Monday, November 13, 2006

Recipe for a Rash



I always use dye free, purfume free, etc. laundry soap. Always! And, um - I only use 1/2 of the recommended amount - sensitive skin and all... So, what caused Little Boy to have such an awful rash? Well, the Downy fabric softener was RIGHT next to the laundry soap. Sigh. Didn't see the microscopic "fabric softener" on the bottle. And that is what I bought - thinking it was laundry soap. I mean really - the bottle was about the right size, had a nice picture of a child on it, had all the right wording in BIG letters. Did lots of laundry. Next day - Little Boy had a very bad rash all over (and I mean all over) with bumps and ridges... poor dear. Almost warranted a trip to the doctor, but I thought we would try the pharmacy for some Desetin cream 1st - which worked - almost instantly, thankfully! 1 day later his skin was soft as a baby's again, phew! Of course, got very nice, thick, goo-ey white cream all over my black pants, which so far, over 1 week later, still has not come completely out, despite repeated washings. Not that repeated washings really mattered - obviously I had to do ALL the laundry all over again. The entire episode reminded me of one of my very favorite books from when I was little - "The Little Old Man Who Couldn't Read". I'm not sure if it is still in print, but definately a book I would recommend looking for... all these years later!

Have I mentioned before that when I was a teenager my Mom asked me to pick up some apple juice and I came home with 1 GALLON of apple cidar VINEGAR? Well, the bottle was the right size, the label had an apple on it... and the liquid inside was the right color... is there a saying about history repeating itself?

Sorry, but that is my exciting post for now... for some reason my mind is running in slow motion these days... or maybe like Amy says... a bit out of focus... which would explain why I thought Downy fabric softener was laundry soap? Those microscopic letters were a bit out of focus. Or, maybe I am just tired.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

How frustrating! I can't believe how small that lettering is!

Anonymous said...

The only time the microscopic sized letters are worse is when you are reading ingredients on packaged foods... My MIL is allergic to onions (incl. leeks, garlic, scallions, & shallots) which is killing me because I cook with them regularly becasue they add so much flavor...

quiltpixie said...

glad it was quickly identified and solved...

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the itch, but gladly it could be resolved easily.
There's too many choices for laundry detergent too. Who would've thought to combine the soap with the softener and the soap would do any work? Too much progress!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad Little Boy is okay now, but it IS a pretty funny story LOL.

Samantha said...

Glad to hear Little Boy quickly recoverd, sending good laundry vibes to your pants as well!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh sorry to hear about poor little boy. I"m glad you got it cleared up fairly fast though.

Sweet P said...

My DH has sensitive skin too. The biggest problem he has is that he travels so much that his skin takes a beating from hotel towels and sheets.

Jenni said...

My Dad once put the yellow dishwashing detergent in the frying pan instead of the vegetable oil to cook a steak...

Susan said...

by Irma Black? I don't think it's still in print - from the late 60s.

You wouldn't think a fabric softener would cause a rash, would you? I loved Desitin when my boys were little!