Infant Baby Eczema - McKinney, TX

Updated on September 06, 2007
C.C. asks from McKinney, TX
26 answers

Recently my son has started to develop a really hideous rash on his face and elbows. When I took him to the doctor this week, our pediatrician said that he thought the rash on his face was baby eczema. Other than being an eyesore, the rash doesn't seem to bother him at all. Doc said to switch his bath soap to Dove and put Vaseline on it daily. So, I immediately took his advice and the rash seems to have gotten worse! It's really red and dry---right around his mouth/lower cheeks/chin area. Do any of you have any experience with baby eczema?? Is there anything that you used that worked?? Any advice or recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated!

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D.C.

answers from Dallas on

My little one has issues with eczema as well. We switched bath soap to. We tried a couple and they both seemed to help. One is one of the Aveeno products for baby eczema or Eucerin has one that I found but I have only seen it at Albertsons. We also use Aquaphor on her every night instead of lotion, it's a little thinker than vaseline. If it gets really bad we got a cream from the dr. called Fluticasone Propionate and it works really well, but it's prescription.

Hope this helps!

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A.W.

answers from Dallas on

YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THIS STUFF!!! =)

OK - My 13 year old has had eczema since she was born. We have tried everything out there. She's had several different creams and medications from all kinds of dermatologists out there, and we've tried everything over the counter. Nothing worked until she used this baby lotion from Arbonne. It's really inexpensive (only about $14) and works wonders. I've had all of my friends who have eczema try it, too, and it has worked for them, as well!

Here's the description of the product:
A gentle lotion formulated for delicate skin that soothes, softens and conditions skin, while helping to reduce redness and irritation.

Here's who to contact to get it:
Shelly Rusher
Independent Consultant & Area Manager
www.arbonne.com
###-###-####
____@____.com

Good luck!
A. W.
Home Interiors & Gifts
###-###-####
www.homeinteriors.com/amywebster
____@____.com

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C.B.

answers from Dallas on

Possibly a switch of formula. My friend's baby had this problem and they put her on Nutramigen and the eczema cleared up tremendously.

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B.W.

answers from Dallas on

My baby had eczema, too. I switched to the Arbonne baby bath products, and that seemed to help. Also, we tried to only bathe the affected areas every other day since water seemed to make it worse. He just kind of grew out of it after a while.

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K.M.

answers from Dallas on

My son has eczema and has had it since birth. Your doc should not have recommended Dove in my opinion. Dove even though mild, as perfumes and irritants for those with eczema. You should be bathing your child in cedaphil and using cedaphil or cervae lotion (cervae is very hard to find, but ask your local grocery store to get it for you - they can do a special order through the pharmacy). I think many cvs and walgreens stock it as well. You don't want your child on anything stronger right now if it is eczema - babies ingest internally and their skin absorbs so much more than what they would at an older age so you have to very careful to use the most gentlest of products. We have our contained but at times, he does develop a hot spot. Vaseline as well, should have not been used.....you might want to see a dermatologist to make sure that the diagnosis is accurate. You need to hydrate the skin and the two lotions I spoke of above, honestly work wonders....best of luck.
K.

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N.M.

answers from Dallas on

My son has baby eczema and he also has some kind of other rash thats on his lower back that is very similar. My doctor gave me a steroidal cream that has helped. Try putting hydro cortisone cream on it through out the day. And I went to the store and bought the new Johnson's Soothing Naturals set. I also bought the Aveeno treatments. The Aveeno Baby Soothing Bath Treatment also worked well to soak him in for a few. My only problem was keeping my son from drinking the bath water with the oatmeal in it. Lol...

Here's what the products look like...

http://www.aveeno.com/aveeno/detailAction.do?id=3662

http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/prodPlatform.do?id=2

It's a battle. I really do wish you the best of luck. I know how difficult this is. :)

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

I have used some medicine called psoriasin on my 11 year old son and it works like a champ. You can get it at CVS pharmacy. The one I got was in a bottle that you dab on like a bingo dobber. It soaks in real fast and doesn't leave your skin greasy. You may go look for it and ask the pharmasist if it is ok to use on your baby. My sons doctor also said that it was eczema but this medicine still worked. My neighbor used it on her baby and it got rid of it. Good Luck

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S.W.

answers from Chicago on

I am at Park Cities Dermatology, and I have focus on pediatrics....... First, I would not use Vasaline, it is good for occlusion, but adds no moisture. Use Ceravae clanser and follow it with the cream for moisture. (can get this at CVS)If needed, a little over the counter hydracortisone is OK but for a very short period of time on the face. If used too long, it can cause a rash called peri oral dermatitis.

My office number is ###-###-#### I would be happy to see him if you cannot get things under control with the over the counter creams!

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M.

answers from Dallas on

My DD has excema real bad too, I only bathe her using cetaphil, I also slather her in aquaphor at night. When she has real bad flare ups I use a steriod cream from my doc.

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E.B.

answers from Dallas on

I have a 5 mo old and we had the same problem. I put the vaseline on and it did seem to make it worse. Hydrocortisone immediately cleared things up, but it was only temporary and I chose to follow my peds advice on not wanting to become dependent on a steroid cream so early - especially if it wasn't bothering him. It took a lot of restraint on my part not to put anything on it, but over the weeks it's gone away on its own.
I'd advise not putting too much of anything on it - including lotions - if your son has sensitive skin.

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E.F.

answers from Dallas on

My son has had bad eczema since birth. We bath him with Cetaphil daily, and then slather him with a cream called Vanicream. It's non prescription, but you have to order through the pharmacy and it's not that expensive. We also have a prescription steroid cream called DesOwen, but I haven't had enormous success with. I use it only when there are bad hotspots. Also, if the skin gets crusty and cracked, you can put Polysporin on it until it heals. Neosporin can cause some allergic reactions, so Polysporin is recommended for infant eczema. Unfortunately, eczema will come and go, so if it gets better, it may be for just a while. I would definitely recommend finding a ped. dermatologist if you feel it's not getting better.

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J.D.

answers from Dallas on

My 3 month old daughter had this a few weeks ago. We bought her the Cetaphil lotion in a jar. You want a lotion that doesn't pour when it comes to eczema. I also use Aveeno cream baby bath soap. It has all cleared up.

She does have a little scaling on her feet that I am using vaseline on and cover her little feet with socks to assist it in soaking in.

I hope this helps!
Jodi

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

I as well as my 1 year old son have eczema. We use All Free and Clean detergent for starters. I put hydrocordizone 1%(Target brand) on the spots and that takes care of it. Make sure you don't use and lotions or stuff like that in those areas for a while. We also use Aveeno Baby Body Wash for Sensitive Skin when it is really bad.

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K.S.

answers from Dallas on

My son had REALLY bad ezcema. We used Aveeno Baby and changed our laundry soap, for all of us, to All Free. The pdei explained that even some of the baby laundry soaps have stuff in them that baby's can be sensitive to. Also it doesn't make sense just to change the baby's laundry soap when you hold him and he is against your clothes or in your bed. I even stopped wearing perfume for awhile. We tried to avoid any prescription creams, but a patch got so bad on his elbow and we had to go to a ped. dermatologist. He prescribed a cream that we applied for a couple weeks and that was all. Just research any medication because there was some reports out on cream being prescribed for eczema that can cause other problems.
The oatmeal baths really helped as well.
GOOD LUCK! I know it is no fun.

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J.H.

answers from Dallas on

We took our baby to see the dermatologist as he was covered with eczema. He told us to only bathe him every 4 days and to only let him be in the water for about 3-4 minutes. We used a perscription oil called FS Derma-Smooth every morning and night and then we also lathered Eucerin cream over the top of his oil. We also thought it may be caused by allergies...switched him from regular milk to soy and it has totally gotten better.

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P.C.

answers from Dallas on

try cetaphil or eucerin (sp)
either in the baby isle or with general lotions

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A.L.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter had eczema as a baby. She is now 4 and it is getting much better. We started using Aveeno baby soap during baths and then a light coat of Aquaphor ointment several times throughout the day. That worked pretty good. When it got too bad, we used the prescription creams from the doctor. Hers got worse depending on what she ate. We had to take away all berries (including cranberries) and whole wheat. That made a huge difference! Now, she is growing out of this. Only blue rasberries and cranberries tend to aggrivate it now. I've heard some kids are allergic to food coloring and react this way. You may want to look at his food. It couldn't hurt. Also, I've heard adding flax seed meal to their food can make a big difference because of the omega-3 fatty acids that's in it. It's worth a shot!

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D.O.

answers from Dallas on

All 3 of my boys have had severe eczema. They have been prescribed everything from elidel, protopic, & trimincinclone (sp?). We also used OTC hydrocortisone cream. Nothing really helped. We have also tried eucerin (way too greasy!), cetaphil, johnson & johnsons, huggies, aveeno, jergens, & probably more! Then we started using Melapower laundry detergent, Renew lotion, & Renew bath oil. We also got rid of the cleaning products with really harsh chemicals. Three weeks after we started, my twins' skin was almost completely clear! Yay!

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

My son (now 3 1/2) had excema, too. I used Eucerin, Aquaphor, any type of cream/lotion (make sure it has "cream" in the name), & Elidel. Elidel was great because he could use it every day. The steroid his doc prescribed had to be used a limited time, but Elidel could be used every day.

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T.M.

answers from Dallas on

C.~
Oh how can I relate to you!! My son was 2 months old when we discovered that he had severe eczema. His whole body felt like sand paper. I tried all the things the doctor said and all the things these other moms tried, and yes, it helped a little, but I wanted it gone! He was always itching everywhere. He even had it on his scalp. I tried using products from Melaleuca and his life has changed!!! and so has ours. These products have no harmful chemicals in them and his eczema is gone unless it decides to be 100 degrees outside. Let me know if you are interested, I would love to share Melaleuca with you.
Just so you know, I do this part-time at home, but seeing the results my son had, I want to help other people/kids who have the same problem. You don't have to commit to anything, would just love to give your son the relief mine got!

T. Matthews
Marketing Executive
###-###-####
____@____.com

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A.E.

answers from Dallas on

C.,

My daughter has it, too on her cheeks arms and legs. It is rather mild and does not bother her. My Pedi told me to use Eucerin or some other kind of moisturizing lotion. She said it probably won't completely clear up until after my daughter is 2. She said some days it will appear better, and some days worse. A friend of mine said her Pedi told her to change her son's bathing habits to every other day instead of daily to help his skin from drying out and to use the lotion liberally, twice daily. It is kind of expensive (about $10 for a bottle), but it does seem to help my daughter's skin. Since she is so tiny though, it lasts us for awhile, even using it daily :) HTH

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K.S.

answers from Dallas on

Hi C.,
Cetaphil soap to wash with at bathtime, followed by a generous amount of Eucerin moisturizing creme (not the lotion) after bath while skin is still damp... This combo works wonders for my 2 1/2 year old who suffered eczema as a baby, and occasionally still has minor outbreaks during cold weather. About a week or so after using these, and the eczema always goes away. I even buy the Wal Mart "Equate" substutions of each, and they work amazingly.

I've heard you just have to find out what works best for your baby, and these two products in combination were the winning team for us. I'd definitely recommend them.

Take care,
K. :o)

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P.S.

answers from Dallas on

Hello, my son had this problem when he was an infant. What worked best was aveeno baby soap for Eczema. There is also a lotion to compliment it. Hope this helps!

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C.F.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter had baby eczema, and now at almost 5 still has mild cases at times. We were told to use Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo for the patches on her head, neck and behind her ears. It works wonders, but only use every other day or so. I was told that putting Vaseline on it would attract germs and bacteria because they stick in it. Keep the area free of slobber and food or formula. Acidity in some foods aggrevates it. If he takes a pacifier, keep it dry ad try to limit use of it because it irritates the area. It needs a cream that soakes in more than sits on top is what my doctor told me. We ended up with a prescription because of the severity. What we started out with that helped was Aquaphor Healing Ointment by Eucerin. It is a little like Vaseline, but also has lanolin to help the healing. It soaks in better than Vaseline. My favorite that I still use and even used on eczema in the diaper area was Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Cream by Baby Orajel. I liked it best on the face area because you could massage it in. It has natural ingredients and vitamins A, D, and E and aloe. I hope this helps. I know it is frustrating to not be able to get rid of it.

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Y.B.

answers from Dallas on

Hi C.,

I would recommend taking your child to a dermatologist who specializes in skin care. My daughter had a rash too and her pediatrician did not prescribe the right medication and she looked worse. You will always love your child and that is good it doesn't seem to bother him. However you may look back to those pictures years from now and wish you would have gone sooner to a dermatologist because I did.
I don't remember what medicine my doctor gave me for my daughter. Although, check with and visit the nurses of the clinic and trust me they will recommend the one they feel is great and why? The one who has the most patients is usually the best. You may possibly have a hard time getting in. I had to wait a few days, but the wait wasn't that bad.
I would also get rid of the detergent soap and seek one from the Whole Food store because there are a lot of harsh chemicals and this would be more natural and gentle.

Wish you well!!

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E.M.

answers from Dallas on

I have struggled with baby eczema since my son was your childs age. He has it on his entire body. He is now 11 months old and we have run the gauntlet on remedies. My son had to be put on Elidel, a prescription cream but I can make some over the counter reccomendations. First of all, limit how often you bath him. The soap and water aggravates the condition. Second, Baby Aveeno products seem to be the most gentle, as well as an oatmeal bath from time to time, with no soap at all. Last, we use Eucerin cream 2x a day. Not the lotion in the bottle, the cream in the big pot. Its like spreading cold butter on toast, but the ultra thick lotion really helps. Oh also, recently we have started using Aquaphor on the face at night and he seems better in the morning. You will find that sunscreen will also aggravate the eczema so don't be alarmed. Hope that all my drama with my son can help some one else! Good luck!

E.

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