Skin Rashes/ecema

Our son had eczema when he was much younger--head to toe. It was so bad, it bled and oozed. We used luke-warm water for his baths, and Cetaphil cleanser and lotion. Maybe ask for a referral to an allergist or dermatologist. Our son's eczema improved significantly after we went to the dermatologist and followed her recommendations. It was significantly better in about a month, and almost completely gone in maybe two to three months.

His eczema may also be a strong allergy to something. If you can find out what that is and treat the allergy or keep him away from the allergen, you can maybe get rid of the eczema. We just had our son tested for allergies because he has asthma, and we have seen HUGE improvement in just the week since we had the allergy appointment and started new meds and we know what to do and avoid. I bet it would help your son too.

Good luck. I know how frustrating it is when you want to help your little guy feel better!

1 mom found this helpful

Sound like he has heat rash.
The Eczema is separate.

Try "Florasone" cream. I really recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Florasone-Cardiospermum-Relieves-It...

http://www.amazon.com/Boericke-Tafel-Florasone-Cream-crea...

It is all natural. And works. You can also find it at Whole Foods. Although my local store is always out of stock of it.
Or from Amazon. Even E-bay has it.

You can also read the 'reviews' of it on the Amazon site link I have above.

It is a great cream, for any itch/skin problem. This brand, has many other types of skin creams. All good.

Try also just dusting him with cornstarch baby powder over his whole body... maybe his own sweat aggravates his skin, and plus in the heat.

Good luck,
Susan

1 mom found this helpful

Hi S. -

Just want to add that it's not always a food allergy that causes eczema. Both my children (11 and 4 y.o.) have had to deal with it, and it's not food related for either of them. It's actually familial in our case, runs through generations.

Here's an excerpt from Eczema net that might help lend more insight:

The exact cause of other types of eczema is not fully understood. Researchers believe that atopic dermatitis develops when many factors combine. These factors include inheriting certain genes, having an overactive immune system, and having something that dermatologists call a “barrier defect.” A barrier defect is a term that means “gaps in the skin.” These gaps allow the skin to lose water too quickly. The gaps also allow germs and other things too small to see with the naked eye to enter the body.
***

Some people are just more susceptible. For us, using a non-soap (like Aquaphor Gentle Wash, which is free of preservatives, fragrance and dyes) and a lotion with cortisone (like Cortisone 10 lotion) to stop the itching, works very well. In fact, I watched my daughter's eczema on her legs literally disappear within a few days of using the lotion.

1 mom found this helpful

Use water in the bath ONLY. That will clean him fine. Do NOT bath him often. Too much exposure to water dries the skin. Do not put anything on his skin (No lotions, soaps, etc.). Only use laundry detergent that is free of dyes and perfumes. Do not use dryer sheets. Stop wearing perfume or using perfumed lotions on your skin, as it can touch him and irritate him. Be careful not to expose him to any other chemicals or irritants. His skin is all hyped up and any little thing can cause a reaction. I bet if you lightly run your fingernail down his arm, you will see the line change color (red) and maybe welt up a bit. Try it on your arm first to see the difference. I have been through this and a dermatologist made me do all of the above and I have not suffered since.

His diapers very well could be a source of irritation too. Huggies did not seem too bad with my son, but some brands (Luvs, esp.) Made his skin flare right up. Give him as much diaper free time as possible. Try cloth diapers or no diapers if you can manage.

I know this may seem drastic, but it will probably work. If you don't notice drastic results within a week or so, I would try an elimination diet.

Be very careful with hydrocortisone. Cortisone can cause permanent damage to your skin. What may happen is the skin will thin out and you will develop actual cell damage and your pigmentation will change to either light or dark spots wherever you applied the cream.

Cortisone cause skin atrophy.
The epidermis becomes atrophic (thin and malnourished); the dermal collagen shows
changes identical with those seen in the ageing process and sun damage. The skin
become translucent, yellowish due to the visibility of the dermal collagen, and
telangiectasia (dilated vessels) appears, again an effect of altered light transmission
through the epidermis and dermal collagen and not because of an increase in the
numbers of the cutaneous blood vessels (these vessels can dilate due to the loss of
proper collagen support). "Shear purpura" (bleeding into the skin in patches) is also
seen due to the flattening and weakening of the dermal-epidermal interface. Striae
(stretch marks or scarred tears in the dermal collagen) may be found, especially in body
flexures although there may be other physiological causes of the striae in teen-aged
children and pregnant women. De-pigmentation may follow cortisone treatment. (ref
Dermatology in General Medicine , T B Fitzpatric et al 3rd Edition, p 2541-2542)
Corticosteroid-(cortisone)-damaged skin becomes very sensitive to its environment,
does not withstand physical or micro-biological insults well, and becomes a little
unpredictable to any form of conventional treatment because of its increased
penetrability as the barrier function is progressively lost due to the thinning and damage.
environskincare.net.au/cms/wp.../01/cortisone_causes_skin_atrophy.pdf

Good luck! And you can do it.

Skin rashes and eczema can be an indication of a food allergy or sensitivity. The most common food allergies/sensitivities are dairy, wheat, eggs and soy I think. (He can have these allergies without any digestive symptoms, by the way. I would try eliminating those foods for a week or so and see if he gets any better. There is a ton of information out there for food intolerance. You may try googling that and see what you can find. Good luck and I hope he feels better soon...poor guy! Have you tried oatmeal baths?

Does your son have food allergies? My son had horrible eczema for the first two years. We discovered multiple food allergies were the cause. Once we eradicated the allergens from his diet his skin improved dramatically. I bathe him with unscented dove and use aquaphor to hold in moisture. I also have used california baby unscented. Also, use natural unscented detergent for laundry and no dryer sheets. The hot weather does exacerbate eczema. Even though his food allergies are under control, he still is itchy in hot weather.
good luck

Oatmeal baths work to soothe sore/itchy spots on my 1 year old. You can get Aveeno Oatmeal bath packets or just dump regular old quaker oats right into the water. I have heard milk baths might be beneficial as well but have not tried that.

Hi, S..

My 2-year-old and I both have eczema, and what works for us is taking baths in Aveeno Soothing Bath Treatment powder. There is one for adults, and now a special one for little ones. You can buy it at the drugstore and just add it into the bath. I don't use any additional soap on me or him, and I just use Aquaphor Baby Sensitive Wash for his hair.

I have also found that Triple Cream works well on him post-bath to keep the eczema at bay.

I have literally dealt with this my whole life, and I have gotten a LOT of advice about changing eating habits, avoiding pools, using expensive natural products...my own philosophy is that I don't really want to change my life around drastically because of this.

I use some Cortizone when things get really bad (but never more than about 3 days in a row) because it works quickly and then I can stop altogether. For me, that makes sense, but I know people have many different theories about it.

Try the Aveeno and keep the baths cool, and see how that works.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Hands down, try the Arbonne ABC kids' line. It has been a miracle for my son's eczema (and my friend's son's, and another friend's father's!) Theirs is also the only sunscreen that doesn't make my daughter break out - even on her face. I love their products so much I became a consultant a couple months ago. They are pure, safe and don't contain irritating chemicals, surfactants or solvents that could be contributing to your son's rashes. We had tried California Babies but I found it really drying to my children's skin.

I'd also suggest you get your water tested and consider a filter like a Sprite filter for the shower (which you can pick up at Home Depot or the like.) Here in MA we have a lot of chlorine in our water, as well as other irritants, and that could be part of the cause as well.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, even if it is not about the Arbonne products.

S.

Hi
What our doctor recommends and seems to work is no soap unless they are really dirty, then just plain Dove. A bath every night for at least 15 minutes and covering them with a immediately with a layer of Hydrolatum. I noticed my little one's skin was starting to flair up in part due to the heat but I realized I was not getting a bath in daily due to a particulary busy schedule lately. We are back to a fast nightly bath and it seems to be getting back under control. I would also recommend food allergy testing if he has not been tested. Both my girls have had (or still have in the little one's case) as infants that was much worse until they were off the foods they are allergic to. For the scratching we found this company that sells shirts with covered hands for bigger kids, particulary good for sleeping. They are in New Zealand but sometimes offer free shipping. I know it is summer but we would crank up the AC and put on the long sleeve shirt. It helps keep the Hydrolatum on the skin and no scratches. The company is www.kumfycotton.co.nz (I have no connection with the company- just really thought they made a good product) Best of luck!

Hi S.,

My son has a lot of food intolerances. He didn't have any allergies detected by skin test but did respond well to change in diet. Even though he is doing much better (we're using the Paleo diet though he does eat some things that aren't on the diet - probably causing him problems) he still has problems. He had what I thought was eczema. It was really bad and wouldn't go away. Eczema medication would only stop it from progressing, did not get rid of it. I brought him to dermatologist. It's psoriasis and needs a different med. He is also intoerant of chemicals. He reacts to chemicals in pools - nausea and head ache. I clean with vinegar and baking soda in my house. I've changed hygiene products for more natural products. I also recently remembered that a family member of mine reacts to dark dyes in clothing (black) so I'm replacing dark colored clothing with lighter. I don't burn candles or use air fresheners.

Lots of personal care products contain irritating ingredients:
http://www.terressentials.com/ingredientguide.html
http://beauty.suite101.com/article.cfm/beauty_product_ing...
http://www.discoverhealthandwealth.com/toxic-ingredients....

Laundry:
http://laundry.about.com/od/productreviews/Product_Review...

Household products:
http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/
http://www.oregontoxics.org/alternatives.html

Household Alternatives:
http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm

You can find a lot more resources online.

Hi Sherri, my son has really bad eczema, same as yours where he scratches untill it bleeds. His ankles are his worst spot, I call him Curt Schilling sometimes cuz he will have a bloody sock (Red Sox joke) but anyway, what we do is first we hit it with some steriod cream, then after bath time I massage Aquaphor ointment all over him. I have found that the aquaphor works the best to prevent and cure it. Sometimes if it gets really bad I have to get a prescription for bactroban cream, its an antibiotic cream so that it dosent get infected.

Well I hope this info will help relieve your son, good luck

Ann-Marie

I was JUST googling about my 2 year olds eczema. It seems to have gotten WAY worse now that it is starting to get warmer out. It is really bad between her elbows and knees, her arm creases and all over her back. Our doc has only told us to put hydrocortisone on it but she says it stings. She looks terrible! Yes, even plain water seems to make her look more red and to bring all of it out. I was just wondering if we should bring her to a dermatologist or to an allergist.

Eczema is a result of an allergic reaction, so the key is to figure out what the cause is. The most common culprits are dairy, wheat, corn or nuts. Consider the possibility that it could be additives as well (for me it's nitrates and msg as well as an intolerance to yeasts). When the body (in particular, the liver) is unsure of how to eliminate a toxin, it will send out the skin. Warm weather can make the eczema worse because sweating is also a way the body eliminates toxins.

In the meantime, adding oatmeal to the bath will be soothing. Be sure to stay away from lotions containing mineral oil, which inhibits the skins ability to breathe. Adding a multi-B vitamin in the evening will help too.
Best of luck and I hope you figure this out soon!

My kids are all allergic to sunblock. Horrible itchy rash and it doesn't show up until after a day or two of use. They are allergic to even the most sensitive ones. For some strange reason the only one that is okay for their skin is generic brands. Target brand or No-Ad. I know it sounds wierd, but it is the truth! This could very well be your problem. Their rash lasted a few days after I stopped using the sunblock. I tired Coppertone kids on my 9 year old last summer to see if he had grown out of it. Poor kid! Covered in every spot that the sunblock hit (especially his ears). I guess I'll never make that mistake again :-)

My son's eczema got so bad we ended up requesting a referral to a pediatric dermatologist who was able to prescribe a cream that helps tremendously. They also recommended that we use the Aveeno Baby soaps for baths, followed by Aveeno sensitive lotion..and NO bubble baths.

Good Luck, eczema can be very frustrating.

The creams don't do anything to stop the problem - they just treat the symptom, and not always very well as you have discovered. Eczema is a reaction to something in the diet. Rather than start eliminating everything, you can just add the necessary nutrients to enable your child to digest fully what he eats and to excrete the stuff that is lingering. I'd be happy to help you if you want more info. I work with a lot of pediatricians and moms who have figured out that nutrition is just not what it used to be - our foods are grown in depleted soils and we are getting 10-40% less in what we eat!

Have you tried Dove Bar Soap for sensitive skin? That's what my doctor recommended. Also, look at the lotion you're using, he may have an allergy to lanolin (also found in Aquafor).

Its probably most likely the heat causing the outbreak. I have the same issue here. My 2 year old daughter has had eczema since birth too and if she gets too hot or even too cold she breaks out and yes it looks like chicken pox too. I use a steroid cream from the pedi when it breaks out for a couple of days and Aquaphor (sp??) until it goes to normal. I should keep on putting the Aquaphor on but in the summer its gross. I do keep it on her all winter and her skin is very nice from it. I like glob it on after a bath or in between baths. I usually bath her every other day in the winter. I also had the same issue with products too. They all seemed to cause her to break out. I look for products now with detergents and all natural. I love California baby and Kiss my Face for babies. I use it all the time. Also Aquaphor has come out with a bath wash too and its great. I just like California baby because it smells nice. Aveeno does not work well at all and i really feel like its the detergents in it-not so much the lack of fragrance. So for the itching definitely get a prescription from your doctor. An all natural soap like California baby. Good luck!

You might want to see if you can get a referral from your doctor to a dermatologist. My son had "eczema" on his face. It was so bad that every time he smiled or cried it split and bled. My doctor kept prescribing stuff that never made it better so she referred me to a dermatologist. She walked in, took one look at his face and said he's got a skin infection. She prescribed some cream and an oral med and within 5 days it was gone and has never come back. He was diagnosed for eczema 3 different times when he had rashes and so far it has never been eczema. After seeing the derm a few times for his face, the rash he had in his genital area and one on his back he has since been rash free. He is 2 1/2 now and this is the first winter that he didn't get a rash. Not saying that it's not eczema but sometimes a skin professonal can help more than your primary care doctor. Good luck!!

I didn't read all the responses, but my daughter has eczema and I use the Arbonne ABC baby oil on her right after she gets out of the bath. It works wonders and it's completely natural ingredients, which is why I use it over other things. I use all their ABC products on both my kids. Good luck!

I also have had exzema since birth. My mother took me to dozens of doctors and I had all kinds of strange and painful tests and weird treatments. I was 6 years old when my Mother, trying yet another doctor, finally found one who had the integrity to admit that he had no idea what I had and referred her to a dermatologist. It took the dermatologist 30 seconds to diagnose me. I'm now 41, so I've been dealing with it for a long time. So my first bit of advice would be go to a dermatologist. You have gotten varied advice, because exzema is one of those things that's not black or white. Over the years I've learned that eczema, any allergy, and asthma, are all caused by the same root problem, and a person with one can experience any or all of them. And since allergies can have so many causes, finding out specifics can be challenging to say the least. With exzema, food allergies tend to be the most common culprit, but not for everyone. Mine is pollen. I break out worse in the spring, and dry summer heat tends to help me by drying out my patches. Humid days, not so much. I use an over the counter hydro-cortizone cream, and believe it or not, one of the best solutions for myself is ocean water. Don't know why, but it works every time. The single best course of action you can take is to go see a dermatologist. You'll get an accurate diagnosis, and it may take a few tries, but eventually the correct treatment.