Help for this eczema around DS mouth?

[crispychicken12]

Hi,

18 month old DS has has eczema since he was about 6 weeks old. It used to be all over him, particularly feet, legs and abdomen/back.

Most of it has disappeared as he's grown older, but he has the worst patches around his mouth.

They do get worse with the cold weather and they sometimes crack and weep. It doesn't seem to cause him any pain, he's never shown any discomfort.

We have seen the doctor many times as nothing seems to make it better, they gave us epaderm ointment for his bath, epaderm cream (we apply this up to 6 times per day) and a steroid cream which I've found is thinning his skin and making it worse, we only use this at the times when it's particularly bad and for no longer than a week at a time.

DS does slobber, he also eats a lot of fruit. We wipe his face often with a damp flannel then pat dry and apply cream after he eats or is slobbering for a long time.

I'm at a loss with what to do. Nursery think it's an allergy, he had allergy tests as a 4 month old due to weight issues with breastfeeding. Nothing came up, he eats a brilliant diet. He doesn't scratch at it, what I'm concerned about it as it seems to be constantly getting worse and not even slightly better.

Any suggestions or advice? It's spreading more around his face. Pics are recent, it looks much worse in person

My daughters get a reaction like that from anything vinegary or acidic eg tomatoes, ketchup, kiwi, pineapple

It has lessened as they've got older as more food actually goes in.

Bioderma make a cream for babies that might help. Abcderm Peri-Oral cream. It's specifically for irritation around the mouth. My teen dd has eczema and uses it.

Have you tried eliminating milk now he is older? It's a very common issue that causes facial eczema like that.

Poor wee man hope you sort it.

There’s a cream that has an anti fungal, antibiotic and low dose steroid combined and it’s like magic. It’s called “tri” something. Give me a minute I’ll see if I can find a link.

Re allergies. It could be one that isn’t tested as part of the top 14 but I’d expect to see other symptoms, such as itching, hives, coughing, tummy upset etc. And the fact it’s clearing from the rest of the body is positive.

I know the fears about steroids on the face but ime a short low dose course is worth it to stop bleeding and infection.

I can’t find the exact one but something like this that acts together. I think from memory we may have used it alongside an oral antibiotic as my DC’s was infected.
There’s also a really good Facebook group, if you search for eczema on the face it will bring up loads of good advice.

Have you tried the aveeno emollient overnight balm? It says it suitable for eczema and there's a baby one. I had an odd flare up on my face, next to my mouth (I'm pregnant so I think that's why). I'm not sure exactly what it was but I had it for months, tried various things which helped but didn't clear it up. Then I tried the aveeno stuff (the do a baby one, which is the one I used) and it's totally cleared up in 1-2 days!

My DS had exactly the same. His was so bad it wept and bled. We were given fucidin h, steroids and tons of emollients etc. The one thing that changed it was cutting dairy out my diet as I was still breastfeeding him. He went on to be diagnosed with quiet a few serious food allergies, cows milk included. He's five now and still has eczema on his body but nothing on his face. He still has very severe food allergies but we are under a great team at our hospital. Good luck.

Maybe for when you’ve got it more under control, but Vaseline can work wonders as a barrier, stops the food/dribble from making it sore. It used to work on my daughter, stopping the juice from oranges/tomatoes irritating her skin

I'd switch to epaderm ointment. It will leave a better barrier if it's something he's eating that's making it flare. Don't be scared if using a little steroid cream for short periods when it flares, it won't thin the skin if used properly

DS had exactly the same - we cut dairy and it disappeared

Sorry everyone I'm a terrible Op I hadn't seen any replies until now.

He eats so much fruit, but I think it the milk. We are thinking of changing him non-dairy to see how that goes

My ds used to get bad eczema around his mouth. We applied cream/vaseline to protect his face when eating.
But what did the wonder was having tested for allergy and go on the restricted diet.

My DS had this and it turned out to be the toothpaste we were using (applemint xylitol brushbaby i think)

We swapped to a different brand and it all cleared up never to be seen again.

Tomato's and citrus fruit will irritate it. I use a yellow tune of cream by Weleda and it cleared it up. Its weleda baby weather protection cream. Stops spit and everything irritating it and created a barrier. DSs face was dreadful until I found this.

We used to put prescribed cream on then after a few minutes put vasaline on (as directed by dermatology). But you have to check that the two don't react.

hi OP, my son has allergies and eczema. Seconding other posters that have said don't be worried about using steroids - recent research shows they only thin the skin when high-strength ones are applied under an airtight covering. There's lots of really useful information on different types of topical steroids and which work best on different types of eczema here (on the peer-reviewed and NHS-approved Patient Info site): patient.info/skin-conditions/atopic-eczema/topical-steroids-for-eczema. Our consultant said it was much better to use a strong steroid for a few days to get rid of the eczema than use a mild one for a long time. I find the mild steroids have no effect at all.
Could you get him rechecked for allergies? Eczema is nearly always an allergic response to something. Remember if you are cutting out milk you need to cut out all dairy products and loads of packaged food has milk powder in it, even things you wouldn't expect like some bread!
My son was allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, walnuts and dustmites. He grew out of the milk allergy aged 1.5ish.
Good luck

DS(14) gets this round his mouth, it comes in flare ups and we can’t pin point what triggers it.

His was diagnosed as Peri-Oral Dermatitis and he was given some cream called Timodine which works brilliantly to clear it up in a couple of days of using it.

I swear by Lucas' Papaw ointment for my son's excema. I think with excema you have to try kids of stuff till you find what works for the individual. We tried so much, over almost a decade, and the papaw works a treat. It isn't fast acting like steroids, but applied twice daily it shifted some very sore patches on my boy after a few weeks, and took the redness out within a couple of days. I use it now for almost any skin irritation - minor burns, bites, itchy patches, scratches - it's so calming and seems pretty harmless in terms of ingredients (which I think is only papaya?)

@blissfulllife

I'd switch to epaderm ointment. It will leave a better barrier if it's something he's eating that's making it flare. Don't be scared if using a little steroid cream for short periods when it flares, it won't thin the skin if used properly

This. Also creams have preservatives in which they can be allergic too. Ointments don’t. You might find that putting the cream on has been making it worse.

I would protect his skin surrounding his mouth with Vaseline and maybe a little touch of sudocrem.

Aw that looks really sore 😕 we find child's farm moisturiser works great on both my girls with eczema. Infact my 15 month olds skin is clearest it's been and we usually end up at doctors every 6-8wks.

Funnily enough though I came on to see what advice was as I'm having similar issues around the mouth with my 3yr old but I think it's allergy related. Nursery put some sun cream on and gave them an ice lolly. Think she's allergic to food colouring and the sun cream she's very sensitive to.

I've tried him with egg, he doesn't like it but no allergies. He seems okay with nuts and has a lot of dairy. I've convinced myself that it's to do with his milk.

I'm going to pick up some alpro growing up soya milk for him, I'm not stopping all dairy initially just his milk then will monitor it.

We did apply steroid cream last night as it was bleeding and it looks a lot better already but I know that's not a continuous solution

He doesn't seem in any discomfort but it's spreading largely across his face

Be wary of giving him soya milk as young children can develop an allergy to it.

Have you tried him on oat milk?

I don’t think you should give boys soya products, something to do with their sperm later on. I would get some medical advice before cutting anything right out.

Does he have a dummy? One of mine had similar and it was the dummy. It trapped the slobber and the eczema spread out past the dummy area. We removed the dummy cold turkey and it calmed down over a fortnight and resolved in around a month.