Date: 02/17/2021

Recently there was a question concerning comments made to a child about the smell of his skin. FIRST members always have wonderful suggestions and maybe one of these may help you.

• Lavender scented baby lotion in his lotions makes a huge difference!!! We did that with my daughter after her scent was brought up at school.
• Bleach in the bath. Our 10 year old has been using deodorant since age 7.
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup bleach for a bath. We only do them once a week and regular baths the other nights. Deodorant is fine just use Deodorant, not antiperspirant, that has all the chemicals. And switching to Tide detergent and scent booster has made a big difference too.
• Bleach in the bath!! I know it was just said, but it can’t be said too many times
• A cupful of bleach in the bath once a month should help. Covering with additional smells does not help in our experience.
• We put vinegar in our girls baths instead of bleach. It gets rid of any smell.
• I believe bleach, Epsom salt, and baking soda baths are the best. You need to cut the bacteria that adheres to the skin build up. Oil is going to trap it even more. The more skin you can exfoliate the better.
• I think sweet orange oil is nice. Must be diluted correctly.
• There are a few essential oils that are not recommended for boys. I’m not sure if you have come across that before - just double check with a doctor or Derm.
• Speed stick has a zero line-with no aluminum or parabens also if he needs deodorant.
• I use lavender oil in coconut oil. The organic virgin coconut oil has antibiotic and antifungal properties. It's the bacteria and fungus growth that cause the smell associated with ichthyosis.
• We get a local company to make a chocolate lotion and he smells like brownies.??. Drives the teachers crazy.
• Avoid using petroleum based products whenever possible. They trap bacteria against the skin, which can cause the smell.
• A really strong salt bath helps enormously for mine with EI, also making sure his hair is dried really well after getting wet makes a big difference
• We also used Avon’s Skin So Soft bath oil. It helps her smell so good????
• We started bathing our daughter her in the morning instead of at night.
• We are oilers. There are so many therapeutic grade oils. We only use Young Living and are on their monthly rewards program. We use coconut oil and beeswax pellets, melt together and add different oils. Lavender is so good for skin, I would stay away from Tea Tree (super good for skin but it stinks!) Lemongrass smells really good, Rosemary. They even have a Kidscents lotion formulated for kids made with all natural ingredients.
• Oil of any kind was a bad idea for us. It made everything worse. We used baking soda baths. Dead Sea salt baths.
• Baths in the A.M. with lotions after and no petroleum jelly accept on lips and ears. Start using deodorant early. The Old Spice gel ones.
• Sometimes it’s the smell of lotion that kids pick up on also, but if you think there is a funny smell, then the comments about bleach baths, Epsom salts, and baking soda baths will help to clear the bacteria build-up in his skin. Maybe it’s the scent of lotion?
• We actually taught our son to tell any kids who said he smells that it’s just his creams that they can smell as a way to deflect and make it less personal for him.
• I'm used to the smell and don't think it's bad, but it's different. Our current routine is to put him in our special bath with the nano bubbles at night and then Aquaphor for him at night. I'm going to try the bleach in a different bath tub.