My two and a half month old is slowly being taken over by eczema. It started appearing when he was seven weeks old (four weeks ago, tomorrow), and looked like a bunch of red bumps - sort of like baby acne, only redder and less acne looking. It's covered his forehead, most of the back/sides of his head, his cheek, his shoulders, elbows, back, and there's bits on his thighs and arms.

Today, he looks like:



He's on a soy formula diet (don't get me started on breastfeeding, I had three cases of mastitis in eight weeks and we simply can't afford any more doctor visits or prescription charges..) after I tried milk and it.. didn't agree with him. (My older son is lactose intolerant. Liam kept the formula down, but he had more gas than my husband/myself/Brian has had in a month in one day, he was uncomfortable, and his diapers... yeah.) The doctor said that if the eczema was aggravated by the formula, it'd take a month to completely clear his system.

Detergent wise, we're using All Free and Clear (it was the only thing I used before he was born, so everything in the house gets it). I'm not willing (at this point, at least o.0) to invest in organic cotton clothing and all that, but all his clothes comes from Old Navy or Carters. I've thought about it being something I use, but I (and the doctor) figure that a likelier culprit was the milk based formula, based on his brother's history - and the fact that it showed up when it did, instead of earlier.

It's done better with bathing every other day or so, I've been putting (baby) Aveeno lotion on him multiple times a day and Aquaphor on anything that's wet to the touch/erupting/festeredly looking. I'm not really making any headway in terms of eradicating it, but at least it's keeping him comfortable.


So, yeah. I'm basically looking for brainstorming ideas on things I can look at in terms of the cause, as well as remedies to either/or keep him comfortable/get rid of it completely. (I could only wish.)

Thanks.

 

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Eucerin Cream worked wonders for Allison. She's got super sensitive skin, so it's hard to find something that doesn't exacerbate it. I dont know about how close it'd get to his eyes though, but you could maybe try a bit at the top of his forehead there, and see how it works?

OR, we've used Bag Balm before, it's crazy, and wierd to think about, but it totally worked, kinda stinky though, like Vicks only a bit stronger, he's so little, it may irritate him more than help.

Only Ideas I have, GL, i've been there!!!


PS: even with the speckled face, he's precious!!!!!!

 

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Bag balm is wonderful stuff for all sorts of skin issues. It's mostly lanolin, which is oil from sheep wool. Pretty natural stuff.

I got an allergic reaction at one job that made my normally dry skin much worse and that stuff really worked wonders. (Stinky but not as bad as Vicks IMO).

 

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Cute little guy!


Sometimes frequent short baths (3x/day) with the addition of an emulsifying oil to the water are helpful for infants with eczema. Apply the Aquaphor to wet skin to lock in the moisture. Your doctor might recommend a mild corticosteroid cream if the eczema is not settling.


There a lots of theories regarding what triggers eczema (atopic dermatitis). Besides allergies, other factors could be skin bacteria (Staph. aureus), air temperature/humidity, dust mites, skin irritants (detergents, soaps, etc). Is there a family history of eczema?

 

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My youngest has it, usually concentrated on her lower half exclusively!

After 2 years of on and off rashes, thinking it was allergies, and a million other things, we now just got a script for some oily stuff I put on twice daily and it has cleared all the dryness and scaliness right quick. It's called Derma-Smoothe/FS. Don't know if you can get that in the states, but man has it ever helped her!

 

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idk what to offer that hasnt already been said. I have really bad eczema that' really the reverse of normal eczema. I have better results removing moisture rather than adding lotions. I use rubbing alcohol to keep it at bay but i get oral steroids to calm the flair ups.

I hope you figure something out!

 

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Thanks all. The Bag Balm's not a bad idea at all (I do wonder if he's too young, but who knows), however we've had trouble finding it - my husband's been looking for a while, although granted he hasn't exactly put too much effort into it I don't think.




Is there a concern with a corticosteriod cream and his age/weight? He's getting over RSV right now, I'd estimate him somewhere between twelve and twelve and a half pounds. Monday before last he was at 12.2, then at his two month checkup on Wednesday (which combined with a check after his positive RSV test on Monday) he was down to 11.12, and I know he lost some more after that.

I wouldn't have thought about a skin bacteria or the temp/humidity. Makes a lot of sense on the latter though, since I've noticed that it's worse when he's hot and sweaty - especially in the mornings.

I had no idea until I started whinging about his eczema, but apparently both my father and sister have it - my father worse than my sister. My other sister might have, but wasn't ever clinically diagnosed (and she died three years ago).


edit - Pure AW'ing now:

 

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go to walgreens jennifer

http://www.walgreens.com/store/catalog/Antiseptics/Ointment/IDrod10744&navCount=1&navActionush-product

 

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Is there a concern with a corticosteriod cream and his age/weight?


The milder creams, like desonide or 1% hydrocortisone, are pretty safe. They are generally applied until the flare settles down and then stopped. Then concern with corticosteroid creams is that they can cause skin atrophy (thinning) with prolonged use, especially the more potent creams. However, this shouldn't be a worry if creams are used sporadically and for short periods only. And the improvements with the eczema are very gratifying for child and parents.

 

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Awesome pic!

I had eczema off and on as a kid and remember it itching fiercely when wet. I used a strong steroid cream when it got bad.

 

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