S/O Eczema - how do you know?

LuvWIfootball

I saw the post about your lo's having eczema and I'm wondering how you knew for sure?

One of my boys has an awful, red rash all along the front side of his diaper.  At first, I thought it was maybe ammonia burn from our cloth diapers.  But it didn't get better even when using new CDs that couldn't have had build up.  Also, my other two boys don't have any marks, so I doubt it's ammonia burn. 

I've switched detergents, thinking it could be a detergent sensitivity with the CDs, but again, no change.  Even when he's in sposies for a few days, it remains, although not as red. 

I had taken him to the Pedi several weeks ago and was given an antifungal cream.  That did nothing.  I have used some Aveena eczema lotion, but maybe not as often/long as needed? 

Dr. Google has some pretty scary photos, and LO is not that bad, but does resemble some of the "milder" looking pics.  The areas, especially on his thighs, do get dry and flaky looking too.

So, does this sound like eczema?  They have their 4m appt next week, so I'll be asking then.  Just like to do a little research before hand if possible.

LuvWIfootball

FYI - I've gotta post and run, so I may not be able to respond to any comments until later in the day

Dstevens429

My LO had a fungal infection exactly where you are describing and I was given Nystatin that worked wonders within 24 hours.  I believe coconut oil is an all natural moisterizer (sp) for Eczema.  Give it a shot, it can't hurt.

kaf7

It could be a number of things. I would go back to your pedi. Sometimes a fungal infection needs an oral medication to clear things up. GL!

LuvWIfootball

Dstevens429:

My LO had a fungal infection exactly where you are describing and I was given Nystatin that worked wonders within 24 hours.  I believe coconut oil is an all natural moisterizer (sp) for Eczema.  Give it a shot, it can't hurt.

The Nystatin did nothing for us   It doesn't seem to bother my little guy, but I feel so bad that nothing is making it go away. 

Ruthie04

That's exactly where DS1's worst patch was. He had a few spots of dry skin on his back, elbows, and tummy, but that one was the worst. He also had a bad diaper rash. The patches in other places were dry, pink, and about the size of a quarter. He wasn't bothered at all. The one on his diaper waistband looked angry, red, and it almost looked as though it was peeling. This is the big one that showed up after we gave him oats, which is believed to be his trigger.

The pedi actually gave us a corticosteroid, which cleared it up on a couple of days. It's been two weeks and we haven't seen any more redness in that area. I wasn't thrilled to be putting it on such a tiny baby, but I have severe psoriasis and I know how miserable he can feel. Poor babies, eczema is such a nightmare.

LuvWIfootball

Ruthie04:

That's exactly where DS1's worst patch was. He had a few spots of dry skin on his back, elbows, and tummy, but that one was the worst. He also had a bad diaper rash. The patches in other places were dry, pink, and about the size of a quarter. He wasn't bothered at all. The one on his diaper waistband looked angry, red, and it almost looked as though it was peeling. This is the big one that showed up after we gave him oats, which is believed to be his trigger. The pedi actually gave us a corticosteroid, which cleared it up on a couple of days. It's been two weeks and we haven't seen any more redness in that area. I wasn't thrilled to be putting it on such a tiny baby, but I have severe psoriasis and I know how miserable he can feel. Poor babies, eczema is such a nightmare.

Good to know.  LO has had sensitive skin from the start.  He gets crust in the folds under his eyes and it can even get a little oozy when I clean them.  We were given Bacitracin for that.  And then I noticed he had what looked like wax build up in his ear, even in the upper lobes.  I gently scraped it away and he immediately started bleeding.  It was so odd.  Bacitracin helped with that too, but it's like any little crevice gets nasty funk in it with him.  Just wish I could figure out the other area since I hate using sposies, but haven't been able to determine if it's my CDs that are causing the issue.

Mr. & Mrs. Woodtick

That's how DS worst outbreak was too, but it was on his face. I thought it was just a bad case of baby acne so I didn't think anything of it initially. Then patches started to appear on different parts of his body and my Pedi is the one who told me it was eczema. You might want to try the Aveeno eczema bath treatment and see if that helps. For us, the only thing that cleared up a patch when it got really bad, was hydrocortisone cream 1% mixed with aquaphor.

My Pedi told me that eczema was generally (but not always) a sign of a food intolerance, so that might be something to ask yours about.

candyreesecup

I did the same thing!  Googling and saw some scary photos, but H's isn't that bad.  Patch areas on her face, legs and arms are dry and flaky, so I thought H has mild eczema.  I bought Baby Organic Eczema creme and it seems to be working. 

MrsNukem

Mr. Mrs. Woodtick:

That's how DS worst outbreak was too, but it was on his face. I thought it was just a bad case of baby acne so I didn't think anything of it initially. Then patches started to appear on different parts of his body and my Pedi is the one whonbsp;told me it was eczema. You might want to try the Aveeno eczema bath treatment and see if that helps. For us, the only thing that cleared up a patch when it got really bad, was hydrocortisone cream 1 mixed with aquaphor.My Pedi told me that eczema was generally but not always a sign of a food intolerance, so that might be something to ask yours about.

Sam's eczema started on his cheeks, then it was on his neck too. My pedi diagnosed it as eczema. We switched his formula to hypoallergenic Enfamil Nutramigen and the eczema looks a lot better lactose free formula but so expensive!. Also doing all baby laundry with Dreft.

Ruthie04

LuvWIfootball:

Good to know.  LO has had sensitive skin from the start.  He gets crust in the folds under his eyes and it can even get a little oozy when I clean them.  We were given Bacitracin for that.  And then I noticed he had what looked like wax build up in his ear, even in the upper lobes.  I gently scraped it away and he immediately started bleeding.  It was so odd.  Bacitracin helped with that too, but it's like any little crevice gets nasty funk in it with him.  Just wish I could figure out the other area since I hate using sposies, but haven't been able to determine if it's my CDs that are causing the issue.

This is so similar to DS1. He also has gunky ears and I did as a child as well (that's what prompted my eczema diagnosis). I still have bad psoriasis in my ears. My derm calls them sanctuary spots since they hide out from the sun, which is super healing for psoriasis and eczema. He also struggled with yucky neck gunk. 

We've always used disposables and switched brands around to see if it was making a difference to no avail. I was actually thinking about CDs as an option until we got the cream from the pedi. I don't know if this may be a possibility, but have you tried switching stain removers? That's actually what caused an outbreak on his chest and belly. Even washing one item that had been treated in the same load caused him to break out. It took us forever to figure that one out.  

LuvWIfootball

Ruthie04:

LuvWIfootball:

Good to know.  LO has had sensitive skin from the start.  He gets crust in the folds under his eyes and it can even get a little oozy when I clean them.  We were given Bacitracin for that.  And then I noticed he had what looked like wax build up in his ear, even in the upper lobes.  I gently scraped it away and he immediately started bleeding.  It was so odd.  Bacitracin helped with that too, but it's like any little crevice gets nasty funk in it with him.  Just wish I could figure out the other area since I hate using sposies, but haven't been able to determine if it's my CDs that are causing the issue.

This is so similar to DS1. He also has gunky ears and I did as a child as well (that's what prompted my eczema diagnosis). I still have bad psoriasis in my ears. My derm calls them sanctuary spots since they hide out from the sun, which is super healing for psoriasis and eczema. He also struggled with yucky neck gunk. 

We've always used disposables and switched brands around to see if it was making a difference to no avail. I was actually thinking about CDs as an option until we got the cream from the pedi. I don't know if this may be a possibility, but have you tried switching stain removers? That's actually what caused an outbreak on his chest and belly. Even washing one item that had been treated in the same load caused him to break out. It took us forever to figure that one out.  

I'm so glad you mentioned the ear gunk.  I thought it was so odd.  Yesterday I noticed that after his bath the night before, in which we cleaned them good, he had stuff in both ears.  Also looks like he's getting some patches on his neck too.

I have switched detergents twice now and am using an all natural powdered detergent.  I just got some hydrocortisone cream and will be using only sposies with this cream for the next week to see if it makes a difference.  Pedi appt is next Friday, so we should know by then if what we've tried works or not and can narrow it down from there.

Thanks again for the information.