40 answers

New to Eczyma

My son was just "diagnosed" wth eczyma. He is 2 years old and it is driving him crazy. I don't know anything about this problem and would love any ideas everyone has for how to prevent his outbreaks, how to soothe his skin, and just what can I do to make this easier for him. Also any words on long-term effects would also greatly be appreciated. I don't want this to affect him at all when he starts school. Kids are so mean and any little thing they pick right up on. He is so beautiful and has always had the most beautiful and soft skin. Even when he was born even the doctors said he was beautiful, which a lot of babies just don't come out that way. So from day one he has been a looker. I know that sounds petty but it isn't meant to be. I just know that any kind of skin problems (acne, psoriasis, etc.) can really play havoc with confidence of a child and adolescent. I'm hoping to be an expert by that time. So please don't take that comment that way. I just want to help him as much as possible as soon as possible.

Thank you all so much for all your help.

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

Featured Answers

My son has eczyma and we bath him with Cetaphil and lotion him day/night with Eucerine creme. The pedi told us that creme is the key (not lotion) because it has the oils that the skin is lacking, and also to apply it immediately after drying off from a bath/shower.

1 mom found this helpful

First of all, eczyma is NOT that big a deal. I have suffered all my life with it and I'm 58 years old. You didn't say where he breaks out, arms, legs, chest, hands, or face. I also had very soft, smooth, silky, feeling skin and the eczyma didn't effect that at all, only when I was broke out. I would truly love to talk to you about this as I know it must be scarey to you. I was lucky, I had/have eczyma all over except my face, but my Mother NEVER made a big deal out of it. When I was a child, I was allergic to everything you could think of, some thing more than others, but I was allowed to be a normal kid and we would deal with the break outs later. As for school, yes kids can be mean but I had a teacher in the 3rd grade that sent me out of the room and had a good "talk" with the rest of the kids and after than I had no problems. You just have to relax and let him be a kid!

1 mom found this helpful

Have you used Glaxol (I think that is how you spell it) But it helps with itching and smooth it. I get it once in awhile and that is what helps me.

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

My mom and I have both had eczema all our lives, my daughters
(ages 5 yrs. and 15 months) also have extremely sensitive skin. Vaseline works great on hands apply it at night so that all night the moisure sink in. Also at bedtime rub a little hydrocortizone creme on other problem areas after it's rubbed in good apply the tiniest bit of vaseline over those as well. My girls and I use baby wash instead of bath soap. Also avoiding purfumed bubble baths and laundry detergents might help. Also both of my girls had to use unscented baby wipes, scented alway gave them diaper rash. If your child is in diaper still. If regular diaper rash cremes dont help try vaseline, and instead of baby powder try plain cornstarch the kind you buy at the grocery store in the baking supplies aisle.Cornstarch works wonders for my baby. If you have any more questions please feel free to send me a message. Good luck. H. T.

2 moms found this helpful

Both of my sons and I have eczema. It's a pain. The doctor has always told me to use Aveeno, but personally I prefer Eucerin. Don't use regular lotions, they have too much water and will dry out the skin. Slather on eucerin, or whatever you use, after a bath while the skin is still moist. This will help trap in the moisture. Let him play in the bath first, if he likes to do that, and then wash him. The soap in the water will irritate his skin. Stress can cause outbreaks. I have heard some foods make eczema worse, but i'm not sure how true that is.

2 moms found this helpful

My sons eczyma was cause by a food allergy. There's a chiropractor near us that does a procedure called NMT. Its noninvasive and within a couple of months the eczyma went away. Every once in a while a little patch will show up we'll take him in for one more treatment and its goes away. I'm not a huge chiropractor fan, but this really worked.

1 mom found this helpful

My 15y. old has had eczema since he was an infant. He's on elidel now and it works wonders.
When he was smaller we used Cetaphil for soap, no actual soap products. For lotion try Eucerin or the generic thereof.
Has your son been checked for allergies? Skin testing is the most accurate way to do this.
Maybe you can avoid things that make his skin worse.
Also remember to always dress him in cotton, no synthetics at all.
Reduce allergens in his environment by covering his bed with plastic, pillow too, remove carpet if possible, no pets in his room, and no stuffed animals except possibly his favorite, frequent washings of all bed linens and you can run the stuffie through the dryer on high a few times a month.
Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

Have you used Glaxol (I think that is how you spell it) But it helps with itching and smooth it. I get it once in awhile and that is what helps me.

1 mom found this helpful

R.,
First off, your son probably is the most beautiful thing in the world to you! As it should be! If you didn't say that about your son, people would wonder. Don't be sorry about being in love with him!
Next, my husband has had psoriasis on his upper arms almost all his life. This has made it difficult to wear t's and tanks. Not having to deal with a child or myself, I can't tell you about treatments, but as a mother of a child who has physical differences I can help you with the other kids.
There is NO promise that other kids will not be cruel. What you need to be an expert at is being a counselor for him. You may be surprised and find that the school he goes to is full of caring, well raised kids and your son will be popular. Or you may find that it's a back-woods, stump-jumpin', redneck, hillbilly school with horribly cruel kids, like the schools my son has gone to.
The key is to know his routine. When he come home smiling, listen to his story. (Sometimes hard to do with K, 1st and 2nd graders with their scattered thoughts.) Conversely, if he is sad, mad or just straight out angry, talk him through his options. Remind him that his feelings are valid and he won't get in trouble for crying. In todays world, we have put so much pressure on boys to "MAN" up and dry it up. Remind him that while he may be teased at school for crying, that it will always be ok at home.
Train him that he is beautiful, lovable, and worthy of what ever he sets his mind to, he should be fine.
I hope this helps at least a little. Good luck!
~A.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi R., I skimmed thru the advice you received just to make sure I'm not repeating someone else. I know these things can get redundant and time consuming to read them all. My son Teague's eczema was worse as an infant. His drool would aggrivate his chin, and then he would rub it on his sheets or jammies in the night, and often woke up to a bloody mess everywhere. His doctor rx'd a steroid cream, BUT some advice, it worked great but if you use it longer than 2 weeks, it can cause an adverse reaction, and make the skin thin and harder to heal. Which I did experience. So I would use the cream, and then once it was healed, I would use an excema cream I found in the baby product area at Target. I've seen it at other stores too. I can't remember the exact brand name, Natural something or other. But Winnie Pooh and Piglet are on the front label, and the bottle is greenish blue. They also have a bath wash which we would use. Both of these worked great for me. I have a "looker" too, so I know it's hard to see them not at their best. Good luck to you!

1 mom found this helpful

My son has had this condition since he was born. We've tried many creams from the doctors who insist that they work...and they didn't. We found out what has worked best for us, is giving oatmeal baths (you can either buy packets from the store or make it at home with a coffee grinder) and applying Gold Bond Intensive Care Lotion. These two things seemed to help the most for us. Other things that helped was making sure his clothing isn't rubbing a lot against his skin and when you get to potty training...no undies at night. When my son wore undies at night, he seemed to break out all over his nether regions. EEK! We also avoid any shampoos or bath soaps that are full of perfume. Those products seem to only irritate the eczema further. I just stick to Johnson & Johnson. It's cheap and easy to use for both body and hair. Good luck on this. Hope any of this helps! :D

1 mom found this helpful

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