Severe Eczema on 9 month olds face

[Booboochicken1978]

DS is 9months now and has suffered with Eczema since about 3months. After trying so many other creams and lotions which made no difference and with a red raw face I finally gave in and have used a 0.5% steroid on his face. The GP said to use it for 5 days only and if/when it flares up again use it again but to leave at least 3 - 4 weeks between each 5 day application.

The cream cleared his face up almost completely after the 5 days. However 2 days later it was back with a vengence. I just used Diprobase ointment on him which made no difference and after 3 weeks I tried another 5 days of the steroid cream. Again his skin cleared but we are now on day 2 without the cream and he is red raw, sore and with very dry skin again all around his mouth, cheeks and chin.

I just don't know what to do. Obviously the steroid cream is working but as it is for such a short time it never goes completely and as soon as I stop using it the eczema is back. Should I use the cream for longer until it has gone completely and hope it doesn't return although this scares me as I know it thins the skin?

A friend suggested it could be food that triggers it and he does seem to go redder with tomatoes and berries but we have cut those out for 2 months now and he is still suffering.

Has anyone else experienced this. Have you got any suggestions of what else I can try?

I would go back to the surgery and ask to speak to the person who has most experience treating eczema.

Sorry not to be more helpful, but I don't know about facial eczema. I do know that speaking to someone who actually knew what they were talking about revolutionised ds's experience.

I found that pure Shea butter and olive oil then a cost of Vaseline worked much better then prescription creams.
But it depends on what's causing it.
A friend found creams never worked and under the guidance of doctors cut out dairy and it stopped then.
Try to push to find out the cause (allergy/intolerance testing ect) then finding a treatment will be easier.

my daughter had the same problem we got referred to a dermatologist then he suggested 3 different steroid creams and we tried all of them until we found the best one , different steroid creams work for different people

My brother was in and out of hospital with the same problem before he was 1 years old too. The problem with steroid creams is that it thins the skin, so breaking the skin is more common. And steroid isnt meant to be used long term. He lived in the hospital more than not. When he was about 5, my neighbour who are Chinese took my mum to London to see a chinese doctor. Within 2 years my brother was cured. It was amazing and expensive. The stuff my mum had to make was disgusting, but it was basically vitamins to help the body heal itself from within. There is a lot of things which will cause Eczema. As it is believed that the digestive system cant cope with removing all the toxins down the intestines to come out in pee and poo, so it has to come out in the skin. The chinese also difficiate the difference between different Eczema. And we had to keep away from all contaminant, toxin, buy organic (now we have the problem of GMO as well), my bothers clothes were washed seperately. Chemicals in my house were kept the minimum, although he can get dirty by going to play in the garden. So natural stuff was fine.

I would suggest going to Chinese society or a friend who is Chinese to recommend a hebalist doctor. As there are a lot of rubbish ones out there.

It could be food related. Keep a diari of what he eats and severity if symptoms.

Dd never had eczema on the face but we have fouls that a combo of dairy free and expensive allergen free products have helped alot.

Try shampoos etc from health food stores that don't hae the chemicals on

Can your gp or hv refer you to an eczema specialist - I was referred by my hv and it was brilliant - they know so much more than gp's about how to manage this condition.
When I met the doctor she was able to clearly explain what the eczema was and how to go about using emollients (moisturisers) and steroids. She said that the most common error is under use of moisturisers and steroids and in our case we really did need to be using the steroids much more (also on DD's face primarily)
So we moisturise at every nappy change and face wipe with a very greasy moisturiser (diprobase ointment) - which is probably about 7-8 times a day.
We do not use water or wipes on DD's face, but instead use a very light moisturiser as a cream cleanser (Dermol 500) after food or if she gets dirty. We also use this to clean her when she has her bath.
When we put the moisturiser on it will show up the current sore patches of eczema as red patches. Just the red patches are then given the steroid cream twice a day until they are fully cleared up.
We are lucky in that our DD does not have food as a trigger for the eczema, we are pretty sure its stress and irritants. So if she's teething, catches a virus, touches something irritant, scratchy fabric then that can cause it to occur - so we treat that area with moisturiser and if its still red with the moisturiser then the steroids.
The way the doc explained it was to think of the skin like a brick wall. Skin cells are the bricks and we have natural oils that act like the mortar. If the oils/mortar don't work properly then the bricks/cells will get damaged and flake off. Eczema is the skin cells being damaged because the oils are not protecting them as well as they should. So we need to help the 'mortar' by moisturising more and replacing the oils and avoiding detergents (soaps, body washes, etc.) because they are usually full of chemicals that strip away oil.

One of my DTs suffered badly from facial eczema. We found that excluding foods such as tomatoes and strawberries helped. Also the basic emollients/creams prescribed by the doctor were useless - I tried so many different ones, until finally settling on Aveeno, but I think that it's trial and error finding which one works best for you. We also used vaseline as a barrier cream before eating, reduced contact issues.
The steroid cream worked brilliantly but every time I stopped using it, it flared back up.
We got a dermatologist referral. Within minutes of walking into her office, she had identified the problem - saliva. DT was a drooler, with a tendency to try to thumb suck, and was smearing saliva all round his mouth, chin and cheeks (just hadn't noticed it happening, it wasn't as if his face was glistening!). Once I knew the cause, we were much more alert to keeping his face dry and clean (I hadn't made the connection before), used the barrier more, and within a few weeks, it had cleared up.
Definitely worth getting a dermatologist referral, if the problem persists, it gets you to the root of the problem much more quickly.
Good luck

Hi, you should definitely try Aloe Vera Gelly together with Aloe Propolis cream. It is excellent, all natural and no steroids! I am a distributor of Aloe products which have wonderful health benefits. I know people that have had great success with the products in treating eczema and other skin/health issues. Please do contact me if you would like more information (07828930874 email: [email protected]) or go to www.annleeflp.myforever.biz/store

My son is 18 months and has suffered with eczema on his chin constantly for 6 months now. It would go red raw and as you said, the steroid would clear it but it would come back straight away.

I know your little one is younger so won't be on cows milk yet but I cut the milk out of his diet over the last two days and used the aloe propolis creme. It is the first time his chin has been clear for over 6 months. I have only used that cream for two days and it's gone. Could be the milk but worth a try with the cream. My doctor is a dermatologist and she didn't know what else to use as she had tried everything.
Hope you get it sorted soon ( he has gone back on Aptimil milk now )

It may sound mad but I e just been reading about a mum with a small boy who had severe eczema (can't remember where but will post if I do) she was giving the boy green juice to drink each day made with green fruit and vegetables. His symptoms cleared quickly and his overall health improved. This just seems a better way if dealing with it than chemical rich lotions and potions and def worth a try incase it helps the poor little thing and you get some relife xx

I recommend Hemp cream by Body Shop; it keeps the skin moistured much longer than other creams, while safe. In my DD's case, we used lots of steroids and all sorts of moisturisers as per the dermatologist's advise but it was when I stopped using ANY cream when DD got rid of ezcema nearly completely. As she got to speaking age, she said: do not put any cream, they only make it more itchy.

Other strange experience is that I stopped giving her any wheat, egg and dairy for 8 months, during which eczema did not improve. But after the 8 months, while introducing back these foods to her, the eczema was completely gone for good 6 months. Something in her system must have changed.

Sadly I think we do not know much about eczema. It was very stressful but luckily DD's eczema is lots better now she is 8. Good luck to everyone.