bathing 4 week old and risk of eczema

[hettie]

Hi there,
Anyone know about this? There is a family history of eczema so we want to do all that?s possible to avoid our son getting it. So far from birth he wasn?t bathed at all for the first 2 weeks (he had an operation and we were advised to so this for scar to completely dry) then every 3-4 days. We only use warm water and then a dab of petroleum jelly for dry areas afterwards. But sometime in the next 3-4 weeks we will start with a bedtime routine and I want to include a nightly bath in this. Unsure if bathing nightly might start to irritate him though and would 6 weeks old be too young for nightly bath (given history of eczema)? What about the petroleum jelly, is it ok or too ?chemically?? Anyone with family history/knowledge/direct experience your advice would be most welcome.
Cheers,
Hettie

[Iklboo]

DS started with infant eczema when we started bathing him BUT HV said it was because we were using bubble bath thype thing every night.
Switched to bathing him nightly with just plain water & aquaeous cream applied after in dry areas.
He was fine after that. Still gets the odd small break-out but much much better

[kiskidee]

you do not need to use soap or shower/bath gels on babies at all. my dd is 2 yrs old next month and due to eczema, i never use these things on her and she doesn't smell. these products all dry the skin no matter what the claims on the labels say. that is the nature of soap and gels.

her paediatrician advises to give a bath for no longer than 10 mins in warm water. after 10 mins, water starts to take moisture out of the skin. for less than 10 mins, it moisturises skin. She also says to bath everyday to moisturise everyday. I used a bath themometer to make sure her water is never hotter than blood temp.

the best moisturisor i have found is Aveeno lotion. my dd has eczema and gets it prescribed for her so its free. if i don't aveeno her 2x daily, she starts to break out. it is that simple and clear cut for me. if i were you, i would get some and try it if his skin seems dry. the thing with eczema is preventing breakouts not treating it.

[Nip]

I was told babies dont need bathing all the time, my DS has VERY sensitive skin an was only bathed every 2 or 3 nights because of this. The more you bath the more you will irritate sensitive skin. (By the way Hydromol Ointment in the bath is v.good)
HTH

[Gemmitygem]

we have eczema in the family and live in a very dry climate in Central Asia... here are my tips fwiw:

I give DS (5 months) nightly bath but with quite a bit of olive oil in it, put the oil in once baby's in the bath, then it forms a film and coats them when they come out. I also use Weleda products cos they don't have any detergent type things or petroleum-based moisturiser (idea being that plant oils are better cos don't block pores). They have a great baby oil. Of course you don't need to use expensive products, olive oil in the bath and as a moisturiser is really great. then I use talc free talc (use the green baby one but actually it's just cornstarch).

I would also be very careful with things like what washing powder you are using for his clothes, try not to use too much or too much fabric softener, I would also not use harsh household cleaning products or air fresheners, any other chemicals which he might be exposed to, like bleach, surface cleaners etc, get a vinegar all purpose cleaning liquid instead, and maybe try putting some oil on him in the mornings as well..

sorry if this is a bit garbled! best of luck!

[hettie]

brilliant- thanks for all the top tips. Will follow the advice and fingers crossed we'll keep it from arriving in the first place