Dry Skin Around DD's Mouth?

[becka]

DD (10 1/2 months) has been having skin issues for quite some time and we have some prescription cream for the eczema on her legs, etc.. However, with the cold weather and all of the drooling from teething it has made the skin around her mouth and chin really red and dry. I don't know what to use on it. She still puts everything in her mouth so I don't want to use the moisturizing lotions I normally use. It looks very uncomfortable and it also just looks yucky.

Anyone have any advice? I always had oily skin so dry skin is just a mystery to me.

 

[ducklite]

Vitamin E oil. Just prick a capsule of it with a pin and spread it on with your finger. Even if she eats it it won't hurt her. It's very inexpensive, you can buy teh generic brand anywhere.

Anne

 

[Skylarr29]

Also acquaphore(sp??) is really good and the children I take care of pediatrician reccomended it for them and the have eczema(mild though) and also perscribed a cream elidel which we use on the babies face sometime because it gets red and iritated from her nuggie.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I was going to say Aquaphore too. DS never had this sort of problem, but DNephew IttyBitty did. He drooled like a basset hound and his cheeks were always red and dry. Aquaphore was what his pedi suggested.

TOV

 

[Chereya]

I just got rid of some really, really nasty, crusty eczema on my 12 week old's face. His complexion has really turned around in the past 2 weeks. It is creamy smooth now. Our ped recommended a 1% hydrocortizone cream followed by a moisturizer 1 hour later. We had to rub the hydrocort cream in really well to prevent him from rubbing any residue into the eyes. We have been using neosporin as our "moisturizer". It has been working really well!

For the mouth area, I'd recommend a gentle moisturizer with vitamins A & E and on top of that petroleum jelly. Or use a moisturizer with a petroleum jelly base, such as A & D ointment or neosporin. It's probably a combination of dry air and drooling that's causing the red and dry problem. Saliva is very irritating to skin (it helps break down food afterall!) and can also be the culprit of rashes around the rear diaper area. Petroleum jelly will act as a moisture barrier and keep the drool off of her skin.

HTH!

Chereya

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

solid crisco. No, I'm not kidding. Our pediatrician recommended it.

 

[ducklite]

solid crisco. No, I'm not kidding. Our pediatrician recommended it.

Sorry, but eeewwww...

Anne

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Sorry, but eeewwww...

Anne

You know, I thought the same thing. But I swear, he recommended it for our DD when she had such dry skin on her feet. He said he could prescribe something from the pharmacy but he said it would be expensive and crisco would do the same thing. And it worked AMAZINGLY WELL! I use it on my lips all winter.

 

[Disneyrsh]

My five year old gets really red, dry chapped skin around her mouth and cheeks in the wintertime because of the cold dry air. I use the neosporin ointment because it doesn't sting and it seems to create a good barrier between the air and her skin, letting it heal. It's not the cream, it's the ointment-the clear, oily stuff.

It also doesn't taste very good (I tried it first, ick) so she's licking her lips a lot less and that's a good thing.

 

[Wishing on a star]

All of these are good recommendations!

Except for one thing... I would not want my child ingesting anything like neosporin, prescription medications, etc..

I would use plain petroleum jelly! Doesn't vaseline make a little tube-applicator thing for lips? Notice how the above post mentions that it must be the 'ointment' to work, and not the cream. It is the petrolatum barrier that does the trick!!!! (not the medication)

Neosporin, and other 'triple antibotic' products, can be known to cause allergies. And, the excema is actually an allergic/automimune based condition. Parents may want to consult their childs dermatologist/pediatrition.

Other than vaseline/petrolatum, I would buy some kind of chap-stick type product. Something made for the mouth area! This is exactly what they are designed for. I now encouraged my little son to make a habit of using his chapstick when it is cold enough to chap. He never has this problem any more. We participated in our Christmas parade, spending two hours in 20' weather. NO red skin or chapping!

These will probably work well. I would see if these do the trick before I used anything that is not designed to be ingested

 

[Breezy_Carol]

When DD was taking Accutane as a teen she had terrible cracked and bleeding lips. The dermatologist told her to use Aquaphore on her lips.

 

[Christine]

My son had this as a baby (and at age 10 he still gets it believe it or not). I don't have one good photo of him without a red, chapped mouth.

We found that what worked for him was a bit of that A&D ointment on the area. It is predominantly petroleum jelly but something else in it seemed to work.

 

[Disneyrsh]

All of these are good recommendations!

Except for one thing... I would not want my child ingesting anything like neosporin, prescription medications, etc..

I would use plain petroleum jelly! Doesn't vaseline make a little tube-applicator thing for lips? Notice how the above post mentions that it must be the 'ointment' to work, and not the cream. It is the petrolatum barrier that does the trick!!!! (not the medication)

Neosporin, and other 'triple antibotic' products, can be known to cause allergies. And, the excema is actually an allergic/automimune based condition. Parents may want to consult their childs dermatologist/pediatrition.

Other than vaseline/petrolatum, I would buy some kind of chap-stick type product. Something made for the mouth area! This is exactly what they are designed for. I now encouraged my little son to make a habit of using his chapstick when it is cold enough to chap. He never has this problem any more. We participated in our Christmas parade, spending two hours in 20' weather. NO red skin or chapping!

These will probably work well. I would see if these do the trick before I used anything that is not designed to be ingested

You know, they are good ideas, but with us the chapstick, which tasted like cherry, made her lick her lips MORE, and for us exacerbated the problem. We also tried Burt's Bee's chapstick, which uses beeswax instead of a paraffin/petroleum base, but had the same problem. We still use it, though, I go through sticks and sticks of it with the girls.

I have the ultimate solution, though, everyone move to Orlando so we don't have to deal with all the redness from cold weather. Oh well, I can dream...

 

[2kidsnutsfordisney]

I am sure that it is probably related to drooling and the dry skin but also be very aware of what she is eating. My ds has always had eczema but just this past spring we discovered that he was also allergic to some foods. Hopefully, this is not the case but I would make note of any new foods that she has tried recently. By the way there is a direct correlation between children who have eczema early on and then also end up asthma and or food allergy related issues later. It was a long standing case of eczema that helped us determine the food allergy. I don't mean to worry or scare you just trying to provide some "helpful" info. Good luck!

 

[Christine]

I am sure that it is probably related to drooling and the dry skin but also be very aware of what she is eating. My ds has always had eczema but just this past spring we discovered that he was also allergic to some foods. Hopefully, this is not the case but I would make note of any new foods that she has tried recently. By the way there is a direct correlation between children who have eczema early on and then also end up asthma and or food allergy related issues later. It was a long standing case of eczema that helped us determine the food allergy. I don't mean to worry or scare you just trying to provide some "helpful" info. Good luck!

That would be my son. Eczema since he was 2 days old. At 9 months old, we discovered allergies to eggs and peanuts (they were not causing the dry skin on the mouth or eczema). At age 5, he was diagnosed with asthma.

 

[becka]

I am sure that it is probably related to drooling and the dry skin but also be very aware of what she is eating. My ds has always had eczema but just this past spring we discovered that he was also allergic to some foods. Hopefully, this is not the case but I would make note of any new foods that she has tried recently. By the way there is a direct correlation between children who have eczema early on and then also end up asthma and or food allergy related issues later. It was a long standing case of eczema that helped us determine the food allergy. I don't mean to worry or scare you just trying to provide some "helpful" info. Good luck!

Thanks! Unfortunately I am all too aware of the connection. My DH is allergic to legumes (nuts, beans, peas) and is an asthmatic and he has eczema as a baby. My DS has allergies and appears to have a sensitivity to eggs. DD has already had a mild bout with "asthma" - they have not diagnosed full-fledged asthma but when she got a nasty cold she ended up needing a nebulizer to help her breathe better. She has had skin issues since the day she was born. She started off with terrible cradle cap and she still has that plus all the eczema.

We are planning on taking her to an allergist early next year but I know it can be hard to diagnose allergies that young.

Thanks for the tips about her skin around her mouth.

 

[nomie74]

A and D ointment

 

[aloysius1992]

I think the crisco is a great idea. I would rather have a child ingesting crisco than a petroleum product.
And I would be careful about the antibiotic ointment in case it sensitizes them to an allergy. The label says to apply sparingly.