day 284: bag balm - it's not just for cows.

it's a little hard to tell from this photo, but odin has developed quite a case of chapped cheeks. the effect is particularly pronounced after sleeping; we suspect that he's producing large amounts of drool which is a by product of teething and that's irritating his skin. he exacerbates the irritation by rolling over on his stomach while he's sleeping, scooting all over his bed and rubbing his already irritated skin against the sheets.

originally created to help sooth irritated udders ( udder=bag ), generations of vermonters have been soothing their own non-bovine skin with the salve. so far, a bit bag balm applied liberally appears to be keeping things relatively under control. i guess it's fair to say that it works as well or perhaps a little better than any of the other remedies we've tried ( and we've tried almost everything that's easily available ), but it's not a cure by any means.

it anyone has any suggestions for what's worked for them we'd be mighty obliged.

oh, and if it's not apparent, odin is trying to figure out how to take the lid off the can of bag balm.

To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and
install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.

Comments

Jesamin says:

I don't remember if Odin is nursing, but breast milk has been my own personal cure all. Maya has baby acne? Boob milk. A stuffed nose? Boob milk. I've even been known to put some in my own ear when I had an earache. Ssssh. Makes for a slightly sticky baby, but it gets the job done.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

PierceRebecca says:

You might want to buy softer sheets? I remember Carters made a very soft knitted crib sheet. Something like T-shirt material.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

candy says:

Is it scaley or flakey at all?
www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyills/babyr ash/10872.html
Adam has a bit of eczema that crops up once in a while. It definitly can be aggrivated by different fabrics or soaps or being in the sun too long.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

snowdeal says:

Jesamin: I don't remember if Odin is nursing, but breast milk has been my own personal cure all.

yes, odin is still nursing. i'm suprised we didn't think of using breastmilk since, like you, we've discovered that it's sort of like duct tape.

candy: Is it scaley or flakey at all?

we've heard that chapped cheeks are fairly common in teething babies and we're pretty sure that it's not eczema, although we could be wrong. it's not thinkened or scaley or flakey or bumpy. he also doesn't seem to want to itch and scratch his cheeks. it looks more like his cheeks are dry and "windburned" - various lotions and salves seem to help, although we haven't found anything that prevents it from happening in the first place.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

LaFrog says:

Have you tried applying barrier cream or ointment before laying him down for the night? I work in a nursing home and A & D ointment is my duct tape of sorts. Oh, I'm curious as to what's in that bag balm.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

candy says:

snowdeal:it's not thinkened or scaley or flakey or bumpy.
doesn't sound like eczema then. It would at least have to be flakey in order for it to be anything other than chappy cheeks.... unless he got into some rum LOL
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

snowdeal says:

LaFrog: Oh, I'm curious as to what's in that bag balm.

thanks for the a&d ointment suggestion, we haven't tried that yet. bag balm contains petroleum jelly, lanolin ( lots of lanolim ) and the antiseptic 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate. lots of people sing the praises of bag balm, although it's important to remember that it really is only approved for veterinary use ( it's not just a marketing gimmick ). some people think it should only be used by vets, but most people think that's hooey.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

whatnot says:

We love the Weleda stuff with calendula in it. They have an entire baby line with oils, creams, ointments, etc.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

LaFrog says:

There's a really good version of A & D in the baby isle that's thick and mentholated(sp?), but in my opinion it would be too strong for Odin's face. The A&D I use is simply petroleum jelly with added cod liver oil(that's where the vitamins are coming from). Have you tried putting the bag balm on his cheeks right before bed? The petroleum jelly in it would keep the moisture off his face and give him time to heal up.
Posted 58 months ago. ( permalink )

snowdeal says:

LaFrog: The A&D I use is simply petroleum jelly with added cod liver oil(that's where the vitamins are coming from). Have you tried putting the bag balm on his cheeks right before bed?

i was going to post a follow up on our continuing investigations, but i'll give a sneak peak here :-) we immediately went out and bought the plain jane ( non mentholated ) a&d ointment and it's working wonderfully - far better than any of the other stuff we've tried so far ( i'm not saying anything bad about any particular product, they all seem to work well in certain situations and not so well in others ). so, (almost) no more chapped cheeks!

interestingly, we've tried putting most of the products on his face right before bed and this is the only one that has worked.

if i were to guess, i think it might have to do with differences in consistency/viscosity between the different products. since he moves around a lot during the night, product can quickly get wiped off his face and onto the sheets. the a&d seems to have just the right amount of adherence to do the trick. thanks for the suggestion!
Posted 57 months ago. ( permalink )

Would you like to comment?

[?]

	snowdeal's photostream
		2,894 uploads

2 people call this photo a favorite

Additional Information

Taken with a Nikon D70.
More properties
Taken on April 14, 2005
Viewed 1,747 times

Add to your map

Yay location removed

...

(Some formats are OK.)

Or, remove it from the map.

Go to the map

You	Sign in \| Create Your Free Account
Explore	Places \| Last 7 Days \| This Month \| Popular Tags \| The Commons \| Creative Commons \| Search
Help	Community Guidelines \| The Help Forum \| FAQ \| Sitemap \| Get Help

day 284: bag balm - it's not just for cows.

Comments

Jesamin says:

PierceRebecca says:

candy says:

snowdeal says:

LaFrog says:

candy says:

snowdeal says:

whatnot says:

LaFrog says:

snowdeal says:

Would you like to comment?

snowdeal's photostream

Tags

Additional Information