothing and floppy hats are in Buster's future. Luckily, there are super cute baseball hats and rash guards out there. Although, protecting kids from the sun without chemicals is better for their skin anyway. I keep reading about how sunscreens in the US are not tested well and the labeling process is not rigorous (Europe is ahead of us here). So there you go. It's a good thing that your son is super complicated! ;)
Thanks for the silver lining Laura!
i came across your blog randomly - i too have a son with a sunscreen allergy - good luck dealing with yours - thankfully we dont have that much sun in the UK !!!
I'm pretty sure my 2 year old son is allergic to sunscreen as well. (he also has red hair although isn't usually allergic or sensitive to anything)
I'm experimenting with natural sunscreens from the health food shop at the moment.
by the way your little boy is absolutely gorgeous.
My three year old is the same... What brand do u use??
My three year old is the same... What brand do u use??
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