Seeking Eczema Prevention and Solutions Asap-please!

Hi A.,
This is a bit long...apologies!

My 4 mo. old daughter has had major issues on her face and a bit on her chest, tummy and back. Her face got so raw and red that she cried anytime we put anything on her face. My mom took my sister and my niece to a dermatologist when she was at this age range and suggested that I do the same... (for a 4 month old??!!) This is what he recommended:

1. bathe baby everyday even though pediatricians recommend every few days. (every other day works for my daughter.)
2. use CERA VE (hydrating cleanser that doesn't lather into suds)
3. apply Aquaphor all over body. I prefer UN-PETROLEUM by ALBA because it is made without petrolatum, paraffin, mineral oil, artificial fragrances or parabens. You can find this at Whole Foods.
4. on extremely red areas, combine UN-PETROLEUM with hydrocortisone butyrate 0.1% (fancy name is LACOID LIPOCREAM)two times a day. It's supposed to be a bit different from the over the counter hydro-cortisone. A dermatologist can explain the difference and prescribe it.

For red areas behind the knees that flare up due to moisture, I use diaper rash cream.

CALIFORNIA BABY's CALENDULA CREAM has helped in milder situations.

Couple other things I picked up along the way:
-apply UN-PETROLEUM frequently--- it's now part of her diaper change routine
-i exclusively breastfeed her and have heard that the mother's diet may possibly trigger skin flare-ups... so I'm in the process of figuring out potential temporary allergies. Citric acid and nuts have been cut out of my diet and that has helped significantly.
-i live in the city and bathe her in tap water. my parents live in the burbs and use a WATER SOFTENER. everytime she comes home from grandma and grandpa's, her skin is so much better! Does anyone know of an inexpensive way that I can soften city water?

Anyway, I hope this info helps! This is what has worked for my baby girl, maybe some rendition of this may help your baby. Good luck!!!

21 month old son has had eczema since birth...our routine:

* Until he started crawling and really getting dirty, we bathed him every day but didn't use any soap in the bath. Water is great for their skin, soap is what is drying any irritating. When we did make the transition to soap, we continued to bath him every day and used Canus Li'l Goats Milk Soap Babywash (found at Whole Foods).
* Dye free and perfume free laundry detergent (we use Tide Free) as well as pre-treatment spray (Oxi Clean Baby - Babies R Us/Toys R Us)
* Aquaphor twice a day (always after the bath). Many people have recommended Eucerin and we have tried it several times, but we have found that Aquaphor to work better.
* Cotton clothing whenever possible.
* We use the 1% over the counter hydrocortizone for 99% of his bad flair ups when he has them. We have a prescription for 2.5% and only use it when necessary. Have found that the daily use of Aquaphor is the key, as the times when we do tend to lapse is when his skin will start to flare-up.

Good luck..

I've learned that whatever you eat comes through in your skin and other hidden conditions (i.e. headaches, dark circles, etc). My daughter too started showing signs of eczema and was concerned b/c I've never had it. I began reading this book called Is This Your Child? by Dr. doris Rapp (www.drrapp.com) It talks about discovering and treating unrecognized allergies in children and adults. Many people are completely unaware of the relation of food and recurrent medical problems including behavioral and psychological issues. I highly recommed this book on every parents book shelf. I learned that colic, eczema, hayfever, dark cirlces, rosey red cheeks and other conditions are related to a milk protein allergy. I should not dabble with dairy, but do and the excess caused eczema in my baby and darkened my circles under my eyes (which I knew); so now I have to completely eliminate it. I agree with the other post, dairy is for baby cows. If you formula feed go to Nutragemin it is dairy, soy and gluten free. I breastfeed and supplement with that when needed. Dairy has the same protein base as the mucus in our nasal cavity...makes sense we get more nasaly when we eat dairy! What do you do when they turn one? Thought they tell you not too, but rice milk has is fortfied with the same nutrients as cow's milk and has iron, which cow's milk does not. Seriously consider going dairy free. Also you can invest in a shower head that filters out the chlorine which can exaberate the condition. You can find them under $50 online. Good luck!

My daughter has eczema only in the winter, usually in places where her clothes rub. Once we had to use the prescription hydrocortizsone because of a bad flare up. There is a prescription olive oil-based lotion my ped recommended to prevent flare ups, but it is very pricey and not covered by all insurance. We found that the Cetaphil CREME (in a jar, not the lotion in a bottle) works wonders. It works better than Aquaphor for us.

find Earthworm Herbal online, they have very gentle, natural oatmeal baths, slves, creams, lotions, etc especially for eczema, I can't recommend their products enough, also try Dr Brommers products for bathing, also stop using the commercial laundry degergents, try 7th generation or something else gentle, look up "ask umbra" for other laundry products, avoid foods for you & baby that seem to make things worse, many foods & food additives can cause sensitivities & allergies that manifest themselves on the skin (for us it was eggs)

those helped my son emormously his eczema was so bad that the folds of his skin cracked open & bled

good luck to you

I use a product on my son call "Unscented Body Jelly" by Carols Daughter and it is safe to use on an infant. It is awesome. My son had HORRIBLE eczema, I mean patches of dry skin that would just peel off in thick layers, but now he doesn't have that problem anymore. I recommend her products to anyone. You can purchase them at www.carolsdaughter.com. Hope this helps. Her products are fairly priced I believe for what you get! And you don't need to use a lot and all her products are natural so it's better for the skin and instead of just sitting on top of the skin it actually goes into the skin to help heal it.

Hi A.,
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These products have helped people with so many illnesses. Go to reliv.com and find out for yourself. my email is ____@____.com if you are interested. God bless you.

Greetings!!
I had a cousin that had really bad eczema as a baby/child and her doctor reccommended bathing/soaking in a tub of warm oatmeal (get a box of quaker oats and add to an infant tub of warm water) My aunt said make sure the oat meal is a nice medium consistency (not too thick, nor too thin). I don't know that it does anything to "cure" it but it definitly provides some relief from itching and discomfort. Also it's a great sensory experience for your baby :)

hi A. since you've had eczema maybe you could school me
my kids have it and I've learned that preventing eczema is really all about moisture I would recommend a soap like dove sensitive skin because it also moisturizes and then a really good moisturizer after baths
baby lotion smells good but isn't very soothing my dr recommends keri or eucerin I've also tried shea butter and it helps during flare ups I never thought about the clothes causing flare ups I'll have to pay closer attention to that
I hope your little one feels better

A.- Hi-well first lets address your eczema and hay fever-the latter I have suffered a number of years from myself. Much of the time it is a dietary issue that causes both, the main culprit being dairy and dairy related products. Second the eczema could very well be caused by the bathing products as well for the both of you.

I know this because of my past experience and my passion of holistic, herbal remedies which I have fervently studied over the past 7 years.

Good old plain organic extra virgin olive oil is great for eczema-along with aloe and witch hazel--the last two have a natural cooling effect as well and you can get ANY of these at a health food store. Making sure that they are a natural non-compromised product make sure the label says so. As far as the dairy goes-people have a difficult time understanding how it could be the culprit of so many health issues-so i urge you to look on www.mercola.com, www.altmedicine.com. I had hayfever since I was 7 years old and it would stop me in my tracks all of the time--I have been hayfever free for 10 years now and my entire family (4 children) do not use dairy at all. Cows milk is made for baby cows.

Products recommended-anything by Jason is great, natures gate (check out www.naturalwebstores.com for discounted prices from retail), arbonne, and most of trader joes skin care products are great and they also carry Dr. Bronner's (I personally love that stuff!!).

Any other questions do not hesitate to send me a message.

Make it a great day!!

T.

Hi A.,

I have had the nasty rash all my life too, since 5 year old! Ugh!

My advice to you for your daughter is to change her doctor!

How can they be so careless to tell you that the hydrocortisone is that safe to use! Yes, of course use it to knock down the flare up, but to tell you to bathe her it it? Her skin is so delicate! And the prolong use of hydrocortisone does thin the skin out eventually!

Are you sure it's only from the polyester? If it's all over her back, tummy and chest it makes me think it could be detergent, lotion or product being used...Just a thought...
I have been very lucky,knock on wood! My son is almost 16 mos. old and no eczema! I always wondered if he would get my awful rash...However, to be cautious I still follow the rule of thumb for eczema sufferers for him:
No perfume,dye detergents,soaps or lotions, we use J&J baby wash only followed by Eucerin lotion and or cream) Keeping her skin moisturized is so important!

Keep baby's room temp and body temp not too hot not too cold...Cotton cloths and sheets.

Oatmeal baths don't work for me for itching..But, vinegar and warm water soaks helped followed by Eucerin cream right way to keep the water in the skin...Unfortunately it's all trial and error! I hope you find a safe remedy to soothe your little one...I would love to get your remedies too!

Hi:
All three of my children have or have had eczema at one point in time. I use that past tense, beacuse they seem to be growing out of it. I have used several creams perscribed by the Dr., but the one I found to be most effective is an OTC called Aquaphor. Although it is a little pricey, it works to help keep the skin moisturized and prevent flare ups.

Also, you may want to try mo submerging the baby in water fro long periods of time. This dry's the skin out. Quick wash ups are best and then a bath like every other day.

My older son has sensitive skin and eczema on his legs and arms when he was younger. We used hydorcortizone sparingly because it is a STEROIDAL treatment and should not be used for prolonged periods (your doctor is seriously misinformed). We also kept his bath water tepid and used a mild shampoo/baby wash such as California baby. We used mostly Euceryn ointment in the white jar when it was especially bad.
He also was sensitive to certain fabrics because they would either irritate his skin or cause him to be overheated. Keeping his clothing mostly natural cotton has helped tremendously.
Good luck to you!
PS. You may also want to try the Mothering.com discussion boards as they may have more solutions to offer.

Hi A.,
I myself have a son that suffer with eczema I know what you are going through but I turn an alternative method I use product from www.naturessunshines.com they are silver sheild(18ppm),Pau D' Arco extract and Pau D' Arco lotion and also use pure shea butter from the african store. my membership number is ###-###-####-5 email: ____@____.com

Hi A.,

I also have eczema and unfortunately have passed it along to both of my little girls (ages 3 and 4). They have a prescription for alclometasone dipropionate (0.05%) cream that we use to help heal flare-ups, and the rest of the time we (the three of us) use a mixture of Aquaphor ointment and Curel ultra-healing lotion. I mix them together in my hand and then smear it into their skin as quickly as possible after their baths. (This combo was recommended both by my dermatologist and their pediatrician.) You probably know all this already, having dealt with this yourself, but it's important to bathe everyday and watch the temperature of the water (the hotter it is, the more drying it will be). Also, you should try to apply whatever lotion you might use within three minutes of leaving the bath to "lock in" the moisture from the bath. Almost forgot to mention that we use Aveeno Baby soothing relief creamy wash in the bath. Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Here are my two cents:
I would say not to bathe her everyday -- we bathe my son every third day (in the summer, we'll probably give him a bath every other day). After baths, do not even dry her off and apply a thick lotion. We use eucerin from the white tub. This will help lock in moisture. I read Julia P's response and am actually going to try some of the products from Whole Foods she recommends, like Un-petroleum. We currently use Aquaphor for my son's face, which is his only consistently reoccurring problematic area -- maybe the Un-petroleum will work better. And to answer Julia P's question about softening Chicago water -- which has a very high content of Chlorine -- put a half a box of baking soda in their bath water. Also, use All Free Clear laundry detergent to wash her clothes and rinse twice. During the second rinse cycle, put a half box of baking soda.

Hello Annie P

My daughter (26 months) too has eczema; it is usually controlled by constant use of moisturizer and free dye and no perfume detergent (ALL has a pretty good product) Also fragrance ‘free’ Aveeno products are the best; I prefer the skin relief or the baby soothing cleanser. Aveeno also has a product specifically for eczema, I never tried it b/c I didn’t find out about it until I purchased the two products I listed above. But when I didn’t notice the eczema Aveeno products and the skin relief/the baby soothing cleanser had the same ingredients.

Good luck to you!

there are many natural approaches to eczema, one is switching laundry and personal care products, the other is considering she might have candida/thrush - nutrititionally friendly bacteria and essential fatty acids really help with that - keeping her away from dairy and sugar, is an additional step that could be helpful - we never got anywhere with topical creams, we had to figure out the source of the concern

Mother Earth aka K. Hanrahan
www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

Hi A., I have eczema and my 10mo old son has it as well. It started this fall and winter once the weather changed. We bathe him every 3 days since bathing really dries out the skin. We slather on Aquaphor twice a day. If you do it consistently, it's amazing how quickly you'll see an improvement. My little guy had it all over his chest and tummy, but it cleared up in about a week. There's definitely a difference when we're not as diligent with the Aquaphor. He still has patches on his arm and shoulders, but those are my problem areas as well. I'm also hoping that will clear once the weather improves When it's really cold outside and dry in the house, if the patches get red, we use a 1% hydrocortisone cream underneath the Aquaphor and stop using steroidals once the redness clears. Also, use a humidifier at night to keep some moisture in the air. Hope this helps and good luck!

both my 3 yr old and 7 mos old have eczema - or I should say - had eczema - I regularly use the Aveeno soap with oatmeal and when there is a flare up I use real oatmeal - a tbsp in a clean nylon for the bath (Aveeno also has a very expensive packet of the oatmeal, but the nylon with oatmeal has worked better for us and is less expensive) - it works great. be sure to use a very mild detergent like Dreft on all their clothes and I use homeopathic creams that have worked really well to clear up both my sons' eczema - chamomile forte and silica pentas by True Botanica(alternating use 3x'/day). hope this helps.....