Extremely Dry Skin/ Eczema.

Updated on July 31, 2008
K.M. asks from Clearwater, FL
36 answers

Both my kids, son-8 and daughter-2, have extremely dry skin. I've taken them to the dermatologist and was told to use Eucerin. Well that hasn't really help. My son's isn't as bad as my daughter's. She scratches her legs at night, all night, until her legs are red. I've several different people give me advise, one was to use vasoline every night and let her sleep in long pants, and another was to use crisco in the same manner. Both suggustions have proven well for the people who suggested this and their familes. Have any of you ladies tried either of these, or have any suggestions as to what I could use? Also, any suggestions for the scares the scratching is leaving behind.

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S.S.

answers from Tampa on

I have dry and sensitive skin and I've found that Gold Bond Ultimate works very well. It comes in three kinds. I use the one with shea butter. You can find it at Walmart and usually Publix.

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A.C.

answers from Fort Myers on

My daughter is 1 and she also has realy dry skin my sister gave me this stuff called cetaphil it comes as a body wash and a lotion. It has worked wonders for her, her skin is not bumpy and red anymore. you could try it and see if that helps.
I hope I was able to be of some help.

A. C

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S.R.

answers from Tampa on

PREMIUM TRIPLE CREAM!!!!!

www.sumlab.com

I got this from my friend's sister-in-law who works at some kind of dr office.

I use it on my 2.5 yr old who has terribly dry skin and eczema. Next to steriod cream it has been the only thing to help clear up his worst spot!!!

I highly recommend it!

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S.D.

answers from Sarasota on

I use Jason Aloe Vera. It's 84% organic Aloe Vera and it worked miracles for both my kids. Their doctor recommended prescription medication but I used this instead and got almost instant results.

Sometimes there is not one solution by itself. Pay attention to other products you use and diet (ex.; are they getting enough healthy oils in their diet?). I would look at the soap the kids use. There are lots of mild, fragrance-free products readily available now. Burts Bees, California Baby and Arbonne make great children's products.

1 mom found this helpful
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N.R.

answers from Sarasota on

Hi K.,
I have 2 nieces that have Eczema and my husband has it and the only things that work for any of them is to put Eucerin on while they are still damp from the bath/shower and using a prescription cortizone cream. Ask you Pediatrician about one.

Good Luck!
N.

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S.S.

answers from Tampa on

K. M:
I and my daughter suffered from extremely dry skin for years there were three things that worked very well for both me and my daughter, two gave immediate relief and the other kept it at bay long term: 1. shower at night and prior to drying off use vaseline or any type of pertroleum jelly to cover body in while still in the streamy bathroom use a terry cloth cotton towel to gently wrap down toward the feet and make sure you do those too. (I bought a huge jar from Walmart about $4) if you are using it enough should last about a month. 2. In the morning use Rose Marquetta - from Aubrey Organics (www.AubreyOrganics.com) (There is no alcohol or drying agents in this organic lotion and kids and teens like the clean smell - you can order it on line or buy it at any Whole Food Organic Store)
3. We hear this one all the time but it works and takes time, but drink as much water as possible, anyway you can get it in, but atleast 64 oz a day and night until your skin is the way you would like it to be. I hope this helps it did us, we used everything under the sun including off the shelf lotions, vitamin E and all type of potions and nothing but the above worked. You may also try using laundry detergent with less alergens on pj's and sheets and always sleep in cotton and use cotton sheets on beds.

SSantiago

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D.

answers from Tampa on

I used Aquafor for my daughter when she has dry skin and it works great. It is thick when you put it on the skin (kind of like a vaseline) but does sink into the skin pretty quickly. Within a few days my daughter's skin was smooth and she stopped itching. You can purchase Aquafor at any store in the baby aisle is where I got mine but CVS, Target, Walmart, etc they all sell it. Hope this helps.

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J.L.

answers from Tampa on

We use Phisoderm, I can only find it on Drugstore.com. I used it for my 21 year old when she was born and found it again recently for my 4 year old and new grandbaby. Very gentle wash the balances the ph level. Also follow up with Melalueca Renew lotion. Both are only available online, sorry.
Good Luck
J.

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N.D.

answers from Lakeland on

Have you consider any food alergies?
When I was pregnant with my son, my daughter (almost two) began to scratch all night and had very dry skin, it was terrible! some times she would get little bumps in her skin and we didn't know what to do.
The doctor prescribe some special soap and lotion, quite expensive! and that didn't help. So I started my research and realised that this had hapened just after I weaned her from breast milk and started to give her cow's milk. There are so many nasty things in cow's milk! http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/may/milk.htm

Anyways, after we changed our diet and kept her off cow's milk she has improved so much... now if she has something with it, we will see her scratch all night, for that I love Aveno Lotion, is so gentle on her skin and soothing too.

I think you should do a little research about food allergies.

Blessings,
N.
www.Preggyandbaby.com

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K.W.

answers from Lakeland on

Have you recently moved and changed to hard water? Do you have a pool or have to been going to water parks? Is this something that has always affected your children or something that just occured? There may be something in your environment affecting their skin. My husband and 3 kids had skin issues when I changed laundry products. Dry skin is hard to treat, but it may help to avoid things that could cause it to flare up.

Good luck,
K.

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C.S.

answers from Tampa on

My son also has eczema and we have found out through blood and skin testing that he has an associated egg and peanut allergy. We stay away from these allergens now and the allergist has recommended using hydrocortisone cream to help with the itchy flairs. You might want to see if checking for allergies helps. I lather my son everyday with aquaphor cream twice daily and use the 1% hydrocortisone every other day. When his itching gets really bad, I use a 2.5% hydrocortisone cream and he also takes liquid zyrtec every night. Hope this helps!

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A.D.

answers from Fort Myers on

Hi, We had a big problem with this when my daughter was a toddler. I'm a nutrition consultant by profession and none of my supplement protocol that worked wonders for my clients solved by daughter's problem. Our pediatrician gave us a topical prescription and justed Eucerine as well, but that didn't help. Plus it was only addressing a sympton and not the cause. Being in my professional field, I was determined to find the cause. Even if Crisco or Vasoline helps the itching, it's not correcting the cause of her itching. We took her to see Dr. Hershall Stanford at the Healthy Living Clinic in Fort Myers. He can do non-invasive allergy testing to determine potential causes. No shots. And then he has a variety of alternative-medicine protocols to follow to correct the problem. It turned out that peanut butter, eggs, and the biggest culprit of gluten were causing all of my daughter's itching. She would scratch her skin raw at night. I would itch just watching her. We eliminated all of those items from her diet. A challenge, but not impossible with all the options available in our country. Dr. Stanford treated her for about 6 months to detox her body and desensitize her to those foods. We were able to add eggs back in fairly soon. We switched to almond butter which she liked. We kept her off gluten for about a year. By the way Adah's has sampling days and at the time they had 1 weekend a month that focused on gluten free stuff. I would take her on those weekends and have her try all the samples to see what she liked before I bought them. After a year of her skin being cleared up, we gradually brough back gluten (wheat) foods and SHE WAS OK. We even added peanut butter occasionally. We had a relapse when kindergarten started, but it turned out to be peanut butter. I had kind of forgotton about the past, and was packing PB & J sandwiches. We switched back to almond butter and the itching went away. If you call Dr. Stanford and tell the receptionist that A. DeFrance referred you, I believe they may still do free consultations with a referral from current patients. I can't guarantee they still do this. I was in last month, but didn't have anyone in mind to ask about that.

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S.D.

answers from Lakeland on

For the scars left behind ~ There is a new product on the market for this. I'm sorry I can't think of the name but you will probably see it on TV or maybe your Dr.'s office can tell you the name.
For the dry skin ~ Are they taking vitamins? If not they need to be. Are they drinking plenty of water?

S.

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P.N.

answers from Tampa on

Aveeno Lotion and Aveeno Body Wash. They make it for both adults and babies. Its in the kids aisle at the grocery store. It cleared my daughters up in one day. Prior, we had been using Johnson's regular baby lotion and moisture baby wash for babies. The Aveeno did what the other could not.

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S.C.

answers from Tampa on

Try Cetaphil. It is a lotion and not an oil or greasy type product. My dermatologist told me to use it for my dry skin problems and for my son when he was two weeks old for dry skin. The Eucerin and Vasoline just coated the skin and never absorbed into the skin - the Cetaphil does and it stays in your skin for a long time. When you go to take a bath, you feel it wash off the outside of your skin, but not like caked on grease. You can buy it anywhere and it has no chemicals or smells to it as it is meant for dry skin.

Good luck!

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J.K.

answers from Tampa on

One of my daughter's also has extremely dry skin/eczema. Additionally, she seems to be allergic to grass and can't go barefoot w/o making the dry spots and eczema worse. Here are a few things my doctor suggested in addition to using Eucerin on a daily basis. (We use the Eucerin Calming Cream and apply it liberally after baths while her skin is still moist.)

Bath every other day in luke warm water. Very warm to hot water dries the skin out more, so try to stay on the cool to warm side when giving baths. The every other day is hard to do when we're at the pool and at sandy parks a lot. She really needs a bath daily in the summer. Instead I sometimes opt for a quick shower so she's not soaking in the warm bath water. Or I give her a "sink" bath. She's three and weighs 40 lbs, so she doesn't actually fit in the sink anymore. It's more that she sits on the counter with her feet in the sink while I sponge her down. She LOVES this kind of bath!

Several times a day I apply 1% hydrocortisone cream to the really dry patches. This seems to work like magic. It clears them up w/in 24-48 hours. The doctor assured me that b/c it is only 1%, I could use it as often as I felt it was needed w/o any adverse side effects. I use the Target brand. It's 1/2 the price and exactly the same as the name brands.

Also, I keep her finger nails and toe nails really short. That way if she scratches it's not causing as much damage.

Hope this helps!

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D.L.

answers from Tampa on

I use emu oil for many skin irritations. You can get it on-line & maybe at some health food stores. We do not suffer form eczema, but it's a wonderful oil that's used for many skin problems. YOu can read up on it online. Don't get fooled by all the "fancy" types advertised that charge more - just get 100% pure emu oil.

Another product I like is Miracle II skincare products. They have a clear gel that you can also use for many problems. If you use both products together, use the gel first (it's a healing & drying gel) and then the emu oil over it ( soothing, healing, and moisturizing).

I use these on my face & love them. My aunt who was visiting did have an eczema spot on her leg that pretty raw & used the 2 products while with me - it really worked wonders on her.

Products with calendula are also wonderful.

Good luck!

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M.R.

answers from Tampa on

Both my kids have Eczema and I got tired of using steroidal creams. I use Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream With Natural Colloidal Oatmeal (it says right on it Soothes & Relieves Dry Skin Even Dry Skin from Eczema). I have only found it at Target in the baby section. It is in the dark blue writing. The one in light blue writing looks very similiar but is not near as good. I use this every day sometimes twice and seems to work well.

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K.T.

answers from Sarasota on

My son has the same problem, so I am looking for answers too.

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T.P.

answers from Tampa on

my mom has suffered with Eczema her entire life. She has tried many suggested remedies and all have worked for a short period but not in the long term. Finally, again on advise, she started using soaps, moisturizers etc with no scent...as clear as you can get...and that has helped a great deal. same for laundry detergent since clothes, sheets etc washed in normal detergents have the same effect. It's a pain but to now she's clear. Hope that works!

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S.H.

answers from Tampa on

Turns out my 4 year old was allergic to corn and that's why she has had eczema all her life. I had her allergy tested and now that we are corn-free (which means no corn starch, flour, syrup - which are in most every single food) she has relatively minor dry skin and it responds well to gold bond lotion instead of prescription meds and lotions.

Best thing we ever did! She does have some scars on her body - like her back and arms but we use vitamin E oil per the allergy doc's recommendation.

Good luck.

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W.B.

answers from Sarasota on

If you can, I would suggest finding out if your children have any food allergies. Sometimes this can be the reason for exzema. It is a longer process but could be worth it.

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A.K.

answers from Tampa on

Hi my son did also have very dry skin to the point that I took him to the skin doc to see what I could do and of course he did not help me either . I now work for a awesome Health and Wellness Company and they have a great lotion that help with dry skin and eczema I use it on him after he gets out of the bath and after a week of use his skin was beautiful .If you like I can get you more info and send you some samples to try . Let me know A.
www.livetotalwellness.com/healthyhouse or call ###-###-####

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M.I.

answers from Tampa on

K.,

Try putting epson salt in their bath water, it has terrific soothing qualities and will help with "calming:" their skin. The only lotion that has ever been effective for me is Aveeno, the oatmeal it contains also sooths and calms itchiness and flaking. Good luck, I hope you find something that works!

M.

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L.G.

answers from Tampa on

Have you tried Aquaphor? It's great for sensitive skin. It's thicker like petroleum jelly and gentle.

Also, what kind of bath soap are you using? Stick with unscented, gentle soaps like Dove for Sensitive Skin or Cetaphil.

I would also switch to a free and clear detergent if you aren't currently using one.

My whole family has sensitive skin. I get eczema pretty badly if I'm not careful. I use either Eucerin or Cetaphil lotion and the Dove sensitive skin soap. It really helps me.

I hope your kids can find relief soon!

L.

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D.A.

answers from Tampa on

K.,

My heart goes out to you. I am a lactation consultant that has seen more than her fair share of miserable babies/children. Eczema is usually allergy based, but it can also be related to health issues. As an example, I became an eczema person for the 1st time in my life at the age of 46 when my thyroid went crazy. I SUDDENLY developed eczema on 60-70% of my body, and I had never had to deal with it before. At that point, I PERSONALLY learned about what works and what doesn't. To me the answer is WELEDA baby products. I buy their shampoo and body wash, their face and regular lotion. It is made in Switzerland, and the moment I started using it, I could see a difference. They are usually found in the baby section of LARGE publix stores, next to Burt's Bee products, and they are bright yellow. Each of their items costs about $10, but I think you will decide that it is worth it. Cetaphil products are cheaper, and they are good too if you are on a tight budget. Another soap that REALLY works is DOVE for sensitive skin. Cetaphil and Dove can be found at Sam's club. Keep in mind that these items are just band-aids. Your kids are probably allergic to something like milk or dust, and both of them may have different allergies. If you really want to help them: Try to find out what they are allergic to and do everything you can to help them avoid contact with it. It also would not hurt to check beyond their regular blood work. See if anyone has a thyroid problem or other autoimmune disease. I feel for your kids in a most personal way. When I developed eczema, I ended up at a dermatologist, allergist, and endocrinologists office--and I don't think anyone would have guessed that the endocrinologist would solve the problem. My skin is about 90% better now, but I still have derm scars from the itching, and I am still trying to get my thyroid back in order.

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L.M.

answers from Fort Myers on

I'm not sure if this will help but my 7yr old daughter also has eczema which is basically i think the same thing. Her doctor prescribed triamcinolone acetonide cream which has helped her dramatically.

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L.J.

answers from Fort Myers on

Hi K.,

I know of a wonderful lotion that you can only get from the manufacture at wholesale prices. The problem is that this product is patent and you will have to email me at ____@____.com and I can tell you all about it. The vasoline and the crisco is too much work and they will suffer with the long clothing. You would have to keep their room very cool and your electric cost would go up. There are other options that are available to you, so please don't give up. Talk to you soon!

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A.T.

answers from Lakeland on

Hi K., I'm having the same issues with my 2yo. I've done the vaseline thing because it was recommended by his dermatologist. I was told to grease him down 8 to 10 times a day and for a while he was looking better but with his allergies he had another flare up. So now I'm using the crisco, but his skin seems to just suck it up as soon as I put it on him. My husband has suggested mixing vaseline with baby oil. So after a couple more weeks of crisco, I'll switch to vaseline and baby oil. I'll let you know the outcome. If you find something that works, let me know. A.

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R.R.

answers from Tampa on

Hi, my son is 2 years old this month and my husband both have eczema. My pediatrican said to use hydrocortisone over the counter for breakouts. We use fragrance free laundry soap, lotion, etc... If my son is in the pool, ocean, or jacuzzi then we give him a bath and then apply lotion. He receives lotion (cetaphil) after his bath every night. It has definitely helped to stay on top of it. I hope this helps! Good luck!

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H.B.

answers from Tampa on

In addition to helping relieve the discomfort externally, I would strongly suggest trying to get to the root of the problem. There is evidence out there now after years of science and study that show that many children have food sensitivities (may not be a true allergy) to things such as gluten and do dramatically better after eliminating it from their diet. I would definately do a search for eczema and food and see what pops up!

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R.K.

answers from Tampa on

K. M,
I am so sorry to hear that you are having this problem and I do know of store that you can join on-line that not only delivers directly to your home, but the products are naturally derived and the lotion they offer has been proven to get rid of extremely dry skin/ eczema. I had a spot on my elbow for about the last 15 to 20 years and of course was in denial about it but it would flake and itch and even being an adult would itch it until it would bleed...I have been using this lotion and their healther soaps and cleaners for my home and Praise God the spot is gone on my arm and you can use it for everyday use with no greasy residue! It truly is a blessing. If you want more info please just give me a call ###-###-####) I would love to set up an appointment with you to hear more and see if this would fit your needs.
R.

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H.S.

answers from Tampa on

Hi K.,
My son has Eczema and we use Gold Bond Medicated lotion. It is awesome!! When he has a breakout I use cortizone cream until the flare up is gone and then go back to the Gold Bond. It has worked wonders. Now we don't even have to use the medicated version we just use Gold Bond shea butter. Give it a try! and Good luck!
H.

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R.G.

answers from Tampa on

Both of my daughters have eczema. When my daughter was 1 1/2, my doctor had the pharmacy make a compound for us of Eucerine cream (in a big tub) and hydrocortizone. Works great for us! Had a little trouble finding a pharmacy that could still do compounding though, but I would ask if your doctor can do that for you. The red marks were almost healed overnight and the hydrocortizone really helps prevent the itching. Good luck!

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C.B.

answers from Tampa on

Good Morning K.,

My name is C. and I am a fellow Mamasourcer ;)... I was reading your post and I have some information that would greatly decrease your childrens discomfort etc.. I have found this amazing crediable company that has been in business for 23 and has received the moral and ethics award from the BBB.... We have about 20 min. informational calls that will give you all the information about this company (they are privately own and do not advertise the only way you would ever hear about them is thru another happy satisfied customer... My grandmother has had ecezama (sp) and phoriasis (sp) her whole life, she now is finally at ease... I really hope to hear from you the information is totally Free and there is NO RISK, No one will contact you and you will only be speaking to me... Once we speak in person I can give you the details and also more information to do you own research, I wouldn't expect you to just take my word for it!
Hope you are having a great weekend and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Take Care
~Blessings, C.
livinglifesafer.com

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R.W.

answers from Tampa on

Curel-green tea and aloe. Try it. That is what I had my daughter use and it works great. I even use it on my dog for her dry skin. It is the only lotion we keep in our home now. Also if you give her baths use oatmeal baths. Baths and hair washing should only be every other day. To much water can make the dry skin worse. Don't use any harse soaps. You can buy oatmeal bar soap for the wash ups in between baths. You will be surprised if you follow these directions how quickly your kids skin will clear up. Also having the air conditioner set to low and fans can add to dry skin. Make sure the lotion is put on in the morning again in the afternoon and then at bed time. My daughters skin was so dry she was flaking. This works great.

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