A.H. asks from Richmond, VA on February 23, 2010
Remedies for Horrible Baby Eczema?
my 3 month old has the worst eczema, we put mittens on his hands, but he still scratches his face until his cheeks have puss leaking out. the ped told us he's too young for steroids, but I'm afraid to put creams on his face for fear he'll end up rubbing in his eyes or mouth. anyone have any ideas or know of any baby band-aids I could put on his face so he can't scratch at the scabs?
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K.A. answers from Seattle on February 23, 2010
If you are breastfeeding try the elimination diet, try switching his formula to hypoallergenic... Use only cotton... Keep the nails short! That will make his eczema a little better. My dr also does not recommend steroid use on infants face... Try coconut oil, vanicream... The change in what he eats should make the biggest difference!
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L.T. answers from Washington DC on February 23, 2010
I have 3 children with eczema. My 18 month old has had it since he was born. It was just awful watching him cry and scratch. I tried lotion after lotion and what finally worked for him was California Baby Calendula cream. They sell it at Target, babiesrus and you can order it online. As far as the scratching I used baby mitts and tried to keep his nails cut. I wish you the best of luck!
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A.G. answers from Norfolk on February 24, 2010
my niece had it really bad when she was an infant until about her 8th grade year when it started calming down some but not as bad as when she was little. her nickname is "the crisco kid' you got it. after her evening bath we rubbed her down with regular (not butter) crisco. her father and i are both in the medical field and after talking with her peds, my sister finally agreed to try it. Success! she also made she em's nails were cut and sometimes she wore 'spcecial gloves' (dora winter stretch gloves) she is now a beautiful freshman in hs with no problems (except for the embarassing nickname she earned) hope this helps
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J.C. answers from Richmond on February 24, 2010
Ck into whether your baby has food allergies. My son suffered this an an infant as well (I also had it as a young person) and it has almost completely resolved itself once we discovered his food allergies. (milk and egg) Now he occasionally gets a rash in certain places that are easily taken care of over night and don't cause him distress. I would insist that he be tested for allergies rather than just treat the symptoms. Good luck
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L.M. answers from Washington DC on February 26, 2010
Eczema is a result of liver toxicity. Best to treat it from the inside out. When you use all sort of creams, (PLEASE do NOT put Vaseline or other petroleum products on your child's skin!! )you are basically putting a bandaid on the situation. The best way to deal with this is do the food allergy elimination diet. Most of the time it is a dairy allergy. That means no milk, including lactaid, no cheese, yoghurt, ice cream etc. There are plenty of non dairy choices available. Other common allergens are wheat, soy and corn. Take your child to a naturpath or a chiropractor who knows about nutrition. If you would like a rerferral, please feel free to contact me.
L. M
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H.L. answers from Philadelphia on February 24, 2010
I'm going through the exact same situation as you. My 5 month old son has had really bad eczema for months now. The pediatrician has put me on a special diet (no dairy, eggs) to see if there's an improvement since my son is exclusively breast fed. There seems to be some improvement but not much. Also stick to the same detergent and don't use a lot of it when washing your baby's clothes. Make sure you're washing your clothes in the same detergent as well. Only use 100% cotton on baby's skin. And lastly I use Cetaphil to wash my son. His face, his body. And I'm constantly putting Vaseline on any irritated areas. That works wonders. It's not completely gone but its under better control. At night I'm also getting up whenever I hear him scratch. He's wearing the mitts too.
Hope this is a little helpful.
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K.A. answers from Seattle on February 23, 2010
If you are breastfeeding try the elimination diet, try switching his formula to hypoallergenic... Use only cotton... Keep the nails short! That will make his eczema a little better. My dr also does not recommend steroid use on infants face... Try coconut oil, vanicream... The change in what he eats should make the biggest difference!
1 mom found this helpful
N.B. answers from Washington DC on February 24, 2010
My suggestion would be to try to treat the cause, as well as the problem. I have seen countless families get beautiful results with Melaleuca products. The Renew lotion is incredible - no harmful ingredients!!! Switching laundry and bath products would probably be beneficial too. Happy to share more. Some sites of interest: saferforyourhome.com; www.10Americans.com. Good luck!
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A.E. answers from Minneapolis on February 23, 2010
I've found aquaphor to work great for eczema. Also what detergent are you using on your and his clothes? Even Dreft or Free and Clear detergents can cause a reaction. Perhaps you need to try a natural detergent like Allen's Naturally. Another thing is only give him a bath at maximum every 3 days and when you give him a bath try just water. I know we're trained to think that they need soap but it does help to eliminate it.
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J.S. answers from Washington DC on February 24, 2010
Looks like you have received lots of great advice and I fully agree with making sure you are not using too many chemicals in your laundry. Not only in baby's clothes but also your clothes. My daughter had eczema as an infant as well and we found using Tide Free in the laundry helped. Our ped. approved putting cortizone on her skin at this age but I avoided it because I thought she was too young. Since your son is having such a bad time of it I would skip the ped. and take him to a dermatalogist who works with infants. He/She should be able to help you figure out how best to protect his skin so it can heal and advise on long-term care so that he does not suffer such an outbreak again. Good luck! I know it is heartbreaking to see a little one so miserable.
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L.B. answers from Washington DC on February 24, 2010
Definitely stop using products you buy at the regular grocery store. I'm a big fan of Melaleuca products because they worked on my eczema (only one doctor visit in 6 years); they are affordable and come right to my door. Regardless of which products you choose, I recommend that you:
1) Get all the irritating chemicals off his skin switch laundry and personal care products (sheets, clothes, towels, soap, shampoos, floors).
2) Put him in organic cotton clothes only if possible, sometimes the chemicals in the synthetic clothing are a problem.
3) Not sure what/if he is eating anything yet, but stay all natural even if you have to make your own baby foods.
4) Eliminate any air fresheners (including lysol) and perfumes in the house as well.
5)
Once you change the things you can see how it works. If you are still having problems, I'd recommend having him tested for food and environmental sensitivities/allergies, let me know and I'll give you a referral (cause I've found a great one and had to go through some not so good ones). I can't find her card on my messy desk, right now, but will get her info if you are interested...
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