Haven't read any replies.
As someone who has had eczema on and off my entire life (we had to tie my hands up at night it was so bad), and seen pretty much every alternative practitioner that exists, here is my quick summary:
Homeopathy did nothing for my eczema
Acupuncture from the ages of 12-18 helped, but that doesn't help with a 1yo
Chinese herbs were incredibly helpful, but again, not appropriate for a baby
It can be so much more than dairy. Little bits of dairy don't irritate my skin, but large doses do. Caffeine irritates it, so does alcohol, as does too much sugar, and particularly High Fructose Corn Syrup. Cheeze pizza irritates it - is it the dairy, the wheat, or the tomatoes? These items alone don't irritate it, so go figure.
I've never done the pure elimination diet I'm supposed to do, but the lists from people I've seen have included everything wheat to mushrooms to citrus to soy to tomatoes and everything in between. Honestly, the only way to really figure it out is to eliminate practically everything for a few months and add back one at a time. So so so hard. (Although the upside is that you'll lose weight and probably feel great.)
I still can't believe I'm saying this, but one of the things that finally solved my eczema, for the most part, was the whole wacky muscle testing thing - is it kinesiology? My mom took me to some guy in Chinatown and I went along only because she was paying and I'd already tried so many other crazy things, so why not? And the whole time I thought it was the biggest crock. Testing me for white sugar vs. brown sugar? Don't wash my hands with tap water for 25 hours? What if my arm was weak because my neck hurt that day? Give me a freaking break.
Well, lo and behold, I haven't had an eczema break out on my hands in over a year, ever since I saw him, and that was always the worst area.
I have no idea how kinesiology works with babies, but I thought I'd put it out there.
Lotions of all kinds sucked, even the natural, calendula ones. Vaseline type substances were much better. To this day I use vaseline on my lips - I've tried the natural versions and they irritate me. I do have a calendula gel I've been using when I have skin irritations (not full blown eczema) and it seems to be okay.
Nothing can be scented - no lotions, no laundry detergent, no soaps, nothing. I use Dr. Bronners unscented soap for my hand soap. Even essential oils are suspect. Olive oil is too astringent for me - I use jojoba oil to remove my eye makeup.
I really feel for you. Eczema is miserable, and one of my biggest fears when I was pregnant that one of my babies would have eczema. I wish you luck!
