Eczema - Fort Wayne,IN

Do you use Johnson & Johnson shampoo? It has an ingredient, Qu??-15, that causes skin irritations and ear infections. If you use it, stop and see what happens.

My 3 yr old has suffered with eczema since infancy. I found support on the yahoo group eczemaparentscircle .

My son has also dealt with eczema his whole life (he is 20mo). I went straight to a dermatologist and got special skin treatments for him. We also looked into allergies which we confirmed he does have. The medication from the derm doc has worked for him ever since. Good luck!

Hi A.,

I experienced some of the same with my son. He is now 3 1/2 but we still use ALL Free and Clear laundry soap and only dress him in 100% cotton clothes (both recommended by Ped.)

When he was really little I bathed him with a special body wash and used special lotion (in addition to the Rx Cream). I can't remember exactly what it was called, but it was Huggies brand in blue bottles (marked pretty clearly for eczema). I purchased it at BabiesRUs.

Hope that's helpful. Good luck!

There are special baby washes for that. They are medicated to help with severe dry skin. Maybe that will help. I babysat a boy with severe eczema for quite a while and it was rough. We had to lotion him up like 5 times a day and he had to be bathed every morning (mother insisted though I thought it made things worse to do it every day) with special body wash. Good luck. Maybe if the doctor can't suggest anything else to help you should talk to a specialist!

Check with Dr. April Dunnington in Centerville. She's great with stuff like this. For gentle skin lotion, try California baby products. I wonder if getting some probiotics into the babe would help. I put some baby probiotic powder (I think it's called Baby Life) in my babe's yogurt and I think it helps with lots of things, including her digestion and sensitive skin. Good luck!

Our son has had eczema since birth (now 3-1/2). We use the Aveno baby wash and lotion, only bath him every 3 days and still use All Free laundry detergent. And make sure you do not put a dryer sheet in with their clothes. That is worse than using regular detergent (or so my doctor said). Good luck!

A.,

I work from home for a wellness company, and one of our products has been shown to be extremely effective in the treatment of eczema. If you like, I would be willing to send you a couple of sample-size tubes to try.
I could also email you a brochure about the product, if you contact me. Let me know.

D.

Hi A.,
I've had a lot of nieces with eczema and we learned a lot of times it has to do with a food allergy. If you are nursing, try to limit your dairy intake. If not talk to your pediatrician about switching formulas. if you can rub olive oil or fish oils on it or if you are nursing add more fish oils to your diet that can help--it's the Omega 3 and 6 that helps.

Hi A.,
Several members of my family and friends over the years have had eczema. The best thing we have found for it is from Melaleuca the Wellness Company. The Renew Lotion is the best. In clinical studies Renew outperformed 7 times over Eucerin. If you want more info just let me know
M.

Hi A.,
My son also has eczema, and I've had it my whole life. It is a chronic condition -- an allergy to dry skin. Thus, it is really important to keep his skin as moist as possible. We use Eucerin as well as a v. expensive perscription mosturizor -- Aqufore (?) or Memix. We don't use soap much -- and when we do it's Eurcerin oil based body wash. We pat him off to dry after a bath and grease him up from head to toe. You just don't want more moisture leaving his skin after it gets wet. For very bad areas we use hydrocortizone as well. The Dr. gave us some prespciption steroids, but I'm very hesitant...

+++It is very important that you use the steroids for one or two weeks consistently (2X per day) even if it seems to be getting better. Then, you must take a week off. This is because steroid creams stop skin growth...and, according to the Dr., this is okay AS LONG AS you give the steroids a break.+++

Hope that helps.

Hi A.:
check with your ped doc about stelatopia milky oil bath is from mustela, I never used it but I heard that is very good for this condition. It is over the counter and you can check online too. Hope your baby and your family a happy life. A.

I have read on another message board that I read, that it actually is best to give baths everyday to help the eczema. Giving a bath every day will allow for more moisture in the skin when you apply the lotion. After the bath, pat the excess water off your baby's skin and then immediately apply the lotion. The lotion is helping to seal in the moisture from the bath. If you apply the lotion again on a day you have not bathed your child, you don't have that extra moisture to seal into the skin and are only getting a little bit of moisture from the lotion. A bath will also help remove some of the dry dead skin cells. Applying lotion to dead skin cells will do no good. Once the skin cells are dead, they cannot be rehydrated.

Eczema can also be the result of a food allergy. Are you breast feeding or formula feeding? You may want to explore the possibility of it being allergy related if it doesn't clear up.

I have read the other posts and agree with most of them. DO NOT give your child a bath everyday!!! This does dry out the skin way more than every other day. Both of my boys have eczema since birth. One is 6 and one is 3. We have been to 2 dermatologists and an allergy doctor. Their eczema is related to food and enviromental allergies. For the most part is much better but every once in awhile they will break out. We do use the Aveeno product line and steroids when neccesary. Hope this helps! Also I know that your baby shouldn't be eating foods yet but it is possible he's allergic to the formula he's on or there's something your eating if you're breastfeeding.

Have you considered that this is a food allergy? A friend of mine had a baby with the same problem and he had an allergy to dairy. So you could switch formulas to a non dairy one and see if that helps. (I think Isomil is non dairy) The doctor for my friend didn't try the allergy route until the baby was almost a year old. So he suffered for a long time. If you aren't using formula you could try eliminating dairy from your diet. The key to thinking its a food issue is that you say its getting worse....

Hello. I have a 5 month old and a 3 1/2 year old that has it. What are you using when you bathe your child? I have to use Dove sensitive skin body wash on my 3 1/2 year old. And if I use lotion, it has to be for sensitive skin or not have anything in it. No bubbles either unless its with something All-Natural. If I use anything else, it makes him break out. You may want to make sure you're using a free from all laundry detergent. I use ALL FREE. I know it's a pain, but those are the only ways I can keep my boys' skin clear. I know they don’t smell a good and fruity, but it works. I hope this helps you.

Hi! I had similar problems with my oldest son. We found it was due to allergies. You may want to consider checking his diet (or yours if breatfeeding.) Or if environmental talk to your doctor.

Hi A.,
My husbands daughter also suffers from bad eczema but we've been able to get it under control. Here is what I recommend:

*laundry detergent w/out perfumes and dyes
*shampoo and/or body wash without Sodium Lauryl Sulfate...this ingredient strips the skin of natural moisture so consumers will have that "squeaky clean" feeling
*shampoo, body wash and lotion without dyes and perfumes (these are known irritants)
*moisturizer without mineral oil or petroleum (it is an occlusive oil that sits on top of the skin and has no nutritional value)..this ingredient is in tons of products because it's a cheap filler
*just pat the skin dry after a bath and immediately apply moisturizer

We use Arbonne baby care products on my step-daughter as well as coconut oil that you can buy from most any grocery store. The combination has cleared her eczema up completely.

Let me know if you'd like any Arbonne samples...or you can always check out the website at www.arbonne.com

Good luck mama!

T.

I use Watkins red clover salve. I have also been told by others that this works better than any doctor written perscription. If you'd like more info, let me know.

HTH~ :o)

Peace <>< ~ B.
Watkins Associate # 358211
Order online at: www.watkinsonline.com/stone * enter ID# 358211
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'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams' - Eleanor Roosevelt

A., my daughter had terrible eczema trouble between about 4 months and 9 months. The good news is that it's been much better for her since then, and our doctor said that a lot of babies improve as they get older.

We had our pediatrician recommend a dermatologist, which was the most help. (Our pediatrician was just not used to seeing such a bad case of eczema and really didn't know how to treat it.) The dermatologist put Clara on a combination of Vanicream moisturizer (which is expensive, but definitely worked best of all the lotions--they sell it at Walgreens or at pharmacies) which we put on her every time we changed a diaper, and a hydrocortisone prescription (Desinide) which we alternated with another cream called Elidel, which works on the immune system. She also had a staph infection on her skin because of all the itching, and so he treated that as well with an antibiotic. We also started bathing her every other day and just slathering her with Vanicream when she got out of the tub.

I also cut dairy out of my diet for as long as I breastfed and we didn't give her any dairy because she had an allergic reaction (hives) to yogurt at around 6 months. I'm still not certain whether or not the dairy had anything to do with the eczema; it was just one other thing we tried and it certainly didn't make anything worse. :)

Now that she is 18 months, the problem has gone away for the most part. Once in a while she will get a little eczema on her cheeks which a little Elidel takes care of right away; sometimes she will also have a little trouble with her hands, which she tends to scratch or pick at when she is tired or cranky. Desinide and the Elidel help with that.

Be aware that Elidel is not FDA-approved for children under the age of 2. As I understand it, it is not because they have found problems, specifically, but rather because they simply have not been able to collect sufficient data for this age group with this relatively new medication. We did not have any trouble with Elidel--it worked well. However, getting the insurance to pay for it took a lot of letters and phone calls (but they did pay for it in the long run).

The only lasting downside is that the eczema has caused sleeping problems for her. For months, we couldn't let her sleep alone because she would wake up and scratch herself until she bled. She doesn't do that any longer, but now she doesn't want to sleep by herself. But that's a separate story!

I hope that helps. I really feel for you!

it doesnt get better.sorry my son had it still has it.29 yrs old now.take him to an allergist.will develope into asthma!!!been there many years.oat meal bath you can pick up in walmart or any pharmacy helps

Hello A., My daughter had the same problem. First, you need to monitor what she is eating, because certain foods can trigger eczema(dairy, and certain vegtables, etc.) Now Aqufor is a good moisterizer, but it still have chemicals in it. I recommend 100% Shea butter...not any products with Shea butter. It has to be 100%. Also buy a couple of Aloe Vera Plants and and rub the gel on the areas. They also sell 100% Aloe Vera Gel at Walmart, but it is always beneficial to keep some palnts on hand. Also make sure you use mild soaps and detergent. I'm really into herbs, but I can not think of this herb that I mixed the Aloe with and used it as a paste and also dranked the herb as a tea to cleanse the toxin out of his blood. Good luck and I will give you the info when I look it up in my herb book.

wife and mother of 4:(4-boy, 6-girl, 8-girl, 10-boy)

Disney Naturals makes an Eczema body wash and cream. I use it on my daughter who has it everywhere and it works pretty well. They sell it, or I've seen it, at Target and Babies R Us.

Best of luck!

Have you tried changing soap? My youngest has eczema as well and we are continually battling patches on his arms more than any of place. We have switched to Dove unscented and that seems to work. We have also started using Renew, which is found through a Melaleuca representative. It has done wonders for all his eczema patches...especially his face!

Hope that helps!

I have a daughter that has had eczema since she was born. you have to look at anything that has perfumes dyes. You will need to look at the detergents, any soap residue left in the tub. Using all natural products can make it stay under contol, Its really just testing different products for effects.

My son did not have eczema, he had cradle cap. And I used multiple Shaklee products. It got rid of it in less than two days. He was a couple weeks old when we experienced this. I have several friends whose babies have had eczema, they used Basic H2 (helps balance the skins ph), Optiflora (works in the intestines to clean out toxins) and Small Wonders Shampoo and Lotion. All with great success. had never seen eczema so bad as I did on one little boy at a farmers market. His mom and I started talking and she told me his raw skin was due to eczema. I told her to bathe him in the Basic H2, she did and worked. She was so excited she mailed some to her sister in Korea. Also, I know that the cooler the water the better for eczema sufferers. I can't imagine at his age his bath water being very hot. There are also toxic chemicals in household cleaning products that create problems. You may consider checking out some non-toxic products like Shaklee's Get Clean line. This link has some good info on toxins in our home: http://www.shaklee.net/gemsoffire/gc_yourhome1. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I hope this helps.

My daughter also had eczema as an infant. It was all over. I tried everything over the counter and ended up getting an RX from my doctor that worked very well, Elidel. For the cost of the dr visit copay and med, it was way less than all the over the counter remedies I tried. At 3 months old, I doubt it is food alergies since normal foods don't start till 4 mos old. Also, winter months are the worst as it is dry air, once summer hits it should get a little better as there is humidity/moisture in the air. Good luck! My daughter is now 6, still has some problems but not nearly as bad as when she was an infant.

Hi A. -

My daughter had eczema really bad. Her pedicatrician gave us a prescription of a mixture of cetaphil lotion and hydrocortizone creme. The pharmacy mixed it and it came in a bottle. I put it on her just as I would lotion, especially after bath time. I like the Aquaphor too, but it isn't that practical for larger areas. Anyway it worked wonders. I might be worth asking her doctor about it.

My daughter has eczema too. She's 3yr. We have been using the Johnson & Johnson eczema lotion--and it's best to put it on right after you get them out of the water. Don't dry him off too much before you put the lotion on. But I will say that we had some issues last year that were so bad that he perscribe a steriod cream. I don't know if the Dr. would have you use that since your son is so young. My Dr. said to use it sparingly and to make sure to wash your hands after you put it on..and make sure that she didn't tough it..so I'd usually put on long sleeves and long pants.
I hope that helps.

A little about me:
SAHM of 13yr son, 7 & 3yr old daughters. I am a Mary Kay consultant, and work part time in the evenings doing inventories.

A.,
I didn't read all the other responses so I hope I'm not repeating anything. My son also has eczema. I found that using Aveeno eczema cream really helped him. Also when his gets really bad I give him a bath in Aveeno oatmeal bath. I have learned to watch laundry detergant and soap for perfumes. It took a using a couple different things before I found what worked best for him. Now I use the same detergant and soap for the whole family. My son's eczema got really bad at the age of 2 but he is almost 8 and now that we learned what works for his skin it very seldom gets bad. Good Luck!

I would recommend asking your doctor for a cream called Elidel. If that doesnt help or it keeps coming back then I would see about getting him tested for food allergies.

Hi A.. My derm recommended apricot oil. You can get it at health food sotres and I recently heard the Burt's Bees makes some. That has always worked for my kids.

Hi A.... My daughter does not have Eczema, but I came across this product when looking for a diaper rash cream. She got a severe diaper rash/irritation from her antibiotic and I purchased something called "TriplePaste" in the box was a sample tube of their "TripleCream" it's specifically designed for babies with severe dry skin and eczema. I personally have psorasis (which is kind of similar to eczema) and I used this baby product and it actually started helping my psoarasis and since it's designed for baby eczema I would think it would work great for your little one as well. It's called "TripleCream" and is available over the counter. I purchased mine at Walmart (with the other diaper rash/cream products). It's about $8 for a 2 ounce tube but totally worth it. I hope this works or you find something else for his little body. Good luck! :-)

Hi A. I see you have many schools of thought already, but here is my 2 cents......My son is 4 and had it all over and I went to see dermologist and they told me blah blah.nothing worked it always came back....then I was sent to this young doc and he said it is a bateria and you have to treat it as such.....baths everyday, once a week a little capful of bleach in the bath water, change sheets twice a week and of course lotion twice a day I use Cerava its a God-send.......and it worked he has been ezcema free for 6 months now...good luck

cathy

A.,
My name is J. and represent a beauty company BeautiControl which specializes in spa treatments, skincare and advanced anti-aging treatments and one of our spa products is called regeneration extreme repair. It is a hand lotion that penetrates deep into the skin and I have a very good clientel (even young children) that use this product to keep eczema at bay. Please contact me for more information at ____@____.com.
Thank you and have a great day,
J.

You need to be careful what detergent and softener you are using. For the whole family, not just for your baby. Some detergents and softeners bead up on your clothes and then transfer to him. My daughter's eczema flairs up if I use detergents other than Purex or Arm & Hammer. I also only use Downy softener-liquid and not dryer sheets. This helps a ton! Someone on here mentioned to me to try Disney Babies Eczema cream and body wash. I haven't used it yet because we are doing ok right now. We are using Dove sensitive skin wash and Vanicream lotion. Good luck!

Hi A.,
Our son had eczema at age 2 (now 7) and we found that giving him 2 oz. of Aloe juice to drink each day has worked tremendously. He has had no signs of eczema for a few years now. Aloe is great for the entire body and the entire family! The doctors wanted to put him on all sorts of steroids, but we wanted a healthier option. We buy the Aloe juice from GNC and mix it with a little juice for taste. He loves it and so does his 4 year old brother. I would wait until your son was closer to one year before trying the juice. In the meantime, try some topical creams, but try to avoid the steroids the doctors want to recommend.
Hope this helps!

Hi,my son just turned 3months and also suffers from eczema:(
a great thing that is working for him that our doctor told us about is Coconut Oil..Its organic in the grocery store by the cooking oil... you just dig some out of the jar rub together and oil him up..i know sounds weird but its AMAZING how well he looks only after a few times..we also use Johnson n Johnsons coco butter and shea butter baby wash..we only wash every other day because it does dry your baby out to be washed alot.... also a good thing to have is a probiotic, you can get it in a suppelmetn form (hard to find) or a ceral at babies r us called Happy Bellies Organic Baby Cerals..they have a website also :) all of this has been great for him and he looked like a giant scab before i started this :( Its all natural things so your baby doesnt get all medicated up at such a young age.. also you will need to watch for allergies as he gets older.. they trigger eczema outbreaks,eggs,grass,wheat stuff like this..hope i helped some :)

My 2-year old son has something very similar, only his skin tends to develop horrible diaper rash when he has a flare up. The doctor also suggested to us to use the aquaphor but I didn't think it worked very well. My best friend has had sensitive skin issues her whole life and she suggested to use cetaphil bar soap followed by a lotion. We have since been doing this and his skin is great! I still use Johnson's on his hair b/c he doesn't have it quite down to keep his eyes closed during hair rinsing but we are back to daily baths with no problems! I would strongly recommend trying the cetaphil instead since we have had such great results!
The only downfall, you can only find it at CVS or Walgreens, not at the grocery store or even at WalMart!
Hope that helps you out a little!!!

My son (now 16 mo) had eczema in splotches on his chest and belly. We stopped using any soaps or lotions with fragrances, and I stopped using any pretreaters on his clothing. We use Aveno fragrance free soap and Cetaphil lotion. We also use Dreft on his clothing. He gets a bath daily in about 95 degree water. (I've read that warm--not hot-- baths daily can actually help with eczema.) He hasn't had any signs of eczema for almost a year now.

If it is getting worse, you may have an allergy issue on your hands. That could have been the issue with my guy too as he has dairy and soy intollerances.

Good luck and blessings.
Julia

My pedi told us to just use the hydracortizone with a outbreak but use moisturizer all the time. I started with aquaphor and it didn't do much, I found a cream at babiesrus. The ladies there recommended it. It is in a blue and white container. Its very smooth and creamy. Its expensive but it has been working great. I also will soak my daughter in the avveno oatmeal bath when she has it bad.
M.

I had the same problem with my girls. when i would bath them i wouldn't put soap all over. just washed their hair and bottoms. the soap just dries everything out. also, my doc prescribed a stronger strength of cortizone cream for them. it helped alot.

My son also had eczema at a young age that would not go away. We later found out that he had food allergies that were causing the skin issues. His are milk and nuts and I was bathing him in Johnson's Milk bath!!

I hope it is nothing like that for your little guy, but may be worth talking to the Dr. about.

Good luck!

My peditrician recommend to only give my son a bath 2-3 times a week, and to use plain white Dove soap when I did give him a bath. I used aquaphor on him as well and it worked great. My son is now 4 1/2 years old and still has some issues with Eczema, but not like he did when he was a baby. Most of it on him is on his hands from washing them all the time and on his cheeks and chin (weather exposure irritates it. I still follow the bath rules and it seems to have helped alot. But I have read that Eczema can be caused by food allergies, milk being the most common. That might be something to look into too.

Hope this helps some. Good luck!
J.

Along with using the hydrocordizone creme, i have placed a humidifier in my sons room, and have found it to be quite helpful. Good luck :)

A.-- I have not read through all of the posts so I apologize if this is a duplicate. If you are nursing, it may be a food allergy. When my daughter was 4-months-old, I had to give up all eggs, dairy and nuts until I finished nursing when she was a year old. It was a pain but it made such a difference. I also did the hydrocortisone cream but the elimination of foods from my diet was the only thing that did the trick. Good luck!

Eczema AKA dermatitis, is any inflammation of the skin. There ARE different types. At this point I would certainly try and figure out which type so that you can address it accordingly.

Some types are atopic, contact & allergic dermatitis. Several things may contribute to the problem. One of them is low hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Candidiasis and food allergies, as well as genetically based weakness in a certain enzyme may also be factors.

There is something called BETAINE HCI that is a form of hydrochloric acid. Might try it and see if that helps. Use as directed on the label. B vitamins are also essential in helping to treat this. Make sure he's getting plenty of foods in his diet that contain them..

Check out - might want to buy - a copy of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HEALTH & HEALING FOR CHILDREN by Weber. Also a great one is NATURALLY HEALTHY BABIES & CHILDREN by Romm

Eczema can be tricky. Luckily most children tend to grow out of the symptoms or the severity lessens as they get older.

I would tell your doctor to prescribe a different medication. There are multiple options. I have found some that worked well, and others that didn't seem to work at all. I really like Elidel. It's really expensive retail, but insurance usually covers most of the cost.

I have used several different kinds of moisturizers. The best time to apply them is after a bath. First, I put the medicine on the the bumpy or red areas. If there are a lot of affected areas, then apply it all over the torso, arms, legs, etc. Then I put on a lotion. I use something that does not have fragrances. Some lotions are meant to reduce and relieve itchy skin such as Aveeno. There are multiple brands out there that will work sufficiently. Make sure the medicine and lotion is put on rather quickly after a bath. This helps seal in the moisture. Then put clothes on over the skin although it may feel a bit sticky.

I look for lotions that have a few ingredients that seem to help heal and relieve the irritation such as jajoba, cocoa butter, shea butter, tea tree oil, menthol, etc. You may also try using an antihistamine to reduce the reaction. Often the reaction is due to an allergic reaction to dust, pollen, mold, animal dander, fabrics, detergents, soaps, etc. Thus, I suggest using cotton clothing for t-shirts, sweat shirts, sweat pants, onesies. I tried to find clothing with buttons and velcro instead of snaps for my child because the metal irritated his skin. Try to keep him cool, no sweating and reduce the likelihood of his body needing to adjust to drastic temperature changes.

I suggest not using bubble baths, use non-soap bar body and non-soap for his shampoo/conditioner. I suggest clothing detergents for sensitive skin and do not use a fabric softener or dryer sheet with fragrances. I noticed that after I stopped using dryer sheets that my son did not have as many flare-ups on his sides, the insides of his arms and his hip area.

To help relieve the itch and really dry spots, I have used dandruff shampoo. It seemed to moisturize the skin and have a cooling effect that helped to reduce the desire to itch and the uncomfortable feeling. Lotions with menthol help with the desire to itch and give a cooling-relief effect as well. I used really soft towels to dry and only blotted the skin after baths. If your child is still a little wet when applying lotions, that's okay. This helps to seal in the moisture.

This website gives some details about eczema.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/skin_stuff/eczema.html#

http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/health/how-to-get-rid-o...

http://www.eczema-natural-healing.com/causes-of-eczema.html

This website gives technical medical information on eczema... although you don't necessarily have to buy the product listed to address eczema.

http://www.bioheal.com/eczema.html

You might try to take him to a dermatologists and an allergist. He might be allergic to some foods. He also could be allergic to your laundry detergent, certain materials and other things. Allergies and eczema tend to run together. I was diagnosed with eczema at the age of 2. I am now a 35 year old. I also have asthma and allergies. A sponge bath is best and pat towel dry, rubbing makes the skin worse. Always lotion right after a bath this helps keep the moisture in. Aveeno is a great lotion and the oatmeal bath is excellent for your skin. The weather also can play a factor in our skin. There are so many things you could learn from going to the specialist.

my son got it very badly this winter. we used disney/pooh brand baby excema cream its at walmart drug mart... wherever about 7 bucks for a bug tube.

M. in n olmsted mommy to Darien 8 yrs and T.J. 14 months.

Hi, A.! I have heard over and over that Arbonne has a great baby line, I believe it's called ABC or something, and it is supposed to be fabulous for eczema. You can check out their website at www.arbonne.com. Good luck!

Our 10 year old suffers with eczema amd has all his life. His eczema is allergy related (something you'll want to confirm with an allergist when you're son is about 18 months old). Our dermatologist said to bathe EVERYDAY! According to him it is a "myth" that bathing everyday will aggravate the eczema. He suggested using Cetaphil soap (the regular BAR and not the hypo-allergenic version). We also use a prescription steriod ointment (triamcinalone), but doctors will not prescribe this to infants. As long as we are consistent with treating the symptoms, our son rarely has a "flare up".