I think my 1 year old has eczema...where do I begin???

[bluedaisy]

I'm pretty sure my one year old son has eczema...he has very dry skin on both legs that gets cracked and scaly and sometimes bleeds and scabs over.  I see him itching it often, although it doesn't seem to bother him too much.

I know eczema can be caused by all kinds of things, and I have no idea where to start trying to figure this out.

Also, I have been putting lotion on at times and vaseline, but not sure if they're helping.  What is the best thing to apply to help the discomfort? 

[Janae123]

Hi Bluedaisy,
I wanted to say that I know how hard it is, beginning to understand eczema... with our little ones it's so tough.
I have an almost 4 year old daughter who developed eczema at about a year old. It has been quite a journey for us.
Very recently I started a blog about eczema ( it is really early in my blogging adventure) and the few posts I have up may help you.
Let me know if you have specific questions. Regarding help with the itching: depending on severity( really severe cases this may not be the solution) with mild to moderate flare ups we bath our daughter in plain, unscented dead sea salt baths and have found Borage therapy cream by Shikai helps.
Each person is different but the salt baths are amazing. We use 2-3 cups per full bath. You could start with a little less, see how it works. Warm not hot, not cool and we find about 20 good time in tub. Also oatmeal is soothing in a bath ( you can put a cup or so in a thin sock, tie it up and squeeze it out into tub as it gets wet). Also you may try not using any soaps for a while, kids can get just as clean in a good soak and it help to keep skin moisturized. Put a good cream on within 3. Min of getting out of tub to lock in moisture. Our stress as parents plays a role and being calm and soothing to our itchy babes goes a long way. . Hope this helps. Be well. My blog is ourmindfulpath.com. C

[ladylukk]

oh, if i could hug you i would! My son was 2m old when he developed eczema and it totally broke my heart. he is now 14months old and has generally grown out of it, just has some dry skin that is cured with some lotion. But at the time I didn't know what to do ... there was a lot of trial and error. I found that Coconut Oil was great for his skin. bathing every few days, and not using any eczema cream or lotion out of a pump bottle bc the number one ingredient is water and not helpful for getting to the route of the problem - you want to use a tub instead. I would do an alternate between coconut oil one night, and then a heavy duty all natural lotion the next time. Coconut Oil repairs the skin layers instead of just moisturizing. When it came to bath time, i put Vitamin E oil into whatever bath cleanser I was using at the time. Usually aveeno oatmeal bath, etc. until i started making my own with Dr Bronner's child safe soap and vitamin e oil. no more eczema! But at the time, i was so frustrated and felt so helpless. We had a lot of doctor's visits and they gave us a lot of prescription hydrocortizone cream, prescription strength neosporin, etc. but i never felt comfortable putting it on my babies skin ... like PP i also started a blog about a year ago discussin eczema and natural ways to remedy it. :) GOOD LUCK! and please let us know if you have any questions.
 

[lillymonster]

We first saw a dermatalogist, which I don't recommend, they give you drugs. We then saw an allergist.  The fastest way to figure it out is to see an allergist. My daughter still has eczema but it is controlled if we stay away from her food allergens (which mostly are not the top 8, so it would be best to get a test) My daughter is allergic to oranges, cinnamon, coconut, nuts, eggs, melons and squash, they will drive her eczema like crazy.

This has been going on for over 2 years and I have tried every natural thing out there, the only thing that worked is aquaphor (yuck, I know, but it works, and right now her pain and itching is far more important than my need for natural help) Lanolin might help or might make it worse. Coconut oil, never for us (that is how I found out she was allergic to coconut) Olive oil can help. Oatmeal makes her worse. We use the Kiss my face olive oil soap for her skin when needed. But as I have learned, different things work for different people. Stuff people raved about would make her skin worse.