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Food Allergy
Talk to me about eczema relief
My son is 5 months old and has eczema mostly on his cheeks and a little bit on his arms. It doesn't seem to be too itchy but it is very red and bumpy. Any suggestions for helping relieve the flare ups. He is allergic to peanut and very mildly allergic to dog and dust mites. I use the California Baby body wash and the cream on his skin. This does a good job at softening his skin but I don't know what to do about the redness and bumps. We use all free and clear laundry detergent and no softener. I would also like to stay away from medicine and go the more natural route but am starting to get to my wits end. Any suggestions?/Please tell me your eczema experiences. TIA
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Re: Talk to me about eczema relief
We were cautioned to avoid all J&J products (including Aveeno) because they tend to dry out skin and exacerbate severe eczema. Our pedi derm suggested bathing daily to "wash away the day", rid her skin of all the irritants she's come in contact with, using CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser. Immediately upon getting her out of the tub, we slather her with CeraVe Moisturizing Cream while she is still damp (to lock in as much moisture as possible).
At the peak of her eczema, we were using a prescription Hydrocortisone cream for her face for up to 5 days in a row before giving her skin a rest for a week. It would usually clear up within a couple days however, and then we would stop the cream and just try to maintain the healthy skin. We had a different prescription, Locoid Cream, for her body flare-ups and it was the same treat/rest routine.
We were careful of what we fed her during times of major flare-ups (or what I ate when she was still EBF). We switched to an all-natural, fragrance free detergent for ALL household laundry, and I stopped using any perfumed toiletries myself. We kept her face dry/clean (as in not covered in slobber/food/milk) and moisturized as much as possible.
Unfortunately, not much of my our regiment is all natural.. but the all natural stuff just wasn't cutting it for us.
Another thought - do you know he doesn't have a dairy allergy? I've read on multiple occasions about there being a dairy allergy - eczema connection.
The O'Baby Blog
Koltyn had a severe breakout at about 3 months. He was breastfed up until about 3.5 months. When we switched to formula we had him on Similac Sensitive. We had the allergy testing done and he was negative for everything except for Peanuts like you! They switched us to Nutramigen and I saw no difference. His face was so red and bumpy it almost looked welted. We took him to a pediatric dermatologist who told me allergy testing done at an early age (under a year) can be inconclusive and usually is. So one night I decided to switch him to Soy (Enfamil Prosobee) and bam, it all cleared up. The derm. put us on Desonide for his flare ups on his arms and legs....used that lotion for about 3 days and it was gone. We switched to All Free & Clear, started using Dove Sensitive body wash (per the derm. suggestion) and moisturize in between with Aquaphor and its been gone every since. We tried EVERYTHING bc we assumed the test was correct. Actually, we have a friend who had their son tested and it came back negative for both milk and soy allergies. About 3 weeks later, her son stopped eating. Took him to ER and found that his esophagus had swollen shut. He in fact was allergic to both milk and soy. It can be a scary situation. Trust your instincts. Hope this helps some! Good luck!
Unfortunately, the test aren't always accurate at their age. Elimination diets are the best. For us, my son's eczema went away as soon as we cut gluten out of his diet. (We had to wait for it to get out of his system, which takes a few weeks, but then it was gone).