I was wondering about those with LI and their bath routines. My son is 11 months old now and fortunately, he loves his baths. Our pediatric dermatologist said that as for baths, 5 minutes submerged is sufficient to soak the skin. (I respect our dermatologist greatly - he is very familiar with ichthyosis and writes the text books that all the med students study!) Anyway, I have been giving him 2 5-minute baths a day, first thing in the morning and before bed at night. His skin is still quite scaly, though. I am wondering if longer baths would be helpful.

I noticed in previous posts that some of you take very long baths, and I was wondering if that really helps, how often you do it, for how long, and if you know any of the science behind why a longer bath may be more effective?

I don't want to do it if it's not going to make any difference, to be honest. I have a toddler at home too and it is difficult to keep an eye on her when I can't leave his side at the tub. (I can bathe them together, but it's difficult to do it without help, and my husband's schedule doesn't always allow him to help.)

Anyway, tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

Susie

Hi Susie,

My son, Marc is now 7 years old and when he was an infant, his dermatologist told me not to bathe him frequently. Since he was a Dr., I listened. What a mistake! Once I joined FIRST and began talking to other moms, I realized that water is the best thing I can do for Marc's skin.

Marc has a bath/shower twice a day. After that, we slather on his creams/lotions and then he gets dressed. Usually in the morning when we have to get ready for school, he takes a quick shower. Before bed he takes a bath that can last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. While in the bath, we use (actually he is now doing it himself) a pumice stone to get rid of the scale. The longer he is in the water, the looser the scale becomes so it is easier to remove.

I realize you trust your Dr., but I would have to disagree. I think you should be giving your son longer baths whenever you can. I am sure it is difficult with a toddler running around, but I know it would make a difference on your son's skin.

Good luck!

Denise aka "marcsmom"

Hi! I too have an older child at home so when Winson (the little one with LI) was a baby I use to give them a bath together to save time. But I found that to be a bad idea, the oil was too much for the toddler and the toddler gave the baby with LI infections. Winson had infections all the time so when I put two and two together I stopped the baths. And gave them their own baths. Winson is now 4 and all is well with him. I have also just now tried this long, long bath thing and Winson hates it. After about 1/2 hr he is crying to get out. On the other hand I can see that his skin is softer and better. So I will just have to make him stay!!!! I am finding that he sleep better if I keep that bath to before bed. I hope this helps.
Carmen

I only bathe my two daughters (both with LI), twice a week. I find that if I do it more than that, they dry out too much and less than that and the skin builds up too much. Everyone has a different system and it takes trial and error to determine the best for your child. I tried scrubbing the girls with different things, but have found that scrubbing with my fingernails works the best. This is done after they soak in a sea salt bath for about 15-30 minutes. I wash them with an unscented Aveeno Oatmeal Body Wash, rinse them off and then apply Uremol lotion.

Good luck~

Angel

Ryley loves to take baths she too has LI. She takes one every day and every night and just soaks in her salt bath for 15-20 min. Like Mark Ryley soaks to get the scales soft and then uses a pumice stone to gently scrub the scales off plus it helps with the ichting she says. We have never had a problem with her drying out quicker because of the baths. We put her lotions on (except the tazorac) While she is still wet that has help lock some moister in and keep it moist. She doesn't have to be lotioned again until her night bath, unless it is realy hot out then we have to do it about 5 hours later and then again at bath time. Ryley is very itchy and uncomfortable if she doesn't have her baths every day.

Good Luck
Shauna

im 21 and have lam ich - and as you would expect ive had a lot of trial and error periods.
i usually spend well over an hour in the bath sometimes nearer 2, on a weekend (usually cuz of hectic night out - so very tired)
spending this much time in the bath is great as my skin becomes really soft and i can scrub it off gently (i use a kichen knife - sounds scary but works for me) Also the large thick scales on my hand and feet are eaiser to remove and my toe nails are easier to pull off. (sounds gross i know)
If i dont bath or shower in the morning i cant go any where, my creams dont seem to soak in aswell.
Hot water dries the skin out more, cold water keeps the skin moist.
So i start off with a nice cool bath to get my skin nice and supple then get some hot in to be able to remove skin i want too then let it go cold to soften the new areas that i have exposed, i also get creamed up straight away - no hanging around.
Thats me done for the day then.

Take it easy

Ant.

I'm 32 and have LI. I take a shower every morning and a bath every night without fail, and if I can fit another bath in during the day, I will. I need to be in the bath for at least 15 minutes to be able to soften my skin properly and have enough time to scrub off the scales with a nubby washcloth.

I have been told the same thing you have, limit the baths but I have found that is the worst thing I can do. Taking mulitple baths and putting on moisturizer as soon as I get out helps prevent my skin from drying out and preventing your child's skin from drying out is much more effective than trying to remove scaling after his skin is dry. It's also less painful.

I have also found using an oil in the bathwater helps soften my skin. I prefer to use Canola oil though Almond oil is my favorite. Some folks use baby oil but I find my skin doesn't absorb this as well.

Baths seem to help my skin more than showers do, but I shower as it's easier to wash my hair. Showers are also a quicker way to cool myself down if I overheat and I can adjust the water temperature throughout the shower so that I don't shock my system with cold when I first get in.

Carmen's information on bathing two children together raises good points. I wouldn't bath a child with ichthyosis with another child at any time, even if the other child had ichthyosis. There is too much potential for infection to be passed along, and all the oils can't be good for the non-affected child's skin.

BTW, I have also found as I age, my skin gets softer and easier to take care of. I used to have to use a loofah, or even pumice stone on occasion and now in my 30's I can use just a washcloth or even my bare hand to remove scales with gentle scrubbing.

Also consider that the soap you might be using could be drying out your son's skin even more. I prefer to use Cetaphil bar soap. For some reason, the liquid Cetaphil dries me out more than the bar soap. I will also use Aveeno body soap on occasion but if I use it too often, it will also dry me out more.

I take three hour baths about every 2-3 weeks if I can (I'm away at college so I'm a little limited with access to a bathtub). I also read while I'm soaking so that contributes to the lenth! I usually try to soak at least an hour, then scrub and scrap with my finger nails and a pair of exfoliating gloves for as long as I can handle it. I think because our skin is thicker and may have residue from creams, it takes longer for the water to soak all the way to an effective level.

A note about skin drying out after baths: mine used to be terrible with that. I tried to avoid baths for a number of years because of how uncomfortable I felt after them. But then I found that adding vaseline to basically *any* lotion automatically improves it and locks in moisture. And I agree with Ant, cream works best if put on immediately after getting out of the bath. Even a five minute delay can be a big difference for me.

Also, your water may be drying out your child's skin. I find that the hard water at home dries my skin out faster than the water here at school (which is irritating since the only place I have access to a tub is at home).

Susie,
I noticed that there are many ideas on here for you to try. I am a 39 year old woman with moderate LI. Just to let you know...lately I have been using about 1 1/2 pounds of non-iodized salt in my bath that my husband gets for me at Sam's club(50 pound bag)and it is really helping my skin not flake as much and makes it look really smooth. The warmer baths seem to help my dry skin to loosen better for me.The cooler baths seem to make it just cake up on me. I had some dr's tell me to bathe less and some say bathe daily. We learned early when I was a child that daily baths work best and always following with the moisturizers is absolutely necessary. After my baths I pat my skin dry, apply oils, then apply moisturizers (St. Ives cream in the salmon pink short fat 12 oz container mixed with 8 oz of glycerine) two or three times before I get dressed and some aquaphor or something with patrolatum jelly to help the skin hold the moisture longer. I thank God for my mother taking such good care of my skin (the best she could on a limited income) when I was little and teaching me the importance of caring about myself enough to at least try to take care of myself even when I don't feel like bothering. You live in one of the better places for people with our skin disorder. I wish you and your son the best.

Sincerely,
wva



[This message has been edited by wva (edited September 26, 2005).]