Please help! Tiny 25day old with Eczema all over his face now infected....

[LadyLotty]

Has anyone else also experienced this?!?

My little one is looking so poorly, he broke out with eczema all over his face about 10 days ago and is now spreading across to behind his ears, neck, scalp...

Worse still the areas around his face, forehead and ears are now infected as he has been scratching (despite mitts I've put on)

Am really annoyed as I consulted the health visitor twice about this, also took him to the GP, and the midwives, but none of them said I needed to worry and ignored all my concern. I took him to A&E yesterday as I was convinced it wasn't alright. When eventually seen, the paediatrician gave anti-biotic cream, but suggested maybe putting him on steroid today/tomorrow Has anybody been through this with their little ones?

DD is completely breast fed, I'm now also worried that the infection may somehow affect milk ducts and my breast feeding, can this be possible? I've never had mastitis or thrush or anything like that before so don't know what to watch out for. Just know that I am getting stinging sensations around my boobs. It can just be psychological and coincidence! But obviously I don't want to stop breast feeding him, shall I be cautious and perhaps think about anti-biotics for myself as well so that I can continue to feed?

Any help/advice would be much appreciated!!

[toddlerama]

for your little one. Stinging around the boobs is normal from what I remember. There should be someone who knows more along soon.....[hopeful]

[grammar]

If you are advised to give your little one steroids, it is clearly bad enough to warrant them. Oral steroids will mop up the inflammatory process that has caused this outbreak and the eczema will melt away. He should also have antibiotics to clear up the infection. What you need to do is to break the 'itch scratch cycle' which these tratments will do, otherwise it can go on to cause permanant scarring. When this bout is cleared up, the cornerstone of managing eczema is moisturisation. You'll need industrial amounts of Diprobase cream and something for the bath too. You'll need to apply it almost constantly, at least at each nappy change and slather it on. He'll have greasy hair for a few months, but it will go a long way to preventing such an outbreak again.
I'm not clear what you mean about the infection affecting your milk ducts, surely it is his infection. If you are worried about mastitis, yes you should have antibiotcs for that, but this doesn't sound like it. Maybe tou are worried that his infected spots are being conveyed skin-to-skin to cause mastitis, let me put your mind to rest, this is impossible.
On a more positive note, infantile eczema is extraordinarily common, only a few children go on to develop on- going problems with it, many 'grow out' of it, tho' you might find he is generally'atopic' later on, asthma, hayfever, although not necessarily.
Ask your GP for Diprobase or similar plus a tube of mild steroid cream(Hydrocortisone 1%)
and something for the bath. Make sure you clear up this nasty bout with some heavy duty stuff, the benefits of a short course of steroids outweigh any potential side effects.
Hope this helps
Grammar

[LadyLotty]

Gramma thanks for your message, very helpful indeed.

I've been putting aqueous cream on his face today during his sleep and his skin has shown marked improvement, I'll also use that to bath and shampoo him.

I can see that the irritated skin is really bothering him, as he scratches so often and then he puts his mitts/fingers inside his mouth(!) he is quite a sucky baby!

With the weather being so warm, I'm not able to swaddle him for long periods of time, as otherwise I would do just that, to prevent him getting the antibiotic cream and aqueous cream off and into his mouth......!

[MatNanPlus]

Ladylotty dress DS in just a nappy and swaddle his arms & trunk in a muslin to help him settle and not 'eat' the creams.

[tatt]

it is possible that his eczema could be made worse by a reaction to milk protein in your diet. So you may want to try excluding milk (and casein and whey in prepared foods) from your diet for a couple of weeks. Or you could add probiotics to your diet as that may also help.

Broccoli, white bread and small fish (ones where you eat the bones) are good sources of calcium while you try milk free.

[tatt]

forgot to mention - oats in the bath water and aveeno cream are often mentioned as helpful on these boards. I didn't find it useful personally but there's a lot of trial and error in finding what helps eczema.

[LadyLotty]

MatNanPlus, great idea thanks! I did just that, he was ok with it until he worked out that I swaddled him to apply cream and got annoyed... He struggled and struggled til he went red in the face when I couldn't tell his spots apart from the rest of his skin and eventually freed himself I will continue to try though.

Tatt, thanks also, i'll give your mentioned bits and pieces a go this evening and also will be watching my diet.

update on situation: doc has prescribed flucloxicillin syrup, also fucidin cream (both antibiotics) so hopefully the infection can be addressed asap. Also steroiD and acqeous cream for eczema once the weeping is gone fingers crossed!!!!

[paddypoopants]

I would like to second what Tatt said about the milk proteins. A friend of mine with an exclusively breastfed baby had terrible trouble with her ds skin with an awful itchy excema like rash all over his body. He was prescribed steroid creams which sort of helped but not completely. It was only when he was given formula at 6 months was he diagnosed as being lactose intolerant which had been the source of the problem all along. It is a pain to have to cut it out of your diet but it is worth a try.

[TheProvincialLady]

I agree. I gave up dairy because DS2 was very colicky and windy and within 4 days he was like a dream baby and so much more contented. I only knew to try because his older brother is already allergic.

If you are going to give it a try then make sure you read up on the stuff to cut out (there is a lot of hidden milk product in processed foods - even crisps and bizarre things you wouldn't expect to find it), and get some professional advice on your diet. Not for your baby's sake, as your milk would be fine regardless, but to look after your own health and wellbeing. And give it a couple of weeks to take effect.

[TheProvincialLady]

Oh and I hope your poor little one makes a very swift recovery, bless him

[wonderingwondering]

Was the AB/steroid cream Fucidin? My DS had a patch of infected dry skin on his face when very young, and it cleared it up in a day or two.

[Sheilsie]

My DD's eczema started off like yours, but at age 2 months. We had to use Fucibet twice as it kept getting infected on your face. Then we discovered that she had a cows milk allergy (following a reaction to her first attempt at formula milk at age 4 months) and she was prescribed hypoallergenic milk. I stopped breastfeeding at 5 months and her eczema improved as a result.

My advice to you is to push for a referral to the dermatologists at your local childrens hospital. I had to push and push to get one from the GPs, and then wait a couple of months for the appointment to come through. But the hospital were brilliant and gave me totally different advice and products to the GP.

Regarding the scratching, I bought multiple sets of "Scratch Sleeves" (www.scratchsleeves.co.uk/). I've also bought some sleepsuits from the Exzema Clothing company (www.eczemaclothing.com/Department/Eczema+Nightwear/X407++Comfymitt+PJ.htm).

[idunnop]

When I gave up cows milk, DD's eczema vanished completely - for us, it really was a miracle cure! However I was advised by a dietician friend that it was really important to take calcium supplements as otherwise you can easily go short on calcium if you give up dairy while breastfeeding.

By the way, acqueous cream isn't usually recommended as a moisturiser / emollient, as research has shown the most children react to it if left on the skin (though it is good for washing with). Did you get prescribed that? Might be worth getting something like Epaderm instead just in case.

[foxytocin]

dd's atopic eczema as a baby was due to egg in my diet. agree it may also be dairy in yours.

you taking antibiotics won't help and may make you susceptible to breast thrush.

[LadyLotty]

Thanks for all your advice.

The last few days, I've cut diary products out of my diet totally and am booked to see a GP this Friday, will definitely push to get a referral for dermatologist and/or allergy specialist.

I do wonder whether it is diary... today the little one is on his 6th day of oral antibiotics, the infection is mostly cleared up but not completely, and the Fucidin antibiotic cream which was prescribed didn't work at all.

Yesterday I thought things were on the up, the weeping seemed to be drying and crusting up. The red spots were diminishing in colour and his skin was returning to a calm baby softness. I was so happy! I carried on slapping aqeous cream all over his face and head and marvelled at his skin improvement in sheer delight.

But this morning the ears and forehead is weeping again (!!!) and the red spots have again flared up!

I'm thinking really hard about what I ate yesterday that could have caused this change. (Or shall I go further back than yesterday??) Only 'new' foods that I introduced into my diet that I can think of that may have triggered this are: satsumas, strawberries, cherries. Surely he can't be allergic to fruits?!?

[girlsyearapart]

yeppity yep can be allergic to fruits. What a dull thing to be allergic to!! my dd2 allergic to plums, tomatoes, bananas and melon amongst other things (cows milk protein, wheat ). The world of allergies are new to me as dd1 is fine eating anything.Couldn't/can't quite believe what she reacts to.. Dd2 fine with stawberries but that can be a big one i think. We finally settled on Diprobase as a moisturiser as Epaderm made her more itchy, Eumovate as a steroid cream and Bactroban on the infected bits. Good luck. Agree with previous posts you must be pushy to get referrals. Depending on how strongly you feel about BF they may switch your ds onto a hypoallergenic formula. Better to ask someone else about BF and allergies as due to own health probs I could only manage first few weeks BF

[MegBusset]

I would stop using aqueous cream - many eczema sufferers are allergic to it. Get a specialist emollient eg Epaderm or Doublebase.

[borinbugger]

have nt read all threads had eczema my self found everything from docs useless
weleda calendulon oitment is good(please google)
and i would suggest a homeopath a homoepathic remedy cured my ds s mild eczema overnight as it stopped him itching
good luck i hope you find something that works

[girlsyearapart]

borinbugger- what did the homeopath do? am thinking of taking 9mo dd. Anything worth a try!

[borinbugger]

homeopathy can work brilliantly but the problem lies with the fact there are so many remedies for eah illness that exactly right one has to be found.

[Drusilla]

Citrus fruits are a big no for lots of people with eczema etc as well as strawberries. It's very possible the fruit has caused has a flare up

[foxyiscuttingALLherhairoff]

please remember that environmental factors like pollen can also trigger eczema.

i would not recommend switching to hypoallergenic formula before a long convo with a BFC and dermatologist/allergy specialist first. ff has has many more far reaching risks than those you are facing now, sorry PP.

[idunnop]

seriously don't stop bfing in an attempt to improve this - bfing is the BEST thing you can do if your lo is prone to allergies. But I would definitely repeat the advice to stop using acqueous cream.

[foxyiscuttingALLherhairoff]

also if you are using any bath products at all, stop using them. there is no need to put soap or bath gels etc in a baby's bath. water alone is all they need well past their first year.