Eczema Advice - Minneapolis, MN

My Madison was diagnosed when she was under 1 year. Aveeno makes great products. Look for the dark blue lotion in the baby product aisle. It says eczema right on the front of the tube. Use it everyday, especially after baths. It works miracles. My daughter was over 25% covered with eczema and we took her to a pediatric dermatologist in South Minneapolis. She qualified for a study for medication. Between the initial consultation and the time we were going to start the actual treatments (about 3 or 4 weeks) we started using this Aveeno lotion. When we went in to start the treatments, the doctor could not believe it was the same child (no lie!) and would not begin treatments because she no longer had enough coverage on her body to qualify for the study. It's just an awesome product that really works.

Oh, please try to avoid using any steroidal solution on your little one. Use Inkomfe Skin Repair w/ MLE. There are NO steroids and it works great! If you want to order it online, go to: www.inkomfe-usa.com. Or contact me and I'll get you a free trial size.

I just wanted to clarify the last posting regarding eczema being a fungus. This is a great website concerning the difference. Eczema in itself is not a fungus however people that have it are highly prone to fungal and bacterial skin infections/ringworm etc. so it is important to get this under control. http://www.eczema.org/Eczema-Infection.pdf.

Bathe daily but never more than once. Make sure you shower immediately after swimming in a chlorinated pool (ocean or lake too). We use Cetaphil body wash and cream (not lotion) and Aveeno have worked miracles for us and for the more severe dry patches Aveeno now has a small tube form of cortaid that I bring in my purse. If they have a chance to itch it, it spreads (risking the infections). Creams are heavier. We like the Aveeno tub of cream with oatmeal. We only wash her hair with Cetaphil and when she starts getting a little flaky wich could turn into ringworm we use an anti fungal shampoo.

At times I have even had to put cotton gloves on my daughter, keep nails trimmed and put her in a onesie style pajama at bedtime (we found some for older children.

May also want to look into candida treatments/diets as I expect you will find they are all related and will experience some form of all of these (or pass them to other family members) eventually. (The Ecxema is not contagious but all the infections are). Wheat and Dairy can cause Candida. Typically you'll notice itching right away.

When it gets bad, an epsom salt bath or oatmeal bath (Aveeno) works well.

We found that the tee tree oil in the bath water helped to disinfect when it got bad however for everyday use dried out her skin a little.

May also want to consider using only natural laundry detergents.

Here are the facts on eczema from the Mayo Clinic's website: http://mayoclinic.com/health/eczema/DS00986

My 2yo has eczema on his thumbs and legs, and it occasionally flares up other places. We use Johnson's Hair and Body Wash, but any other super gentle soap-free wash might help, too.
The flare-ups are worse when the skin is dry (especially winter and after swimming), so moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. The best one we have used is Aveeno Baby Lotion. The regular Eucerine did not work as well as so many people told me it would.
We also use a prescription topical corticosteroid when it gets really bad.

Hey L.!

Boy do you ever have a lot going on! You sound stressed. My 2 year old son also has eczema. I became a member of a wholesale shopping club recently that has this awesome cream, called Renew. It has helped my son's eczema tremendously. If you would like more info. I'd be happy to send you some. Just let me know! Good Luck. Take a break for yourself...S.

A little about me:

I am a registered nurse and married with two children.

Our daughter's eczema is completely gone since taking an omega 3 (fish oil) supplement daily. We've started all of our kids on it...including our baby. Good luck.

Here is what has helped us....

SUN...lot's of sun. The vitamin D in the sun is great for the immune system and especially for skin problems like eczema. Our dr prescribes 10 minutes of sun a day withOUT sunscreen because sunscreen also blocks some of the beneficial rays.

Also-use an all natural soap-not the OTC's like johnson and johnson, etc-to drying for kids with skin problems. Try Aveeno or even better something with goat milk in it. Etsy.com has some great handemade products and lots of vendors that make/sell all natural soaps for very little $$$.

Lot's of lotion before bed-my husband says i baste our son. Again-somthing moisturizing...not OTC - except Aveeno is pretty good. I use Gentle Naturals eczema cream on the really bad spots on his skin. I've even started using it as a moisturizer and my skin is dewy!

Unscented fabric softener and baby detergent--I also use borax when i wash all our clothes.

Good luck!

We had good luck with Cetaphil wash and lotions. You can get lotion or cream; our dr. recommended the lotion during the summer and the cream during the winter. Slather on the lotion within 3 mins of the bath to take advantage of the water. The dr. also said to use lukewarm water in the bath and only bathe every couple of days (use a washcloth on the face, hands and any other areas for a wipedown in between baths if needed). He also said to let the baby splash and play in clean water as long as she wants, but as soon as you're done washing get her out and lotion her up! Stay away from anything that will trap sweat/drool/etc against the skin like baby oils and polyester... Let the skin breathe.

My son's was so bad that eventually we had to get some steriod creams to get rid of it, but these suggestions helped. Good luck!

Our pediatrician recommended adding robathol oil to the bath water, it is perfectly safe even if they drink it. My kids have not had any issues if the water gets into their eyes either. Also, you could try using over the counter cortizone cream. Otherwise, Eucerine lotion works really well for my kids. The other thing we were told was to give our son bath time daily, even if it is without soap, just and then to pat his skin dry after his bath and then lotion it right away. This helps to keep the skin moist and eliviate some of the discomfort and irritation that eczema causes.

Hello L.,

I started shopping with a great company online that has a wonderful lotion that would help so much with the Eczema. Eczema is caused by so many things in so many products out there on the market. I would love to show you what I use you can contact me at ____@____.com and I would love to share it all with you. Thank you for your time. J.

Are you nursing or using formula? If you are formula feeding.... you may have to switch to a dairy free or hypoallergenic. If you are nursing, you may need to try an elimination diet to see what is causing her ailments.

Eczema is a bacteria that lives in the colon and it presents itself on the skin. "You need ot take care of the problem from the inside out. STart her on acidophilus. Its a probiotic and will take care of the bad bacteria in her colon and replace it with good bacteria. Buy the refridgerated tablets that you break open, and just sprinkle the powder in her mouth twice a day. The eczema may move around a little trying to escape the treatment, but it will go away soon. Keep hte eczema clean and dry, and don't slather creams on it. If its bothering her, put a few drops of tea tree oil in a bowl of warm water (just a few drops) and put a washcloth in it, wring it out a little bit and lay it across the spots. Tea tree oil is an antifungal and it will help rid the ski nof the fungus on the surface.

So many of the products we use on our babies dry out their skin horribly and are completely full of chemicals. I would recommend against anything with scent at all. Scent it is not good for our babies or young children it is also bad for people that hold them to use scented products like lotion and perfume. Ask that they don't apply them before they hold your baby. Your baby can't get away from something that strong that irritates their little lungs, skin and nose.

Avoid babywash, baby lotion and baby shampoo that has any scent at all. So many baby products are so strong like normal Johnsons baby lotion stinks!

Buy organic or natural products, I had good luck with Aveeno baby line. I have a friend that only uses the California Baby line because her son had horrible eczema, she switched from the normal baby products and his skin irritation and dryness cleared up. Target carries these natural unscented products.