Eczema on scalp of four-month-old. Not sure what to do.

[Totobear]

My DS developed eczema mainly on his face when he was 6 weeks old, but we've managed to keep it under control with flaxseed oil and it had almost entirely cleared up, with the exception of along his hairline.

The patch of eczema has recently become a lot angrier looking, and he has started to scratch it frequently and it is disturbing his sleep. What can I do? I've read about detergents causing problems but I don't get why it wouldn't be all over his body. I always rinse the washing too.

Any suggestions? Could it be to do with detergents if it is just on his head?

The advice from my doctor just made things worse!

Thank you all, from a worried mummy

You might get one epaderm and try washing him with that (it lathers and can be used as a soap substitute). It was good for the very dry skin and cradle cap my two had and was recommended to me by a friend whose child has very bad eczema.

After DS had really bad eczema, we ran across a study which found that 60% of cases of infant eczema were due to an egg allergy.

Not sure how reliable that stats was, or whether it's been disproven, but might be worth a try.

Thank you! I used olive oil and it made it sooo much worse and so I switched to flaxseed and it cleared it up immediately and has kept it away on his face but it then sprung up on his hairline last week. We actually tried sudocream last night and it seems to have made a huge difference!

I am now wondering if it is either cradle cap that he got infected through itching - can it be itchy? - or eczema caused by contact with something but no idea what!

As to the milk. - he is on aptamil now and did go on nutrimigen for his tummy but then that sorted itself out and he is back on aptamil. He went on aptamil and breast milk at start as he was I'll in hops and they put him straight on formula.

I have read about eczema and yeast and am wondering if the antibiotics he has in hops caused it all in the first place.

Gps always recommend olive oil for cradle cap / dry baby skin and it is plain rubbish (made my DD's head fester). Seriously, try the epaderm. I bet it clears up in no time.

DS' eczema started aroud that time - we stopped using all shampoos/ bubble baths etc. and switched to only Oilatum Junior bath additive in the water, and Doublebase gel on his skin afterwards. His hair was generally fine, when he did need shampoo we used Johnson's until we worked out it was making his arms worse, and we switched to Infaderm conditioning shampoo. We've tried other combinations every now and again but nothing else works so well for us. I think you do have to go through a bit of trial and error to see what works best for you.

We always found Allergenics products very good, they don't contain any steroids but I found them to be just as effective as steroid cream. They make shampoo, body wash and skin lotion, and 2 different types of creams.

Have just found a link to them with 25% off www.nutrisun.co.uk/search.aspx?q=Allergenics&gclid=CLGUyuXOkrICFcYKfAodwnEACQ

Thank you everyone, plenty of things for us to try now without needing to go back to the GP.

Keep him cool eg cotton bedding. GP may be able to prescribe nightwear with built in mitten to reduce impact on scratching or look at Eczema Clothing Co. Could be cows milk allergy? my dd went onto soya formula on prescription after rejecting hydrolysed cows milk formula and eczema calmed down. Honestly best to go to GP to eliminate infection possibility, and to perhaps have referral to dermatologist and/or allergy clinic.