safe eczema treatment for four month olds hands?

[louoftwo]

My four month old has eczema head to toe but has it really bad on his hands. He is constantly putting his hands in his mouth and sucking his thumbs. They are really rough, dry, red and cracked, is there anything I can do to help?

[Mummoth]

The best non-medicinal thing I've found for it is coconut oil. Since it's edible, it's about as safe as you can get. I'd probably put it on him at diaper changes, 3 or 4 times a day. The Dr. recommended Aveeno, which probably worked better, but her rash was so inflamed that creams stung... the coconut oil doesn't sting so it was a lot easier to put on my daughter. Coconut oil has some antibacterial properties, so it helps prevent infection when the rash is open. It's not a miracle cure, won't make it go away but it definitely helps keep it under control.

If you do have to get a medicinal cream, try putting it on when he's asleep to give it a chance to absorb into his skin before his hands go in his mouth. I put socks over my daughters hands/up her arms to keep her from scratching in her sleep... maybe that would work to help him keep his hands out of his mouth.

When you see his start to scratch when he's awake/in your lap try patting the area for him, closer to his trunk than the itch. The tap-tap-tap of your hand can disrupt the nerve that are signaling the itch, and make it stop temporarily. If you're in an area where you've recently just turned off the furnace, you might notice an improvement in his rash... heating systems make for really dry air, so a lot of people get some relief from eczema in summer months.

My daughter often has a flare up of eczema right before she comes down with a cold. It's something to keep in mind during flu season, another reason to be diligent about hand washing/all the avoid getting sick precautions.

It's such a frustrating experience! I'm sorry I don't have a great miracle cure to pass on, my daughter still gets patches of it behind her knees and the insides of her elbows.

[louoftwo]

Thanks for the advice, I will try the coconut oil and socks on his hands. Right now I'm using a homeopathic cream with the main ingredient being sulfur and it really works well for his skin, but I don't want to put it on his hands as they go into his mouth.

I also have another question. Does anyone know how long it would take to get dairy out of your breast milk? And is the lactose or milk proteins that usually causes the problem? Thanks!

[Mummoth]

It takes about 2 weeks to get out of your system, and then up to another 2 to get out of the babies system. I don't know if it's the protein or the lactose that's a problem... I was told I could use goats milk as an alternative while on an elimination diet (I eliminated gluten, soy, citrus, cows milk products, eggs and nuts). Citrus and red food dye are common triggers for flare ups.

[nicole_marie]

Originally Posted by louoftwo

Thanks for the advice, I will try the coconut oil and socks on his hands. Right now I'm using a homeopathic cream with the main ingredient being sulfur and it really works well for his skin, but I don't want to put it on his hands as they go into his mouth.

I also have another question. Does anyone know how long it would take to get dairy out of your breast milk? And is the lactose or milk proteins that usually causes the problem? Thanks!

As long as they are not showing signs of infection, I would use whatever you typically use on the rest of his rash. Put it on before nap and bedtime and cover his hands with socks or use pajamas that have built-in hand mitts. Then you could wash his hands when he wakes up? My son's atopic dermatitis (eczema) didn't do well with oils, but every child is different. Creams worked best for us.

[ASusan]

At that age, socks on hands worked *very* well. Now, we keep his nails well clipped.

Oils did not work for us. Creams (the lotion that is so thick that it comes in a tub) work much better.

Lasinoh works when his hands get very raw.

DS reacts to dairy, and also to goat's milk when I drink it. When we removed his other allergies -wheat, egg, peanut - is when we saw marked improvement. But, he still reacts to things we haven't figured out yet.


Thanks for the idea about the tapping. I had not heard that before. We could have used it last night, as DS had a terrible time with his itching hands. Even Benedryl did not touch it.

[michelle01]

Originally Posted by louoftwo

My four month old has eczema head to toe but has it really bad on his hands. He is constantly putting his hands in his mouth and sucking his thumbs. They are really rough, dry, red and cracked, is there anything I can do to help?

Eczema is one of the most disturbing and irritating diseases in human history. It's one of those diseases that keep you awake all night long. Chemical medicines usually work, but not in all cases. Some people don't react as hoped to the medicine and the reason is because a person's body differs in terms of immunity as well as allergic reactions. Antibiotics, which are usually used for dry skin symptoms to relieve infection, can be prescribed by doctors. Eczema Treatment should be given very carefully compared to other deceases.

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Eczema Treatment

[gilamama]

try supping carlson's vitamin d drops to help the baby's system get rid of what ever is irritating it. aveno will make it worse if wheat or gluten are an issue so i'd avoid that. also you supp vitamin d or blue ice brand cod liver oil and large amounts of C to help your body clean itself out and stay clean and not be irritated my anything. good lukc!