RE: rash and really bad smell

[Guest guest]

Because the helmet was not worn at all while the skin healed,

acclimation of the skin to the increased heat, moisture, and friction

inside the orthosis was obviously precluded.

Not to give medical advice, but I think you'd be lucky to find a

professional in your treatment team who can balance your objectives

as well as yourself, because the pediatrician might not be completely

on board in the first place, while the orthotist may need to cover

his butt against harm to either helmet or child. My reading of the

message archives is that miliaria rubra afflicts a great number of

children in the first week of wearing a helmet. Most get through it

with frequent toweling of head and helmet. Many also use

hydrocortisone cream.

We applied Cortaid while continuing with the STARband break-in

schedule. When we saw our orthotist for the first adjustment a

shortly thereafter, I got the sense that he wouldn't necessarily have

recommended that " rash " course of action. Healing of the skin

certainly would have occurred faster without the helmet. However, as

a result, there were plenty of stains in the helmet and localized red

marks on the skin to guide him in fine-tuning the fit.

Bad smell is normal, but it should be getting knocked down to nearly

zero at the daily cleaning. Clara's helmet is cleaned with alcohol

and left in the sun to dry while she gets a shampoo. (I moved

bathtime up to five o'clock to use the daylight, and found it

improved our bedtime routine.)

If that didn't work, I'd first consider clipping the hair, changing

shampoos, and increasing sun exposure to the scalp itself during the

hour that the helmet is off. Next, I would look at alternative

antiseptics, carefully weighing the risk of damage to the helmet

material, and attempting to minimizing harmful residues. Lastly,

applying treatments to the scalp itself.

Apple cider vinegar would be my first candidate in both categories:

it's a popular antiseptic with bird owners, and a folk remedy for

rashes as well. I have no experience with using it in this context,

however.

Good luck!

Thad Launderville

Montpelier, VT

Clara age 17 mos., STARband since 8/10

On Sep 7, 2009, at 12:21 PM, amypyns wrote:

> My five month old daughter got her helmet 2 weeks ago. She

> developed a heat rash immediatly from sweating and an odor that was

> so horrible, we had a tough time holding her (it smelled like a

> man's locker room!) We took it off, treated it with hyrocortizone

> cream, waiting for the rash to heal, and put the helmet back on.

> After a half day in the helemt, the rash was back, and so was the

> smell. [snip]

[Guest guest]

Yikes! Break out the vinegar! I am worried

to death that my son will have rash problems. The heat of Dallas is relenting; we will remain 95 all

this week. (we get our DOC band on Thursday) I will just hope for the best and

thanks for the insight Thad and good luck “amypyns.”. I will keep

Cortaid in mind, along with the vinegar.

BrouseUnderwriting AssistantU.S. Specialty Insurance CompanyA subsidiary of HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc.mailto:rbrouse@...Tel: (972) 381-4803

From: Plagiocephaly [mailto:Plagiocephaly ] On Behalf Of Thad Launderville

Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009

2:32 AM

Plagiocephaly

Subject: Re: rash and

really bad smell

Because

the helmet was not worn at all while the skin healed,

acclimation of the skin to the increased heat, moisture, and friction

inside the orthosis was obviously precluded.

Not to give medical advice, but I think you'd be lucky to find a

professional in your treatment team who can balance your objectives

as well as yourself, because the pediatrician might not be completely

on board in the first place, while the orthotist may need to cover

his butt against harm to either helmet or child. My reading of the

message archives is that miliaria rubra afflicts a great number of

children in the first week of wearing a helmet. Most get through it

with frequent toweling of head and helmet. Many also use

hydrocortisone cream.

We applied Cortaid while continuing with the STARband break-in

schedule. When we saw our orthotist for the first adjustment a

shortly thereafter, I got the sense that he wouldn't necessarily have

recommended that " rash " course of action. Healing of the skin

certainly would have occurred faster without the helmet. However, as

a result, there were plenty of stains in the helmet and localized red

marks on the skin to guide him in fine-tuning the fit.

Bad smell is normal, but it should be getting knocked down to nearly

zero at the daily cleaning. Clara's helmet is cleaned with alcohol

and left in the sun to dry while she gets a shampoo. (I moved

bathtime up to five o'clock to use the daylight, and found it

improved our bedtime routine.)

If that didn't work, I'd first consider clipping the hair, changing

shampoos, and increasing sun exposure to the scalp itself during the

hour that the helmet is off. Next, I would look at alternative

antiseptics, carefully weighing the risk of damage to the helmet

material, and attempting to minimizing harmful residues. Lastly,

applying treatments to the scalp itself.

Apple cider vinegar would be my first candidate in both categories:

it's a popular antiseptic with bird owners, and a folk remedy for

rashes as well. I have no experience with using it in this context,

however.

Good luck!

Thad Launderville

Montpelier, VT

Clara age 17 mos., STARband since 8/10

On Sep 7, 2009, at 12:21 PM, amypyns wrote:

> My five month old daughter got her helmet 2 weeks ago. She

> developed a heat rash immediatly from sweating and an odor that was

> so horrible, we had a tough time holding her (it smelled like a

> man's locker room!) We took it off, treated it with hyrocortizone

> cream, waiting for the rash to heal, and put the helmet back on.

> After a half day in the helemt, the rash was back, and so was the

> smell. [snip]

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