Eczema in a One Year Old

Coconut oil-google it. Found in many stores.

my son has had bad eczema since he was an infant (he's 4 now). at the suggestion of our pedi... we do the following:

at bath time we use Dove body wash for Sensitive Skin (it's a white bottle w/ a mint green color cap)... no bubbles either as this irritates it... after bath i use lotion on him either the eucrin for sensitive skin or luberdurm for sensitive skin... when his eczema is scratched up and broken i use Baby Aquafor which is made by Eucren... also we use All Free & Clear to wash clothes and sheets and Bounce Free dryer sheets. dust mites also seem to flare up eczema so if she is sleeping on an old mattress i suggest getting a new one... we did that and seen a tremendous difference!

I use tea tree oil on my sons eczema. you can buy it at a health food store.

My 3 yr old son gets eczema very bad on his legs and wrists. The dermatologist prescribed 2% hydrocortisone cream. Its works sometimes. I switched all of his shampoo, body wash, & lotion to California Baby brand and am having better luck. The calendula cream is great when the eczema is especially bad. It works overnight. Hope this helps!

Recently I read that honey mixed with vaseline was a sure cure. I just did a Google search and find that it has helped a LOT of people. The vaseline helps the honey to adhere. At bedtime apply this mixture. It is messy so gauze pads would have to be applied over the area while the child is sleeping at night. It is an inexpensive experiment that may prove to be helpful.

My first son had eczema from day one...and the only thing that worked for him was what my doctor recommended...hydrocortizone cream, I believe it was at 1%...it was just the regular over the counter...and some of it has aloe in it. You just have to be very careful if you put it on the face, make sure it is rubbed in very good for obvious reasons...my newborn also has it on his face/forehead/neck area and that is what seems to work again!

Good luck
Abby

All of the suggestions that I have read are good. I can tell you - that what you need to know is eczema is not "curable" but you can control it. I have used the Eucerin on several children and my mother had used it for years. Consistency is the key to relief.
I am sure that what ever the doctor prescribed is good just don't expect a cure and these suggestions will help.
Avoiding scratchy material that can irritate the skin wearing cotton is best. Too much water and hot water are triggers. Warm water is best. "Pat" the body dry. Keep it moisturized - Vaseline will help.
Good luck and God Bless.

Hi B.!

I see you got a lot of responses but I also wanted to tell you that my son suffered terribly with eczema. I started using Arbonne's baby products and his skin cleared up almost immediately! I now sell their products and still use the baby products on my children even though my oldest is 8. Check out my ____@____.com you would like a sample, I'll be happy to send you one! Just sign in my visitors book and mark a note saying your from mamasource! Take Care! L.

Have you researched the long term effects on the skin of using a cortisone cream? My 2 year old had eczema on most of body,except his face.We looked for a more natural place to shop from,and found a wonderful "green" store.
Check out my website if you want to know more about changing where you shop.

www.SwitchStoresForHealthyLiving.com.
S.

With my kids, it seems to help to control what comes in contact with their skin. For example, my kids only wear 100% cotton clothes. Also, I only use laundry detergent that is free of perfumes/dyes on not just their clothes but blankets and towels, too. I rinse the laundry 3 times. The Allergist suggested that we bath our kids at night, every night but limit bath time to under 10 minutes to avoid dry skin. Some kids with eczema are allergic to something like tree, dust, etc. so, it's important to remove those allergens with a quick bath. For bathing, I use Johnson's no perfume baby wash. Right after the bath, I apply Aquaphor ointment to moisturize and then reapply in the morning. I was also told to avoid moisturizers with alcohol. When my kids have a "flare up", I apply a prescription ointment minimally followed by Aquaphor ointment 1 hour later. I try to avoid the prescription ointment as it is a steroid. Ointments tend to work much better than creams. Good luck!

HI, I have been dealing with Eczema for almost 6 years since my son was 3 weeks old. We have gone through tons of topical steroids, moisterurizers etc.. Gone to several doctors, I am taking him to a specialist next month at Chop because this year he has had two major flare ups that required oral Steriods and that was a nightmare. This is what I finally learned... 1) Bathe your child MAXIMUM 3x's a week (no more) with luke warm to cool water, soaps - I use Dove the white one unscented NO FRAGRENCES. NO shampoo, use dove even to wash the head. 2) Moisturize twice daily once in the am when she gets up, once in the PM. If it is her shower/bath day, immediately after. I use Eucerine with the green top. I wash my clothes in ALL FREE AND CLEAR again, with no fragrences. I put very little softner, if you can stay away from softnere, that is also good. My son has allergies and for the first time this year, his allergies (to trees) in May caused him to have a major flare up with his eczema, he broke out severly and had to be treated with Oral Steriods. I would tell your sister to have your niece checked for Allergies because Allergies, Asthma and Eczema are like a traingle when one acts up, the others will follow. I now learned that when his allergies are bad In May and Aug, I will get Zyrtek into his system before it gets bad so it will hopefully prevent flare up. The doctor tells me he will outgrow this, I pray he does. This last time I broke down crying becasue it got so bad he had another flare up after antoher. The steriods mad him unbearable with mood swings. The second time they gave me steriod cream that finally worked after 3 days of staying up at night with him trying to stop him from tearing apart his skin. One more thing if your niece gets so itchy and can't sleep, your sister can give her Benadrly at night (my son is immune to it now). I hope I did not scare you with this info. I am trying to help you prevent it from getting bad. I wish I knew this along time ago.. Good luck and I would see a good dermatologist, they will probably prescribe topical steriods when it gets really bad. It is ok to use for the reccomended time and it does help. I worry because he has been on topical steriod sfor the last 5 years and I worry how it will affect him but the doctors say he will be fine. GOOD LUCK!!!

My son had bad eczema. We use Cetaphil cleanser and Cetaphil cream. You can find these in with the facial soaps at any drugstore or Target. Put the cream on when she is still wet. This will help seal in the moisture. Try not to keep her in the bath too long. I also have a prescription cream from the dermatologist for when it is really bad- Cutivate. Hope this helps!

B.,

The best thing I have found so far is Renew by Melaleuca. I would love to tell you more about it and how to get it.

M.

My son (now 2 1/2) also has eczema on the back of his knees. I find it is worse during the winter months. What has worked for us is dove soap, followed by Eucerin cream after every bath.

Hi B., My son has eczema to , he is now seven and the creams the doctor gave us also did not work. Believe it or not sunblock worked the best. It would go away in summer but not winter, which i thought was weird. So i started the sunblock in the winter and it worked. We now have it under control. (sunblock is supper moisture) Vaseline also helped.Kristin P

Baby eczema can be tough to treat until you find the right stuff. What works for one child may not work for another. There's allot of stuff out there and all you can do is trial and error until Mom finds the right stuff for their child. One of my triplets had it. Started horrible on his head, the cradle cap. One of the worst cases I'd seen. It spread down his cheeks and forehead. Someone suggested using baby oil and a comb and that worked great! After a few months that finally went away but he had it on the backs of his knees, wrists and elbows up until he was two or so. We tried different prescription meds through the doctor and they didn't work. We tried oatmeal baths and that didn't help. All of these things were suggested by different parents cuz they had success with one thing or another. It really seemed random on what would work on which child. So then I started trying different over the counter lotions. I came across one that worked great and I was surprised that it did! It's Aveeno baby lotion for baby eczema. You can buy it in a standing tube most anywhere. For us, it worked great. The best time to put it on was directly after a bath. In between that was first thing in the morning and bedtime, basically at every diaper change I'd lube him up, lol. It really cut down on it and as long as I didn't slack up there were times it almost went away. Cut down on the itching too! Here's a link to it:
http://www.americarx.com/Products/1055.html

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat

My son didn't get this until he was 2. then he had it under his chin and if I was consistent with the cortizone cream it was controlled. But then he started getting it all over his belly. It's very frustrating. So, I heard that milk products can cause it. so all I did was cut out his morning cereal and milk and started giving him waffles, toast, eggs or bagels instead. Amazingly, his eczema is gone. I haven't cut out any other dairy. I think for my son, he must just have an intorance to dairy and when it's too much he breaks out. Every kid is different. My niece had it and was allergic to eggs and milk.... but cutting out some dairy may be worth a try.
good luck

Hi B.,

My daughter was recently diagnosed with Eczema and the doctor prescribed cortizone for below her neck and suggested using Hydrocortizone (OTC) on her face. Her eczema seems to have calmed down quite a bit. I have done what all of the other mother has already written about - Cetaphil, not completly drying after a bath...as well as, only doing a real bath every two days. There is one other alternative which I am also going to look into because I do not like the idea of putting steroids on my daugher. There is a new line at Nordstroms called Elemis. All of their products are extremely gentle and almost 100% organic. They have a product that can be used on infants for Ezcema. I recently bought some of their products for myself b/c my skin is extremely sensitive and I wanted to see how I would react. So far, so good. I am going to go back and get the product for my daugher and give it a try. This is just another alternative for your to investigate. Keep in mind though - their product line is pricey - but if it works and I don't have to use steroid based creams on my daughter, I figure it is worth it...good luck!

My daughter has eczema as well. See if your niece can get into a dermatalogist, preferably a pediatric one. They know exactly the right kind of steroid cream to prescribe. My daughter's eczema looks so much better and for the most part is non existent since we have been using the cream prescribe by the derm. Good luck!

Beth

B. S.,
My son had some eczema at one point. I don't know what did work, but something did: I read in Dr. Sears' book that it was a good idea not to use soap at all- just water for baths. If you feel you have to use soap, one of the soaps recommended was Dove unscented. Use lotion every day, wash clothes with natural laundry detergent (from a health food store) and check into food allergies. Of course, lots of liquids.
Hope it helps!
P.

we made the switch to natural soaps.
in addition the Asthma & Allergy Publication published an article in Aug of 06 about the links between "beauty bars/bath bars" and eczema -- they are not soap but detergent and contribute to the eczema.

Switch to an all natural product.
We use goat milk soap in bath, at the sinks and make our own laundry soap. Has worked like a charm and I have found several local customers how have the same success.

simple things against the skin create simple problems with the skin. :)

Good luck.

My son has eczema too. We use only Dreft detergent on his clothes. Eucerin creme (in the morning and after his bath 2x a day)was reccomended by the doctor but we've been using cocoa butter and it seems to work better. Dove soap. When he has flare ups we've been using the steroid cream the doctor prescribed. I've been told that there are different strength prescription creams and that the mild ones can be used frequently (originally I was told not to use the prescription creme often or it would damage his skin). His skin is never clear so we are taking him to an excellent allergist who has helped a few friends children minimize or get rid of their eczema. Hope that helps! Good luck.

I ork with a wellness company and we have wonderful lotion called Renew. This product is 7 times better than Eucerin. It attracts and retains more moisture for softer and healthier skin. In just 24 hours the skin will feel softer and more hydrated. Let me know if you interested.

I had eczema growing up and used Eucerin but now I use Cetaphil because it has no lanolin. I used it on my children as well. I also like the baby lotion from Arbonne as it is very light weight. Let me know if you want me to get you a sample. Make certain that she does not scratch it. Also I recommend using the cream/lotion after a bath to keep the moisture in the skin.

My son had eczema in the same place (also sometimes on the tops of his feet). I tried Eucerin which helped but didn't clear it up. Then the dr recommended Cetaphyl. I use the soap (I think it is the blue container, the lotion is the green label) on him in the tub and for the longest time to wash his hair too. I only use dye/perfume free detergents as well. I used the Cetaphyl 3 times a day on my son, morning, at nap time and at bed time. It kept his skin clear unless I forgot/missed a "dose". He seemed to have more trouble in the summer than in the winter and now, at 2 1/2 seems to be outgrowing it. Best of luck!

Both my children have eczema they mostly have it on there elbows. But what I do is put hydocortizone cream on it after a bath I dont let them saty in to long beings actually water can make it flare up, and i always lotion them good with a nonsented lotion I use Melaucas Renew. Hope it helps

both my children have eczema and she should be using lotion on her three times a day. It works for my little ones and have her go back to the doctor to request a new cream. I had to do it with my son and the next one she gave me works very well, it is a 2.5 percent hydrocortizone cream. Good luck.

Although you'll have to contact Patricia M below to get it, I HIGHLY recommend Renew from Melaluca Co. Its a membership thing for a wellness company, but you can just be a member to buy stuff too. This is the only lotion I use, even though I get it through my mom (she's a member, doesn't sell it). Its GREAT... it works better than Eucerin or any common stuff and it's not greasy. It's made with tea tree oil, so that's the magic "trick", but this stuff works!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have have eczema since I was a baby and one of my problem locations was the back of my knees. A few creams I found that worked are Eucerin, Utterly Smooth and Bert's Bees creams. I really like the Bert's Bees lotions because they are all natural.

Hope this helps.

We like to use aquafore by Eucerin for our 7 month old. It clears it up very quickly, and has even helped my skin. : )

My son had eczema on the back of his knees and on the inside of his elbows and wrists from allergies. We had him tested... he was allergic to a number of things but outdoor airborne mold, spores and dust caused him the most problem. This Spring has been very bad.

My daughter gets a few little spots of eczema on her legs. The doctor recommended using a combination of a moisturizer (they suggested Eucerin) and a hydrocortisone cream. We buy the over the counter milder cream with aloe because the pharmacist said he preferred it for children. It seems to work ok, but the spots do come back from time to time.

Aquafor and the Baby Aveeno products (baby wash, lotion, oatmeal bath) worked well for my son's eczema.

Hi B.,

When I worked in a pharmacy, we kept Acid Mantle cream and lotion behind the counter. You do not need a prescription for it though. I love this cream. I used it on my own eczema and my children's. (We have patchy eczema that comes and goes in the winter). It's really effective yet really gentle. I even put some on my eyelids because they get really dry in the winter. Your sister may want to give it a try. Best wishes!

M.