Best way to treat dry skin on toddler... - Page 2

[AEZMama]

Do you have radiators in your house? If you do, put pans of water on to add moisture to the air. The radiators (heaters in general) can dry the air out.

I use coconut oil on ds when he's dry-it's great! Olive oil, too!

The other thing is does your dc have to bathe daily during the winter? That might help to keep the natural oils on his skin unless you are moisturizing right out of the tub. Or since you said it's a vital part of your nighttime routine, can you add something like lavender oil to his bath so he has the calming aromatherapy and a bit of oil that will work into the skin...then moisturize afterwards?

[granola_mom]

I slather dd and myself up in coconut oil after a shower/bath. Works great!

[lily2]

[QUOTE=abigail_b;10251928]Thanks so much for all the great suggestions!
I do try to make sure he gets enough good fats in his diet...avocados, earth balance spread etc. Also he still BFs a lot and I take a DHA supplement.
As for those mentioning about excema...how would I tell the difference between dry skin and mild excema?


eczema if only steroids will make it go away- hope its not

[huggerwocky]

I feel your pain, it's not even cold here and she still has dry patches. I've tried the creams you listed,too, not much success though. No success with vegetable oils, either.

I just recently picked up shikai borage dry skin therapy lotion for babies.http://www.bizrate.com/childrensheal...444047620.html

I love, it works very very well for us.

By the way, eczema is not diagnosed whether the skin problem will go away with steroids or not. The word is used for a variety of skin conditions.

[kittygrrl523]

ds also has really dry skin but i wanted to mention that since you said it is specifically on his face it could be a sign of a mild food allergy. ds is allergic to nuts (severe) and dairy (milder.) I have noticed that if he gets hold of something with dairy in it his face gets rashy...not like the hives he gets if he eats a lot of dairy but it looks like eczema...

just wanted to mention it, in case it's helpful

on his dry skin i use a combo of aquaphor, calendula, tea tree salve, and eucerin calming cream...also burts bees chap sticks smeared all over his face (brilliant boy that he is, he came up with that idea on his own and it actually worked out well...sadly i'm afraid his idea to then eat the chapstick was slightly less brilliant...

[eepster]

The difference between eczema and just dry irratated skin is whether or not it is caused by a responce from the immune system. It is usually be caused by an allergy.

Originally Posted by SweetPotato

I think my dd may be sensitive to petroleum-based creams,

My DS is sensitive to anything petroleum based too, as well as most detergents and surfacants.

[lily2]

Originally Posted by eepster

The difference between eczema and just dry irratated skin is whether or not it is caused by a responce from the immune system. It is usually be caused by an allergy.


My DS is sensitive to anything petroleum based too, as well as most detergents and surfacants.

Ditto. baby oil was first culprit, then the others followed. She is sensitive to many but not allergic though.

[lily2]

Originally Posted by huggerwocky

By the way, eczema is not diagnosed whether the skin problem will go away with steroids or not. The word is used for a variety of skin conditions.

So I cant blame my ped for giving my dd hydrocort at 1mo and not mentioning eczema till 2mo?

Use an all-natural product that works well for her only a horrible yr later.

[Momma Aimee]

how i got my 26 month old to put on lotion .....

i got an Rx for my face for a rash -- he soooooo wanted to put it on with me..... i subbed lotion for him ... he grins and rubs lotion all over his face.

when he is done playing i "wipe off" the extra (rub in the lotion).

It also works on hands -- i get out MINE stuff -- that he can't have -- and then he wants to mimic me.

(now we are not doing so hot on the body -- i use a mositure rich body wash and a lot of days that is as good as it gets )

Aimee

[abigail_b]

Originally Posted by kittygrrl523

ds also has really dry skin but i wanted to mention that since you said it is specifically on his face it could be a sign of a mild food allergy. ds is allergic to nuts (severe) and dairy (milder.) I have noticed that if he gets hold of something with dairy in it his face gets rashy...not like the hives he gets if he eats a lot of dairy but it looks like eczema...

just wanted to mention it, in case it's helpful
o

Okay this is very interesting...when we are at the ped recently for something else I pointed out the dry patch and asked if it could be a food allergy...he said if it was food allergy it would be all over his body. So is this not true? I wouldn't be suprised, I have got other info from this ped that is not 100% accurate....

[ryansma]

Originally Posted by eepster

The difference between eczema and just dry irratated skin is whether or not it is caused by a responce from the immune system. It is usually be caused by an allergy.

That is interesting to me too because I have had eczema my entire life. In early teen years I had very red patches behind my knees and in the crook of my arm. My feet have cracked and bled. My dermatologist said in was common in the teen years and I did in fact outgrow it (to that severity)
I have never heard it related to allergies. I was tested for allergies in my early 20's and have only seasonal and animal dander allergies so I wonder for what percentage of kids/adults it is related.

[Enudely]

another vote for organic coconut oil

[StayAtHomeMama21]

I'm noticing that my son's dry skin around his face is turning into pimples.. I think...

Any suggestions?

[hubris]

Originally Posted by mendocino

I used to use weleda calendula cream on my son and discovered it actually made his dry skin worse.

Ditto to that, but for the California Baby calendula cream. I think the CA Baby and Burt's Bees products have a lot of scented oils in them, and that exacerbates sensitive skin.

DS1 had eczema and all my boys get red, chapped winter cheeks. We've tried a lot of lotions and so far the one I have the best success with is an Aveeno Baby unscented extra moisturizing one, the one with the dark navy blue cap (but NOT the adult one with the navy blue cap, that one has menthol!).

Applying lotion morning and night until the chapped skin looks better, then keeping it up at bedtime to maintain healthy skin seems to work best for us.

I also agree with the advice to hydrate and make sure there are healthy oils in their diets.

[mom2annika]

I have been reading this one for myself since my hands are chapped and cracked in some spots. The only thing that has helped so far is Lansinoh on the cracked spots. I can't wait for warmer weather so that we can turn the heat down. For DD we use Aveeno right after her nightly bath.

GL!

[StayAtHomeMama21]

Hemp oil (both eating and topically) have helped A LOT!!

[Natosha]

Originally Posted by ryansma

Have you tried Eucerin products? They have always worked best for me and for ds as well.

I agree these work really well!

[JAL]

I'm noticing that my son's dry skin around his face is turning into pimples.. I think...

Any suggestions?

Ditto with my daughter, she is two and has had this since birth!
This is a very interesting thread to me also, hope I can learn something. Our doc just told me it is dry skin but lotions don't help, she also has little dry patches that are not helped by lotions either. Going to try the shea butter though and see if it is any different.
I have found that a humidifier and chlorine filter in the bath help some.

:

[allfrog68]

Since I didn't see this on the list - we use Lubriderm. Virtually no fragerance (sp?) and very moisurizing. It's a little expensive so I get it in bulk at Costco.

[Hippie Mama in MI]

My son began showing an all-over (except under diaper) dry skin rash as soon as winter arrived. After trying many creams, oils, lotions, even olive oil, I finally found something completely different that worked for him: humidity in the air.

Our house was extremely dry. So I stopped using my dryer, and started hanging laundry to dry all around the house. The air became moist, his dry skin cleared up, and our electric bill is lower now too!

Hope this helps.

Kady