Eczema - looks like sunburn?

[goandshowdaddy]

My 9 week old DS2 was diagnosed with eczema at 4 weeks and it has steadily got worse. It started with red spots on his face which then spread as a rash down his neck, chest and stomach and has now ended up on his back and all skin creases (back of knees, elbows etc) as well.

He has terrible cradle cap which is also appearing behind his ears. His scalp is also dry, flaky and red (presume it's the eczema) as well as scaly.

We were prescribed Cetraben cream and doublebase for the bath as well as Sudocreme for the nappy area.

As it has got worse, his neck area and under the arms and round his back/sides, where the nappy fastens, have turned an angry red - looking like sunburn - and feels constantly damp.

The creams didn't seem to be doing much, in fact it almost seemed to get worse (the 'sunburn' appeared after I started using the creams).

I tried using the Sudocreme on his neck and it did seem to dry out the 'wet' skin - the next day his skin was all flaking/peeling off . Not sure if this is a good thing?

I took him back to the docs and, typically, his 'sunburn' wasn't as angry and his skin looked better that day. The doc prescribed E45 for us to try and Oilatum for the bath. She also prescribed a mild steroid cream for the worst areas.

I have been using all of these since then but can't really see any improvement. I'm finding it so frustrating and distressing to see him upset whilst I'm trying to clean, dry and cream the really red bits. It's hard to get his neck dry and when I rub the cream in it seems to just slide off. Doesn't help that he's got a bit of a fat neck so hard to get into the creases!

Just wondered if anyone had any advice and what the 'sunburn' might be if not part of the eczema.

Should I go back to the doc or persist with the creams/bath stuff. How long should it take before I see any effect? My poor baby .

[Igglybuff]

Thanks Meg. I'll make the switch asap!

[elephantshavebigtrunks]

Igglybuff Pampers were the worst ones for us. The Nature Babycare ones have been okay, and Sainsbury's Eco too.

[Lusi]

Interesting about new guide lines on aqueous cream and E45...didn't use either on DD1(9) (who had quite bad skin - luckily grown out of it)
DD2(3) - skin has never been as bad (but then she has never had daily baths, used soap, well rinsed clothes etc) she just gets patches in her groin and arm pits (and also almost like goosebumps on her arms - due to dry skin) - Doublebase usually sorts it out if it flares but she uses E45 bubble bath every bath...and I smear her face with aqueous cream...and/or sudocreme if it gets a bit chapped... maybe it depends on the child if it is a bad thing or not...
Washing powder wise I now use Ecover non-bio...for DD1 I used Ariel non-bio (low dose) - Fairy non-bio (even v. low dose) caused her real problems....
Nappy wise - both mainly in reusables - for disposables - Nature baby care and Asda Eco babes...same for wipes - but mainly used water and cloth...

[MerryMarigold]

Try and get a prescription for Aveeno. Just say you want to try it out. GP should be supportive or you trying things out. It's quite expensive to buy...