Seeking Proven Eczema Solution for 6 Month Old

Hi,

My son is 2 now but for the first year of his life he had the worst eczema on his cheeks. Only thing that worked for us when it was really bad was thin layer of 1% hydrocortisone. When it calmed down we always put Eucerin on but we used the hydrocortisone when it was bad and it helped immediately.

I smear my son up at least 2x a day with Cetaphil lotion. Always in the morning and again after his evening bath. In the winter, he gets more applications as needed. It has helped tremendously. He still gets little patches of exzema on his arms, mainly, but not nearly as bad. A year ago, he had exzema on his face really bad and I did take him to a dermatologist, who prescribed several ointments, which got it under control, and that is how I found out about the Cetaphil.

I have been there and am still doing so. My son is now 7 and at 6 months had the same issues you are experiencing. I tried everything. I have finally found ways to make it better. Aside from the allergy shots (a whole other story) I have found that Avon makes a product and it is a soapless body wash and along with their lotion, the eczema all but disappeared. We swear by it. Good Luck! I also sell Avon because of this so let me know if you are intrested.

Depending on how bad the eczema is you can request your child be put on prednisone which is a steroid. My son has been on that a couple of times for his severe allegeries. He also had pretty bad eczema when he was younger. He is now 3 years old and only gets it in the elbow creases and behind the knees. We use aquaphor RIGHT AFTER the bath. The key to the aquaphor is to use it within 3 minutes of taking her right out of the water. Her pores must still be open. I have also used baby powder in conjunction with the aquaphor to help seal it in. The only other thing that has worked for us was giving him prescription strength 2.5mg of hydrocortisone. You just don't want to use to much of that all the time. You should only use it for about 1 week and then stop for a couple weeks.
I hope this helps. Does your daughter have asthma as well? Just curious? Typically kids with eczema will have asthma too because it is located on the same gene.

well the first thing is Nutramigen is still made from cow milk so it COULD still be cow protein is the problem. With a child with allergies still not at baseline that is ALOT of new foods at once she could be reacting to one or all of the above. when you get the gut healed and the food thing underway the eczema will resolve. Until then stay away from lotions they all contain some sort of alcohol as they all have water in them. use straight olive, or virgin coconut oil. better yet use an infused oil with calendula, plantain. lavender, rosehips, chickweed they will help it not to itch and encourage the skin to heal as well. but you won't win the battle until you get her to baseline the BEST group i have found to help with food issues is called Food Lab on yahoo groups.yahoo.com/group/foodlab/ they can help you find the traces of cow milk that are still causing the problem and most of those meats for baby food have dairy in them too.

Our son had wicked eczema and sometimes still has some bad flareups. We use vanicream shampoo, soap, and cream on him, as well as cortaid and aquaphor on his bad spots. We do that twice a day. He's also on zyrtec and hydroxizine for the seasonal allergies and itchiness that he seems to have year round. He has a history of food allergies, outgrew his egg allergy and remains allergic to nuts. Perhaps a consult with an allergist would help? We see Dr. Bollinger at Univ. of MD hospital, she's great, very thorough. We've been battling the eczema/allergy issues since he was 5 weeks old, finally getting a diagnosis of food allergies at 4 months of age.

My son has eczema really bad as a baby and the doctor gave us a prescription. It worked REALLY well and have not had issues since. I am sorry that i can not remember the name but it was a compound prescription and it had hydrocordizone in it.
Good Luck!!

Hi N.-

Both of my children had eczema, I had eczema when I was young (until puberty). After my second baby, I got terrible eczema on my face (cheeks, eyelids, forhead and around my lips) I could not bring myself to put steroids or heavy creams on my face so I searched and searched and tried lots of things, finally I found that Emu oil helps with the itch and keeps the skin moist. Because it is an animal based oil, it absorbs into the skin faster than plant based/petroleum based things. I put it on in the morning and the night time. I agree it is best to find the cause but this might help until you do. Mine has always been hormone related. Both of my children have outgrown their eczema by about 4 years old. I also used to smear Unpetroleum on my daughter-much more natural than vaseline.

Good luck!

K.

Wow, it is amazing to find that so many people are affected by eczema! Well, actually knowing now that it can be related to a formaldehyde sensitivity doesn't make it as surprising..since there are so many products in our home that have it--like Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Anyway, you all should absolutey try Renew from Melaleuca. So So So many people have "won the war!" It was clinically tested against Eucerin and it won that war too!
It is completely mild enough for infants! My son had only a mild case of eczema on the backs of his arms when he was an infant. He's 2 now and there are no more bumps-haven't been since about a week after I started using it. I got a friend to try it on her daughter's legs and they no longer use topical steroids! We've also converted our homes to all of their products so we no longer have to worry about all the harsh chemicals in the other stuff. It's cheaper too-thank goodness-since I lost my full time job last year.

Here are the tricks that helped me- make sure his clothes and his moms are rinsing thoroughly in the wash to remove all laundry detergent residue( even with Dreft and ivory snow for babies). Try Arm N' Hammer that is perfume/dye free. Then, NO fabric softener or dryer sheets unless they are perfume and fragrance free (bounce makes a good one). If this doesn't help, it may be a food allergy. You can contact a specialist or just take good mental note. I found that when my son eats strawberries for a day or two, his skin gets tender.

The other thing that cleared my son's skin within 5 days was Optomega oil from USANA. It is organic and made from pumpkin seeds and such. Their stuff has helped my family so much I started my own business with them. Here's my site- a bit under construction http://www.joinsherri.usana.com

My son was 7 months old when I tried the oil and has been on it ever since. He is now 3 and 1/2

S.
SAHWM of four

My daughter is four and has had bad eczema for quite some time. Here is what the doc told me to do.

Bathe her every other day instead of daily (unless she really needs a bath)
Keep playtime in the tub to a minimum
After bath put Vaseline on her like you would lotion
Every morning when she wakes up and gets dressed lotion her up again (we use Eucerin)

My daughter's Eczema is connected to allergies so she also takes Zyrtek but I don't advise that for a six month old.

If it gets too bad take her to the doc and ask for some hydrocortisone cream. That will also help clear it up.

Also, Johnsons Oatmeal/Vanilla Bath helps too

N. - I am an Arbonne consultant and their products are wonderful for eczema! The ABC Baby line has a body wash, oil and moisturizer. I can scan a letter to you from a pediatrician that gives her advice on how and when to use each product. My kids are a little older and haven't had any skin problems, but I have a few friends that use Arbonne for their kids and love it. Let me know if I can help you out.
Courtnie

My son has had eczema since he was a baby too. He is now 7 years old and only now has it gotten so bad. There is no cure for eczema. I found that my son is allergic to a long host of foods. Once I got that out of his system, his eczema got better. He is also allergic to environmental stuff like grass, trees, and pollen so living in Virginia doesn't help the situation. I also make sure I wash his clothes with Free and Clear All detergent and only give him medicines that are dye and color free. Try to keep a journal of what you feed your child and observe whether or not he itches. Milk or dairy can be a culprit. The most common allergens are peanuts, milk, soy, eggs,and potatoes. It will also help to belong to great support groups. Go to an allergist and a dermatologist who can help you calm the skin and identify the triggers that are causing the itching. It's heartbreaking to see your child itch and bleed at nights. Every child is different, so my method may not work with your child. There's a lot of trial and errors. Just yesterday, I switched to Eucerin and my son had a horrible reaction to it all over his body. I wound up wiping it all off and sticking with my original creams, CeraVe and Mineral Oil. Good luck!

Oh dear... I know exactly what you mean. I had the same problem with my now 9 month old son. I couldn't control his severe eczema extended over all his body, until I found the right medication. Ok, so here is the situation: Your baby has atopic skin. It looks horrible, but fortunately, it can easily be cured. This happens because her skin (and most of the babies skin) is still inmature and in 90% of the cases, it dissapears (yes, dissapears)when baby is 3 - 4 - 5 years old. The eczema has NOTHING to do with what she eats, so forget about limiting food.
First advice: visit your doctor. In the meanwhile, you can help your baby with this "ceremony" (yes, it's a ceremony) that must be repeated at least twice a day:
1. Go to your pharmacy and find the best lotion they can offer you for "atopic skin". There a lot to choose from. I live in Spain so I don't know if you can find the one I use, it's "Lutsine - Xeramance Plus" by Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare. You should put the cream in ALL the body, especially in the eczema areas, minimum twice a day. If you can get your nanny put it one more time, will be better.
2. When the cream has been absorbed, put Maizena (cornflour or cornstarch) with a cotton pad insisting in the eczema areas. It sounds silly or "esoteric", but it works. Believe me.
3. During bath time, keep your baby in the water the minimum time possible. Use a special oil for bathing that you can also find in the pharmacy. I use "Oilatum junior" by Stiefel Laboratories. Put a small quantity in your hands and pour it directly in your baby body massaging a bit. It's more effective used this way than just pouring the product in the water. Forget about sponges. Use your hands only. After bath, repeat ceremony with lotion and maicena.
4. My doctor recommended a special cream with corticoids to be used only when eczema is severe: Celestoderm Gentamicine by Key Pharma. Again, I'm not sure if you can find this or if so, you are allowed to buy it without prescription.
In any case, following steps 1, 2 and 3 the skin of your baby will start to recover. It takes a while (7 - 10 days), but you must persist.
Once the skin is cured, the secret is to keep the skin moistured. The combination of lotion + oil bath + maizena is great. My son started with the eczemas all over his body when he was 4 months and after visiting 3 doctors, finally we could cure him when he was 6 months. Keeping his skin moistured with lotion + oil bath always and maizena when I see an ezcema coming up has helped to avoid eczcema expands again.
More tips: use only 100% cotton cloth for the baby and buy special soap for delicated skins for cleaning the cloth. Forget about using softening (it leaves chemical remains in the cloth). Iron instead to soften the cloth of the baby. When the skin is cured, you can start to use softening but in very small quantities.
Ok, hope it helps. Good luck.
Regards from very hot Madrid,
C.

Eczema is the body's way of telling you that the filters are not working effectively. It has to do with the liver. If you are using topical treatments,you are only putting a bandaid on the situation. It is best to treat from the inside out to actually "fix" the condition. Get her to a good naturpath. Dairy allergy is very common. It's also very easy. There are tons of non dairy options available. Watch out for whey, and casein.
If you would like a referral to a good naturpath in your area, please feel free to contact me.
L. M

Mustela makes a soap that works well. You can find it at Babies R us and its like $16 a bottle but it goes a LONG way. Bathe every other day. Mustela also makes lotions and creams and that is what I used on my son. Ask the dr for an ointment, the one they gave my son was a steroid cream. I was told to use it for 7 days and then stop. It always improved and I could use it again if he got bad again but only for 7 days at a time. Also, make sure her bath water is only luke warm. Hotter water dries the skin more. When I was young milk was the one thing that made my eczema flare up. So it could be milk related. Above anything I reccommend the Mustela soap (it specifically says for eczema on the bottle I think the name is Stelatopia? I may be wrong on that!) and the ointment from the Dr. Good luck!

I'm going to throw out something I didn't see anyone else recommend. My second son developed eczema sometime between 0-3 months. We tried most recommended lotions, detergents, and even switched to cloth diapers. By 6 months there was little improvement and the doctor was going to give us a steroid cream...which I wanted to avoid like the plague. I remembered that when we lived in an apartment near short pump there was sooooooo much chlorine in the water I couldn't get it past my nose to drink it without a filter. As a last ditch effort I bought a chlorine filter for his bathwater (shower hose attachment). In a few days we were much less red and in a week or two all healed. Continue using a mild non-soap cleanser and lotion. We used Cetaphil. If you use the filter on your own shower I guarantee you will notice a difference in the dryness of your own skin and hair.

Both my children(now 8 &5) have eczema which started as babies. They both turn out also to have food allergies/sensitivites and asthma! My suggestion would be to keep a food journal for food introductions and keep it to one new food a week (note her skin condition). I would also see a pediatric allergist. My oldest has a tree nut allergy and is sensitive to bananas & melons. My youngest has a sensitivity to eggs, garlic, melons & bananas (if he eats too much his eczema flares).
For the skin care part (both my kids are completely clear unless exposed to something I know they are sensitive too) here is what we do... we only use All free & Clear laundry detergent (I even buy it on vacations to use), Bounce Free dryer sheets, Cetaphil to wash with, Vaseline Creamy for lotion, sometimes Nizorel for shampoo. Neutrogena sunscreens are all we use. We also use Aclovate for bad flare ups. We use organic cleaners in the house, and no animals, smoking, perfumes or scented lotions allowed. All these things combined have worked for us. Once you find what works don't switch products no matter if something else is cheaper. Good luck!

My son now 9 months old has the same problem. Here is what we do. Bathe him daily- short lukewarm bathes for hydration- no soap. Just water and a little bath oil in the water. Take him out blot him dry quickly- then Emu oil and Aquafor. The other thing that works is a lotion called Hylira which a Hyluronic acid (something that helps keep moisture in the skin the "regular" skin has) analogue. We use the Hylira in the morning then the aquafor over that. On his face and on the rough spots behind his knees and his elbows we use OTC hydracortisone 1%. We were given a 2.5 percent strength but the lowest percent you can get by on, we use to avoid too much exposure. He is not healed but his skin is in so much better condition than it was before we started this regimen. BEST of luck- it is so frustrating to watch them itch! Hope this helps.

Looks like you have received a lot of good advice. My daughter had eczema on and off her first 10 months. I would put lotions on it - vaseline, aveeno for eczema, triple paste, etc. At her check-ups the Dr said to use 1% cortizone cream but I just could not bring myself to put a steroid cream on her when she is still a baby. Then at about 10 1/2 - 11 months of age she had a horrible break out - big itchy patches all over her legs, butt, arms and back. She was miserable! I applied all the creams I had and did everything to help and nothing worked. At her 12 month check up the Dr said to use the cortizone and this time I figured she was old enough so we applied it to the patches twice a day for one week. Within 5 days it was completely gone! I felt so bad that she had suffered for so long. Although I am still not sure if I would have used it on her at 6 months, I also think there is a time when the risks may balance out the effectiveness of the treatment. Speak to your Dr before using a cortizone cream but it might be the only way to cure this outbreak.
Once we cleared it up with my daughter we have continued to use aquaphor after the bath and make sure her skin is moisturized. She is now 13 1/2 months and seems to be fine now.
From what I understand ezcema can just be the baby's skin and they will outgrow it OR it can indicate a food allergy. Our Dr has asked us to hold off on giving our daughter eggs until she is 2. We give her things with small amounts of egg in it (baked goods, etc) but no eggs just on their own or in large amounts. The Dr told us that most people with food allergies have ezcema as a baby but not all babies with ezcema develop food allergies. So the ezceam indicates there may be a risk of food allergies but does not confirm allergies.
We give my daughter the Next Step formula because she hates milk (I did too as a baby) and a couple of weeks ago my husband accidentally bought the Soy one instead of the milk bsaed one. After giving her the soy one for about a week we noticed she was sleeping better and no longer gassy. I can't say whether it will make any difference with her skin since she has not had another outbreak of ezcema but we thought it was interesting that the change to soy seems to have made her happier.
Good luck! It is tough seeing little ones so miserable!
Oh - one other thing - my daughters outbreak seemed to have been brought on by a few very hot and humid days not food!

Ask your doctor about this, but we've worked on my 4-year-olds eczema from the inside out and it's done wonders. We mix powdered probiotics into yogurt, milk, even water once or twice a day. It's great for his digestive system too. I can't say for sure that it's what's helped, but it hasn't hurt anything. My son also had issues with cow's milk protein and has since outgrown it. He was 2 when he was finally able to tolerate regular milk and now his eczema has almost completely cleared up.

I hope you find something that helps!

Hello,

My son had this when he was little not to the extreme of your daughter but I used Cetaphil on him in the bathtub and out. This seemed to clear it right up.
K.

We had to go to his pediatrician and he gave us a steroid cream for it which cleared it right up. We never noticed any side effects from it. I can't remember the name of the cream though. He got/gets it on his cheeks, elbows, knees and chest. We never could determine the allergen that caused it. Good luck.

Olive oil on the body worked for one child. Eucerine cream worked for another child. I've alternated between the Eucerine cream and petroleum jelly (both unscented). Using Dove soap for both helped. And, not bathing them daily, but still keeping them oiled helped keep the skin from getting too dry and itchy. In dealing with eczema, you cannot let the skin get too dry and you cannot irritate it with scented/fragranced soaps or creams. Doing sponge bath at that age instead of full tub immersion might give some relief. Aveeno oatmeal bath might also help and is natural. Make sure baby has those little mittens so she cannot further irritate the skin. However, if the skin is already reddened, raw and irritated, you might need a hydrocortisone cream or ointment, but I'd talk to the pediatrician before using steroid on 6 month old. Ointments tend to absorb better into the skin for some people. After 10 years of parenting, we still use Dreft for the laundry. Trying to switch all laundry to anything else caused both my children to break out in hives. I once met a woman whose friend had eczema so severely she washed his laundry using Dove dish liquid only! Using these techniques helped both my children avoid the stigma with eczema. I had it for well over 20 years before I figured out how to deal with it. When they were born and I saw the pattern coming, I tried just about everything I could to stop it from becoming a full-blown flareup. Make sure you are in contact with your pediatrician, though, before you start using over-the-counter meds. Also, check her water intake as well as allergens. If she's eating real food, she could be reacting to something new in her diet. Can't remember when we introduced solids, but check to make sure that's not too early. Frankly, I don't remember when we introduced water, either, but I would think if she's eating solids, she'd need water to help break it down, but I don't know for sure. It's been a while. Anyway, too much sugar (and stress) tend to bring back the eczema full force for me. Meat and dairy might also be the culprits, and just check with even the formula you're feeding her. It might be a milk-based formula, which will give the same reaction as if she was drinking a glass of milk.

Try pure virgin coconut oil or natural shea butter. It worked for a friend, and my daughter hasn't had any exzema spots since I began using it on her.

We took our son to the allergist to see what if anything he was allergic to, they seemed to think it was topical after a few tests. We were told by the Dr. to get rid of all "baby" soaps and lotions. We use Cetaphil bar soap and cream (not lotion but the cream in a tub). You can also use Dove fragrance free bar for sensitive skin. We also use All Free and Clear detergent with double rinse cycle. Hydrocortisone cream is a good to help clear up the patches she already has and then the other products should help keep her clear. Also try a little vinegar in the bath water, it will help with the itching. It took several weeks for all these changes to kick in, but now at 16 months our son has almost perfect skin! Good luck.

I think you need to see an allergist to determine if your daughter has an allergy to milk.. the nutramigen is still milk - it is just broken down to make it more easily digested. My son (now 19months) is allergic to milk and eggs. He also had issues with regular formula and then we went to nutramigen. His excema continued throughout that time until we got to an allergist and confirmed the allergy to milk (and eggs) - he went on Soy milk and we took all milk and egg out of his diet and his skin has been ONE THOUSAND TIMES BETTER! The lotions and hydrocortizone help with flare ups and to keep the itch down.. but getting to the source of the excema will help the best. and it may have other sources besides the food allergy.. but I will bet on that because your daughter sounds exactly like my son was.
currently my boy is doing fantastic except for occasional flare ups.. that excema will do. but we bath him (per doctors) every day and aquphor him after. sometimes we need to use either hydrocortizone or another medicine on the excema flare up spots.. but they are few and far between.
ask your pediatrician about seeing an allergist and trying soy formula to see if that helps. if the milk is the trigger and the excema is just a sign of the allergy you can ease her skin discomfort quite easily and without alot of steriod lotions.
good luck

my daughter had horrible eczema as a baby. We used hydrocortisone (our ped gave us a rx for a slightly stronger version than over the counter but you can use the over the counter also). we put the hydrocortisone on in a thin layer and then smeared Eucerin all over. The Eucerin we used was in a tub and was as thick as crisco (not the think lotion in the tubes). You may want to consider a dermatologist. a friend saw one that was used to treating little ones. good luck. my daughter out grew most of it and what she still has doesn't seem to bother her anymore.

Hi, N., I'm really surprised that Renew did not help. Did you also stop using chemicals in your laundry and bath products? Melaleuca's full line of products typically does wonders for eczema, but if you only treat it topically, you may not see a change. Please try this before considering long term use of steroids; that is very unhealthy, especially when used on the neck and above!

A couple of my kids had eczema and the best thing we found is called Therapy Oil. I don't know all the stores that sell it, but I know you can get it direct from the manufactures website at www.wellinhand.com. If you have any questions about this or want more info, email me at ____@____.com

We even ended up going to UVA Children's hospital for one of my kids and getting steroid cream which I didn't want to use too much and this was WAY better with NO side effects and useful for other things too.

I know this is an old post, and you've already gotten lots of advice, maybe even had your baby tested for allergies already.

I just wanted to add that although a humidifier is recommended for treating eczema, humidity makes dust mite populations skyrocket. If your kid is by any chance allergic to dust mites, keep the humidity down. Respiratory issues are also a good indicator of dust mite allergies.

My daughter has eczema but most would never know it. I have alwayed use oatmeal for the itching. Real Quaker oats. Place them in a mesh bag or stocking and hang over bath facuet. It makes a wonderful milky bath and soothes itching. During the winter months I use organic coconut oil as a lotion and during the summer I use Aveeno the blue label with menthol in it. Vitamin E works sometimes. The sun might cause some itching so use a sunscreen. Aveeno makes a 75 spf. Hope this helps. My daughter is now 7 and enjoys caring for her minor itches on her own. Since she is a big girl. :~)

I don't have time to read all your responses, but I'd like to add what I can. Both of my kids have had problems with eczema to varying degrees and different things worked for each. (We're still kinda battling it with my son.) Vaseline worked great for my daughter and Aquafor (sp?)--made by Eucerine--seems to be helping my son.

One thing I would like to point out is that, a couple of months ago, my son's mild, but controlled eczema suddenly broke out everywhere--arms, legs, back, belly, neck and face. Out of frustration, I took him back to the pediatrician. It turns out my son had gotten an infection (probably from scratching so much) and needed antibiotics. I hated the idea of giving him antibiotics so young, but the rash cleared up completely within days! We could have fought it with every lotion, soap, etc. imaginable, but we never would have beat it without the meds. The rash still comes back now, but mild and controllable. We've tested for some food allergies. None so far. I think sometimes it's allergies and sometimes it's just their type of skin or something. Just watch what products you use (lotions, soaps, detergents, etc.) and if you find things that work, stick with them.

It's soooooo frustrating dealing with this. I hope you find some things that work!

B.

N.,

Allergies, allergies, allergies. Eczema is almost always an allergy related condition. I know b/c my son (16 mo)has a whole host of food and environmental allergies. You need to have her tested via a blood test. Your pediatrician can order the tests or you can take her to a pediatric allergist. Also, nutramigen still has some milk based proteins in it, you may have to try Elecare or Neocate (amino acid based)...but you should have her tested first b/c they are very expensive formulas and you typically have to order them off the internet.

For quick relief of the Eczema, use an over the counter 1% hydrocortizone ointment (ointment, not cream). But there are other ointments that can be perscribed by an allergist if needed. Also, use Vanicream lotion w/in 3 min of getting her out of the bath to help her skin retain the moisture.

Also, I hate to have to say this, but she could be allergic to your cat and/or dog. Those types of allergies tend to not present themselves immediately but as the child starts to get older.

Hope this helps,
Mom of two, Reston VA

Usually children with eczema have a food allergy and or seasonal allergies. My son has had it since he was a baby also. This is what works for me. The best cream I have found so far is "Gentle Naturals baby eczema cream" You can get it in the baby section at Walmart and Target. I put that on in the morning and at night after his bath and it's wonderful. Also you can add a couple drops of Vitamin E oil that you can get at a vitamin shoppe to her bathwater. Keep water temps down and they say to pat baby dry after bath as rubbing can strip moisture from the skin. Some foods tend to aggrivate eczema so limit or eliminate these foods if you notice a flair up. I also use Arm & Hammer dye free for sensitive skin laundry detergent. Oh the cream I mentioned is a maintenance thing however talk to her peditrician. They will give you a script for a hydrocortisone to stop the itch and most likely a steroid cream to put on to get it under control. Once it's under control you can stop the steroid and just use the cream I mentioned. His pediatrician would have me use the steroid and then put the gentle naturals cream on top and it locked it in. Hope this helps