Plz Share Your Baby Eczema Story...

My son has had eczema since he was born. He's now 6. I tried SEVERAL different things before I found out the simplest thing for us was oatmeal. We use Johnson & Johnson Vanilla Oatmeal baby bath and then oatmeal lotion. Doesn't have to the same brand. For us, it helped tremendously and his outbreaks are few are far between. It's inexpensive and for the most part, does the trick. A lot of the time, eczema becomes irritated because of laundry soaps, hand soaps, perfumed lotions/bath wash. We now stick to products that have no dye or perfume in them. Hope this helps!

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We've battled our sons eczema since he was 1 day old. He was given a bottle of formula in the hospital nursery against my wishes, and I believe it triggered a dairy protein allergy in his immature system. Within an hour of the nurse bringing him back, he not only puked the entire bottle up on me (and she got an earful from a not so nice new mommy), but his face and arms began breaking out in little pimples. within a few hours, it was crusting open.

We battled it for 2yrs, numerous creams, oils, diet changes (on my part with breastfeeding), dermatologists, allergists, medications... and still my little boys skin was breaking open, crusting over, bleeding ,and falling off.

Finally we started doing some research on natural methods, I found a few 'crunchy' moms at mothering.com who had battled the same issues, started at the same time, and their stories were so similar. The recommended I give my son acidophilus probiotic, fish oil supplements, and avoid dairy. Within two weeks of starting the acidophilus and avoiding cows milk dairy, his eczema was 50% better. His skin was no longer falling off, it was no longer bleeding, and he wasn't spending time sobbing over his sore body.

It took about 2mos for it to get so much better that he hardly noticed it anymore. He was 3yrs old when we started this routine. he's 7.5yrs old now, and we still stick to this. He gets a bath every night, and he pats dry, and puts lotion on his own skin. We use Equate Dry Skin Cream (in a white tub with the twist off lid at Wal Mart). Oddly enough, this is hte only lotion or cream that works really well for him. He takes acidophilus twice a day, and fish oils every morning. He also takes a daily multivitamin, and we limit his cows milk dairy intake very strictly. He also has no soy in his diet. He drinks almond milk, or organic 1% milk sometimes.

He's 7.5 and he still has 'alligator skin', but its not broken, its not bleeding, and its not falling off or hurting him. He has developed psoriasis in the last two years, but htankfully with our routine it is kept under control with only minor flare ups.

Now my younger son, he was never intro'd to formula, he never had cows milk diary unti he was closer to 2, and was breastfed until 2. His skin is gorgeous. To the point where I want to cry and wish my oldest could experience the lovely 'butter' skin my youngest has. But it is what it is, and as long as he's not in pain, we are ok.

Good luck getting it under control. If you want to talk more, send me a message. :)

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter's eczema depends on the season. She had it when she was exclusively breastfed and stil has it at 2.5 years.

We let her get a litle bit of sun every day that we can since that helps a lot. We also use cetaphil for baths and cetaphil lotion after. We've tried lots of different cleaning "soaps", but cetaphil is best for us by far. It's way better than the sensitive soaps and doesn't even compare to Johnson's. I've said that Johnson's won't touch my younger daughter's skin because Johnson's is so bad for my older daughter.

I wish I had a better answer. It seems eczema tends to be a food sensitivity, but my daughter only has it seasonally so I don't think food is an issue for her. She doesn't have it at all in the spring or summer and it gets worse october through feb. We traveled to Hawaii when she was about 6 months and she'd had it at home, but it went away when we traveled. Within about 2 weeks after we got back home, it came back.

Also, our ped. told us to use a hydrocortisone cream when it gets really bad. We only occasionally use it (maybe twice in the past 6 monhs?).

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter had eczema as a baby. Her face was red, raw and often crusty from scratching. I breastfed exclusively for a year and later found out that she was allergic to milk and eggs. She also had asthma. I used only allergy free everything: laundry soap, bath soap, lotions. It was touch and go til she was about 5, then the eczema cleared up.

Sorry to say, the eczema came back when my daughter was a teenager. She had to quit swimming because the pool water irritated her skin. Then when she went away for college, she had a huge reaction that kept getting worse. Turns out to be those fabric softening sheets. Even though my daughter doesn't use them, there is alot of residue left in the dryers from people who do. The residue is oily and sticks to the inside of the dryer drum, and is released by the heat onto later batches of clothing. Now she has to hang dry all of her laundry but at least the rash is under control.

I'm sorry that you and your baby have to go through this. It really is heartbreaking when your baby is itching and miserable or can't sleep. Our doctor told me that there is only so much he can do, that we have to be the detectives to determine the causes. He had us keep an allergy diary. It was a plain spiral bound notebook where I listed anything that could affect her rash, what she ate each day, medications, the weather, where we went, and also if the rash was better or worse that day. This helped us to see patterns and keep the eczema under control.

I hope you can find some answers and that your daughter gets better soon.

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter had issues with this as an infant. It turned out to be the laundry soap I was using. She was so sensitive that even using the "perfume-free, sensitive skin" formula would cause her skin to be rough. I had to wash her things with a very small amount of soap and rinse an extra time. I also found that using vaseline on her skin really helped soften the rough areas and help her skin heal. She is 3 now and totally fine, but I still play it safe as far as the extra rinse cycle on her clothing. :)

1 mom found this helpful

Hi K.!

Still no relief?? Have you gotten her into the dermatologist yet? You know my story, so I won't share again, but let me know how I can help!! I remember how heart-breaking it is!

*hugs*

K.

1 mom found this helpful

I was the baby with eczema and now I am an adult with winter eczema. I must avoid cats, cannot eat pork and I also use Ecover or Planet to wash my clothes and linen. I have always used hypo-allergenic soaps and creams. And, I put my urine on open spots with eczema. It burns for a few moments and then I wash it off. The open places close and my hands return to normal.
I use a cortizone cream on my eye lids when it breaks out there. If I avoid eating nuts my eyes are okay.
I do not keep a cat and have problems if around them but own a dog with long fur. I am not allergic to him.
Eczema can clear up and turn into asthma so it is important to find out a really competent homeopath to help her now.
Often with eczema Silicia 30c taken 4x a day for 4 days helps clear it up. But, it is not a universal remedy.
A really great homeopath helped rid me of asthma after 29 years of suffering. I have no asthma of any kind. And am not upset at having eczema rather than asthma.
My children do not have eczema but one has serious cat allergies.
You do not say what you are feeding your daughter. I kept goats and milked them twice a day for my children when they were young so that there were no cow milk reactions. We lived in the country far from stores. City dwellers can buy organic goat milk in stores.
Keep you child off sugar and do not use a formula with high fructose corn syrup or sugars. You child may be allergic to things you are eating if you are breast feeding.
I wish you luck and hope your daughter becomes a relaxed person as that helps to keep eczema from breaking out.

1 mom found this helpful

I hate eczema! My daughter never hadn't it but my son did. He had it starting really young on his neck, eyebrows and ears. The pediatrician kept saying put lotion on it and keep it dry. I did for 4 months and it never went away. I couldn't stand havinng one more person ask me why he had a rash on his neck (or if I knew he had a rash). So, the ped gave me some nucort...it's a mix of hydrocortisone and aloe. The eczema went faded the next day and was completely gone after a few days of twice daily treatments. Then I would just keep lotion on it. Then, a few weeks later it would flare up again. I would use the nucort a few times and it would go away. Finally, the eczema on his neck disappeared, but it moved to the back of his neck. That went away and now his only issue is under his arms and behind his ear lobe. I don't see it often but when I do and put lotion on it it goes away.

I don't use the nucort anymore...that was just when it was really red and not going away. I did try several lotions and had some luck with the Eucerin but the one that is working really well right now is Curel Itchy Skin Lotion.

He gets bathed in Aveeno Oatmeal bodywash-including his hair.
All of our clothes and sheets are washed in All free and clear.
We don't avoid any foods. I've never figured out what triggers the eczema, but he is 16 months now and I rarely notice the eczema anymore.

1 mom found this helpful

It is heartbreaking watching your child suffer like that. My little girl had it pretty badly when she was young. None of the over the counter creams worked for her. The only over the counter product that I think did help give her relief was Aveno's oatmeal bath. Her ped gave me some lotion and I covered her in it several times a day. I washed her clothes and bedding in detergent that had no coloring or added stuff in it and just tried to keep her away from dye's, ect. It was a horrendous summer but when winter hit, it started to clear up. I think she was about 2 when she had her last breakout. She's almost 4 now and doing great. hang in there.

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The best thing we found to get it under control was Zyrtec (an antihistamine). Did I hate giving that to my 18-mo old - of course. But it usually took less than a couple weeks.

Foods can very much be a trigger but no one has mentioned environment. Environment was/is the trigger for my son. He was breast fed and I was beyond neurotic regarding introducing new foods.

We're down to certain shampoos and laundry detergents for triggers - so there's lots of hope she'll outgrow it. Here's our routine:
all free and clear for laundry detergent. stay away from Tide - I've never been able to tolerate it and it is very harsh on your skin. Whatever you use, no perfume, no dye!
No fabric softener! Ever! Again - something I've never been able to tolerate so my kids have never experienced it.
do a double rinse on all fabric she will be in contact with. use a vinegar rinse as much as possible. you put the vinegar wherever you'd put softener. There's certain synthetics that can't tolerate vinegar (which I can never keep straight) so I only use it on sheets, towels, and loads that are cotton only. I promise you won't smell it when everything's done!
No dryer sheets! If you must - they need to be scent free, perfume free, and dye free. I use the dryer balls (as seen on TV!) - and they actually work ok for static. I also line dry all synthetics (fleece, underarmor, etc).
Shampoo/soap. Aveeno baby, California Baby sensitive both work for my son. Most others, including organics, instantly trigger an outbreak (even at 8 yrs old). Even if it's his sister that used them in the same bath water. Or use a straight glycerin soap.
cleaners. I use just vinegar and baking soda. occasionally bleach. get rid of all scented things - plug ins are absolutely horrible for me. Since we've greened up our cleaning supplies, we've all had healthier skin.
Let her get dirty. we found that the more he was exposed to dirt, the better he seemed to do.
watch out for sunscreens. my daughter doesn't have eczema but does have nasty rashes w/one of the most common ingredients in most sunscreens. a little UV exposure always seemed to help my son too. because we live in denver, I always kept it under 10 minutes but even that little bit helped.
we haven't had an outbreak in years. but if he is exposed to something, a couple days of eucerin cream (not lotion) gets it under control.

good luck. and as someone else said, see a dermatologist if you haven't yet.

1 mom found this helpful

HI. My daughters excema was horrible as a baby. I took her to a couple different dermatologist who suggested different creams but none of them worked for us. I chose not to try the ones with steroids in them. I really thought that it may have something to do with my water(bath time). When it first statred, it was only on her legs. As she got a little older and wanted to roll on her tummy and show me how she could "swim" (in 2 inches of water with me right there) I noticed it spread to her stomach and forarms. I went on line (mrwaterfilter.com) and bought a hand held shower with filter (they have other options too) and always used it to fill the bath tub and the hand held part made it easier to wash her hair. Her excema was gone in a week, never to have returned. It was amazing. I don't know if it would work for you as my doctor has explained that there are many different causes for excema, but you may want to look it to it as an option. Good Luck!

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My daughter's eczema started when she was just a few weeks old and it was awful. We switched her to soy formula a week or two later and it helped, but not completely. Then, visiting with her great-grandma, I offered to let her hold the baby. She asked me to give her a baby blanket to cover her shirt with since she washed her clothes in regular detergent. Turns out that normal laundry soaps affects some babies skin quite a bit. With the help of Dreft laundry soap (there are a couple other brands too), we had it all cleared up in a couple of weeks.

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I am adult who struggled with exzema for years and found relief in the simplest of things: coconut oil! I take about 2 teaspoons a day and my exzema is virtually gone.

I don't know anything about it's safety, efficacy with infants but I wanted to share what's been successful for me.

Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

my daughter started having trouble at about 3 months old. we finally got her into a dermatologist and she prescribed hydrocortizone ointment (not cream) for bad spots and u-lactin lotion for her overall moisturizer. she was a different baby in a matter of hours. she is now 13 months old and doing much better. she has it the worst on her face so she gets the hydrocortizone usually twice a day there. we have noticed that acidic foods (tomatoes, strawberries, etc) tend to make things worst. also we wash her face as soon as she is done eating...no leaving stuff on her face. best of luck to you. ~m

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My daughter is now 15 and the only leftover eczema is a little bit on her toes.

When she was little, we dealt with it on her legs and feet.

My pedi told me she would outgrow it and she did becore she started school. I don't understand why but everytime we went to the beach it got remarkably better.

We didn't use steriods, just Eucerin, Aveeno, as a baby. When it bothers her now, she uses calamine lotion.

Best of luck...hopefully you will also have a good outcome.

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My son's eczema started around 4 months. I was pumping and he was exclusively fed breastmilk. We used hydrocortisone and benadryl allergy. Finally at 5 months the doctor prescribed a steroid cream (Triamcinolone Acetonide 0.1%) which helped when it really flared up. At 6 months we had him blood-tested for allergies (which could be false-positive due to the eczema). He showed up positive for wheat, egg, soy, dairy, peanuts, and dogs. I totally changed my diet to accommodate his allergies and we kept our two beagles out of his room and treated our dogs for dander and vacuumed three times a week. After battling plugged ducts and other problems, we switched to Nutramigen formula at 8 months old. His eczema cleared up around 10 months, with the occasional rashes or breakouts that we treat with the steroid cream or hydrocortisone. We still use socks on his hands at night when he's sleeping so he doesn't scratch and bleed, but I think he scratches more out of habit now than actual itchiness.

We just had him retested for allergies, as he had a severe reaction to pineapple and a less severe one to orange (citrus) flavoring. We also got an epipen for him. Right now we are hoping he grows out of these allergies.

As for the eczema, some people battle it their whole lives. Fortunately, it doesn't look like Ethan will have to. It is so hard to watch your baby be uncomfortable and scratch til they bleed. I held him a lot, sang and rocked him, and PRAYED!

Good luck! Hopefully, this too will pass!

1 mom found this helpful

My son had it. We put eucrine cream mixed with Hydro cortozone cream all over him. We found out that he was allergic to eggs and cantaloupe, so I think when I ate that he got it from my milk.

See if there is something that she or you are eating that could be causing it.

My girlfriends daughter has it real bad. She gets the itchy's a lot. She went to a dermatologist and they put a cap of bleach in her bath water and some peanut oil on after and that helped a lot.

If you have not been to a dermatologist I would go and see what they say.

Good luck

Also, my friends daughter had an infection in her skin and was treated for that.. so it might be more than just eczema.

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My daughter (now 2) had it as a baby (beginning at 1 or 2 months??) and it drove us both NUTS! At the time she was breastfed and I supplemented with formula. After trying every cream, lotion, salve, etc. I could find (Rx and otc), I got a book called Super Immunity for Kids and learned alot about essential fatty acids and all the things (eczema being one of them) that are a result of a lack of these efa's in our diets. Sooo...I took the advice of the doctor who wrote the book and started giving my baby flax seed oil in her bottle twice a day and rubbing evening primrose oil on her once a day and (viola!) it disappeared and has never come back. I still give her flax and rub her down with the primrose oil, partially because I want to make sure it stays gone but also because these things are so good for so many things, immunity for one. She has never had an ear ache EVER, never been sick other than a tiny cough that may last a day or two and a slightly runny nose once. That's it. I recommend you get the book and run to GNC. It will greatly benefit your child and you! Best of luck. =)

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Hi K., I'm there with you. My 7 month old has had eczema, espcially on his little cheeks :-( for about two months now and it breaks my heart. We have had him on two different anti-fungal medications from the doc, I tried neosporin, and finally we tried Eucerin in the big tub. So far, Eucerin is working great! We bath him every other day with just water and use soap on on his privates and then we lather him up with eucerin immediately after he gets out.
Another thing we tried was switching him to soy formula because our doc thought he might have a milk allergy. That was our last ditch effort to help him. I honestly dont think it made a difference, but he loves it. Hope this helps! If anything, I can relate to how bad you feel!!!!
~Ali

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My sons started around 2 months and still is not gone, but under control.

What we have did to make it more bearable, is to only use cetaphil cleanser instead of soap.

Use aquaphor, vaseline creamy, and aveeno lotions,
Only bathe once a week, unless needed. and lube him up with lotions while still damp.
Purex Free laudnry soap No fabric softeners
We do have prescriptions of steroids for bad flare ups, but only use rarely.

He was forumla fed, due to difficultys. Tried switching to soy forumla, made a little bit of improvment.
He now drinks no lactose milk.

He had it pretty severly as a baby, but now at 2 he only gets it on certain areas, on back of knees, elbows, and on his knees and wrists. very rarely onface.

What changes did you make in her diet or your's if you breast feed? Did you change laundry detergents, bath soaps or lotions? These are great places to start thinking. Sometimes eczema is a response to an allergy. Other times, not.

Giving her aveeno baths might help. Cortisone creams as well. Or if she had dry skin to begin with, emu oil or vegetable shortening. I know the shortening sounds bizarre, but my middle child had the driest of skin and would break out with a bout of eczema due to a multitude of allergies in the spring, our pediatrician recommended shortening because it was pure, no perfumes, no lanolin.... and it worked really well. I did try emu oil that I got at the U District Street Fair on a whim, and it worked really good as well.

Aveeno or any other oatmeal type bath will help with the itch and will calm the skin.

Check with your pediatrician to make sure that it is eczema and they might be able to find the allergen. In the mean time, dust her room, vaccuum frequently or wet mop her floor every day to catch any pollens that might be floating about.

Believe it or not babies and kids who have eczema usually their laundry soap is the reason why. I have a girlfriend whose son had eczema so bad that he was bleeding from the sores he had. After years of changing from laundry detergent to laundry detergent she was introduced to Shaklee. When she changed her laundry soap from the grocery stores to Shaklee her son was better (no more eczema) within two weeks.

Eczema doesn't usually go away unless you figure out why your baby has it and then change what you are doing to fix the problem.

I will give you a website and more information if you are interested.

N.
Health and Wellness Coach

this is so common & my son's was treated by our homeopath, she's very affordable too. She said it was very very common & not hard to treat. After my son was put on steroids to help it, she saw my son once & figured out what it was & he was eczema free within 2 weeks. Her number is ###-###-#### Good luck!

My daughter started battling eczema at about the same time. She is 14 now and controlls it if she keeps her skin moisturized. We eventually needed to use triamcinolone cream and then Eladil. Benedrly at night to help with the itching and mits on her hands. Now she uses Arbonne's Sea Salt Scrub in the shower, Skin Conditioning Oil mornings and night and Shea Butter to keep hydtarated throughout the day. Arbonne has an amazing baby care line that might help your daughter. It is hypo-allergenic, fragrance-free and free of mineral oil or animal by-products. For more information you can go to my website at www.nursekerry.myarbonne.com.

When he was 2 years old, I took my son to a naturopathic nurse, and she prescribed a diet that limited certain foods - dairy, strawberries are two I remember. We switched to goat milk, almond cheese etc. Within a few weeks, his skin started to clear. We gradually re-introduced foods to see which ones caused a reaction. He's now 12, and still has flare-ups, but we know what causes them and can cut back on those foods for awhile. Perhaps your daughter is getting some foods that are triggering her eczema through breast milk? My son was bottle fed, and dairy was one of his triggers.

I have a child with eczema and had it as a child myself. Hang in there it will get better. Make sure your doctor is involved in his/her care so they can prescribe creams or even medications that will make it better. good luck to you.

I have three children. The second had really bad exzema that she finally outgrew at about 5 1/2. On her I used aveeno lotions, body wash and oatmeal bath and that helped her. We also used a little steroid cream when really bad. Now with the third child (10 months old) I use burts bees baby lotion body wash. I wash him every day and lotion up generously after. if his spots get real bad I put aquafor over top of the lotion, it makes his spot almost invisible. I have not used steroid creams for so long because I heard that they thin the skin. I love, love , love the burts bees baby stuff. Sometimes I think it is all about trial and error. What works for one will not work for another.

Oh and my 6 year old was bottle fed and My youngest 10 mo is breastfed. The dr told me that if they had allergies to something then they would have hives. I dont think that is always the case though. My 6 year old does't drink hardly any milk at all and my youngest only has yogurt maybe once a week.

Good luck

My son started with eczema when he was about one year old. He would get it mostly behind his knees. Try Eucerin Calming Cream. That worked for him. I use it on both of my sons every night.

try www.mymamaslove.com

Hi K.,
My Name is N. and I rep for a green Manufacturing Company and we have a product that is NOT a DRUG it is a body lotion with a scientific patent, and independent trials that gets rid of the eczema. I know countless people who have tried everything and had no success and use our body lotion and have phenomenial results. Please contact me, I'm sure I can help you.
N.
###-###-#### (h)

My 2 year old daughter become covered in eczema at about 2 months of age. She was exclusively breastfed at that time. A friend mentioned what seemed to be a crazy recommendation at the time...she said I should try having my daughter wear a hazelwood necklace. The wood is an alkaline wood and because it is porous, it naturally absorbs acidity from the body via the skin. She mentioned that wearing it had help her baby son with painful acid reflux be able to come entirely off his meds within 2 weeks. Apparently, eczema is often associated with excess acidity in the body too so I figured it was worth a try. I ordered and within 2 weeks of her wearing it her eczema was literally virtually gone! We were so stunned and pleased! We had tried so many creams and treatments prior and nothing had worked even remotely as well as this.

My husband and I decided to develop and online shop to make these available to more people because of the amazing results we got. We have been in business for 2 years and have literally heard of hundreds of people with eczema who have had very similar results as we have. What we love is that this treatment is totally natural and has no side effects. if your daughter's eczema is acid based (which we believe from our experience thus far to be about 70% of eczema cases) you should see some definite results within 1-2 weeks.

Also, they are really cute and inexpensive :)

Our online store is www.hazelaid.com

Hope you find something that helps her!
Take care.

My son had skin issues almost from birth. We used lotion with a small amount of steroid in it to control it, but I remember times when his skin would get so dry and flakey I would have to shake the dead skin out of his cloths! He is now 4, and has out grown the worst of it. We still lotion every night, but we can now use Aveno and no longer need the prescription ointments. He still gets the occasional spot of cradle cap, and we just treat as needed with olive oil. I always made sure to use laundry soap with out add ins and used gentle non-foaming soap, and did not bath every day (it takes a lot of moisture out of the skin). He was formula feed, and went to milk at one, so it was not due to a dairy allergy.