Eczema help!

Flowersbluepink · March 2014

hi good morning: my baby was dx with mild eczema around 3 months. He is now almost 6 months and it's getting worse. It's pretty much all over his chest and belly. He also has a major outbreak under his chin, all around his neck and upper chest. He does drool a lot so I don't know if the chin/neck rash is eczema or a drool rash. We have OTC hydrocortisone but really don't want to use it. We've tried eucerin products and aveeno with no success at all. His rash used to come and go but it's stubbornly staying now. Very red. Will this scar if it stays red like this and we don't use steroids? I can't bring myself to use it especially if it will only come back again. I really want a less dramatic solution. Plus my son has it over semi- large areas. I don't think steroid creams are supposed to be used over large areas. My husband has winter redness and even he is reluctant to use cortisone

thanks

EandIMommy86 · March 2014

This sounds smiliar to my DS. We used Aveeno and while it did work, he would have a lot of outbreaks and his skin went back scaley. Our pedi prescribed him something called "Dermasmooth". it is an oil and it has been amazing. Within 3 days of using it, all the redness was gone and his skin is literally about 95% smooth again. In addition to that, we use Aquaphor and Aveeno CREAM (not lotion) for eczema. I also wash his hair and his body with Aquaphor shampoo and body wash. Now and then, I will put these little oatmeal packets by Aveeno into the bath and that helps with exfoliation of his skin.

See if your doctor knows anything about Dermasmooth. It will last awhile because a little goes a long way but seriously, there was dramatic improvement within 3 days. Also, do not stop using it after his skin gets better. use it as needed on red areas or dry areas.

Colada584 · March 2014

I had the same problem with DD. Starting at 1 month she had mild eczema on her face and it just got worse and worse. I saw a dermatologist and 3 different pediatricians and they all told me to try this cream or that ointment. I bought just about everything that people say works for eczema and nothing did. We tried the hydrocortisone when it got to the point where she was miserable and it cleared it up for about a day and a half. All the doctors I saw told me it wasn't an allergy but once it spread to her entire body I was sure it was. I asked again and was still told that it was normal for eczema to spread like that and was prescribed desonide steroid cream. I tried that (even though I didn't want to but she was so miserable) and it cleared it up for about 2 days. Against what the doctors were telling me I decided to go to the allergist. Sure enough she came up with a positive wheat and egg allergy. The allergist did say that the test results aren't that accurate in young babies (she's 5 months) but as soon as I eliminated those things from my diet her skin cleared up within a few days. She still gets little patches but nothing near what it used to be. I don't know if you breastfeed but it might be worth looking into seeing an allergist. They know a lot more than pediatricians when it comes to eczema. Our allergist gave me a lot of tips to try which none of the other doctors did.

sweetp83 · March 2014

Our son has been battling eczema for the last 3 1/2 months. You need to see a MD. We tried all the eczema products our doctor recommended over the phone with no improvement. We ended up having to see a Dermatologist. I wouldn't go to an allergist first. Not all eczema cases are allergy based. A dermatologist can refer you to an allergist if need be. The prescriptions helped our son within the first 2 applications. We didn't realize how miserable he actually was. He slept much better and was less irritable once he started some meds.

Our son also gets it all over his body, face arms and legs. They don't always just prescribe a hydrocortisone/steroid cream. We currently have three different topical creams in our arsenal depending on the severity of his flair up. We also use the aveeno eczema line of products. Don't use anything that has fragrance or dyes in it. Those are major triggers for eczema. Some products that say they are fragrance free still may contain fragrance. Do not use Dreft detergent it contains fragrance. Detergent should be fragrance and dye free. If you use aquaphor make sure you use the baby kind because the original aquaphor still has fragrance even though it says fragrance free.

Give baby a warm bath every day. Lightly pat dry ( not completely dry either leave some moisture on the skin) and moisturize right away. Do not use soap with every bath as it dries out the skin as well. Moisturize through out the day. Any product that has the National Eczema Foundation logo on it are a good place to start. Also, a cool mist humidifier in babies room will help add moisture to the air.

Not sure where you live but we are in WI and have had a brutally cold/dry winter which doesn't help. Expect flairs to come and go until the weather gets better.

DahliaFlower · March 2014

We had really good results with the Original Sprout baby cream. We would also put Aquaphor on the really inflamed areas. When LO got some extremely red patches on his neck, we did use a very thin layer of 1% hydrocortisone and it cleared up almost immediately. I didn't want to use a lot of it, but I have used it a few times over the past couple of months and it definitely got results quickly.

Flowersbluepink · March 2014

thank you everyone.... it's even worse today. way worse

I don't breast feed and have been using gerber formula since he was two weeks old. I don't know what he'd be allergic to. Cotton? what's in the formula that could be bad? wouldn't eczema start earlier than 3 months if it was the formula or something in our environment?? I'll be heartbroken if he ends up with major allergies too. that doesn't run in our families at all. I feel sad that he's struggling with a problem that absolutely does not run in the family

it seems so unfair after a really difficult pregnancy.

JdLB82 · March 2014

our doctor suggested trying CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, you can buy it at any pharmacy, and it has worked wonders. Her skin looked better after the first application.

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