Need more Eczema help!

[lovin2bmom2000]

So my son is 8 months old. At 2 months he broke out in crazy eczema so bad that it weeped, and bled and he was constantly crying, stopped sleeping through the night, and scratched himself bloody. We took him to doctor after doctor they said he had allergy related eczema and that I needed to stop breastfeeding and priscibed me steroids that didnt work at all, when I told them the steroids didnt work they said they could raise them higher and higher until they did. They just wanted me to keep upping steroids, and to put ds on formula but not get to the root of the problem . So not wanting to put that stuff on my baby 3-5 times a day for the first year of my child's life I talked to other bfing moms. They mentioned trying an Elimination diet. I did. Doctors had him take a blood test and they told me what Ds was allergic to. I eliminated all that and ds is doing better like he went from being horrible uncomfortable at like a level ten to a level 8 of uncomfortable so not as, fussy, and itchy, to being a little less but still having lots of issues.Wanting him to do even better than that I kept looking for something else.  So then I took him to the chiropractor and after the chiropractor got ds even more comfortable to like a level five which to a normal person is still horrible but after everything I had been through we are very happy he at least sleeps now and appears happay sometimes and plays and crawls. Now he sleeps through the night but still has to wear socks all the time because if he does not he will scratch til hes covered in blood. So my question is does anyone know what else I can do besides the chiropractor and ED? The doctor just wants me to put him on formula which I have tried but he just gets worst, or cover him from head to toe in steroids. If I stop the chiropractor then he goes back to not sleeping and being extremely itchy now hes just kinda itchy, and sleeps at night and naps before the chiropractor he was really itchy, and before the Elimination diet he was miserable and just scratched and scratched all day and night long. I am thinking about trying probiotics as my next thing to try but was just wondering what else was out there.  WE are 

[kjbrown92]

what did you cut out and what are you still eating? What were the results of the elimination diet - and did you ever get to "baseline" where there were no symptoms? because if you didn't get to baseline, then you didn't finish the elimination diet.

[lovin2bmom2000]

Oh I suppose. I dont think the elimination diet helped us much at all. I mean it made things a tad better but not enought to make it worth it. I think ds is allergic to something like oxogen, dust, water things that cant be eliminated. He got a little better but not great. I gave up alot to get him to where he was. Throught the elimination diet I dropped oats, soy, dairy, nuts, eggs, wheat, rye, barley,  and something else cant think of right now but it never compleatly went away just got a little better. He still weeps so often and was constantly itching so if that is baseline thin I dont think it was really much of a differnce. I also dropped chocolate because everytime I eat it he gets worst, and corn I am debating on but I dont notice a reaction but I guess that could be it but I have dropped it a few times and never notived a differnce.

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[lovin2bmom2000]

Oh my son looked like this before I did anything about it

Then after the Eliminating diet

Then this is him now after the ED and the chriopracter

I  still want him to be even better thought i want to take his sockscoks off without him scratching himself to bloody!

[kadevoe]

My youngest daughter's face looked just like your son's.  It started when she was about 3 or 4 weeks old and at first I thought it was just the baby acne, but it got worse and worse until her face looked like she had burns.  She was terribly uncomfortable, she was itching and bleeding.  She was also very fussy and would spit up all the time.  Both my pediatrician and midwife suspected a dairy allergy.  I tried eliminating it and things got dramatically better.  I did use a mild steroid cream (Desonide) 2-3 times a day for about a week to give her some relief (I still keep the cream on hand for when she has flare ups).  It took about 2 weeks for everything to get out of her system.  I had to read labels very carefully and make sure I wasn't eating anything that had milk, whey, cream, etc. as an ingredient.  My pediatrician had said that kids don't usually react to things that are baked with milk products in them, but in my daughter's case she did.  If ate anything with even a trace of dairy in it, I would see her face start to break out.

My daughter is 15 months now and seems to be much less sensitive to dairy.  I'm not breatfeeding her nearly as much so I have added dairy back into my diet without problems.  Now that she eats solid foods I have slowly added some things with dairy to see how she does and she can tolerate quite a bit before I see a reaction from her.  She still has very sensitive skin and mild eczema.  To keep things in check, I give her a bath at least every other day and rub her down with Aquaphor ointment afterwards to retain the moisture in her skin.  I've also found that her skin reacts to synthetic fabrics so I try to keep her in cotton as much as possible.

[lovin2bmom2000]

So glad to here that she is feeling better, gives me hope. But I am not eatting anything with any milk in it. Iam a label reading nut and I haven t had dairy since november 2010

[lovin2bmom2000]

Sorry ds keeps hitting the keyboard but yet does not want to get down. Anywho so did she clear up completely because ds hasnt and he is till really, really, itchy. Since the chiropractor he does not weep anymore(his skin) but hes still itchy and I am starting to worry about his development since he cant use his fingers. Hes doing the best as hes every been and now sleeps at night without being held.

[smithereens]

You could do some research/talk to your chiropractor about other natural remedies.  Probiotics are commonly used to treat eczema, but make sure they're good.  We use a brand called "Klaire labs" for infants (Google it).  It has 10 billion per serving and has the infantis and rhamnosis strains in it which are supposedly good for infant eczema.  We also do a multivitamin (hypoallergenic, of course...but mine is 16 months so a little older), digestive enzymes, and extra vitamin C every day.  Research vitamin C and probiotics for helping food allergies.  From everything I've read and can understand, eczema is a symptom of allergies, and allergies are an immune system deficiency, and the majority of our immune system is in our gut.  ANYWAYS...some skin creams that have helped us: Alba Un-Petroleum jelly is an all-natural alternative to petroleum-based moisture barriers.  Petroleum is actually not good for the skin in the long run, and is linked to causing cancer.  Alba does the same thing.  We also use pure, raw shea butter, but beware it is a nut.  There are no known cases of reaction to shea butter, but I'd test it on a small area first to be sure.  Neem is also known to heal eczema wounds.  Oatmeal baths, but only if the oatmeal is gluten-free certified.  There's nothing else in your diet/supplements/drinks...anything that could contribute to this?  Also keep in mind gluten takes awhile to get out of the system completely.  Try super natural clothing detergent, like BioKleen brand and don't use any cleaning products in the bathtub especially.  Vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and water are the only cleaning products we use so I can have peace of mind that his eczema is not due to that.  When did his breakouts first start occurring?  Has he been tested for parasites?  I know it sounds horrible, but I've heard really severe allergies like this can be due to bad critters.  I can't really think of anything else!  Good luck!

[smithereens]

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=30039

[lovin2bmom2000]

wow. lots of info thanks. I will look into the other kind of patrolium we use the lanilin on his skin now becaseu I heard that patrolium was not good for him. I tried oats and hes had a horrible reaction he is very allergic to oats.

[lovin2bmom2000]

Oh and I haven't had gluten since November so does it usually take more than that many months. There is nothing in my diet that I have recognized I really do live off of rice bread, rice cakes, sweet potatoes, lemons, enjoy life snicker doodles, corn, and rice pasta, Dalya fake cheese, Brown rice grits, gluten free pancakes, maple syrup, chicken, beef, and turkey. I drink coconut milk, and use a rice, potato, flour mix, and have been doing this for months and things have not changed. I am sure I forgot a few foods but I don't know what can be causing it unless its white, or brown sugar. I eat lots of lettice, tomatomes, and apples and other fruits and veggies but other than that that has been all I am eatting since this madness started. And I didnt change anything just at like 4 months his skin broke out and has gotten worst and worst.I have not tried parasites I guess after the probiotic, and omega 12 I will have his tested for parasites also. THanks!

[kadevoe]

Another thing that you might take a look at in your diet is citrus fruits and any other foods or supplements (Vitamin C) with ascorbid acid.  I remember myself as a child having an allergy to too much citric/ascorbic acid.  My face would break out into a red bumpy rash.  I have found that my daughter also seems react when I've given her a lot of citrus fruits.  It wasn't a problem before she started solid foods because I would eat very little citrus fruits myself and take a vit C supplement that is acid free.

This is kind of a separate topic, but my daughter also has bad reactions to her own poop.  It's not so bad now that they're usually solid, but when she was exclusively breast feed and her diaper wasn't changed like within a split second after she messed in it her poor little butt would be broken out in a horrible rash (just like her face used to look...like she had burns).  You would literally be able to see the rash spread as you were getting her cleaned off and changed.  Once she was clean, the rash would go away in about 45 minutes on its own.  It was the strangest thing.  I didn't experience that with my other 2 girls and I have never heard of it happening with anyone else I know with little ones.

[lovin2bmom2000]

Yesterday we saw the natural doctor who told me to use flax oil for both of us, gave me a good multi vitimen, vitimen c, and probiotics. I guess he wants us to try the omegas . Anywho he said I may be able to add things back into my diet after a few weeks. I like that. So I am excited. Ds already doing better he had a cold earlier this week, and cut four teeth I think that had something to do with hiw bad he was doing this week, but hes doing alot better today. THanks again everyone who replied.

[lovin2bmom2000]

I dont think he has any reaction to his pooh at all. Me and dh aways say we should rub him down with his dirty diapers because his butt is the only place that does not have it. lol I wll look into citris  and acidic foods though I have actually heard that before. THanks!!

[kjbrown92]

Corn is a big offender and extremely hard to avoid because it has so many names and seems to be in everything. If you haven't tried eliminating corn, that might help. That was the cause of my dd2's eczema.

[taigalux]

my son had eczema that got really bad by 4 months old. his face looked similiar to your sons. it's heartbreaking the discomfort they are in. i was not eating citrus because his dad has a citrus allergy but i was eating tomato. when i cut tomato completely out of my diet his face cleared up by 95+% within the week! he is 11.5 months now and still has a few micro spots on scalp and by ear that flair up when teething or with exposure to some allergen but as long as i stay away from tomato, limit quantity i eat of other nightshade family foods (potato, pepper, etc) and no citrus for me (or him obviously) then we prevent the extreme eczema we had before. good luck!  

[lovin2bmom2000]

 Okay so no  corn, no citris, no lemon, limes or other asidic foods *sigh* is that is?

[lovin2bmom2000]

oh and no pototoes sheeze why is this soooo hard? So when you eliminated all that did they still itch? My son still itches.

[taigalux]

after i finally eliminated tomato and virtually all nightshades (i can eat a tiny bit of potato or pepper without my son reacting) the itching stopped 100%! i went from constantly trying to keep him from scratching to zero scratching. i hope your son sees such good results. i know it's crazy difficult (we are also gluten, dairy, soy, egg, pork & sesame free for 5+ years) - hang in there! btw, we also only use vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide to clean and natural fragrance free detergents (i've heard that 100% soap flakes as laundry detergent is best for really sensitive kids). we tried so many creams / moisturizers with not much luck until we got a special chinese herbal cream from our TCM doctor - it seems like a beeswax base so it really it just for putting on the eczema, not an overall skin moisturizer - for that our favorite product is called Emily's Skin Soother.

what brand of multivitamin and vitamin c did you get for your son - i am looking for recommendations. 

[deminc]

Poor baby! And poor mummy!

If you've not seen any changes after so long, you may want to consider changing your list of food for a week and see if it makes a difference. It can be quite hard to track the food if you are using prepared food like rice bread etc. This is because they contain a mixture of flours, any of which could be the substance you are reacting to. For example many rice bread has either corn or tapioca, and people can react to them. I know a little girl who is allergic only to tapioca. I second the thing on tomato, it is also a problem for us after a couple of days.

It's a good idea to check out environmental factors. Dustmite is a factor for us and secondary infections esp fungal infections was really hard to get a handle on. We've cleared the fungal infections, we have a anti-dustmite regime, ds's skin look so much better now and his sleep improved greatly, BUT I just can't get it to clear 100%. We took out tomatoes, and all flour products that may have possible contamination -  I think we're at 99% now and he only wakes up once a night now! I think if this keeps up, my eyebags may actually recede.  He's turning four soon, but the first year was terrible. He was too little to scratch, but he cried all night through the night EVERY night, and he was so tired he would fall asleep in the middle of the cry and suddenly wake up ten minutes again and start crying all over again. After one he began scratching with a vengeance and I would be scrubbing bloodstains out and crying. Things are so much better now.   

As you take food out, you should consider what food you can add in otherwise it is quite unsustainable. A mother advised me that whole food is always better in terms of allergen control. She was so right.