Help with Eczema - Chicago, IL

i use Desonide ointment on my sons face then cetaphil over that. When bathing her don't completely dry her off, apply cetaphil moisturizing cream immedently. Try using a cool mist in her room. Don't use anything with frangance to her. We have been battling eczema since he was 6 months old. I to have it but i didn't show signs of it until i was 7 or so. U need to find out what triggers the flare up so you can get it under control. We did the allergist which was a waste of our time. We go to an awsome dermatologist @riley which is great. Patricia Treadwell, I have been told she is one of the best which we have only been going for a lil under a month now and I already see improvents in my son. I wish you the best..

I had the same problem with my 2 month old just recently, he developed baby acne and eczema on his face. It was terrible, he would scratch his face and make it worse. I went to my doctor and she said that with time it will go away but it bothered me way too much to wait. My Mom has been in to natural remedies for a while now and she told me what he has is Candida and to try Black Walnut Green Hulls extract without alcohol in it, so I found it at Vitamin's Shoppe. The brand name is Nature's Answer ( naturesanswer.com is their website). I was a little scared to apply it to his face, but I gave it a try anyways. After his bath I applied it with a cotton all over his face and put him to bed. (The liquid is dark brown so it looks a little scary) Next morning I washed it off with water and it allready looked better. The redness was gone!!! I applied it again that morning and night for three days, and his face is beautifull again. All the patches r gone and the acne disapeared. Please give it a try, it will help. Good luck ;-)

We battled my son's eczema for a long time. The thing that finally worked best was a compounded medication that is vanicreme and hydrocortizone mixed together. Our doctor prescribes it and the pharmacist makes it up.

For awhile we had to give him a medication to make him sleep at night (hydroxizine) because he itched so much. Since using this new medication his skin has been pretty much clear with a few isolated breakouts.

The other thing is that eczema always has a cause. Sometimes we can't figure out what it is, but there is something. So it could be a food or environmental allergy or a number of things. If you haven't already done allergy testing I recommend finding an allergist. I would caution you against letting anyone other than an allergist do them for lack of expertise. Good luck.

My 3 year old daughter has severe eczema, and we've been battling it for a couple years now. I would take her to a dermatologist. Ours in Elmhurst (don't know if that's too far away for you) is AWESOME. At the least, the dermatologist can give you some very helpful suggestions. It is probably very itchy and she will want to scratch. We have my daughter on a presciption hydrocortisone and antibiotic cream that the pharmacist has to make up. We also give her benadryl (or zyrtec) at night to help the night itchies. But I agree with the cool mist humidifier, and my dermatologist recommends Aquaphor-can buy OTC at any pharmacy. But like the others have said- there is a reason for it. A dermatologist can help with that. I hope this helps, and good luck.

I agree with the responses about trying to find the culprit allergen causing the flare ups. Creams do work for some, but I would recommend doing a process of elimination first. The creams and medications are a temporary fix or possibly an incorrect fix to what might just be an allergic reaction to an everyday substance.

Regardless of what you try, it's important that you are okay with the method and don't beat yourself up about it. Ultimately, you know your child better than anyone else...trust those mama instincts:)

Hope that helps!

Hi U.,
We battled pink (and often red) cheeks as well as raw "knee pits" and arms for almost 2 years. We eventually found out that my son had food allergies and it was things that we were giving him every day - sugar and milk. We weren't necessarily giving him candy, but there is sugar and milk in almost everything we were giving him (cheerios, bread, etc).

We did a food elimination diet (outlined very well in a book called "Is this your child?" by Dr Doris Rapp).

We also made sure that we were only using non-toxic cleaning products (Shaklee) and only used very gentle lotions that didn't have any perfumes or chemicals.

I would be happy to share more about figuring out food allergies if you are interested.
B.

Hi there-

My daughter started with a case of eczema around 4 months of age. Since it was just a small patch, I didn't pay much attention to it. Then around 8 months of age, she developed another small patch on her other shoulder. Again, not thinking too much of it, I didn't do much but put Eucerin cream on it. At around 10 months, she started have acidic stools and this is about the time that I noticed that she had a chronic congestion sound to her. Finally, around 11 months, she started getting dark circles under her eyes. Ahhh, the light bulb finally went on. All of these symptoms individually don't mean much but collectively, they form a bigger picture. My daughter had allergies and I needed to figure out from what.

Realizing this would be a huge task, I enlisted the help of an allergist only to find that it was an even bigger task than I had hoped for. They tested my daughter for 16 allergens. Of the 16, she was allergic to about 12. The only thing that I could do was let her body clear itself for several days but only serving her bottles and rice cereal and slowly re-introduce foods. Guess what? Her eczema went away on it's own. No kidding.

So, my suggestion is to think about the symptoms that my daughter had, do some research online about allergy symptoms and see if your daughter fits the bill. IF she does, I would recommend taking her off all food for awhile. If it clears up, you will know that she is allergic to something. At that point, you can either make guesses on your own or go see an allergist. Either way, good luck. I know it's hard.

N

What has the pediatrician said? Is there anything she/he can prescribe? I would only bathe your child every other day. I can't think of the name of it but it comes in a skinnier, taller, turqoise colored bottle. It's found in baby aisle and it about $6.00 but they have shampoo specifically for eczema. Good luck.

Hello U.,
Take your child to someone who will get to the root of the problem. First, I recommend checking out a homeopathic doctor. We go the Dupage Homeopathic Center and the doctor takes insurance. I highly recommend homeopathy because it gets to the root cause of the problem, the homeopathic medicine is selected for your child's specific symptoms, and there are no side effects. Homeopathy has been FDA approved since 1938! When treating skin problems, it's important to treat the person from the inside out. Therfore, I avoided topical creams, elminated any chemicals (detergents, household cleaners, fragrances, lotions/soaps). In addition, research shows that steroids may eliminate a rash but then the child has a very high chance of developing asthma.
U. I speak from experience, as my first born was born with eczema. My second born developed cradle cap that then "took over" his body and within a few weeks, about 90% of his body was covered in weeping sores and very dry scaly skin. The only change I made that helped him was moving out of my house every week for 3 days or so AND his homeopathic remedy! I was desperate to help him recover from this. I worked closely with my homeopath and his skin was COMPLETELY clear in just a few months.
Info on homeopathy and a directory of local homeopaths can be found at: http://nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/

allergies. My son looking back, almost looked like he was burnt it was so bad... and a friend of mines child had cracking and bleeding... both food allergies.

the best thing after avoiding those foods was a steroid cream/ointment of limited use (you can't use on face though).

see a pediatric derm.
If its just a winter skin cheek thing and not eczema, it could be your lack of humidifier in the house and wind outside.

hope that helps

Hi U.! My suggestion would be to try to eliminate any large amounts of sugar or acidic intake. A little extra drinking water and eliminate any soap or lotion with harsh chemicals, dyes or perfumes. Try something more natural. Also make sure when it comes to drying time that you thoroughly dry the baby then apply the lotion. Hope this helps!

U.:
I just saw this and had to respond. Isn't it horrible to have to watch our babies looking and feeling terrible? It hurts us too! I can't tell you how many people, young and old have eczema, go to doctors, use prescriptions and waste time and money on products that just don't help. Even newborns come home from the hospital because what they bathe them with and what they wash their blankets and shirts with is way too harsh for tender skin. I am a wholesaler to a health and wellness company and we have an entire baby line that is pure, safe and beneficial to very tender and sensitive skin. Children and adults see immediate results and it is so good to know that you are not putting anything on your precious daughter that will irritate her any further. Best of all, you can have the line shipped right to you - wash, diaper cream, body lotion and sunscreen. All our made with the finest botanicals and are the best choice in healthy skin. I would be happy to give you more information, but I can't attach anything to this email. Let me know, ok? I'd love to share what I have been searching for many years and have finally found! Take care and good luck.

K.