Toddler with Red, Dry Patches

Hi K.,
I have 14 month old twins (one boy/one girl). Our son had something similar to what you're explaining and was told he had eczema. It doesnt always have to itch. The doctor told us to load him up with vaseline, which seemed to help in our situation. It comes and goes here and there but is manageable. Hope this helps.

B.

I have seasonal eczema and it never itches. It affects my arms and on occasion my face and legs. I would recommend treating her with natural methods for eczema... such as keeping dairy, sugar, eggs and nuts to a minimum, use hypoallergenic soaps/detergents/lotions with all natural ingredients (preferrably without milk/wheat ingredients), seek out healthy amounts of sun (for vitamin D production), and moisturize well and often.

Eczema doesn't always itch. My 3.5 yr old has it on about 80% of her face w/ several spots on the rest of her body. I don't like the idea of having to use a steroid, so the doc recommended I buy some "Vanicream". It comes in a tube or large tub and can be purchased at the pharmacy. For the tub, my cost was about $13.50. It is free from EVERYTHING and a nice rich cream. This product is the base used to mix meds into when you get a product such as a steroid in a "cream form" from the doc. We use the Vanicream about 3X/day and I am finally seeing some results after about 3 days.

I had tried other over the counter creams that she said burned her skin and hurt, as well as the Arbonne Baby Oil also burned. This vanicream is amazing...she hasn't complained once and she's even able to put it on herself sometimes!

Don't count out an allergy w/ these patches as they do go hand in hand most of the time. I also suffer from these patches around my middle and the cream is also working for me. Don't let baby be in the H2O too much and thoughourly (sp?) slather up esp after a bath!

Good luck!

Your daughter may have eczema, which isn't always itchy. My son developed eczema when he was younger, especially during the dry winter months. You can use hydro-cortisone, a steroid available from your doctor. Or you can go the more natural route and use a good lotion that does not contain mineral oil or petrolatum (which cannot be absorbed into the skin). The only skin care on the market I've found that is effective on eczema is Arbonne Baby Care (ABC), available online at Arbonne.com or through an independent consultant. My sister-in-law who is a pediatric nurse sees children with severe eczema all the time and the only thing she recommends that will actually help the skin is the Arbonne ABC products. Look for the mom-owned Arbonne business on Momasource.
DanaJ

Probably is eczema. Hopefully hers won't itch. Try some cortezone cream.

You have a lot of good advice already, but I thought I would add a little more... :) It does sound like eczema to me also. My daughter has it, and it didn't itch for her either. But the red patches got pretty bad for a while. Here is what our pediatrician told us to do:

1) For bath-time, use Cetaphil on her skin for baths (I even used in on her hair when she was a baby), and a non-fragrancy shampoo for hair. The Cetaphil is very gentle, fragrance free, and leaves her skin feeling soft.

2) Use a good, thick lotion like Eucerin or Aquaphor which is even better, especially during breakouts. For daily use, I use Aveeno daily moisturizing. It is fragrance free.

3) On the red spots and breakouts, use 1% hydrocortisone cream 3 times/day. The pediatrician assured us that it is perfectly fine to use it on babies to spot treat. It worked amazingly well to clear up our daughter's skin. As soon as she gets a little bit red behind her knees we put it on and it works great.

I would stick with fragrance free products - even some all natural ones have fragrance that kids' skin can be irritated by. Good luck!

My boys have eczema but they don't get the itching side effect, it sounds like that is what this is but I would ask your doctor. P.S. Arbonne has great products that keep my boys eczema under control.

It does sound like she might have eczema. My daughter had it and didn't really itch that much either. I used Auquaphor and it works great.

My son gets the same things, I have since chalked it up to exzema (dry patches of skin). When his skin gets really dry from either winter or when he gets lots of sun. We use Renew from Melaleuca, it is similar to eucerin lotion. We lotion him at night after his bath or before bed and every morning before he gets dressed. Putting a lot of lotion on has really helped with the patches. Hopefully that helps.

Eczema doesn't always itch actually. When the body is low on essential fatty acids, eczema will show up as a dry "rash". Keep it dry and give her an essential fatty acid supplement: fish oil, flax oil or cod liver oil ~ all available at health food stores and co-ops. They even come flavored for children.

As long as she gets into the habit of taking them, give them to her for the duration of her childhood. EFA's prevent a myriad of illnesses and disorders, promote brain development and proper physical development. Do some research on them.

It looks like most people have already responded with this, but I would guess it is eczema. It is very common, and my daughter had it and it didn't seem to ich her either. The dr confirmed that it was eczema and to use Eucerin lotion on it, and 1% hydrocortizone.

My kids both have it (heredity - from their daddy) and they don't itch it. I usually use Gentle Naturals eczema cream and that usually helps to clear it up/keep it in check. They also have humidifiers in their rooms during the winter. My son's has actually gotten much better (he's 4.5 now) so I think it's possible for them to grow out of it. Just make sure you stay on top of it or else it can get pretty painful for them.

I would call the doctors office right away. There are skin conditions that get worse before they get better. Poor little thing... Hope you can get it figured out!

Eczema does usually itch, but that doesn't mean she would necessarily be messing with the spots at this age. What you are describing sounds very much like eczema to me. I have it and so do my 2 and 4 year old. If it is eczema, I highly recommend Eucerin cream. It's pricey, but works! My daughter, who has it the worst gets a regular, nonscented lotion all over her body followed by a coat of Eucerin after her bath. My son just gets spot treatment with the Eucerin as his is far better than hers. Good luck!

It does sound like exzema. My 4.5 month old daughter has the same thing. She just had her checkup and that's what her doc said as well. He told me to put a fragrance-free moisterizer on it daily to help. I use the generic form of the Eucerine (Equate from Walmart), because it really helped out with my super chapped skin in the winter time and now my hands are all nice and soft!
My daughters showed up on her arms, then legs and some on her tummy. Hers also look red at times, then goes away, but the roughness is still there. Also, hers doesn't seem to be bothering her at all either.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!

It may be worth a trip to a dermatologist. It could be guttate psoriasis, which can be treated. (I'm not saying it IS psoriasis, but it sounds similar, and if there's a chance, I'd have it checked.) GP is usually triggered by some sort of infection...has she had strep recently?

I use products that do not have chemicals. Great products with tea tree oil for children and the home. Let me know if you would like more information. Their renew lotion heals real good.

My sister swears by aquaphor for my two year old neice's eczema. My 10 year old had it all over both legs last winter and the doctor told us to use Eucerin. It worked great.

Hello I have a 1-year-old who developed a spot like this on the back of his neck. I thought that it was from his coat rubbing but then it was a red ring and clear in the middle. My grandmother who watches him while my husband and I are at work looked in her health bood said it was ring-worm and to keep an anti-fungal cream on it. I just went to the doctor for his 1-year check-up and my doctor told me it was indead ring-worm. Try puting an over the counter yeast infection cream on it in the morning and at night. This is what my doctor told me to do. It will be cheaper in the long run than going to the doctor and paying a doctors visit. And if it doesn't work then you should bring her in. Be extra careful, cause if she is in daycare at all, the other kids could get it from her. My son gets yeast infections all the time and I also got something from my chiropractor that I can add to his cups of juice or milk. Take a good look at the spots, if they are red and clear or white in the middle then it is ring-worm for sure. Hope this helps a lot. A.

Try Vitamin E Oil applied directly on the skin. The higher the I.U. of Vitamin E, the faster it heals. (Health Food section of grocery stores carry Jason brand with a 32,000 I.U. Or, just open a regular Vitamin E capsule and gently apply to irritated skin a few times a day.) This heals Eczema, Psoriasis, Skin Wounds, Itchy skin, etc. I use it for my kids and myself.

My youngest gets really dry patches on his skin. I use Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream. It is a very think lotion. On the bottle it indicates it is for dry skin and even dry skin from eczema. There is also a body wash that goes with it. I use both of these on him and once I started to use those the dry patches disappeared. He only gets them every once in awhile now. You can buy these at Target or Walmart in the baby section. They are a little more expensive than regular baby lotion, but for us they work wonders. Now that I have it under control I don't have to use quite as much. If I notice a patch I just put a little extra on that area.

Hope this helps.

Hi K.

You might try Aloe Juice. Aloe is a healer of everything inside and out. Go to www.marketamerica.com/dherber and research aloe under health and nutrition.

i would have to say it sounds like eczema. my daughter got similar patches and they didn't seem to itch. they went away on their own and then came back and they did bother her. I would try using Aveeno Eczema Care lotion found at walgreens by the neosproin.

My 16-month-old has eczema and he never seems bothered by it. He never scratches or rubs it. When it first started I thought it was just dry skin or a rash but a doctor told me otherwise and gave me a prescription for hydro-cortisone. That clears it right up.

Eczema sounds right but just call the nurse line. Eucerine (spelling?) works really well.

They may be just dry patches. Try using baby lotion a couple times a day. If that doesn't help, call your doctor or nurse line to see if she needs to be seen.

I would say eczema. My daughter has it, one day it looks like its almost gone and the next it is really red. When she was younger it didn't bother her as much. She is 3 now and scratches it but as a baby (her 1st patch was when she was maybe 2 months old) she never scratched. Try some hydracortizone cream or eucerin cream(it's almost like vasaline). They say luke warm baths and mild soap. Your Dr. could also prescribe cream. Good luck with it, we've been battling with it for 3 years:-)

Hello K.,
My son had red patches all over his body when he was about 1 year old, it was Ring-worm, It is red but then the middle gets clear. The doctor never saw a case like his because he had it everywhere, fingers, toes, legs, arms, etc...(except diaper area and scalp) It is really not dangerous unless it spreads to the scalp I was told, then it can get serious. We were prescribed an anti-fungul that was a little stronger so we only had to apply once a day. He got a bath every night then we laid him down and rub the cream on every spot until they were gone, about a week. It never bothered him, he never itched it at all. To this day we have no idea how he got it. The doctor was concerned so that it wouldn't spread to the scalp, which it never did. I don't know if this is your daughter's issue or not but I would definitely let the doctor look at it.
Good luck
M.

Hi K..

I have eczema on my hands and it really itches, but my daughter also gets it really bad in the winter, and she rarely complains about itching or burning. For peace of mind, I would probably have it checked out by a dermatologist, but I would guess that it is eczema. You may also notice that the patches are almost always in the same spot. I have found that for her, shorter, less frequent baths (as applicable) as well as baby oil in the bath and the Aveeno Gentle Naturals eczema cream works very well, but I need a perscription strength, or mine is not kept in check (another reason to perhaps have a doctor take a look). Good Luck, and don't worry too much, I've been told that my daughter still has a good chance of growing out of it!

You might want to consider psoriasis?

You might also want to consider allergies. My allergist said allergies in young children often show up as dry patches. Worth having your doctor check out to ease your mind.

My sone who is 23 months has the same thing... I asked my dr and it is basically dry skin I found that aquifor works the best for it

i would have it checked so you know what it is at her next appt. my youngest has mild eczema and only gets it on his cheeks we have never noticed it anywhere else. we just have to use a really good moisterizer when it breaks out. even when its broke out it doesn't bother him. my mom has psoriasis and has to have a prescription for hers. usually hers breaks out in sores now but when it started about 5 years ago it was red circles of what looked like dry patches or little bug bites they would come and go and over time got worse. with her psoriasis the ones that stay red and don't turn into sores don't bother her but when they get to the sores stage it itches.