Eczema - Homewood,IL

one of my sons has eczema and did since he was young. they were concerned that maybe he was allergic to milk or soy so I cut that out completely of my and his diet for a long time. The eczema remained. We tried several prescriptions and nothing helped. I was warned that one of them (can't recall which one) did weaken the skin. Finally I made an appointment with the dermatologist at Children's Memorial as well as the allergist there. I got into the allergist first who did skin tests. NOT allergic to milk or soy. He simply has eczema (again not related to milk or soy). She gave him a prescription of something that is 0.1 but I have the generic so I don't know what it is. When there is a breakout, I usually put a little amount in the evening and cover that with Aquaphor.... gone in about 2 days. Seems that the heat make it worse. So, be cautious with the cream. We love Aquaphor! I would recommend making an appointment with the pediatric dermatologist (long wait!) or trying some of the home remedies or both - if you make the appointment and try the home remedies and it goes away then cancel the appt. I am not a homeopathic type person but I always worry about drugs when they are babies.

Hi JG,

One week on steroids, even topical hydrocortisone cream, will do as much damage to bone density as menopause does to a woman. If you can dodge steroids completely that would be the safest thing. Doctors look at short term goals and don't look at this as a long term problem because they are treating the symptom. Eczema is systemic which means it comes from the inside. For some reason the nutrition he is getting is either not enough or is not absorbing in his little system.

Are you still nursing? If you are you might want to revisit the prenatal you're taking. If he's bottle fed, you may want to switch to goats/rice or/almond milk instead of formula. Avoid snacks that are processed. Chemicals in the processing/preserving break down the immune system and will cause an eczema outbreak. Now is the time to re-look at all things as he is sensitive and will have other issues down the road.

I can recommend a lotion that works for my 91 year old dad if you're interested. I have seen it assist his immune system well. Let me know.

M.

I would use just enough to cover the pathes.

I also used a strong cortisone for my son when he was a baby. In fact, I think it was the same. The good thing was that was the only strength that cleared the patches. Once the patches cleared with twice a day usage, I would switch to Aquaphor until he seemed to need it again. I also sent Aquaphor to the sitter so he could get the moisture without the meds throughout the day. It worked well for us. And eventually he outgrew the eczema entirely.

I would use it sparingly. Oddly enough there is a hair product Silk Therapy by Farouk that works wonders on the eczema I get on my hands. It's a little pricey but it's an oil and you will have the bottle forever. Good luck!

Have you considered a natural home remedy? You can look at a Natural Health food shop that carries creams and such. My Son has eczema that flares up every once in awhile now, but it was bad when he was a baby. This is what I did…Make a Paste of Olive Oil, and Corn Starch. Mix until it thickens. Apply to the area. It worked for my son so thought I would suggest. Hope whatever you use works!

Use it as directed for a week or two and it should go away. Also, be sure that you keep the skin hydrated with a really good lotion. Renew lotion from Melaleuca is what I use on my 1 year old daughter.

The thing about eczema is that in order for it to get better, you must get it under control first. Hence the hydrocortisone usage. As you figure out what is triggering it (food, allergies, etc), you can then reduce those flare ups dramatically. Soon you will only have to use hydrocortisone every now and then for flare ups. This has seemed to work for us. Also quick baths and apply aquaphor on directly after. Keeping their skin hydrated reduces the itching. If he's scratching too much, I would also use scratchmenots to keep him from hurting himself and scarring.

My son has pretty bad eczema and they also gave him a steroid cream. Only he can use it 4 times a day. I've only ever had to put it on twice a day before I notice improvement. Our doctor said it was safe to use the cream for up to 14 consecutive days, but that if the patches weren't gone in 7 days they most likely wouldn't go away with the low dose cream and he was going to need to use a stronger one. It should only take a few days for the patches to go away and when they do stop using the cream and switch to a moisturizer. I found that if I skip even one day of the moisturizer that he'll get a flare up right away. So don't stress about using the cream. Especially when he needs it. Just apply a thin layer! It really does help!