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Eczema  

post #1 of 19
12/8/04 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 
Well as it turns out, DS has eczema. He has it on his little rump and upper thighs. Our dr had us try Elidel and it worked beautifully. Now, however, I'd like to stop using it (it's been about 5 days, that stuff is great, really) and 1) switch to something nonprescription and preferably natural and 2) find out the cause.

I have not started ANY research on this, AT ALL, though I will. Thought I'd check with the wise mamas here, first, though.

So, any suggestions on where to start? Also, Does this have any impact on my feeding him solid foods (are there foods I should avoid)? We haven't started solids yet. Does this have any impact on whether I should have him vaccinated?

Thanks in advance, ladies.
post #2 of 19
12/9/04 at 12:39am
Our exclusively bf'ed ds had eczema in the same places, and on the front of his diaper area too. Our doc gave us Elidel to try, but I never quite felt comfortable enough with it to use it. About a month or so ago, I took ds to a homeopath and I also spoke to an LC friend. We did homeopathics and I cut dairy out of my diet. His eczema has cleared up, but his skin is still dry so I am also increasing my EFA intake. I really wanted to have it cleared up before we continued with vaccinations.

I know that there are so many different things that can cause eczema; this is just what worked for us. If you have a food sensitivity or something that affects you, you might want to start by looking in that direction.
post #3 of 19
12/9/04 at 12:47am
I have battled it all my life and most of my son's lives. I have found the best otc is AHAVA. I started using it a year ago and my skin and my son's skin is 100% better!!!!!
post #4 of 19
12/9/04 at 2:45am
Use pure Calendula cream. It works miracles. Don't give him more than two baths a week and don't put any soaps, bubbles etc. in the bath. Use a good lotion to moisturize his skin after the bath (something oatmeal based or even pure coconut oil is good).

Eczema runs in my family. All of my kids got it on their bottom and upper thighs around 1.5 years old and the Calendula resolved it. The other things I mentioned are the upkeep to avoid an outbreak.
post #5 of 19
12/10/04 at 8:32pm
Thread Starter 
Wow, you guys. Thanks.

Funny. I don't know why I didn't connect these two. When he was maybe newborn to 3 months, he had some gas problems, some VERY foamy poops, a few other strange symptoms, and eczema behind his ears. Our chiro recommended cutting diary to see if that helped. I eliminated dairy entirely (we're talking even cutting things with tiny amts of diary in them) and everything cleared up. I slowly added it back in and everything stayed OK, except I noticed that weeks when I had more dairy than normal, the eczema behind his ears would come back. Maybe 4-5 months, it went away and I forgot about it.

Then it grew on his butt.

Interesting. I'll cut dairy again and see if that helps. The Elidel has worked like a charm, FWIW. The eczema is all gone.

Giving him baths - ha ha. We're lucky if we get in 2 a week (usually more like 1 a week, the kid doesn't get that dirty really).

Calendula cream, eh? Like Burts Bees stuff or something else? The folks at a somewhat local herb shop that I go to recommended plain shea butter - would calendula be better?

Thanks for the info. This helps jump-start my research...now I know where to start.
post #6 of 19
12/10/04 at 8:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahtar
Calendula cream, eh? Like Burts Bees stuff
No, it must be as pure as you can get it.

Quote:
The folks at a somewhat local herb shop that I go to recommended plain shea butter - would calendula be better?
Calendula would be better. The shea butter would be good for his regular moisturizer to avoid the eczema, but if he gets full blown eczema you'd need the strength of the Calendula.
post #7 of 19
12/11/04 at 1:48am
hi - my dd is 18 mos and well into solids by now. she's had eczema since 2-3 mos and we've just used creams, etc. i was wondering if there is something besides dairy that i should consider cutting out of HER diet? she's not bf'ing anymore so i have to find things that i can try to eliminate from her diet. i was thinking tomatoes might be bad? i was going to make an appt with a dermatologist, but want to try some natural remedies first... i'll definitely give calendula a try. good luck to you too, sarahtar! jennifer
post #8 of 19
12/11/04 at 11:09am
Both of my boys have eczema. Foods to watch....dairy, wheat and anything acidic. This would include tomatoes, for the PP, and in our case ORANGES.

Less frequent bathing, with tepid water (hot will make it worse!) and watch what kinds of soaps you're using, nothing with perfumes in it.

Also, what kind of detergent are you using on your clothing? We can't use anything with enzymes in it.
post #9 of 19
12/11/04 at 11:33am
Probiotics totally cured eczema for my dd. I open a capsule of Culturelle Lactobacillus GG (available at Walgreens) and mix it in her baby food. Sometimes I give her another probiotic called Udo's Choice Infant Probiotic Blend. The change has been really amazing.
post #10 of 19
12/11/04 at 9:50pm
Thread Starter 
I use All free and clear, I'll check on the enzyme thing.

I've got Probiotics on my list of things to look into anyway...I'll bump it to the top. geez, there's so much to learn about and so little time.
post #11 of 19
12/12/04 at 2:22am
wow - good info , thanks! using probiotics had not occurred to me, so i'm going to look for it the next time i'm at the store.
sarahtar - good luck to you! thanks for opening this thread up so i could get some info for my dd. please post if you have some success..!
thanks - jennifer
post #12 of 19
12/12/04 at 2:46am
My ds has awful excema.. We were putting coconut oil on it straight.. A friend suggested mixing some lavendar oil with it.. I did mix some lavendar oil and TTO with the coconut oil.. His excema is GONE!! GONE!!! POOF!!! It's amazing..

Warm Squishy Feelings..

Dyan
post #13 of 19
12/12/04 at 12:24pm
All (laundry detergent) doesn't have enzymes in it.
I've heard of lavendar working for quite a few people, but strangely that's one of the things that made my DS break out worse.
post #14 of 19
12/13/04 at 12:49am
I was just coming to ask about Excema. Reese has had it since the day she was born. Thanks for all the great ideas.

I tried Elidel and it made it worse. It got all raw and bloody almost immediately. We're cutting out dairy first (since I had a dairy allergy when I was little). I'll pick up some of the other things mentioned too. Thanks.
post #15 of 19
12/16/04 at 6:22pm
Thread Starter 
I've got calendula oil today and am trying it on his newly broken-out tush. Will let you know. Thanks for all the suggestions.
post #16 of 19
12/16/04 at 6:51pm
I don't know anything about the oil but you're going to need the cream for eczema. Oils don't absorb well enough (except for coconut oil).
post #17 of 19
12/17/04 at 11:40am
Thread Starter 
Well oil is all I can get so it's what I'm going to try. I rub it in until it's gone, so I'm assuming it's absorbing.
post #18 of 19
12/17/04 at 12:24pm
How do I know if enzymes are in my laundry detergent.

We use All Free and Clear and Dreft

Shari
post #19 of 19
12/17/04 at 8:11pm
Thread Starter 
the all free and clear is fine per a PP. Maybe cal the 800 # on the Dreft bottle and ask them. sorry, nak
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