Baby with Eczema- need advice

[monorailsilver]

All 3 of my kids have had some form of excema.

My oldest Aquaphor worked on her & she occasionally gets a dry patch here & there. She just had the dry bumps.

My youngest (just turned 2), has the dry bumps on her arms so I use Theraplex on her.

My middle child had excema as a baby & it was due to his food allergies (dairy, peanut & tree nut).

That picture was on a good day! On bad days his skin was open on his cheeks & up to his ears & it oozed.

I took him to the pediatric dermatologist (who also teaches the dermatology residents at Yale University) & he put him on Elidel (this was in 2004) & a prescription steroid (I think dermatop or he is on that now & it was changed from something similar). But he only wanted him on the steroid for 2 weeks so it wouldn't cause damage. It was for twice a day. And then, like now, it is for an as needed basis.

I took him back to the derm a few weeks later & he switched him to Protopic but at that point his skin was looking better. But he wanted me to use it to continue healing his skin.

Then the warnings came out a few months after that or a year after that on Elidel & Protopic.

I tried Aquaphor, Vaseline, olive oil (he had bad nasty cradle cap too that also oozed) & none of them helped. So he also had me use Theraplex on him which is like an Aquaphor/Vaseline but it is supposed to let the skin breathe.

So that is all we use on dry skin in my house.

My son has food allergies to dairy, peanut & treenut & just by avoiding all them he does not have any skin reactions.

 

[rkwells]

Here's another old eczema thread that might be helpful...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1310817

 

[disneybound31]

DS(now9) had both eczema and asthma as achild and has now outgrown them both. DD5 has a patch of it on one leg and a spot on her ribcage (quarter and fingernail sized) so we are hoping she outgrows it also. For treatment we are using a mild rx steroid cream every other day, bathe every other day and try to hydrate with lotion when we think of it. Those spots can be stubborn. FYI, we also used the Elidel for a short time on DS and when I read about the cancer thing we immediately stopped. Switched to a regualar steriod cream and even tho it takes longer it eventually worked to some degree.

 

[dis2cruise]

2 words **shea butter **all natural and will clear it up

 

[carmie3377]

Dh is a pediatrician and he says the following:

The mainstay of therapy for eczema is lubrication, that is vaseline or lotion. Eucerin is a good one. As far as steroids on the face, he's in agreement with the pharmacist. He would not put triamcinolone cream on a baby's face. He would use over the counter 1% hydrocortisone on the face, groin and armpits as needed. The triamcinolone is great for flares involving the limbs and trunk.

Baths every other day is a good idea. Also important is to pat the baby dry (no rubbing). Also before bed each night, slather the affected areas with eucerin (use a bunch of it). Then immediately put on PJs to keep the sheets from getting covered with lotion.

The trick to eczema is consistency. Just when you think everything's cooled off and you stop lotions, bathing schedule and nighttime slathering - you have another flare.

In summary, lubrication (eucerin, as vaseline is so sticky and messy) 5 times daily every day flare or no flare. Baths every other day flare or no flare. Pat dry flare or no flare. Slather at bedtime flare or no flare. Triamcinolone to limbs and trunk twice daily during flares. Over the counter 1% hydrocortisone cream to face, armpits and groin for flares.​

Hope this helps! GL

 

[Adi12982]

None of the dr. prescribed creams ever worked for me (I was diagnosed as a baby too) - for me my personal miracle cure has been Vitamin E oil (in the Target vitamin isle, costs about $4 but lasts a long time) - I put it on my affected (or used to be affected areas) and I am amazed I have almost normal skin!! It may work for the baby, it is worth a try. . .

 

[Tricia1103]

Aquaphor worked wonders for my boys.

 

[pigget74]

Haven't read all the replies, but all my children have it to some degree. My 5 mth old has it the worst. Between her and the 2 year old I have given up on the steroids. We were told to only use 2 weeks at a time and never the face. When the 2 year old was younger I came across ARBONE baby moisturizer and it works better than anything we have tried. It is all we use and by morning their skin feels better.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My DS was on Triamcinolone and Protopic at one point, for a combination of eczema and graft vs. host disease and it's been a couple years since then, but I remember that I was absolutely NOT supposed to put one of those on DS's face, I think if your pharmacist said that it probably was Triamcinolone. Something to do with the skin on the face being thinner.

I posted my other non-drug tips on the other thread I think someone else linked to.

 

[LanaJae]

My 10 month old has just been diagnosed with eczema. I don't know alot about it and it makes me nervous for some reason. The Dr said that it was probably hereditary but neither me, DH, nor my family have it. Turned out that DH's mom has it.

DS has one circular spot on his arm that stayed crusty and the creases and tops of his feet are horrible! His face gets red in spots sometimes too. It cannot be comfortable. The rest of skin always feel dry even shortly after I put lotion on him.

We've cut down the baths to every other day. We use the Aveeno baby wash and shampoo. Dr prescribed Triamcinolone 2x a day for flare ups, but the pharmacist flipped out and told me that he would never put it on a baby regularly and especially not on his face. So then I flipped out and called the doctor who got mad at the pharmacist and said he was overreacting. Now I'm leary to use the cream at all even though Dr says it's fine.

I've tried slathering w/ plain petroleum jelly which is super messy and I've also bought the new Aveen Eczema cream. I'm not that impressed with any of it.

I'm worried about another thing though...Dr said he's more likely to develop asthma since he has eczema. Have any of you or your children had this happen?? I would love ideas on how to make this baby more comfortable. I'm just not sure of the routine that I need to have him in w/ the creams and all and the DR was kind of vague.

My 3 yr. old neighbor has eczema, asthma and some immediate hypersensitivity issues (peanuts/eggs).

I have an autoimmune skin disease so am familiar with all the steroid creams/gels/solutions and I would not ever in a million years put a steroid cream on a baby unless the risk was high for not getting it cleared ASAP.

Check out every ingredient in the Aveeno at: http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/

My neighbor uses only Eucerin on her son. Mayo Clinic recommends Vani Cream, but they also own the company I think.

 

[willoughbyclan]

I am the OP from the other current eczema thread and I wish that I had some advice for you but I don't just yet. We have been using Elidel for a couple of yrs and just decided to stop due to the enormous cost and also the possible link to cancer issue. I also give both DDs (2) cod liver oil pills each day at the recommendation of someone on this board previously, this really seemed to reduce their flare ups but not as much as I would like.

I can, however, tell you that neither of my DDs that have been diagnosed with eczema have asthma. Other than the eczema, they are healthy as can be. On a side note my DD12 has an allergy to nickel (belt buckles,etc.) that we are fighting with right now but other than that, they are healthy as can be.

Good luck with your baby's eczema, I'm sure you will find lots of useful help from this board. I will also post when I feel confident I have found something that works for us.

 

[dznygurl]

My DS4 had horrible eczema breakouts. His face, legs, and tops of his feet would be covered. I had to stop putting him in shorts b/c of the looks others would give us. One lady even asked me what was wrong with him. We tried two pediatricians and various meds. Nothing helped!

Except our trips to the beach. That wonderful salt water cleared him up. His skin would look so beautiful after a couple of days. After a week or so home, the rashes would come right back.

Finally, right before his third b/day, we tried a new dermatologist. He prescribed an oral steroid to take for 3-5 days and Clobetasol cream. This combination worked great. He got a couple of flareups afterwards, and I would start him on the combination again.

He has not had a flareup since that summer. This summer will make 2 years. The doctors also told us he it was likely he would develop asthma, but that hasn't happened.

Many children outgrow eczema...I truly hope your little one does too.

 

[graygables]

Except our trips to the beach. That wonderful salt water cleared him up. His skin would look so beautiful after a couple of days. After a week or so home, the rashes would come right back.

That reminds me, we also would bathe DD in Dead Sea salts and lavender oil/blooms. That really helped calm her skin and relax her before bedtime.

 

[disneymarie]

My 10 month old has just been diagnosed with eczema. I don't know alot about it and it makes me nervous for some reason. The Dr said that it was probably hereditary but neither me, DH, nor my family have it. Turned out that DH's mom has it.

DS has one circular spot on his arm that stayed crusty and the creases and tops of his feet are horrible! His face gets red in spots sometimes too. It cannot be comfortable. The rest of skin always feel dry even shortly after I put lotion on him.

We've cut down the baths to every other day. We use the Aveeno baby wash and shampoo. Dr prescribed Triamcinolone 2x a day for flare ups, but the pharmacist flipped out and told me that he would never put it on a baby regularly and especially not on his face. So then I flipped out and called the doctor who got mad at the pharmacist and said he was overreacting. Now I'm leary to use the cream at all even though Dr says it's fine.

I've tried slathering w/ plain petroleum jelly which is super messy and I've also bought the new Aveen Eczema cream. I'm not that impressed with any of it.

I'm worried about another thing though...Dr said he's more likely to develop asthma since he has eczema. Have any of you or your children had this happen?? I would love ideas on how to make this baby more comfortable. I'm just not sure of the routine that I need to have him in w/ the creams and all and the DR was kind of vague.

My DD and I had this both, even as she entered school it came back behind her ears. It was milk semsitivity that flares ours,
She was drinking chocolate milk in school as soon as she swicthed to soy again she was fine. As far as the asthma, I did have that, but at 12 DD has not had this problem, but is sensitive to milk products big time.
dianne

 

[HunnyPots]

My son, now 17, had it as a baby. For the most part, he has outgrown it but still has very sensitive skin. I have to be careful about changing detergents or fabric softener. New clothes must be washed before he can wear them. He still has problems with his scalp occasionally and must use a medicated shampoo. However, it is so much better now than when he was a baby! I was so worried that it would get worse but we were lucky.

 

[luvdisney00]

2 of my DD's had it as babies and toddlers and exra virgin coconut oil worked well for my 2nd daughter. The first we tried so many things that didn't work, it was on her face so some things were out. I never wanted to use an RX that had side effects because they were young. The coconut oil worked very well, and I still use it in DD5 's bath or for occasional flare-ups. Both of them pretty much outgrew it around 3 except for occasional flare-ups and neither have asthma, although they both have seasonal allergies and my other DD who did not have ezecma has no allergies.

I hope you find something that works. Kepp watching and noticing if things make it worse or better. Be very careful with soap, detergent and perfume.

 

[Ariel8676]

I haven't read all of the other posts to i apologize if i am repeating anything..
My 5 yo has Eczema and asthma..it was really bad until about 1 1/2 yrs ago..i switched to Dr. Bronners baby mild soap, or a soap my friend sells that is all natural lavender baby soap. I ONLY use unrefined extra virgin Coconut oil, jojoba oil or sweet almond oil on her (and my 2 other DD's), Olive oil works great too!! I only use a sensitive free of everything laundry detergent and use white vinegar instead of fabric softener. I also stopped using chemical cleaners around the house and just make up my own with White vinegar, essential oils, i also use baking soda and Dr. Bronners liquid soap.
I will say that although it takes some extra work making everything, it is so worth it and even DD's allergist is so surprised at how great she is doing.
If you have any other questions please feel free to PM me

 

[rluey29]

I want to thank everyone so much for all the advice and support. This forum has always been so great for anything Disney and beyond!

 

[BeckyScott]

Our son had both eczema and asthma-- and we finally traced it to yeast overgrowth and food allergies....

 

[LanaJae]

I completely forgot about my favorite thing for eczema and other skin issue - Emu Oil!

I buy food grade directly from a farm in Wisconsin. It's really worth trying, my skin had become so thin from steroid creams and emu oil was the only thing that helped. It doesn't grow bacteria, so in Australia they pour it directly on burns and wounds to promote healing. It is a natural anti-inflammatory.