OT: Any mothers have toddlers with eczema? I've got a solution that works!

[Not so Dumbo]

We use Eucerin calming creme lotion after bath time....and I've never tried it on her ezcema spots but think I'm going to, try using my Oil of Olay moisturizer on it. She had a bad cold before Christmas and her nose began to get red/sore and I put it on her and it helped alot for that so I just wonder if it would help with the ezcema spots on her.

I've used Eucerin on both DS's Eczema spots and this works all by itself to clear it up. Eucerin is some really good stuff

 

[slduck]

Great thread! Do you use the plain sea salt sold with spices? How much do you use in a normal bath?

 

[Dragonfly0521]

Okay, at the risk of sounding like a quack (which I am not!!! I promise!!!). My DS had terrible eczema. We tried everything possible and most creams just burned his poor little skin. He also suffered from chronic constipation and we were doing the laxitive rout with the doctors and such to no avail. I cam across a study that linked his constipation to milk. They said it was so easy... take him off milk for 2 weeks, if it clears up, put him back on milk. If it comes back then you will know it was the milk. Well, we did this and it completely worked. Not only that, his terrible eczema cleared up completely!!! I mean, he barely has dry skin anymore! I saw a lot of "quacky" sites that made this claim, but until I saw for myself, I couldn't believe it. So, it may be an easy thing to try if all else fails. My son hated white soy milk, but loved Almond Milk! You have nothing to lose on this one. If it puts it into perspective, after talking with my doctor, she said, "Well, cows milk is for baby cows". Just something to think about. Good Luck, I've been there!

 

[toesmom]

I've heard the same thing, but it doesn't apply with my son. He is still breast-feeding and doesn't drink milk. I don't drink milk, except for real cream in my coffee, so his intake of milk is very minimal. I know other children have allergies that come out in the form of eczema.

A specialist told me that typically eczema can't be cured, only controlled. So on that basis, I suggest moms/dads try the salt bath and Renew Moisturizer lotion by Melaleuca, it has changed my son's skin.

I probably 2-3 cups of sea salt in his bath water, I don't usually measure, but often put in more than less. And I use regular plain sea salt, no additives.

 

[flying_babyb]

Get rid of all pets with fur, if you haven't already. Improved my son tremendously.

Any way around this? Weve got 4 short haired cats.

 

[crisi]

Any way around this? Weve got 4 short haired cats.

Eczema is often an early allergy sign. Could be food allergies, like milk or gluten, could be pet allergies, could be mold, or any of a dozen or more other things. You can take them to an allergist and have a workup done - but my peditrician recommended waiting until they were six before doing any allergy workups if we could. You could try removing either the cats or the kids from the home for a few weeks and seeing if that helped. Talk to your peditrician.

Cat dander is horrible though - doesn't make any difference if the cat is long or short haired to someone with a bad allergy - its the flakes of the skin (some cats do produce less dander). Cats are difficult to train to stay off furniture and beds, so they leave their dander all over the place (sometimes a clean house and a well trained dog can keep a dog allergy under control, cats and well trained don't tend to mix). With kids though, they are always on the floor, which is where the animals are, so keeping the cat off the couch doesn't help if the dander is in the carpet.

 

[Jennyvelaz]

We thought our baby had a huge case, washing her with T-gel shampoo baths and tried everything already mentioned in the post. The t-gel worked but all in ll it came down to our well water. It was too hard and we had to by a filter system. Our pediatrician never mentioned it could've been the well. The more we were bathing her, the more we were increasing a small eczema flair up.

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

I've been wanting to try the sea salt bath for my DD, but I'm terrified it will burn her open sores and cracks where she has scratched. Is this something that I should only do when she has no open sores?

I also started using Eucerin lotion recently, and it's the only lotion that doesn't seem to burn her skin. Since I started using it, she's had no new breakouts, so now I just have to get the ones she already had under control. I've also been trying to avoid using the prescription meds any more than neccesary, because they just scare me!

I've used Melaleuca products in the past and had problems with them irritating my own sensitive skin (I don't have eczema), so I'm concerned that they may burn my daughter as well. Honestly, I didn't even know Melaleuca was still around!

 

[toesmom]

I would give the sea salt bath a try. It really doesn't bother my ds at all and he is 3. I use it when he has sores that seem obvious (on tops of his feet and on his hands) and he has no reaction. Just enjoys the bath.

The Melaleuca Renew cream is designed for very sensitive skin, especially helps very dry skin.

If your child suffers from eczema, it's definitely worth a try. I wish I had known sooner.

 

[northriver]

This is a great topic! DD's eczema was just on her face, and it cleared up after 3 months and has not returned. After taking an oral antibiotic and trying about 6 different lotions nothing helped. Then I started using a lotion with Calendula - we used "Weleda Calendula Baby Cream" (the lotion by the same company did not help) but I have heard other calendula creams work as well. My experience is that what helps one child does not necessarliy help another, so I'm just adding what helped us. I still use the cream every night after bath, just in case. Her eczema has been completely gone for about 3 months now. I think acidic food is a trigger for us - raw tomatoes especially. Food allergies are SO hard to pin down!

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

For those who have had mixed results with Eucerin and Aquaphor, you may have an excemic kid who is sensitive to lanolin, like my little one.

Widely-available products that work for us:
-Aveeno oatmeal bath
-Pears soap
-Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Lotion

We bathe him every other day and lotion while he's still wet. In the winter, our humidifier is a must.

While there is a link between excema, allergies, and asthma, they aren't always connected. Our little one had excema from shortly after birth, suffered through the blood draws for an allergy test at 6 mos. old, and just has dry, itchy skin.

 

[sskem96]

My oldest has had eczema since she was 3 mos. old, but it rarely causes a problem anymore.

We only use Aveeno lotion. It is the only thing we have found that doesn't burn when applied because it doesn't contain parabens. (propylparaben, methylparaben, etc. you see listed in the ingredients of other lotions is a lot of times is what causes the burning)

Use hydrocortisone very sparingly. If used over a large body area for an extended period of time, it can cause diabetes.

We could only dress her in 100% cotton clothing when it was really bad, which was difficult as an infant since pajamas have to be polyester. We did find union suits which were cotton that she wore for pjs.

We use Tide Free and Bounce Free for laundry.

Still using Head to Toe Baby Wash at 10 years old!

Keep a journal of what the child is eating (or what you're eating if exclusively breastfeeding), and how skin looks each day. You may be able to identify an allergy this way without putting the child through testing. Think about other allergens they are being exposed to also. My daughter was allergic to grass and carpet fibers. She can sleep with the cat without any problems though, so it's not always the most obvious things.

 

[ZPT1022]

Cat dander is horrible though - doesn't make any difference if the cat is long or short haired to someone with a bad allergy - its the flakes of the skin (some cats do produce less dander). Cats are difficult to train to stay off furniture and beds, so they leave their dander all over the place (sometimes a clean house and a well trained dog can keep a dog allergy under control, cats and well trained don't tend to mix). With kids though, they are always on the floor, which is where the animals are, so keeping the cat off the couch doesn't help if the dander is in the carpet.

You can try an allergy shampoo and give your cats a bath. Yes, I am serious. They don't like it, but they get used to it. It does help since it keeps the dander to a minimum.

 

[thebrain]

We also struggled with DS who was plagued with eczema starting at approximately 5 weeks. He got to the point that he looked like a burn patient with the skin just peeling off of his face. We were going to the doctors literally every 3 to 4 days because he was born with a severe heart condition, but his skin was the least of his troubles. Finally, after discussing the fact that he was so constipated all of the time, the light went on for a pediatrian we were seeing for the first time and he immediately diagnosed the milk allergy as the cause of the eczema. We went home with a prescription for Elidil and overnight his skin cleared up. DS is now 3 y.o. and rarely has an outbreak, but we keep Elidil on hand for such flareups. I use Eucerin on him daily in the winter and only bathe him 2 or 3 times a week in lukewarm water - similar to a swimming pool temperature. We notice that when his asthma is good, his skin is fairly clear. he also has a prescription for Singulair which I think also helps his skin. Just a thought for those also battling the trio.

 

[Dragonfly0521]

Just a word to the wise for anyone that thinks it may be milk related or part of it. We saw an allergist and he point blank told me that my son didn't have a milk allergy. He was almost rude about it. But since I had already taken my son off and saw that it worked like a charm, I kept asking questions. Some people have milk "allergies" while others have "intollerances" or "reactions". You need a histamine reaction in order for it to be considered an "allergy". But there are many types of reactions, so don't give up if an allergist doesn't offer you answers. Your instincts may be correct.

Also, someone noted that Eczema can not be cured. I would agree with this, except it seems that in many patients, a change in something clears it up. But sometimes it is hard to remove the irritent completely from your life. Just makes me wonder is all... but i am no expert by any means. Just a mom, who thru a fluke, found her son completely "cured" of his eczema. But by no means do I believe this is possible for everyone. Just trust your instincts.

 

[aterriq]

Our oldest twin had a mild compared to some here case of eczema. We read in prevention magazine to use a natural oil. We applied almond oil after a shower to our daughter and it started to clear up.

It worked so well for us that the woman at our day care asked what we used since other children had the same issue. She started recommending it to other parents.

 

[fluffernutter]

Kaysee from the time she was born has had severe eczema,we have done
everything and have seen specialists but sometimes its tips from
people you know that can make it all better

I would love to hear from anyone who has had exerience with this. I
do know the winter months are worse for her because of the dry air
and the heat in the house.

We slather her in aquaphor every 2 hours, she has had reactions to
elidel,and eucerin as well as the aveeno oatmeal creams.

We use a humidifier in her bedroom to put some moisture back in the
air from the heater being on.

We do a fast 2-3 minute lukewarm bath every other day because the
water makes it worse and we only use Dove unscented for hair and
skin.
We also use atopiclair on a daily basis and
she is on antibiotic ointment compounds for when it flares up and gets
infected
and we use blue lizard sunscreen (great stuff but expensive) for when we go outside.

So far I have found the above routine works for us for keeping her
flareups to a minimum,but it is all airborne and one day to the next
she could be fine and then poof,her skin erupts.
It gets really bad where it turns really red,raw,then crusty and then black and then the skin sloughs off,I feel so bad for her,because she is so itchy and uncomfortable when it flares up. And people can be so rude,we get such stares whn we go out and strangers just come up and ask ,"whats wrong with her?",unreal!!

A weird thing happened when she was really young, she slept in the bed with me till she was about 9 months old,and I use black sheets sometimes,I used to find white stuff on the sheet. never dawned on me,what it was,until someone else who's daughter has ezcema mentioned it to me. It was her skin flaking off. she scratched it so much in the midde of the night that it would flake onto the sheets.poor baby.

We do also give her zyrtec which seems to help with the itching at times and helps her sleep thru the night,again only sometimes works.
benadryl gave her reverse reactions and she became very hyper on it.

Our doctor even mentioned to us about giving her a bleach bath when it gets really bad,which Im very nervous about- so Im looking for other solutions before I go that route.


So any tips,suggestions or things that have worked in the past for
you or someone you know would be appreciated.

The doctors said she might outgrow it by the time she is in school
but they doubt it because I have a big family history of air and food
allergies,and asthma and they usually go hand in hand with eczema.
We know hers started out not being associated with food allergies becasue all she was,when she was born with it was on formula,so the dr had us switch to alimentum formula and it was still very bad so they had us switch back to similac and we are now introducing her to table food but on a very slow basis.
I did notice the other day she had some tomato sauce (1 TB) and her skin got much worse,so food I believe is connected to this and always will be on some level.

Thanks in advance for any help!!!
Marcy
DH Antonio
DD#1 Teyamo (2 1/2)
DD#2 Kaysee (1)

 

[toesmom]

My pediatrician told me benadryl is safe to give to toddlers. From the time my son was about 1 year and 3 months I've been giving him benadryl for the itching. Sometimes he got 4 doses per day, but between years 2-3, typically I gave him 1 at bedtime so he could get through at least part of the night. He was always a little more hyper because of the benadryl (I used equate brand from wal-mart) but at least he wasn't itching. Give the benadryl a try; it was agony for me to watch my ds itching his skin away to the point of bleeding.

Your dd's condition seems much worse than my son's was. My ds is very smart and does not appear to be affected by the benadryl he received on a daily basis. I only stopped the benadryl in December because this Renew cream and sea salt bath has really helped his eczema.

When he was about 1 year old, our nightly routine consisted of me giving him the benadryl (and Renew cream) and he'd finally settle to sleep. He would wake up itching a few hours later and somehow in my sleep I would put Renew cream on his skin and give him another dose of benadryl and he'd settle to sleep. The only thing that seemed to distract his itching was breast-feeding. Maybe the same applies with a pacifier or bottle, I don't know.

The sea salt bath has really made a big difference for my ds. It's a really difficult time when your child suffers from the itching. Your dd's skin seems very dry. This Renew cream by Melaleuca could possibly help her. It's for very dry skin and helps with itching.

I hope these ideas help you and your dd.

 

[Oceana]

we dont use any creams and use soap as little as possible. Baths are drying so...

we use probiotics which usually clears it up.

 

[beccalines]

We used the Johnson and Johnson 24 hour cream before bed and in the morning. I would put it on until it wouldn't rub in anymore. My Pediatrition said to give him a luke-warm bath, smother him in lotion so that it was still visible, put on damp-not dripping- pajamas and then a dry pair over it. This really seemed to work. It helpped his skin to not dry out.

We also, while I was nursing, we would watch my diet to see if I noticed a connection. I found if I had peanut butter or peanuts, he would break out.
He is 3 1/2 now and as long as he doesn't have any peanut butter, we can keep it under control.