A recent study warns parents to be on the lookout for allergic reactions their children may have to baby wipes.
A recent report warns parents to be on the lookout for allergic reactions their children may have to baby wipes.
As the rashes that result look a lot like psoriasis, impetigo, and eczema, the researchers believe that in several cases, those conditions end up being erroneously diagnosed.
The skin reactions range from irritated patches to blistering, cracks, and the formation of crust.
Co-author of the report, Dr. Mary Wu Chang, said she began to consider the wipes as a cause after treating an 8 year old female patient at the University of Connecticut Health Center.
After treatments with antibiotics and steroids, the girl’s rash would get a bit better, but always reappear.
Around that time, the doctor read a report about a man in Belgium who had an allergic reaction to methylisothiazolinone – or MI for short, a chemical preservative used in the wipes.
She advised not only the mother of that girl, but the parents of 5 other patients with mysterious rashes over the next 22 months, to avoid using the wipes on their kids. The brands used were manufactured by Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
Shortly after, all of their skin problems cleared up.
In light of the discovery, Kimberly Clark announced they will soon be releasing MI-free wipes across all of their product lines.
