Very Dry Skin on 13 Mos Old - Need Advice

It might be eczema. I'd have the pediatrician look at it to make sure it's not something more serious. Make sure you're washing with something mild and using lotion that doesn't have perfumes in it. Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer work very well- I'd give those a try. Also, check your laundry detergent. Have you changed it at all? I would recommend using perfume free and dye free detergent and fabric softener. We use All Free and Clear (or Dreft if you don't have a high efficiency washer) and Downey Free.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

Hello, I have a 9 month old and he also gets dry patches on his skin. I tried so many lotions and nothing really helped. So then I remembered a beauty secret I learned in beauty school.....the best thing for dry or chapped skin is vaseline. It works miracles!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It could be eczema it is very common in babies. My husband suffers from psoriasis and because of a recommendation on this website I ordered California Baby products and they have helped tremendously. I think it will work well on eczema as well. I would have the pediatrician take a look and see if that's what it is. Aquafor also works well on dry skin. Sometimes skin irritations can be a food or dairy allergy that's why I would have the doc take a look. Good luck!!

HI there, my child has eczema and also has tons of allergies...what I found that works is this after spending hundreds of dollars on products that just ending up not working. When bathing use, kiss my face olive oil soap - this won't dry the skin, for shampoo, I use johnson's head to toe shampoo (not on body just hair), for moisturizing which I do for every change, I use, olive oil (yes the one for cooking) and then i put aveeno fragrance free on top of the olive oil and then on top of that (if the skin is really dry) I put aquaphor. Good luck, this worked WONDERS FOR MY CHILD.

Yes, my 18 month old son also had/has red, dry patches that don't seem to bother him. It was much worse when he was between 6-12 months. The doctor says it's eczema. I've tried numerous things on the patches: coconut oil, aloe vera, but the one thing that seemed to work the best is Eucerin cream. It's not as "natural" as I'd like it to be, but it does work and there's not too much stuff listed in the ingredients. I also use gentle, unscented baby soap/shampoo in the bath. I had found a great olive oil bar soap from Kiss My Face, but my store doesn't carry it anymore. One last thing, I've heard that Evening Primrose Oil may work well, too, although I haven't tried it myself. Best - A.

I would say a quick trip to the dermatologist,, it sounds like when my son got excema. He at one point quickly covered from head to toe looking just awful I was calling for emergency because it looked like ring worm, etc taking him over.

Now its just little red patches of dry here and there. I use colloidal oatmeal baby wash and Suave Oatmeal lotion. It seems to keep it at bay. the Derm. gave me a cream to use when it flares up

Good Luck

My pediatrician recomended a product by the name of Aquaphor for my son who had similiar symptoms but this was at birth. It worked like magic, you can buy it at most pharmacies. Good Luck.

Hi B..
I had the same problem with my daughter. Her pediatrician recommended that I apply every morning and night cetaphil lotion. After I bath her with Burt Bees shampoo, I apply the cetaphil lotion. Ever since I have applied it on her skin it has been nice and soft. The red and dry patches were gone. It has worked for my daughter it might work for your child. I hope that it works!!

Why not take him to a pediatric dermatologist? My baby had eczema and the advice from his regular pediatrician wasn't working. I can get the contact info if you want it (email me) - it's in Nassau County, don't know if that's close to you. The dermatologist prescribed prescription ointment that worked great.

Hi B.,

My son has the same thing. His doctor told me Not to use perfume baby lotions. Try vaseline, and not to give so many baths, especially in the winter. I was drying out his skin. I took him to the easier word to spell the skin doctor. LOL and they said the same thing. He has exzema and ceriosius. As you could tell I am a very bad speller. :( Well anyway try and see if that works. :)

Try "Gentle Naturals" Baby eczema cream. Even if it's not eczema, I swear by the stuff and it cures any dry skin. Its about 7-9 dollars a bottle, but it is soooo worth it. It's got pooh bear and friends on the bottle and you can buy it at Wal-Mart or basically any pharmacy. It works great!

Sounds like eczema. Could be due to the dry, low humidity weather we're having. My daughter has had it since birth, and our pediatrician advised us to keep her "greasy and shiny" at all times! I know this sounds funny, but it's working. We use a mix of California Baby unscented baby lotion and Aquaphor all over her body in the morning and at night. For really rough patches we use straight Aquaphor. We also use only unscented products, since this can irritate her skin, as well. And, lastly, we use a cool mist humidifier in her room, as well as around the house. All this has kept her skin dry patch free! Good luck!

Aquafore is the ONLY thing that helped my little one. I've been using it on her since she was like 2 weeks old. Turned out she had a sensativity to milk (dairy). So, we've limited that and it's cleared up. But I still put the Aquafore on her elbows, knees and anyplace else that had those rough patches.

Hope this helps:)

Hi B., Both my children had eczema when they were little and nothing helped long term and I really didn't like using the steroid creams. I was introduced to Arbonne baby care line and it was cleared up in a few days. My children 11 and 13 now still use the products because they are that good. I started selling the products because they worked so well. If you want me to send you a free sample let me know...no obligation. I am also a nurse and love the ingredients...nothing harmful.
Good Luck,
P. S

Try either Aquaphor or plain Vaseline. Aquaphor is vaseline but the content of vaseline is less in it than in pure vaseline. I use plain vaseline for my 10 month old and it works charms.

I have been experiencing the same thing with my 19 month old! The doctor said it was very normal in toddlers due to their enormous amount of activity and potential chafing with clothes etc. He also said that it was nothing to be concerned with. We use Johnson and Johnson moisturizer after bath and aquafor before bed and at other times. Good luck!

This sounds like a reaction to food, maybe eczema. Doctors may tell you to just keep it moist and live with it. For that, Aquaphore (sp?) is the best. Or, if you want to completely get rid of it, you have to find out what food or foods is causing it. Keeping a food is the way to find out what it is. My doctor made a list of all the possible culprits - soy, citrus, dairy, eggs, strawberries, corn, wheat. The only things that didn't cause my daughter's eczema was wheat. To this day, if she eats corn chips or strawberries, she gets the same dry, itchy patches. Best of luck, A.

Sounds like what they call coin spot eczema. My daughter had this around the same age. I swear by Aquaphor. It is thick and sticky but works well on the spots. Also, do not bathe baby every day - it dries out the skin. If the Aquaphor does not work in a couple of days, then you might want to call the pediatrician. Sometimes these spots get so dry they bleed which can then lead to infection. They will prescribe a cream (some are cortisone based, some are not) to use on the spots.

I also used Burts Bees which seemed to work well in general but if I was not vigilant with Ally's skin, spots would pop up and my first line of attack was the Aquaphor. If that did not work, then I would turn to the prescription cream. My godson gets nasty eczema too and his momma finally determined he has an awful detergent allergy. She uses ALL free and clear now and the eczema is gone!

Aquaphor by Eurcerin is awesome.

My son had the same thing, I tried everything.The only thing that worked was Eucerin creme. It's dermatologist recommended and doesn't have any perfumes. It's incredible. Just put in on right after his bath.

Start a food diary right away as this sounds like exzema and may be related to what he is eating. For the dry spots Eucerine cream or Aquaphor cream. Call your pediatrician to see if they would like you to bring him in it is so hard to diagnosis something like this until they see it and they would know better if it does look allergy related. We have three children with exzcema. Also try and remember if you have switched soaps, shampoos, laundry detergents, even dryer sheets. I gave the whole family a rash once with a new dryer sheet.

I agree with all of the other moms - it sounds like eczema. Our 9 month old had it as well and it seems to be worse during the winter time. We made sure his baths weren't too hot, started using California Baby wash (it is awesome and worth every penny), and began using Aveeno lotion on him every night. It is totally cleared up now!

sounds like simple excema. it's really common in babies. our daughter (now 14 months) has it, same exact description as your son. we tried a bunch of different things but the only thing that really worked (finally last week!) is shea butter, pure without anything else in it, just use sparingly, it doesn't take much, it's very dense and maybe could clog pores if overused. other things we tried that helped a little -- a little baby oil (we used burts bee's apricot oil) in the bath. a humidifier is also probably a good idea (sophie's got a little better when we were in florida for a couple of weeks because the air was more humid). but the shea butter cleared it right up.

It is probably eczema. I may indeed bother him although he may not scratch. Does he seem more irritable? My doctore reccomended mixing some hydrocortizone with his lotion and applying it to the red areas. It cured the occational eczema on my son. Like the other moms said, try to make sure his clothing is free of irritants and see if he has any allergies.

My son started at about 6 mos with a red dry patch of skin on his cheeks. The pediatrician perscribed Hydrocortizine 1/% cream and said it would take 3-6 mos to go away. He is now 25 mos and now has a red little bumpy patch on the thigh and elbow area. If I use the hydrocortizine faithfully it goes away. But if I miss a day or two it appears again. But with regualar use of the hydrocortizine 1% cream or ointment it helps.

is he hydrated? also i have a product called miesseence 'intensive body cream' it is an organic product from austrailia...awesome company...i have tried everything....i could not heal the cracks in my heels...they were dry and cracked and would bleed. i used everything...this was the only product that helped me to heal my feet...burts is ok..but use bees wax to prevent a loss of mosisture but if you have no moisture..it dries out...this company really is the only all organic company that i have seen...some organic products still have bad stuff in them...go ahead and give it a try..if it does not help..send it back!

I agree with the other mommies, but I also don't. My son was diagnosed with excema when he was a few weeks old, but truthfully it was nothing like my niece who truly has excema. My niece's skin was blistered and scratchy whereas my son just had small raised dry patches. I used cetaphil CREAM for a while and loved it. I am now using Eucerin CREAM and it is thick and delicious as well. My ped. was right in suggesting a cream versus a lotion because alot of times the lotions are water based and the creams stay on longer.
if it's not bothering him it is probably nothing. Maybe also look at the soap you use. Soaps can be very drying too.

I recently experienced the same thing with my 3 month old. The pediatrician recommended Aquaphor. It was 95% gone within two days. Now I just reapply every day or so and the skin is fine.

I agree with the other moms. My youngest has this and the doctor prescribed cortizone, but also purchased over the counter. I use scent free lotion after baths and use the cortizone when it flairs up. I looked up what could be causing the eczema and what I found was that it's an allergic reaction to dairy/tomatoes. But also if anyone in the family has hay fever. My mother in law is allergic to everything under the sun, so we know why my daughter has it.
Definitely take your child to the doctor to find out for sure though.

I know its going to sound crazy, but my daughter has terrible dry skin since about 5 months old. I have tried everything from presciption to OTC. The best thing that always helps Disney makes. I get it at TArget, its called Disneys Excema cream and their bath wash. Its unbelievable!!!! I have even told adults to use it and they always come back and tell me how wonderful it is. Good Luck

take him to the dr.. sounds like eczema and he may need a special cream to help heal it...

Hi B.,
I agree with the other posts that it sounds like eczema. I would check with the Dr. just to be sure. You don't want to treat him for eczema if it's not eczema. My son had eczema a lot when he was around that age as well. We only used cortizone if it got really bad. What really worked well was Eucerin Intense repair creme. I always put it on him right after his bath (which was right before bed) and it worked amazingly well. Sometimes, if it was a small patch, it would even be gone by morning! Good Luck.

My 13 month old can get incredibly dry skin as well and her pediatrician recommended Eucerin. It's very thick, but works great! We also use the Eucerin body wash in her bath because I felt like her baby soap was causing a lot of the dry skin. Hope this helps. Good luck!