My daughter Amelia was born 3 weeks ago with a collodian membrane. After 2 weeks in the NICU the membrane has mostly gone now with the exception of the tips of her toes. The skin underneath has looked really amazing for the last week, very smooth, and natural coloring. I've noticed some dryness in her flexors (neck, hips, armpits) and her back has been really dry in the last two days. We've been using the Aquaphor every 4 hours or so since birth and gave her her first bath today (she wasn't too happy about it).

Since we have no diagnosis yet and won't for some time, I want to be proactive in her care. I've been reading lots of the posts on this site and am trying to let the information sink in a bit. My concern at this point is to not let those dry areas get too dry, so I went and bought some Curel Ultra Healing lotion and Aveeno Cream.

Question 1: Are these products a good place to start for an undiagnosed infant? We are a little concerned about these "adult" products on her skin.

Question 2: Is the general pattern after a bath to put on lotions and then something to seal it in like a cream?

Before I put these products on her little body I'm hoping someone will clarify this for me.

Thanks for all the input.

Best,
Ford (Amelia's Dad)

Hi there and congrats on your little one! [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] She has a beautiful name too! My husband and I have three children, two of which were born with the Collodion membrane and have Lamellar Ichthyosis. Our two affected children are a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. We use Curel Ultra Healing lotion, Cetaphil Cream, and Aquaphor. We have not used the Aveeno Cream but I'm sure it's just fine to use on an infant being that Aveeno's products are very mild. All of the products you mentioned are perfectly safe to use on your little one. Most babies born with the Collodion membrane have either Lamellar or CIE. They are both cared for the same for the most part. (BTW...no newborns love baths lol.) Some kiddos do better with fewer baths and some do better with more. You will just need to see what her skin looks like after a bath to decide which category she fits into. Our kids are very dry if they have too many baths so we stick to two or so baths a week right now. After a bath we just use Aquaphor. There is a lot of moisture in the skin after a bath and if you put the Aquaphor on right away it will seal all of that moisture in. During the day it's a good idea to put moisture into her skin with the lotion. The cream will help seal it all in similar to what the Aquaphor does after a bath. It sounds like you are off to a great start in caring for your daughter! If I can be of any help feel free to email me anytime. Congratulations again!
Lisa

Erin-
I was reading that you used a product called Sween 24 and that others were using Sween Cream. Are you still using this? Is it still working well? Would you recommend it for a newborn? When do you apply it in your routine?

Thanks for the support---the chances are good I'll have a few more questions in the coming days.

cheers
ameliasdad

I just looked at the Aveeno web site and I saw a cream called "Skin Relief Moisturizing Cream". If that is the cream you bought, you probably don't want to use that on a daily basis as it contains menthol. I did see other creams on their web site that do not contain menthol so if it is one of those then it should be okay. I don't think I would want to use menthol on a baby every day though. Best of Luck!
Lisa

We use Aveeno Baby soothing relief lotion, that is the same as the one that contains menthol but without the menthol. For us it works great. we use the body wash as well and it has worked wonders for us. Ales is 2 1/2.

Heather

Thanks for all the help everyone. The Aveeno we bought did in fact have menthol, so I took it back. I'll look into the baby version though.

We met with our dermatologist for the first time yesterday. He had a lot of good things to say about the current condition of her skin, Her legs, arms, face and tummy are all clear and have a warm tone to them. Her back is still dry and we may think that because she was on her back so much in the NICU it may just be taking longer to peel. Has anyone else had that experience? The derm said he was very encouraged by the way her skin looked where the membrane peeled. Of course he couldn't make any determinations about what conditions may be present because there is still some membrane to peel on her head, hands, feet, and possibly her back. We're going back in a couple of months for follow up. A bit scary to have to sit and wait, but encouraging. I told him I had purchased the Curel and he advised us not to use anything but the Aquaphor until the follow up. So, I guess we're going to stick with that program for a while, unless something comes up that obviously needs some additional treatment.

Right now we're just hoping for the best. Thanks for all of the immediate support and feedback.

All the Best,
Amelia's Dad

Sorry, one more thing...in order to help facilitate the flow of information to our concerned friends and relatives after her birth I started a blog that her mom and I could post the most up to date information to. There are also some pics there that really show Amelia's transition through the first couple of weeks. If you want to take a look go to:
http://ameliasavaturrell.blogspot.com

Thanks again-
Ford

Amelia is so beautiful!!! I wouldn't even know she had a membrane if you didn't post it. My son's membrane was much worse, he couldn't even open his eyes for the first week until the membrane peeled off of the top of his face. His eyelids were inverted and every once in a while we would get a little glimpse of a precious little eye. My daughters membrane wasn't quite as bad as my sons but I think part of that had to do with her size...she was only 4 pounds 6 oz and he was 6 pounds 1 oz.
Anyway, she looks great!!! Most derms suggest Aquaphor and only Aquaphor, I have yet to figure that one out. Take care, you're doing great!
Lisa

i just wanted to jump in and say how beautiful your daughter is! I saw the pics and wanted to pick her up... what great cheeks lol. Good luck with the taking care of her skin... remember its going to be alot of trail and error but the fact that you care for her so well will help her.