4 Month Old and Scaly Skin

It's probably worth getting a dermatologist look at it. My daughter had a patch like that on her arm, then after a while it started spreading in a line down her arm. Unfortunately they never were able to stop it spreading well, and now she has skin pigmentation change down her arm (she's 11 now). I wish I had been more on top of it. Still, all the advice about soaps, exema etc are great advice. Start where your gut tells you, and then "keep on keepin' on"!

Hi K.,
I get patches of severe dry skin like this on my face and my legs. I would recommend Melalucas Renew lotion, I've tried so many drug store lotions that is for severe dry skin and nothing comes close. I've also used Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream, but it has a fragrance in it that might not be good for babies. Because your little guy is so young I would talk to your doctor before using anything though.

It sounds like dry skin. My daughter has really dry skin and her pediatrician recommended Eucerin lotion and it works great. She had developed some white bumps on her leg and after using the lotion for only 2 to 3 days they disappeared. They sell it at Walmart for about $11.00.

Sounds like it could be eczema. Our son went to National Jewish for it. What they recommend is a warm bath for 10-15 minutes at the end of the day, more often if needed, followed by Vanicream and then jammies that keep the moisture in. Our son used to have severe eczema. With this, all we're using is oral allergy meds. We haven't used steroids in over a year! His skin is beautiful. Hope you find something that helps.

Maybe you could check with your doc for a confirmed diagnosis at the next well baby check up?

Personally, I wouldn't use cortisone cream, especially on such a little baby. I'd try the purest and gentlest creams first. My son had patches like this, and rubbing flax oil into them seemed to help. I'd pop a little capsule open with a pin and rub it on. The bottled flax oil goes bad really quickly. Burt's Bees Carrot Cream also helped.

Some skin problems like this seem to respond well to essential fatty acids - either in the diet of the mom if she is breastfeeding, or rubbed on the skin. Honor your motherly intuition if you feel resistance about using something, because skin is a permeable membrane. Good luck.

Even natural lotion can have lots of skin irritants. Any kind of scent or coloring, no matter how natural, is a skin irritant. Try Aquaphor and/or Cetaphil lotion or cream. Both of these are completely non-irritating and are very good moisturizers. Aquaphor is the richest moisturizer for your baby. You may also want to switch from baby soap (very irritating) to Cetaphil cleanser (very gentle) that may help out a lot.

I think this is normal. after being in the womb for 9 months and then drying out the skin may just be peeling a little? Have you asked the Pediatritian? Our Dr, reccomended Eucerin lotion and hydrocortisone cream.

Hi K.. My daughter has very dry skin especially in the winter. I found a company that has an amazing lotion. In fact it is guaranteed to resolve anybody's dry skin issues even those related to excema, diabetes, psoriasis etc. It is proven to work 7x better then Eucerin. I gave it to a student of mine to try who had severly dry skin and her mom actually wrote me a thank you letter stating her problem was cleared in four days and she shares it with her sister. This company also has 350 other products that are naturally derived and healthier for our families, the environment, and our wallets!! I am helping moms get the chemicals out of their homes and watching all kinds of health issues disappear. In fact, my sister converted her home to these chemical-free products and my niece no longer uses her daily inhaler! I have so much more I can share with you. Feel free to call me at ###-###-#### and I can help you get the products from the manufacturer at a discounted price.

Does the scaly skin look like a rash? If I was you I would contact the doctor and Ask him just to be sure its not a allergic reaction. but it don't sound like dry skin to me.
But I am no expert. thanks .N.

Possibly eczema? The only product that worked on my daughter's eczema was Vaseline.

This sounds like it could be eczema. My oldest daughter woke up with a horrible red splotchy tummy when she was only 1 month old. Naturally, I freaked out, especially when since she was my first. I learned that it isn't always red, but if it's bumpy, that's most likely what it is. You can talk to the doctor, but I found that Aveeno lotion works wonders for her. If it is bad enough, the doctor might put your son on a prescription creme. Good luck.

I am not sure what kind of lotions you have tried but if you haven't I would recommend Aquaphor. It works wonders! It works well for rashes and those sorts of things. My daughterr wasa born on the 7th of June... of 2000 and she had "baby rash" real bad. I used that and it was fabulous!!

Good luck!

All 3 of my kids have eczema...it sounds like what you're experiencing. The best thing for us has been prevention. Every night, whether they have flare ups or not, we bathe them (we never use any kind of soap - just water & a quick shampoo at the very end of the bath). We take them out of the tub & before we even pat them dry, we rub baby oil all over their sopping wet skin. The oil creates a barrier which locks in moisture. Then we pat them dry and apply a really thick Eucerin cream (not the lotion...the cream that comes in a tub). That keeps them from the scalies most of the time. When the scalies flare up, I try in this order 1)Eucerin twice a day - if that doesn't work, then 2)over the counter hydrocortisone cream 2 twice a day (don't use for more that 1.5 - 2 weeks at at time). If both fail, I have talked to my pediatrician who has prescribed both a stronger hydrocortisone and a prescription cream called Elidel. They both work, but we try to minimize them & not use either one for too long. When it's been really bad, I alternate every other week with hydrocortisone & Elidel. Once their skin is back to normal, the baby oil & Eucerin combo really seems to keep them from having problems most of the time.

Give him and you take as well some organic flax oil. Also, you use organic coconut oil, olive oil and almond oil on his skin. The skin is the largest organ and will absorb all nutrients(or toxins) put on it. S.

Hi! It sounds like your son may be experiencing eczema. You may want to talk with your son's doctor. In the meantime, here's what I tell my friends (based on my experience with my own son): Try giving him a water only bath and let him soak in it for about 20 minutes. Then follow up with a super thick moisturizing cream (we use Vanicream). Do this daily. If he clears up, great! If not, there may some underlying health issue (this is why you'll want to be talking with your pediatrition). In our case, my son was about 3 months old when he started breaking out with scaly, scabby skin spots. It turned out that he is allergic to a number of food items and that he was reacting to the food I was eating since he was still exclusively breast-fed at the time. If you'd like to check out the food allergy possibility, I highly recommend National Jewish. They're the number 1 allergy, asthma, immunolgy center in the nation and conveniently located in Denver. I wish you the all the best!

Both of my kids have Eczema and we tried most everything everyone suggested but the only product that worked well for them is Palmer's pure cocoa butter which you can find at Walgreens. Everything else had something that would irritate their skin. I agree do not use the steroids because they thin the skin. Good luck.

It is excema. Have you tried Eucerin cream?

Get some cortizone cream and put on it regularly and it should clear up, or lessen at least.

But is is excema and he will probably always have it.

Keep it clean and dry as much as possible and do not bath him everyday. The bathing dries it out more.

Good luck,

For me this was the first sign that my son had food allergies. Not sure if he's breastfed or bottle fed, but I would have him tested for allergies. Also, if it is simply dry skin I wouldn't put lotions with any kind of chemicals in it on his skin. Try Earth Mama Angel Baby lotion (online or from vitamin cottage) or simply use organic coconut oil.

Good luck! Hope it's just dry skin!
J.

You may want to try applying the lotion directly after his bathtime. While he is still wet apply lotion to his skin and then pat dry. When our children were young we would have to bathe them in bottled water. This prevented the bumpy, irritated skin. We did this for about their first year of life. After that they could use tap water. Good luck. We lived on a dairy farm and used well water which irritated the children's skin. Even when we moved the city we lived in used well water. The problem lessened but the only thing that worked was bottled water.

Hello K.,

My neice was born with very sensitive skin. She also had a lot of dry patches. My sister immediately switched to perfume and additive free detergent, rinses clothes twice, and we found "California Baby" products that work wonderfully. They are all natural bathing products and lotion. She has been using it for 3 years and it has worked really well. Good luck.

Sounds like eczema - I would try Eucerin or Aquaphor. You can buy them in a little tub container and it seems to be a thicker formula than in the regular bottle, though neither one is especially cheap! :-) They do work great though! I personally like the Aquaphor better - it's more water based and so it leaves their skin smoother, whereas the Eucerin leaves their skin white and sticky. Just my preference, but they'd both do the trick. Good luck!

I sell Arbonne products and several mothers that I sell to have raved about the results from our products for just such a problem.

Item#: 851
ABC Arbonne Baby Care Body Lotion

A gentle lotion formulated for delicate skin that soothes, softens and conditions skin, while helping to reduce redness and irritation. ( 8.5 fl oz./251 ml )

Item#: 852
Arbonne Baby Care Body Oil
Softens, moisturizes and protects baby’s delicate skin. A gentle formulation that conditions dry, chapped skin while providing antioxidant protection. Helps reduce redness and irritation while restoring essential moisture. Recommended for children from birth to 10 and extremely sensitive skin types. ( 5.9floz./174mL )
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Sincerely, R. Storlie

Sounds like eczema. Definitely talk to his doctor (but no need to make an immediate appointment). In the meantime, get some Aquaphor. Put it on a few times a day. At each diaper change was good for me and my kids because I could keep the Aquaphor with the diaper stuff and it was just right there. Lotions can be more irritating than helpful or soothing to skin patches like that. Especially if they have any type of fragrance or other chemical/non-natural ingredients. Be careful with cortisone creams though. I read someone else's post that recommended it. I wouldn't use it at all without talking to the doctor first. I guarantee he'll say to try Aquaphor, Eucerin, or some other acutely hydrating cream before he'll recommend a steroid cream. He'll probably say to try the others first, and if it hasn't gotten any better, or better enough, by the next visit, he may recommend or prescribe a hydrocortisone cream. There are some serious risks to steroid creams (even though some are sold over the counter), especially if they're not used properly, so just be sure you know exactly what you're doing if you get some. Anyway... it's totally manageable in most cases, and can often be found in one child and not another. But definitely bring it up to his doctor because it could be something other than eczema (allergies, other medical/skin conditions, etc.). Good luck!

It's most likely excema. My son gets the same thing every year around this time. It never bothered him when he was younger, but this last year it did. The only thing that helped was thick lotion. You can ask your doctor about a topical steroid, but with his age I'm not sure what they will do. My doctor also suggested vasaline for my daughter who is a couple months older than your son and has a couple patches of it. Good luck, if it doesn't seem to bother him, it probably isn't....

Sounds like eczema (sp?) to me, which we have a lot of in our family. Your doc can prescribe a cream or ointment to help or you can google natural alternatives. It is very itchy and painful if it gets to dry.

I saw several people mentioned eczema. It runs in my family and it absolutely sounds like what is going on. No, lotion really doesn't do much, I'm afraid. But there's also a good chance she'll outgrow it. My nephew had a screaming case of it when he was a baby, and did outgrow it. That's not to say you shouldn't moisturize, because it does make them a little more comfortable. Although my SIL didn't try this on my nephew, I have heard that flaxseed oil -taken internally- gets the best results. It does have kind of a fishy taste, so she may or may not take it straight. They make some in flavors. You can mix it with juice, but you have to shake it vigorously periodically as it separates. You can also mix it with things like yogurt. Someone told me (I don't know if it's true) that if you can get a child or baby to smell flax oil, if their body needs it they will want to take it. Sounds great , if it works! Anyway, I hope this helps!

Another vote for Aquaphor! We use it for everything at our house, but especially for my oldest daughter's eczema. As soon as the dry winter air settles in and the furnace turns on, her dry patches start appearing. Use the Aquaphor immediately after bathing while skin is still moist; this helps to trap in the moisture. I only apply it to her problem areas (tummy, forearms, and hands) as she is 7 years old, but on a 4 month old you could easily due a full coverage. I'm not a big lotion user on kids (did a research paper in nursing college that showed using lotion on babies merely decreased their own production of natural oils) but Aquaphor is my standby for chapped lips/cheeks, eczema breakouts, diaper rash, cuts/scrapes, just about anything that needs some extra moisture to heal. For particularly bad breakouts, you can dab a little hydrocortisone cream on the patches before the Aquaphor and you should see a dramatic improvement within in a day or so. Also, bathing less frequently will also help and using a soap designed for eczema or no soap at all when possible. P.S You can buy the big tubs of Aquaphor from the pharmacy at Costco for a substantial savings!

Everyone has great advice! I agree - sounds like eczema. That can be either because he is currently coming into contact with an allergen or sometimes just because. I have this and so do my twins - what a hassle. While addressing the skin issues, you should also be trying to figure out what he could be having allergy problems to or if he is just one of those atopic babies who will deal with this off and on.

I agree - I'd start simple and work my way up. Unfortunately, that didn't work for my babies. I was lotioning them 3 times a day with Eucerin, baths only once a week (because they actually dry out the skin), and it was still getting worse. It took Cortisone ointment to get under control. If you end up having to use cortisone, use ointment not cream. Cream dries things out, ointment moisturizes. And, this will need to be moisturized. The downside to Cortisone is it thins the skin. However, if you're unable to get rid of eczema any other way, just use it on the patches. It's thickened skin anyway, so it would make sense to thin out just that one part.

Once I finally got rid of the eczema, I was able to get it under control. I used Eucerin twice a day and started bathing 2-3 times a week, with Aveeno baby because that is soothing to their skin. Instead of drying babies after the bath, I immediately used lotion. That kept all the good moisture in. However, I found that Aveeno baby lotion worked even better in hydrating their skin than Eucerin. Now we're down to just one lotioning a day and they didn't get eczema at all during the season change like they had last winter and spring!

Oh - vaseline is supposed to be like the best hydrator, which is why aquafor is so good. But, for us Eucerin worked better. And, as I said, Aveeno baby worked even better for us without the stickiness. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

my son had eczema. It was awful. When he got older (about 9 months) he'd scratch the dry patches so much they'd bleed. He'd even scratch them in his sleep.

1-be wary of miracle eczema cures. all the ones I've seen have steriods as their main active ingredient.
2-look for and address the stressor: allergies, too many soapy baths, etc.
3-Get a jar of raw COCONUT OIL from Wild Oats. Nothing works better on eczema. Put it on within 3 minutes of a warm bath, every morning, every night, whenever you think of it until the patches clear up.

Once you get rid of the stressor and the dryness you can mostly keep it at bay.

Because she's so young, I'd recommend waiting until very late to start solid foods. Let her digestive tract develop itself fully. Read up on allergies and don't give your daughter any of the common allergy foods. Don't give her peanuts until she's 3 years old. Milk I'd have to do sooner unless you know she's allergic to it.

Use cetaphyl instead of soap. Give her baths often, but don't use soap..and do the coconut oil or the Aquaphor lotion everyone's talking about within 3 minutes of getting out. Let her mostly air dry.

Hi K.,
Sounds like Eczema! My Daughter had that wen she was 6 months old and I tried EVERYTHING, Eucerin, Cetaphil, Gold Bond...all with NO luck...they sometimes even stung when I applied them and made her scream :-( I did some research online and found a Wellness Company that has been "green" for over 23 years and they have this product called Renew Intensive Skin Therapy. They've even done a double blind study against Eucerin (dermatoligist #1 pick for Eczema) and Renew came out 7x more effective! I found out how to get some, and within 3 days...the red scaley patches were gone and we haven't had a problem since! I dont' sell it, but I can show you how you can get it direct from the manufacture at a 30-40% discount...with a 100% satisfaction gurantee...if it doesn't work for you...get all your money back! www.saferisbetter.com/4myfam
Good Luck!
J.
Helping Moms create a safer environment for their families!

Yes, sounds like eczema. Topical creams never helped my son much, but I have been amazed at how much oral omega-3 oil supplements have helped. My son's skin cleared up in a matter of 3 or 4 days when I started him on it. For him I have used 1 teaspoon a day of Barlean's Omega-3 Fish Oil (an all natural lemon cream flavor, he loves it!) since he was about 12m old -- not sure how much a 4 month old would use. If I forget his oil for more than 2-3 days, his skin flares up again.

It's expensive, but it really works and it so good for your body in many ways. I take it too. Good luck!