Personal Injury Law

P & G Calls Burning Diapers Stories 'Completely False'

By Jane Akre

Burning Diapers?

Parents are taking to the Internet like wildfire to talk about the severe rashes allegedly caused by a new type of Pampers diapers.

They are called Pampers Dry Max and they have been reported to cause blisters and burns.

Procter & Gamble (P&G), maker of Pampers, is trying to stem criticism of its product which represents about 10 percent of its $79 billion in annual revenue, reports AP.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission began to look into the diaper problem in early May following complaints of the severe rashes that resemble chemical burns.

One mother describes them a 'huge, pussing, infected burns.'

The problem began last March, when Procter & Gamble launched a new version of the Swaddlers and Cruisers diapers. The thinner version uses Dry Max technology to replace tradition paper pulp.

'There is no evidence from the people that have called us — or from the research that we have done — that a single baby has experienced a skin safety issue as a result of our Pampers with Dry Max,' the Cincinnati-based company said.

In a statement, P&G calls the rumors about the Dry Max diaper 'completely false.' The company says it is getting fewer than two complaints for every million diapers sold.

Mommy Bloggers

On Thursday, four women who blog about families and consumer products talked to P&G as the company tried to get a handle on the mounting online criticism.

The four "Mommy Bloggers" were flown into Cincinnati from around the country in hopes they can influence other mothers.

The Associated Press reports that Kate Marsh Lord of Niceville, Fla., was among those flown in. Her 18-month-old daughter developed a severe rash wearing a Dry Max diaper but her doctor has assured her the diaper didn't cause the rash. Marsh continues to use Dry Max.

The bloggers were not compensated other than the trip, AP reports.

In addition, the company has up to 50 employees manning the Pampers phone lines and has brought in experts for interviews available on the company Web site.

"We're walking the fine line of communicating that the diaper is not causing the rash and still being sympathetic to the fact that they're really having a rash, and our heart goes out to them," said Jodi Allen, a P&G Baby Care vice president, reports AP.

The criticism, highlighted by a Facebook page whose membership has reached 10,000 is asking P&G to bring back the older version of diaper. Others are talking about boycotting other Pampers products.

IB News recently completed a story about the antimicrobial, antifungal agent, triclosan which can cause skin rashes and is found in everything from kid's toys to socks to toothpaste to kill bacteria. At publishing time IB was unable to confirm whether triclosan is found in the new diaper.

CPSC is encouraging parents to report problems to the agency.

The Orlando Sentinel has many comments from parents discussing the issue. #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on May 21, 2010 (boomark / email).