Does your baby have eczema?

[mermccau]

Hi,

I have a 4+ month old and he has terrible eczema. We have tried so many things and have seen the dr a few times.

At this point, I am considering going homeopathic or trying one of those creams sold online.

Are any of you dealing with bad eczema on your child? How are you dealing with it?

[southerner]

Mer, Here's some threads that will help. Hope C feels better soon!

http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1060

http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7744

http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26533

[Amaye]

Quick reply. We had very BAD eczema. Turns out that it was mainly an allergy/sensitivity to dairy products. I was BFing so that meant that I had to cut out all dairy products. When we finally moved to formula, I went with hypoallergenic formula (Alimentum).

That took care of the worst rash however we now have a regular routine now also:

A. Wash her using Cetaphil only

B. Bath in lukewarm water - not daily

C. Use Aquaphor

D. With bad breakouts, use hydocortsinie creams

E. Wash her clothes using Clear Free and All

F. Run a coldmist humidifier every night cos of dry winter air.

Good luck!

[glensgirl]

Pretty much ditto to what Amaye said.
I cut out dairy from my diet and supplemented with Alimentum. We also use All Free and Clear for all of our laundry. I bathe him in Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema wash and use the cream as well. I did order California Baby calendula cream which helped at one point too but it was more expensive and not in any stores around me and worked no better than the gentle naturals. In the beginning I probably bathed him once or twice a week so his skin was not so dry. Now he pretty much wants to dive in the tub all the time so it is more often. For bad breakouts I used 1% hydrocortisone. His skin looks great now. But if I have even just 1 slice of cheese or something with a tiny bit of dairy, he has a break out.
Good luck! Hope you figure it out. And FWIW I asked his ped all the time about his skin for the first 3 1/2 months and not once did he think it was a dairy sensitivitiy even after I brought it up.

[Franni]

I feel your pain. DD has eczema. Hers is mainly a sensitivity to her own sweat.

We went to pediatric dermatologist. She recommended no-soap bathing for most of her body except for areas like her private parts, underarms, etc. Using Eucerin and Aquaphor all over her body. Apply these often when flare ups are bad.

My friend's boy also has eczema. However his is related more to allergies. He is allergic to wheat, soy and dairy. When these were eliminated, his skin cleared up immediately. If it has gotten really bad with your baby, maybe a visit to a pediatric derma would be good. I went to see mine when my friend's baby got the diagnosis. I was afraid DD also had allergies, but the derma said that since hers come and go with the seasons and are usually found in the sweaty areas like the inside of her elbow, it's not allergies. Allergy-related ones are apparently persistent until the allergen is removed.

HTH.

[mrsash]

My DS has eczema too. At one point his legs got so itchy that he was bleeding. The ped had to prescribe a higher strength steroid cream which helped a lot. It cleared up within a couple of days.

Also, he had a rash show up on his face. After his 6 mo checkup we went in for an allergy test (RAST) and found out he's allergic to egg whites and peanuts. So I cut those out of my diet since I'm BFing. And since we've started solids there have been a couple of breakouts due to allergies so we've used hydrocortisone cream for those on his face. And LOTS of Aquaphor all over his body. Finally it's all starting to get under control.

Hope that helps and hope your DC clears up soon!