Do I have any lotion/oil/cream options left?

[DevaMajka]

Ds2 (8mos old) has eczema, mainly on his cheeks.
He also is sensitive to salicylates, which are in a lot of plants. Aloe, for example, is high in sals. This means that just about all plant products are out. Olive oil, coconut oil, calendula, and most essemtial oils are high sals, as far as I know.

He also seems to be sensitive to petrolatum- he got a rash on his cheeks after using eucerin for the day.

I've tried cocoa butter (made his cheeks super chapped and red, they got better after I stopped using it); shea butter (made them drier and chapped); and canola oil (doesn't hurt them any, but not that moisturizing).

Safflower oil and sunflower oil are both low in sals- could either of these be moisturizing? I haven't tried palm oil, but don't know how to find "non-destructive" palm oil.

Any ideas? I need something to put on his cheeks, at least occasionally. I know I've pretty much eliminated all options, but I thought I'd put it out there. Or anyone have thoughts on palm oil?

[KristaDJ]

Have you tried eliminating foods that could be causing the excema? IME most babies get excema from a food and eliminating that food will clear it up.

[AndrewsMother]

Have you tried lanolin?

[DevaMajka]

I've tried lanolin, and it doesn't seem very moisturizing to me. Maybe I should try it again for a few solid days and see how it ends up working. I have some, so I may as well try it.

Originally Posted by KristaDJ

Have you tried eliminating foods that could be causing the excema? IME most babies get excema from a food and eliminating that food will clear it up.

Yep I'm pretty sure that salicylates (in food) is the trigger for his eczema in his diaper area. I've just assumed that his cheeks were just slower to clear up. They are better, but not totally cleared.
Though...now you have me wondering if there could be a different trigger for his cheeks? I was on a super limited ED... I'll have to think about what I was eating that could be a trigger. Maybe amines.

[Chamomile Girl]

This may sound a little too Handmaiden's Tale, but what about butter?

[AndrewsMother]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

I've tried lanolin, and it doesn't seem very moisturizing to me. Maybe I should try it again for a few solid days and see how it ends up working. I have some, so I may as well try it.



Yep I'm pretty sure that salicylates (in food) is the trigger for his eczema in his diaper area. I've just assumed that his cheeks were just slower to clear up. They are better, but not totally cleared.
Though...now you have me wondering if there could be a different trigger for his cheeks? I was on a super limited ED... I'll have to think about what I was eating that could be a trigger. Maybe amines.

IME, I have found that lanolin is good for protecting the skin and allowing it to retain it's own moisture, so it might take a week or so to see results.

[KristaDJ]

Good luck, mama. I'm trying to figure out what is triggering it in my 3yo all of the sudden. I've eliminated egg whites and it seems to be clearing some days but then others is flares up again, thinking of going off of wheat next as that's usually the cause for my kids. I put breastmilk on her eczema, nothing else.
It's a tough thing to deal with, I hope you get it figured out

[DevaMajka]

I'm not opposed to the butter, but I did some googling, and evidently safflower oil is used in moisturizers and is supposed to work well. I'm going to try that first!
Maybe I could mix some lanolin with safflower oil to make it creamy rather than oily, just to be easier to put on.

Thanks all!