Exzema treatment?

[newmamalizzy]

DD is starting to show signs of exzema. I'd love some advice from mamas who have dealt with this. What products/treatments did/did not work for you? Do any of those expensive specialty lotions really help, or are there simple remedies that work just as well? I'm particularly concerned with what I can safely put on her face.

[Mama Mko]

We used Aveeno Advanced Care lotion. We tried lots of others and this was the only one that helped. Also, we finally figured out that corn was the trigger and when we took all the corn out of his diet (it's in everything so it was really difficult), it went away.

We only bathed him once a week and I slathered the lotion on him before I dried him off. Then I just pat-dried him and put his pajamas on.

[GuavaGirl]

The California Baby calendula cream worked pretty well for us.

[trekkingirl]

cerave in the tub not the bottle has works wonders for DD. It's the only lotion I know of that is time released. Good luck!

[Ruthie's momma]

DD developed eczema as a babe. It has gotten progressively better as she has aged (as is often the case).

Some things I considered/consider...

1) Nursing? Sometimes certain foods (from momma) can trigger an allergic reaction in a little one.

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns...nsitivity.html

2) Bathing? DD was (and still is) bathed only briefly bathed, in warm water and without any soaps. During the winter, she will take a weekly oatmeal bath.

3) Moisturizing? DD is slathered with a super rich cream every day (sometimes twice a day during the winter). Aquaphor and coconut oil work really well for us.

4) Clothing? DD wears only cotton clothing.

5) Environmental exposure? I use only fragrance free laundry detergent, no fabric softeners, and a limited number of cleaning products (that are natural, as well). DH and I limit our use of fragranced shampoos, conditioners, colognes, etc.

Hope that helps!

[elisheva]

subbing

My ds3.75 has only developed eczema in the last year or so. He gets it mostly in the crevices of his arms and backs of his knees. We've been unable to link it to any food and we've always used scent-free products. I have been able to link it to seasons - it went away in May and returned about 3 weeks ago. We live on the coast in British Columbia so there isn't a huge humidity difference (if anything it's drier in the summer) and the daily temp this summer was low (68ish most of the summer) and now it's 50ish during the day.

We started rubbing him down with extra virgin coconut oil and he says it makes the itch stop. We've seen a change in the amount of inflamation as well though the eczema is still there. I've also started him on 800IU of Vit D per day though he's decided he doesn't like the grape candy flavoured pills... so I'm not sure if it's the coconut oil or Vit D or both that are helping...

A friend has told me that Lipikar Baume by La Roche Posey is the very best thing that has worked for her son and husband. It's prohibitively expensive so we're going to see how the coconut oil pans out in the next few weeks.

[1blueheron]

change of detergent + coconut oil cleared up our dd entirely

[Jayray]

DS has eczema that covers his whole torso at times (although it doesn't seem to bother him). What has worked for us is Vaseline slathered on night and morning (when it's bad--just night when it's not). I know what Vaseline is and I really don't think they're anything wrong with it. I like it better than some of the other active ingredients in some "natural" products (like dimethicone).

But recently I've bought something actually natural--CJ's BUTTer--and started using it. A WAHM makes it and it's wonderful. She designed it as a cloth-diaper safe ointment, but it is also great as a moisturizer and really helps with eczema. You can find her stuff at www.cjsewingroom.com.

[is it puppies?]

for myself (hoping dd doesn't get it!) salt water baths and sunlight both got rid of it. I found that out after a beach trip and it's proven true repeatedly to the point where I will go to the tanning booth if I start to get it. I believe I've had both exzema and psoriasis and both respond well.
I have been taking a good probiotic since before pregnancy and now while breastfeeding as it's been shown to prevent it in babies/children. Fingers crossed!

also-I have eliminated most chemical products from our home and I use coconut oil on any itchy/raised red patches I get and it seems to provide relief so I bet it would help!

[remijo]

I posted about this recently too. My dd's eczema is so bad, she won't sleep for longer than an hour. She wakes up itching. I have never heard of the coconut oil, I will have to try that. Right now we are using cetaphil and while it makes her skin soft, its not helping the itch. She has so many breakouts all over her body, she looks like she has hives. I am looking at allergies as well but I have a very limited diet as it is so I don't know what else I can do.

Don't know what else to say, just wanted to say to OP that I hope you can master it before it gets bad. The itch starts first and then the rash develops. So if you can keep your LO from itching, it might make all the difference.

Oh by the way, a huge catalyst is the nylon webbing on the stroller straps. She has to have pants on or something between her skin or she will get angry welts on her thighs after going for a walk.

[jecombs]

I'm going to have to try to coconut oil!

My DD and DH both have eczema. We don't restrict DD's bathing (she loves baths), but I do make sure the water isn't too hot and we moisturize immediately afterward. We use a soap-free, scent-free body wash by Aquaphor, which works well on both my kids. I don't use it on DD at every bath... I wash her with just water unless she is really dirty. DD's eczema is at it's worst in the winter. At that time we run a humidifier in her room at night and we slather on Aquaphor ointment, plus our usual Aveeno Baby lotion (scent free). If DD is really itchy, we use a precription ointment called Acid Mantle and mix it with a little hydrocortisone cream.

So far, my DS has not shown any signs of eczema. Fingers crossed that he won't get it!

[Schae]

My poor little munchkin has exzema too, he's only 6 weeks old so I think my eating dairy is causing it. Dairy is a very common allergy.

We're currently using advantan cream, but i'm not happy to use it continuously as it is steroid based.

To ease the itch, we put rooibos tea into his bath water. Only pat him dry.

Next step is Vaseline.

good luck!

[LadyCatherine185]

DS had eczema until I cut out dairy from my diet, I would look into a food allergy, especially considering she just started having the eczema. Have you changed something in her diet recently?

We also used the Aveeno Advanced Care (the one that says for eczema) while it cleared up (took about a week after I cut the dairy).

[HappyMonkey]

Someone my mom knows had tried everything, and what worked best for her was a remedy with herbs and oil I think she ordered from Indonesia. It was the best solution she found, cheap and just worked so well. My mom just found out what it was for my sisters baby. If you want me to find out pm me and I will ask.

[Terrilein]

Ditto what Ruthie's momma said! Keep your babies skin hydrated! Use any oil (other than mineral oils) or rich creams to keep your baby's skin soft. Soft, hydrated skin = no dry skin = no itching, no cracking, no bleeding = happy baby = happy mama

My dd got prescribed cortisone creams very often. We tried them, they sorta worked, but she got excema EVERYWHERE and I was not comfortable using it all over her body. When we switched regiments to just moisturizing all the time (morning and night), her flare-ups disappeared faster than with the cortisone creams AND she got fewer flare-ups in the first place.

With ds, I haven't seen any signs of excema, but he does get a few dry patches and I use a Weleda baby oil on those patches and after baths. So far so good!