New here...need help!

[Littlebirds]

Hi Everyone!
I am looking for a little advise from some experienced parents. I have a 22 month old who has suddenly, out of nowhere, broken out in what appears to be eczema all over his body. I took him to the Pediatrician today and she was no help. She just confirmed that it was eczema and told me to treat it with hydrocortisone cream. I have some food allergies so I am wondering if this is what is going on. I have never had eczema as a symptom, My symptoms range from full body rashes that go away on their own, itching mouth, digestive issues and anaphylaxis. I guess my questions are is it normal for him to just develop allergies at 22 months and how do I do an elimination diet with eczema? do I wait for it to be gone before I start? What are some other options besides the hydrocortisone cream?
Thanks so much!

[kjbrown92]

If it's new, is there anything new that was introduced either in the environment (pets, went to a friend's house with pets, pollen is suddenly high, been wet alot the mold spores are out, etc.) or food? Something he hadn't had before? I would try to think back a week and see what you can come up with before starting to eliminate. You could take him for allergy testing, but it's not that accurate under age 2, they say.

[FAmom]

I was compelled to register and answer you, seeing that you didn't receive a bunch of answers yet, and knowing how desperate you can feel when a child has eczema .... I have 3 food allergic children, two that have eczema, one that grew out of it. My middle son has had it so bad at times, that his skin has gotten infected.

The first thing I just wanted to give you was my sympathy. Eczema can be horrific for the children, and also for the parents trying to find a way to help their child while they are itching and miserable.

One of the things that we found most helpful for our one son, who got skin infections, was to give him a cool bath, with the mildest soap possible, and sometimes without soap even. But, we used Dove or just Johnson's baby wash. Then, after a quick bath, we'd put plain vaseline all over him, making sure to really get those areas affected with the eczema, and put him in cotton PJ's. We used long sleeved, long legged, pj's, since the eczema was nearly head to toe. And, if the bath was before bed, not to overload him with blankets. You don't want the skin to get too hot and sweaty.

Aside from that, for us, it has been a journey of allergy testing, understanding environmental allergies along with food allergies, and eliminating those things from either ingestion or contact. Even to the point of me not using perfumes, hairspray, or anything that could possibly irritate his skin if he touched me. We also use DREFT laundry soap and none of those dryer sheet things for softening/static.

Main allergens for us when it comes to eczema though, now, are eggs and milk in food, and trees, grass, and animals (cats and one of our dogs specifically) for environmentals.

We didn't wait until the eczema was gone either to eliminate anything we thought it could possibly be because it was a constant, and we needed to figure out what it was, eliminate it, in order for the eczema to be gone, or subside.

I agree, that something new that was introduced could all of a sudden cause a sensitization and you end up with an eczema flare. It can be very helpful to retrace your steps to try and figure out what it might have been, at the very least to help in narrowing down what you might want to test for when it comes to allergies.

Now you know though that your child can have eczema flares, so it is important to find what combination of things will help give some comfort to him in the future while you go about finding out what is his trigger.

And, two last things.... make sure his finger nails are clipped. They don't have to be down to the nub or anything, but they should be kept in check. Not allowed to be long, or have jagged edges. In addition, wash hands, or wipe hands with unscented wipes. You don't want anything scratching the skin that could cause infection, bleeding, etc.

Hang in there.

[FAmom]

I forgot to mention, that change in season can affect eczema, many times because of environmentals. But, also was thinking later that wool was always a problem for my husband. Wool rugs, wool sweaters, etc. So, if now winter clothes are coming out.... or you got a new rug.....

Plus, sometimes it can be the right combination of things. One thing causes the flare, but other things irritate it to keep it "angry".

You really have to turn into a quasi detective/scientist to figure things out sometimes.