need advice. 7mo old with eczema. biotin lacking?

[LionessMom]

i just read that lack of biotin can cause eczema and depression, lethargy, and developmental delays. never had a problem with any of the other kids but my 7 mo old has a circular form of eczema. no it is not ringworm. seen the doc three timesto figure it out. doc told me to switch to aveeno for baths and lotion and wants me to use a steroid cream sparingly to help it heal. so... thoughts? anyone? anything? can i supplement my diet with biotin? we bf.

[balancedmama]

Have you investigated food allergies? I'd be thinking about that before assuming my breast milk was lacking in biotin. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take biotin yourself if you feel you're deficient.

[SquishyKitty]

I would also look at food first, and anything else that she might come in contact with. Laundry soaps, your lotions/perfumes, etc. I'm really sensitive to that as well.

[LionessMom]

i am probably lacking as i have fibro and have had an increase in my fatigue lately.

she did start solids recently. she likes bread and everything she can chew herself. i thought her rash was a reaction to her bath seat. i had bought a summer infant bath seat with the mesh back. after the second time using it i noticed she had a rash on the parts where it touched her. her back and buttocks were red. after a week she had this circular looking rash. well i thought maybe it was the bath seat so i went out and got a ring one. well that night i gave her a bath and she was 98% better. it still looks better than it did but the dry scaly part is still there. the only other change i made was to go from regular baby soap to cucumber melon baby soap and lotion. shhe had been eating food for 2 months (baby food no rice or cereal) and self feeding for one month.

maybe these details will help. for eliminating a food she is reacting to, what is my first step? eliminate one thing or go back to just ebf for awhile. she gets cranky when i dont give her real food.

[balancedmama]

Well as far as foods...anything you are feeding her that is top8 would be the best place to start..dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish. Check all your labels and eliminate anything that has those in it. Often it's something as simple as soy in the bread you're feeding her.

[LionessMom]

of all that stuff, she has only had bread. so i cut that out and found some other stuff to give her that wasnt on the top 8 list.

i would still like to eat more food with biotin (?) i think it would alleviate out dry scalp.

after a couple of baths with aveeno and some aquaphor on it, it look smuch better. now it only looks like a couple of dry spots. the aveeno even cleaned up her face acne. but if i give her a bath with her sister i have to take her out before i use the shampoo on her sister. otherwise it gets her little private area all pimply.

she even started going to sleep again. it must have been really bothering her. bc she wouldnt let me lay her down at night. but now she is sleeping for 5 hours in her own bed again (we sidecar).

[SquishyKitty]

I wouldn't use anything scented or dyed on her, lotions, soaps, powders, oils. A lot of people tell you to use essential oils on excema, but I have had horrible outbreaks with essential oils.

A very simple, unscented lotion that soaks into the skin (the oily stuff that just sits on the skin makes it worse for me), a mild soap if needed, otherwise just rinse with water, and I use a cortisone cream for the really bad outbreaks. I don't know if that's recommended for a young baby, so I'd ask your doc first, but otherwise, it seems like it's mostly a topical reaction, so you could probably clear up most of it easily.

Good luck.