Alligator Skin?

My son has this too! it drives me crazy, but doesn't seem to bother him much. He is 2 1/2. The best cream ever is the Calendula Cream from California Baby. It is sometimes hard to find. I get mine online at www.dermstore.com
Anything from California Baby is great!! Their products are awesome...go to the dermstore website and read their reviews on the different creams. But, I like the Calendula cream.

2 moms found this helpful

I'd look into food allergies. IgE (food allergies)and IgG (food sensitivities) testing may show what is causing the inflammation. Most docs are going to give you a cream but don't address what is causing the problem.

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter get the patches you are talking about (she's 5) we use Gold Bond Healing Lotion and within 2 days, its gone! I love that stuff! It's kinda pricey compared to other lotions but it's definatly worth it. Good luck!

Don't know about Alligator skin but for my DD, I use Eucerin or Aquaphor (very heavu duty). Also, a mix of eucerin with petroleum jelly worked well... right after a bath and fully cloth them

Hi C.,

I've never heard it called as alligator skin either. My daughter gets eczema patches that pop up on her legs from time to time. We treat it with lots of Aquaphor (love this stuff!), hydricortizone, and Arbonne baby lotion and Arbonne baby oil. The Arbonne products work wonders on her skin!

And yes, her pediatrician also mentioned that eczema can be inherited. I scratched my head too. As far as we know, my husband nor anyone in his family has ever had problems with this. My daughter was also conceived with donor eggs, so maybe her biological mother has this in her line, who knows. I hear with most kids it goes away between ages 2 and 3 but some have life long issues with it.

-Char

My daughter had the same thing...she went to a ped. dermatologist and was diagnosed with eczema. He gave me a cream which works GREAT! I also suggest using items made for sensitve skin...things with out perfumes or dyes in it.

Hi C.!

My son has terrible dry patches!!! We switched to the baby aveeno products for bathing and lotion. Baby aveeno also makes a creamy bodywash that we use if we notice his skin starting to get dry. We also apply baby aquaphor directly to the dry patches 2-3 times a day.
He had horrible patches all the time, but after we swiched to the aveeno products-he rarely has them. If he does start to get a patch, we switch to the creamy wash and use the aquaphor.
Hope this helps!
J.

How strange for your pedi to call it alligator skin. That's the nickname for an inherited skin disorder called ichthyosis, which is a much bigger deal than dry patches on the back of the legs. Also, you would have noticed it long before her second birthday. What you're describing sounds like classic eczema. Lots of people find that aquaphor works. If it's bad and itchy, the cortizone cream, plus general antihistamine (like Banadryl or Zyrtec) might help.
You might change pediatricians.

Hello C.,

I still have those little tiny bumps on my knees and elbows. It is dry skin and there's not much that works. But, the Johnson's Bedtime lotion (if it is the one with Lavendar) can sometimes make it worse because of the perfumes in it. I just use the Lubriderm (generic kind) that is for sensitive skin. I also have changed my laundry detergent. When I was younger, we found that I tended to break out with these little bumps and somtimes red spots when we used powder detergent. And, now that I do my own laundry, I switched to Arm&Hammer liquid detergent for Sensitive Skin. It is Dermatologist Tested and has no dyes or perfumes. This has helped alot as well.

Hope this helps!!

Hi C.. I too, highly recommend trying Arbonne's Baby Care products. I have several clients and other consultants on my team who swear by these products to clear up their children's skin care issues such as eczema, psoriasis and others. If you'd like to try some FREE samples, please let me know. I really think you'll see an immediate improvement in your daughter's skin. You can check it out online at: www.mandyolsen.myarbonne.com.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
M. O.
Executive Area Manager and Independent Consultant
Arbonne International
###-###-####

C.,

We have the same problem. Our Dr. told us to use Aveeno Baby everything. Only the one that has NO perfumes or lavender or anything like that. It has worked wonders our little one. Good Luck!!

Hi. My son had some dry patches too, not eczema or anything serious. I found Aveeno gentle bath wash. It is great for dry skin because it contains oatmeal. I have found that only bathing him every other day with this and not using any lotion whatsoever has stopped the dry skin completely. Good luck!

I and both of my children have a heritable dry skin syndrome. I can't remember the actual name of it - it's essentially inherited dry skin. The doctor gave me some cream to use if my daughter got worse a few years ago, her scalp was flaky and dry from it as well. I took my daughter to a pediatric dermatologist to get checkout out, I would recommend that you take her to see one as well - always better to see a specialist. I slather my kids EVERYDAY with aveeno deep moisturizer or cetaphil non-scented lotion from head to toe. The dermatologist said to use non-scented laundry detergent, softener, and dryer sheets as well, because that would aggravate it. Also we were told to use non-scented bath products (ie, Aveeno products, etc). -JM

I would use a lotion from Aveeno.

HI Corrina,
I also have a two yr old and I stopped using the bedtime bathand all related products due to very dry skin I started using dove unscented and johnsons shea&cocoa butter cream and creams with vitamin E ,baby oil,they really help .GOOD LUCK

SAHM OF THREE GREAT KIDS .......

Arbonne Baby Care (ABC) has shown to be excellent in cases like yours. We've used it for a long time with our child, and a friend of ours used it for eczema on her baby when nothing else would work. There are no dyes or perfumes. Everything is all natural and pH correct and hypo allergenic. It may be something you want to try. I can get you some if you're interested. Just email me at ____@____.com, and I'll get it ordered asap so you can give that little angel some relief. :o)

M.

I have never heard of alligator skin specifically, but my son does have some severe dry skin issues. We have tried lots of lotions and creams (prescriptions & over the counter) over the years and the one that has helped the best is CeraVe. You can get it at Walgreen's. It's a little pricy, but a little dab goes a long way AND it works really well.

I have never heard of alligator skin. We have very sensitive skin and I use a Non-Fragrant Lotion and soaps for sensitive skin. I like all of Cetapil's products and California Baby products for sensitive skin. I stay away from Johnson products because they irritate my skin. Too many ingredients. I hope this helps.

My daughter has that too - and I don't have any sign of it (nor does my husband). My friend is a nurse and recommended Eucerin Creme or Aquaphor. Works pretty well from our experience. Our daughter is now 3.

Good luck!

Just another suggestion to add to your stack... If you are still looking for something, Mary Kay has some great body products as well!

All of our products are created for sensative skin, and is dermotologist tested. Our Satin Hands set has great products for treating this type of insidents. I would feel comfortable trying it on my 2 year old... Let me know if you'd like to try it out.

Our night cream would help moisturize that particular area, and the scrub would help get rid of the dead skin. Then the lotion for afterwards and every day use is a fregrance free product that tons of people have fallen in love with over the years.

Just something else to consider. Its a pretty nice treat for mom too... My website is www.marykay.com/tchavira and my email address is ____@____.com

Good luck!
T.

I'm not sure if this will help or not, but my daughter, who is 4 now, has had this since she was 9 months. I don't know if its the same thing b/c our Dr. calls it eczema. Her's isn't that bad. It mainly looks and feels like alligator skin. We figured out that hers is caused by food allergies. Berries, especially the artificial kind (making us think it's the dye and not the berries), causes it as well as whole wheat and sometimes corn. When we eliminate these, her skin gets much better. The worst her's gets is just after a holiday where there is lots of candy. We have prescribed cortizone creams, but don't like to use them. We only use them when it really bothers her. Mostly Aveeno baby products work great. Even the Walmart brand oatmeal bath seems to help a ton. Also, we always lotion her as soon as she gets out of the tub. This keeps it from getting too dry. I hope this helps!

All 3 of my boys have extremely dry skin. We tried Aveeno, Aquaphor, Cetaphil, Johnson & Johnson, Jergen's, and more that I can't remember right now. Nothing worked for us until we tried the bath & body products from Melaleuca. Their Renew lotion is fantastic! When our babies (and us too) have skin problems it is really important to find the trigger. For so many people the triggers are the chemicals in the bath, body, & cleaning products they use around the house. There are some really nasty preservatives (formaldehyde) & other chemicals (phosphates, chlorine, ammonia) in products many people use. Melaleuca's products don't have these chemicals and eliminating them from my home has done wonders for my boys! I would be happy to share more information with you. Email me at ____@____.com. :)

my son had the same thing around the same age too. nobody had it and he was treated with a prescribed steroid cream. it worked.