Hi all

I have a gf who's little baby (now 11 mths) was diagnosed with severe allergies at about 3 mths after having eczema since birth. He was diagnosed by an allergy specialist using both skin test and blood test as having life-threatening allergies to nuts and egg white and also has an intolerance for dairy, wool, dust mites and cat fur. We've all had to learn how to use the epi-pen for anaphylactic shock. His eczema has mostly cleared up after addressing the allergies.

He's been having severe nappy rash off and on. When I had him last week he fussed when I put the nappy cream on (supplied by Mum). Thinking it was just because he had a sore bottom, it didn't click until the next dirty nappy when he had a bright red patch where I'd put the cream the first time and screamed blue murder when I reapplied it. I noticed in the ingredients list that it contained almond oil. I told his Mum and she asked the allergy specialist about it (how lucky they had an appointment the following week!).

His response was that it would be likely that the almond oil would be affecting his skin and, in his opinion, creams and lotions containing almond oil should carry the same 'nut' warning that foods are required to. Children with allergies could react. He speculated that using these kinds of products on babies, whose immune systems are immature, is possibly increasing the occurence of allergy.

At the very least, I would say if you have any family history of allergies, read the labels before using lotions or creams on your baby. Altho, in my gf's case, they had no family history at all.