[lmk1]

Ds (13 months) got eczema behind his knee. It was only some bumps at first but now it's turned into red raised rash, and he seems to be developing some on his arms as well. I'm wondering where to start first, regarding treatment.
It appeared right around when I had to take Flagyl for 2 weeks (still bf), and his first polio shot. I don't remember if it was before the polio shot or right after. We went from Atlanta to Minnesota back to Atlanta and are now in Miami (humidity changes). It's got much worse in Miami. I was trying to avoid bf as much when I was on Flagyl, so I was pushing more dairy products, like yogurt and cheese (ds won't drink cow/goat milk, we tried that).
Went to a ped here, and she prescribed hydrocortisone, and said that I'm 2,000% more worried about it than I should be. Ds doesn't scratch it at all; doesn't seem to be aware of it.

So here are my questions:
1. I thought eczema is a result of overly dry skin...shouldn't it get better being in an environment that's very humid like Miami, instead of getting worse? (no A/C on now either)
2. If the ped thinks it's not that bad, and ds isn't scratching, is there any point in using the hydrocortisone? Can it get infected without being scratched?
3. A Russian Dr. friend said she treated her son's eczema with "chereda" compresses - the English term is BEGGARTICK, SWAMP. Has anyone heard/used this?
4. How much do probiotics help? Is there a specific brand/species to try?
5. Should we try cutting out any foods from ds's diet? I really hate to cut out anything calorie dense, as he's pretty slim (10%-ile). He hasn't shown any other signs of food allergies.
6. Anything else I should be doing? It really doesn't look "dry", but I did try to moisturize it ... not sure it made any difference, though.
7. Any baby soap/shampoo we should or any that we should stay away from?

 

[Chinese Pistache]

Eczema in infants/toddler and especially behind knees and in other skin creases is usually a sign of food allergies/intolerances. My guess is that he's reacting to dairy, since it's gotten worse since you started pushing those foods. Also, antibiotics and vaccines have been noted as triggers for allergies. Your best bet is to do an elimination diet and food journal. Come on over to the allergy board

 

[Amylcd]

Quote:

Eczema in infants/toddler and especially behind knees and in other skin creases is usually a sign of food allergies/intolerances.

I had no idea. My DD frequently gets eczema behind her knees.

 

[WuWei]

Eczema often is associated with casein intolerance. Cheese has 10x more casein than milk. Cultured milk (yogurt) is sometimes tolerated though.

With you on Flagyl, and baby breastfeeding, he has yeast too. It is shared back and forth.

You may be interested in the "Battling Yeast" thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=570359

Have either of you received antibiotics this year or at birth?

Pat

 

[lmk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WuWei Eczema often is associated with casein intolerance. Cheese has 10x more casein than milk. Cultured milk (yogurt) is sometimes tolerated though. With you on Flagyl, and baby breastfeeding, he has yeast too. It is shared back and forth. You may be interested in the "Battling Yeast" thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=570359 Have either of you received antibiotics this year or at birth?

I think the Flagyl is considered an antibiotic. I was looking for signs of yeast or thrush in either of us, but didn't see any. Other than that, no antibiotics.

Ds did start liking cheese a lot more when we went to Minnesota. I think for a start, we'll cut out the obvious dairy from his diet and mine, and start him on Culturelle and maybe some other probiotics.

 

[WuWei]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmk1 I think the Flagyl is considered an antibiotic. I was looking for signs of yeast or thrush in either of us, but didn't see any. Other than that, no antibiotics.

Ok, I was confused. I was thinking the Flagyl was given to you *for* yeast. Not sure what I was thinking. Sorry for the confusion.

The probiotics will help.

Pat

 

[Chinese Pistache]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmk1 I think the Flagyl is considered an antibiotic. I was looking for signs of yeast or thrush in either of us, but didn't see any. Other than that, no antibiotics. Ds did start liking cheese a lot more when we went to Minnesota. I think for a start, we'll cut out the obvious dairy from his diet and mine, and start him on Culturelle and maybe some other probiotics.

I'm not sure if you know, but Culturelle contains trace amounts of dairy. My dairy allergic dd reacted to it. Kirkman's makes dairy free (and soy, wheat and everything else free) probiotics. So does Natren. Infants and toddler need the bifido-bacteria strains.