Itchy Head - Naperville,IL

K.,

If you go on the archives, you will find a ton of info regarding eczema on here. Eczema is typically a secondary food or chemical allergy. Dairy being the primary cause and peanuts the second in food allergies. Stuff that contains mineral oil does not help, but only clogs the pores...read your labels on the products you are using. Try California Baby, which is made for kids and adults with sensitive skin or skin conditions. You can buy it at Target. Use baking soda in his bath at all times. Chlorine is the other major cause of eczema and can aggrevate it. You can buy shower filters that clean out the chlorine making the water chlorine free for $30-$50 roughly. The book, Is This Your Child? By Dr. Dorris Rapp who is a pediatric allergist discusses this in her book, you can buy it on amazon, it is a great read and a must on every parent's bookshelf. You can find her on YouTube as well.

Good Luck,
J. W. MPH
Wellness Educator

I would check out with an allergist that he is not milk allergic. We had our now 19 month old daughter on breast milk, then cow's milk formula, then cow's milk at 1 yr and she always had eczema but we didn't realize it could have been caused by the milk until she suddenly had a peanut allergy (by accidental ingestion at a daycare facility at 12 months old! hrmph!) and we had her allergy tested at 17 months (I was waiting until I gave birth to my second..now 3 mos). The allergist believes the milk (she is milk, fish, peanut and egg allergic) is what caused her eczema and she would also scratch till she bled! We always just slathered her in Aquaphor or Aveeno but that just controlled the eczema but didn't make it go away. We switched her to soy and rice milk and it totally went away....now, I would not just try the switch without seeing an allergist first. Eczema is commonly the sign of a food allergy. We see a great allergist that handles children in Des Plaines and they have a few other offices in the city and burbs but I don't think they have any your way in Naperville. Let me know if you want the name anyway.

Good luck!
PS- if it is an allergy, it is much easier to switch their milk source at 13 months when they are just getting used to it than it is at 18-19 months when they are opinionated little toddlers ;) Trust me!

I used my belly oil on my daughter's scalp. My doctor recomended Olive oil, but I found that stinky and less effective than the oil I was rubbing on my belly. It has vitamin E and almond oil and other stuff. Can't remember the blend exactly, but it has a picture of a pregnant woman on the front and is in a clear bottle. It's sort of golden in color. Mother's Special Blend? I don't think it's Mother's Love. I get it at Whole Foods and it worked great on her head. Another really super good one is coconut "oil", which is actually solid but turns liquid when it touches your skin. That one is very long lasting. I discovered this later after her scalp improved, but I honestly think it might have been even better for the scalp than the belly oil.

a whole house humidifier does wonders. at least get a vicks moist heat for the bedroom. ezcema gets worse when its dry. also if you have a water softener switch your salt to see maybe if you spot a difference

Try t-gel shampoo or selson blue. You can also use the hdrocortisone 1% (prescribed) and euricine lotion (over the conter).

I have used Arbonne on my children and the hair and body wash, lotion, and baby oil work great for dry skin, ezcema, baby acne,... If you want samples to try email me ____@____.com luck.

Rub some olive oil on the itchy spots. Better to use something natural than chemicals that can cause further irritation. Plus you probably already have it in your kitchen.

We put hydrocortisone 1% ( I think I am spelling it right) and keep lotioning our guy as he was doing the same thing. Creame takes the itch out. You may want to see a dermitologist if it does not go away.

Hi K.,

I came across this company that has great natural products and good for eczema. I used Renew Oil in the bathtub when I give my girls a bath and also a gentle shampoo/body wash for kids. They work wonders for us.

You can check the website at http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/
You might need help to get in, please let me know if you need that. You can always call me at ###-###-####.

Borage for baby Dry Skin Therapy by Shikai. You may be able to find at Whole Foods. Otherwise I get Shikai products at vitacost.com

it's especially made for ezcema and other hard to solve skin issues. http://www.shikai.com/publications/borageChildrenSkin.htm

Both my children have ezcema. They do go to a children's dermatologist at Children's Memorial - Dr. Annette Wagner. She has them both use an oil based prescription for their scalps. It has been doing wonders for them! Good luck to you!

Hello, I am a grandmother, and my BABY grandson had a terrible case of cradle cap, its like a red rash and really itchy and just terrible. we tried everything , the doctor tried all kinds of ointments, The only thing that made it get well was WHEAT GERM OIL, i GOT IT AT A HEALTH FOOD STORE, IT COMES IN A SMALL LITTLE BOTTLE, ITS GOOD FOR EVERYTHING. SO AFTER WE GOT RID OF ALL THAT RASH AND HIS HAIR FALLING OUT,AND HIS HEAD SO RED AND ITCHY, IT WAS AMAZING HOW it works so well, The doctor aid he was putting it in the medical journal that wheat germ oil is good for rashes and cradle cap, cradle cap is a red rash that gets on new babys scalps, try wheat germ oil, it is a safe oil to use, and its good for alot of ailments, let me know when it helps, it only costs about 6 or 7 dollars, and worth alot more, wishing you the best, Frances

How's his diet? Does he eat fish and other sources of omega 3's? I would look into some nutritional changes. I strongly believe that can make a huge difference. Supplementing his diet with probiotics and a high quality omega 3 fish oil might help, too. I would also take a look at what kind of household products you are using. If you are using chemical cleaning products, get rid of them and go natural. What kind of laundry detergent do you use? Bath products? Get rid of fragranced stuff. I can pass on more info if you are interested.

Hi, sorry to hear your little one suffers from eczema! I suffer, as does my 2 1/2 y.o. A website I have found quite helpful is www.solveeczema.com from here, is where I learned that even the babywash we buy special for babies, is so bad for an eczema sufferer! Phooey! Just when you think it is soft and gentle for baby skin, it is a harsh irritant! Something as simple as changing your soap and laundry soap can change your babies world! It was a lifeline for our house, as well as being "green". We are fans of the CAL Ben soap company our whole house uses it now; it seems spendy at first, but it lasts for a long while. So that was an added bonus! I have found that I can only clothe my son in cotton, as the fire retardent sleepwear is an irritant to his skin. So blanket sleepers were out in our case. I find the footy jammy's at "The children's place" and they are all cotton. They are more spendy but he doesn't break out either! The head thing since that's the primary question, aside from changing the soap to a non detergent soap and utilizing the topical medications. To tell the truth I am a vanicream user not an aquaphor user, it is more lotionlike than thick vaseline like, and on the head may be more soothing. Ask your doc about it. And to tell the sequence of events from our Dermatologist is a steroidal cream should not be used for longer than a two week stretch, so if it used 3 x a day, then you should seek out another visit to the doctor if it isn't healing up. So we went from hydrocortisone, to Triamcinolone to Protopic. The Protopic can be disconcerting as you have to sign a release to utilize it, but it really does work well, again it does come from a dermatologist. Other tools we employ are a humidifyer in the room at all times to keep skin hydrated, and we bathe every other day, as everyday can be drying. And FYI eczema and asthma can be associated, so something to watch your child for. Difficulty breathing with strenuous exercise, and so on; difficulty clearing up a cold seems to drag out. Anyhow hope you find some resolution! Remember to have patience, when your baby itches it really is an uncontrollable itch! I have had it and have the scars to prove it, I have scratched until bleeding. He really can't help it. My parents sent me to bed with mittens on trying to keep me from scratching while I slept, it didn't help I just rubbed! And rubbed. Changing the soap was the only sure cure for me and my house!

Weve had great success with TGel by Neutrogena and Dermarest.

my son had the same thing ,you must keep it clean and put things like olive oil ,an a tar shampoo , the tar shampoo you can get it from your doctor or your ,cvs , walgreens, it will keep it from drying up fast , let me know i it work or not i have so many other things to tell you , from velva