Date: 04/22/2021

Q: I have heard great things about salt water for kids. Does anyone have a salt water pool?!

A:

• We don’t have a pool but we take our daughter on the boat in salt water and it seems to really help!
• We take our son to the beach and it’s amazing.
• The beach is so good between the water and sand
• There is information on the FIRST website about salt too. There are many members with salt pools and I'm sure you'll see their comments here. In the meantime, Salt Bath for Removing Scale: Aim for as much as a 3% solution. This is just less than the amount of sodium chloride in the ocean. This equals 1/4 pound per gallon of water - or 5 lbs in 20 gallons or 7.5 pounds in 30 gallons. Less salt may work for some, if you soak for at least an hour. This is safe to use every day.
• This sounds silly, but how much salt do I put in the bathtub? If a bathtub holds 42 gallons, that’s a lot of salt?
• If you were to fill the bathtub full (but keep in mind when a body is in there it will displace some of the water), that might be as much as 10 lbs of salt!
• We have an old clawfoot tub, so I don't know how much it holds, but it's on the smaller side. For my son I use a cup of dead sea salts (I've also used plain old Morton's salt when that's all I had) plus 1/2 cup of epsom salt. I'm sure that's way less than the suggested 1/4 lb per gallon, but we see results from the amount we use.
• Just be careful -- all that salt somehow makes the bottom of the tub super slippery!
• We have a water softener and also add pool salt in the tub as needed and it helps big time with exfoliation
• I've had salt water and chlorine pools, there's no difference for us but I've heard others say there is ??‍??
• I have had both saltwater and chlorine pools. With saltwater, I can get in and out more like an unaffected person--enjoy some time out of the pool without feeling immediately dry and uncomfortable. If my sunscreen is oil based, its even better. I'm usually ok to swim a bit, work in my garden for an hour or so until I get really hot, then swim a bit more, for example. I live in a hot humid climate (New Orleans.) Same is true when I swim in the ocean vs fresh water lakes. Chlorine is very drying to my skin--for example, if I use a community pool, I have a hard time even driving home for 10 minutes without putting lotion on.
• We have a saltwater pool and a membership to the Y (chlorinated). Chlorine does help with infection, but is very drying. We play at the saltwater pool daily in warm weather and it’s great for my kiddo’s skin. Buildup comes off so much easier
• We have a saltwater pool and last summer my son’s skin was the best I’ve ever seen it. It helped with softening the scale without drying him out. He swims in chlorinated pools as well, which helps to prevent infection, but I’ve noticed it does dry him out.
• Yes! We heard that too and invested in building a salt pool in our back yard! It is great for my daughter’s skin (when it’s warm enough)!
• My 2 girls have CIE and can’t tolerate chlorine. We put a salt water pool and hot tub in, and it’s a lot better. The ocean still stings for them.
• Interested to hear that the salt water pool is good (esp for CIE! Do you feel it’s different to the ocean?) My daughter seems to hate the ocean water!!
• As long as you rinse after its great.
• Yes we do
• We moved to FL when our son was diagnosed as a baby and the first thing we put in was a in ground salt water pool. Works awesome don’t even need to rinse after. He’s 15 now

Q: What sunscreen do you recommend for your little ones? My daughter is 4 months old and has moderate LI. Thank you!

A:

• My wife and I use Baby Bum 50 fragrance free for our daughter who has LI and it has worked well.
• I should have mentioned our daughter is 2 now. We didn’t start using this until she was 1 or so.
• All babes under 6 months aren't supposed to use sunscreen, I wasn't sure if you were aware. ??
• I mean for the upcoming summer months when she gets bigger, I should have specified.
• We have EI, but we use NO-AD sunscreen.
• We use Sun Bum in the white tube the mineral based one.
• COTZ! It works so well and it doesn’t dry her skin out
• I like Sun Bum
• What kinda of sunscreen do you use that is oil based? I have yet to find any that works decent ??
• This is not cheap but it was one of my favorite finds of 2020 Glow Stick SPF 50
• Truly clear stick sunscreen...doesn’t burn or get in your eyes, and kids can apply...doesnt melt, great for activities, when there's a sale I buy 4 sticks and always have one in the backpack. ? It's love.
• Have you tried sun bum or no ad? Both of those work well for us. They seem greasier than others (bonus for kiddo)
• Yes, I've tried Sun Bum. I'm partial to the ingredients list from SuperGoop and the way they wear/feel ?? but this is coming from an adult user who is willing to pay adult prices ??
• I love Elta MD and it works well, but $$$ adult prices...
• We have tried Sun Bum, and we didn’t love it. My daughter reacts poorly to a lot of sunscreens, and it bothers her more now that she is a teen. I buy a bunch every year and just keep hoping one will be magic haha! I will try the supergoop and Elta MD. Evyr is much less picky and wants whatever goes on fastest regardless of how dry it makes her.
• I love Blue Lizzard.