What really works for baby eczema?

[athena1277]

My littlest is 21 months old and has had eczema for some time. I’ve tried putting Aveeno or Eucerin eczema cream on her daily, but it only seems to keep it from getting worse. With several more weeks of dry winter air to go, I would like to find something better that will clear it up. What have you used one your littles that actually worked?

[BarbecueMom]

I had to very occasionally use an Rx steroid cream on DS's flare ups to trigger enough healing for the Eucerin to do much of anything. No gentle or OTC solution or diet/environment changes worked alone.

 

ETA:  I was completely gluten and dairy free through the entire pregnancy with him, and for his entire first year.  I suspect his body chemistry is a little out of whack, contributing to the eczema.  He smells different than my other kids.  I can tell when he's sick before he shows symptoms, and what kind of illness (stomach or respiratory), based on the distinct odors. 

Edited February 1, 2018 by BarbecueMom

[Zoo Keeper]

Appointments with an allergist and a dermatologist--one of mine had severe eczema that was food allergy related.  Poor guy started reacting this way as a young infant and it took months to get it all figured out.  Once we eliminated the triggers, his skin healed well with  RX hydrocortizone cream.

[athena1277]

We took the dr's advice on the prescription ointment and the antihistimine.

 

Your most likely allergy causes are shampoo/body lotion and laundry detergent. After that its food - anything in the Red dye 40/yellow 5 & 6/ Blue 1 for us....biggest trigger was birthday cake and frosting.

I doubt it’s soap or detergent related. DH has bad allergies, so I have to use the kinds with no dyes, scents, etc.

 

If it’s food, I’m going to cry. Older dd has celiac disease, so gluten-free only for her. DH and the kids are rather picky. Little dd especially, but she’s slooooowly getting better.

[wendyroo]

Oatmeal bathes really worked wonders - no soap, or as little as we could get away with if her hair was smeared with peanut butter or whatever.  Then a couple quick pats with the towel and slather her with Aveeno Eczema Therapy while she was still damp.

 

Wendy

[ktgrok]

Making sure it really is eczema. A few times I thought it was but it was fungal. An anti fungal cream was needed to clear it up. 

 

Otherwise Aveeno Extra Soothing Moisture Cream. Not the regular lotion. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

An elimination diet. 

[three4me]

My friend has a little guy who has had severe eczema. After eliminating gluten his skin has been perfect. I think her older son also had some eczema. For him the solution was to be dairy free. I’d pick one and try.

[Jean in Newcastle]

PS - for my kids who were still nursing, I had to eliminate the offending foods as well. 

[KatieJ]

My first grandson had severe eczema by one year old.  It was awful.  They took him to Peds,  allergists, dermatologists and did blood work. Peds and allergists prescribed creams, but it was steroids and it was given with caution.

Blood work showed really no allergies except mildly allergic to eggs. Nothing at all concerned the allergist, but seriously, this baby would scratch his hands raw during the night!

I suspected milk was a problem from the get go as she supplemented formula because of a lack of supply and he was miserable as a tiny baby.

 

So eventually she found a woman who did some alternative kind of testing in a chiropractors office. 

 

That showed tons of food allergies, including milk, severely allergic to eggs, etc.

 

They worked out a diet and for the most part now at 14 he is eczema free and tolerates milk well.  He is still severely allergic to eggs if they are eaten alone, as in not in a baked good or recipe. .

 

Bathing was a huge discussion between her drs.  She eventually decided that eczema damaged skin is dry and dry needs moisture.  He got a cool to tepid bath/soak every night.  If his face was broke out in a rash, they soaked his face with warm wash cloths. 

Someone suggested VaniCream lotion and that was the one that worked for him.  After bath time, don't towel dry.  Just catch the drips and put the lotion on the wet skin. 

 

Bottom line, treat with steroids sparingly, but find a lotion you can use daily, all day long, and especially after bath time.

But to get rid of it, you have to find the cause.  For my grandson it was food. Some were topical ( tomatoes) and most were systemic. The breakout would occur days after eating the offending food.  He lived on chicken/turkey, broccoli, apples,oatmeal and a few things I can remember, maybe melon and bread ( yes, he could eat wheat) for probably a year. BTW, broccoli helped heal his skin.  If he had a break out they would ramp up the broccoli and it was amazing to watch it heal quickly.

 

 

[cjzimmer1]

Dairy has been the culprit for all my kids.  Removing it from their diet (and mine when nursing) made all the difference.  I have been able to put it back in the diet when they got older but for a good 2-3 years they couldn't handle any.

[almondbutterandjelly]

I would visit an allergist.  This is their area of expertise.  

 

Our allergist prescribes Protopic ointment, and it's fantastic.  Plus my dd can't have milk or eggs (she's allergic), and they really do flare her eczema.

 

No steroid cream on face or groin, just remember that.  (Protopic is not a steroid, by the way).

 

 

[lexi]

Elimination diet.

Multiple tub soaks a day in tepid water. Then lotion immediately.

Vanicream.

Steroid sparingly.

And I agree with above poster who mentioned fungal.

My daughter had a staph and fungal infection on top of the eczema. It was absolutely awful.

Food allergies were the cause for my daughter. Gluten, dairy, and egg. Once those were eliminated she started to heal. Now her skin is beautiful and she has zero rashes. But she does get dry sometimes in winter so I keep Vanicream on hand at all times. And lots of humidifiers going in winter.

[Random]

Another voice to the chorus above:  for us, it was allergies and the only thing that helped was figuring out the trigger(s).  And if your family is like ours, then the things you are avoiding for one kid will be the things the other one can have, and vice-versa, which would explain why the little one still has eczema even though you are avoiding all kinds of stuff for the other.

 

Other things that helped:

oral antihistamine

baking soda in the bathwater (oatmeal wasn't helpful for my son)

Vanicream

Streiod Rx when things were really bad (oral and topical)

Jojoba oil

Vitamin E

Probiotics

and recently, coconut oi

 

And, wearing super soft cotton onesies that were long sleeve/long pants.  This kept mine from scratching quite so much.  But, it's got to be super-duper soft.  I can't remember the name brand.

 

WRT an above poster-I thought Protopic & Elidel were no longer considered safe for children, especially those under age 2?

 

Edited February 1, 2018 by Random

[shawthorne44]

DD inherited my chemical sensitivity.  She went soap/shampoo free, and that took care of it.  I'd comb her hair using a little of my DevaCurl conditioner, then she'd take a water-only bath.    Even when she was a tiny baby, I'd fill the bathtub with the proper temp (for babies) water and then get in the tub with her.  She would enjoy a back float while I supported her head, this is a baby swim thing and amazing to see.  The float would get her clean, and the eczema went away.  

 

Her clothes and diapers got the same wash treatment as my clothes, i.e. soft water, free& clear detergent and a second wash without detergent to thoroughly rinse.   

[BooksandBoys]

Gluten is the culprit for two of mine. Exposure for my youngest means a bleeding messy patch within 24 hours. He is eczema-free as long as he is gluten-free. (Elimination diet used to ID this...the wheat/gluten didn’t show up on skin-allergy test).

[SamanthaCarter]

Allergist.

 

 

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[displace]

Vaseline.

 

Bathe rarely, sponge with water for grubbiness spot clean and rare baths (no more than weekly), if possible.

[Bambam]

For my youngest, Aquaphor lotion/cream was the thing that helped - the stuff that feels like Vaseline. 

 

Now that she is older, she still suffers with it on her hand at this time of year - and she needs to wash her hands regularly. The latest doctor recommended CeraVe cream. She puts it on and then she puts a sock on it at night to keep it covered/moist. 

 

She does have the topical steroid cream (prescribed by the doctor) but we try to only use that when it is really bad and then only for a day or two. Topical steroids scare me.

[Melissa in Australia]

olive oil in the bath water helps

[Farrar]

Unfortunately, I think it's very individual. You have to go down different avenues and see what works. Obviously, it clears up for a lot of babies as they get a little older. But for children and adults, I've seen people spend YEARS on elimination diets that really don't work only to have it turn out to be something totally different - detergents, infections, etc. Or the solution turns out to be a relatively simple lotion, oil, or bath treatment, just one they didn't try at the start. Or vice versa and people try treatment after treatment only to eventually find out it's a particular food.

 

Bleach baths are my go to because I'm just really, really prone to skin infections (it's not as harsh as it sounds - you put a little bleach in a big tub of water and soak pretty briefly then rinse). But I'm pretty sure you have to be a little older... maybe 3 and up or something.

[CindyH in NC]

We used Aquaphor ointment with our daughter when she between ages of 2-8 or 10.  Really helped the back of her hands and her cheeks.  

[lexi]

Not a bleach bath, but what worked later for us was the high school pool. Whatever they use was very very helpful if the kid had a flareup during his time on swim team.

Hmmm. Interesting. My daughter is now a swimmer. I wonder if this helps keep her skin from having flare ups. I do feel it makes her skin more dry. I never thought about this. I’m just happy she swims because it does wonders for her asthma. She’s had fewer issues since she joined a year round swim team. It’s wonderful! I’m so thankful!

[NoseInABook]

Going dairy free and using Vaniply ointment. It had to be the ointment though, not the cream.