Eczema help needed -cortisone alternatives?

[Maracita]

Hello everyone,
I am at my wits end. My ds (16 mo.) has eczema, only in the winter and not miracle creams have helped. I have been to homeopaths with no results, his waldorf inspired ped has no suggestions, the skin doctor (expert) just suggested cortisone or move to a warm climate ( I am working on it, but how realistic is that?) So, I am still hoping that there are other things that might work other than cortisone and climate change. He mostly has it in his elbow and knee bends but one angry raised red dry spot about the size of a nickel on his back that really concerns me (he did not have that last winter) and the doctors don't have any suggestions. Now, I believe you mamas and papas here are probably wiser, so I would love to hear anything.
He is not vaccinated and still breastfeeding a lot.
The doctor said that it can't be the diet, but I am wondering to cut out soy and dairy (am eating some but not a lot). I tried this before for a week or so and it did nothing. Maybe longer?
It is so hard to see him scratch at night, and nothing works, if anything it gets worse. Can it just be the heating? I somehow doubt that, since last year I was in the states now i am in Germany and the heating is very different.
Any help appreciated.
Love and light to you all,

[InfoisPower]

If you plug the word eczema into the search function in this forum, you'll pull up lots of suggestions. Eczema seems to be a very individual reaction to some allergen and it's a frustrating thing to try to find. Lecithin supplements and/or essential fatty acids seems to be the first thing to try. Good luck in finding your solution to a stubborn and idiosyncratic problem.

[chicklet]

my DD has winter eczema, I have it year round. mine seems to be due to a dairy allergy, Im not sure about dd becasuse she can have dairy in the summer w/no rash.
I give her a daily dose of an essential fatty acid supplement, mixed in with applesauce at breakfast, about 1 1/2 t daily. I also bathe her only once a week and IMMEDIATELY put cream on her - something natural like calendula lotion mixed in equal parts with a good fatty body oil.
we both saw a dermatologist who prescribed Ellidel, even though the idiot knew I am nursing and the label warns not to use if nursing. So i'm not going to put it on my 4yo either.
If you suspect a dairy allergy in your baby you may want to do an elimination diet (both of you since you're nursing) - it takes a while to see results- prob. about 2 weeks. also you may want to see an allergist, which is where we are headed next.
good luck, I know how frustrating it can be:

[Maracita]

Thanks so much for the replies. Chicklet, my ped wrote me a prescription for Ellidel too, saying that in the US the minimum age is 2, but in Germany it is 3 mo. old, my son is only 16 mo. old. I asked the dermatologist about it and he said that in lab test the rats had developed tumors from it. No, thanks, I won't use it on my son. The dermatologist said I should rather use cortisone, sigh.

I will ask in a pharmacy here about the essential fatty acids, I will also take evening primrose again I think, I forgot I took it last winter and it seemed to do something. I never heard of anyone else having winter eczema. I realized last night that stress definately seemed to make it worse. Something bad happened to me yesterday and I tried to keep it from my ds but was choking with tears. So a little while later he could not stop scratching, that made me calm down a lot more.
Good luck in finding something too - I will let you know if I get any more insight.
Love,

[amymarie]

I always get bad eczema in the winter....some suggestions I do to help it are:Take less baths/showers,definantly not every day. Sometimes I do every other day sometimes I skip two days. I cut my nails as short as they can go. I keep my skin super moisturized. Its very important to put some sort of moisturizer on IMMEDIATELY after getting out of the bath/shower. I always use calenduela ointment on my eczema.It helps alot. Good luck.

[BusyMommy]

Ds has it only in the winter as well and he takes Cod Liver Oil for it. REally helps him. Also only bathes once/week unless necessary.

We use Eucerin or Aquaphor on him.

[Breathe]

Even tho it's only in winter, could still be a low-grade food allergy. In cold weather (and the subsequent dry, hot, indoor air), everyone's skin is compromised, so any underlying sensitivity is likely to be shown on the skin. For us, we had to get rid of gluten, corn, dairy, AND soy to finally get rid of the eczema, and yes, it does take SEVERAL weeks to see results, so don't give up too soon. (Oh, and I had to cut those things from my diet, too, in order to see a clearing.) Good luck and feel free to pm me for any food allergy support!

[wolfmom]

My friend's 2 yr old has been having real problems with excema and she said that the cortisone wasn't working for them either. She tried aquafor (or maybe aquaphor) and said it is working great! It is over the counter and a little pricey ($16 for a big tub of it) but she says it's worth the money. Hope this helps.

[Pom]

OATMEAL OATMEAL OATMEAL in the bath!!! Put about a cup in a sock and let it soak, then squeeze some on the baby's skin. It's miraculous.

Then immediately put some lotion on (we like Shikai baby borage cream, but Aveeno, Aquaphor, But Bees, Calendula stuff all good), then touch up throughout the day with some of the above. Ultimately, we had to put a little hydrocortisone cream on the worst spot to make it go away (our ped recommended that we use a little and wrap with saran wrap where possible, that way it "cooks" and you need less, but we could nver make it work) and still follow up religiously with homoepathic and herbal things. It's so frustrating -- hang in there!!!