Eczema help... I'm lost... (long)
kjsmith9
member
Lurking from 3-6 months, but DD is 5.5 months so I'll be here soon! I wanted to ask you all about this because you've had LO's for a bit longer and maybe have more experience/suggestions...
DD developed a rash on her belly about 3-4 weeks ago. The week before that she had a cold for a few days, so I thought maybe it was a viral rash (I read that they can develop after illness). Well it wasn't going away, and after 2 weeks one of the nurses I work with convinced me that it *might* be hand/foot/mouth so I took her to pedi. He said it looked like eczema, and to try some lotion (and 1% hydrocortisone on the bad spots)... but didn't really make any specific suggestions about products.
We've been using baby aquaphor bath wash (in her bath every other night), + aveeno baby eczema cream (morning and night), + hydrocortisone dabbed on the more red/rough spots. It seemed to be getting better, but when I picked DD up from daycare today her belly looked AWFUL. The rash was 5x worse than I'd ever seen it.
I'm at a loss for where to go with this. I've read a bit about baby eczema online, and it seems like it can be affected by a lot of things. She has a cold right now (with a pretty rough cough)... The temperature changed from low 70s to low 90s overnight here... We have high pollen warnings - maybe she has allergies? What are the chances that something I'm eating is suddenly causing her to react to breastmilk?
Do I keep using the same products for a few more days and just see what happens? I'm not sure how long I should give this stuff to work... I'm also thinking about getting some baby aquaphor cream, but wanted to give the aveeno a chance since it's a bit cheaper. How do I know if we need to go back to the pedi, to a dermatologist, etc? Any help or suggestions from mamas with experience would be greatly appreciated!
Re: Eczema help... I'm lost... (long)
Aquaphor!! It's the greatest.
Also, try skipping every other bath and just giver her a washcloth bath where she needs it. And let the bad patches be open to the air without anything rubbing them as much as you can.
I'm a lifelong sufferer, and my son has it, too =0( I definitely notice that mine flares up when I'm sick. The heat will also make it act up.
I asked my pedi about my diet effecting his eczema while I was bf'ing and he said that it was extremely unlikely to effect it.
ETA: If you're using any soap/bath wash at all directly on the bad spots, I would absolutely stop that, too. I wouldn't even use a washcloth on it. Bathing is the worst thing in the world for eczema! I put aquaphor on F's spots before bathing him to minimize the water.
"A new baby is like the beginning of all things--wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities."
so many things at play here!!!
In general DD1's eczema tends to flare up between seasons, like as it starts to get really cold or as it starts to get really warm. It could be the soap or shampoo you're using (she had problems with the J&J all over soap, so we had to switch to the regular shampoo and cetafil as soap) I'd also ask daycare what they're doing. DD1 would get lots of red patches when she was wiped down with baby wipes, or they were wiping her face with a towel. We sent in boogie wipes and asked she only be wiped down with those, and made sure to use sensitve wipes. We also regularly moisturize with Aquafore. The other moisturizers are a waste in my opinion. typically though, eczema doesn't show up on DD's belly - it's usually her face or her legs or arms. Have you or DD done or eaten anything different? Is it constant, maybe it's heat rash?