cant bath my 18mth year old son due to eczema

[hayleyhew]

I have 2 sons - 1 is 3 and the other is 18mths. The 3 year old has no eczema but youngest gets it quite bad. I manage to keep it under control during the day and never bath him much as this makes it worse. But, now both boys go crazy if I dont let him go in bath with his brother. Has anyone got any ideas how to make baths not cause such a reaction - all this is so heart breaking.

my dd has dry eczema. the dermatologist recommends bathing for no more than 10 mins. i dissolve epaderm to put into her water which helps to seal moisture into her skin. the dermatologist says ideally she should bath twice a day but life is too busy for that.

what do you put in the bath? bubble bath is a no no with eczema. sorry if i am pointing out the obvious.

what are you using in the bath?

I use something from the alternative centre - its supposed to get rid of the chlorine. Is the epaderm good? Where would I get it? I would love to be able to bath him every day - feel he is missing out on bath fun with his brother.

When dss had exczema we used Oilatum in the bath and sometimes used aqueous cream in place of soap - both recommended by GP.

saadia - I have tried these and they dont work on my little boy - nightmare!

Perhaps bath them (both) just every other day unless needed. Have you tried a handful of oats in a sock in the bath - it softens the water and is supposed to be soothing for eczema sufferers. Also make sure the water's not too hot so that it doesn't provoke his skin. Smother him with his usual moisturiser after each bath.

No havnt tried the oats in sock - does this work well? Will defo try it, thanks

with dd2, daily baths did her good with loads of bath emollient swiftly followed by her routine of creams. dd1 always shared her baths as obviously all the moisturisers did her no harm at all.

speak to gp or eczema nurse possibly better to find out what you can try in teh bath in case something works for your boy.

My DD's have quite dry skin and are prone to eczema flare ups. I've only tried the oats/sock thing once (as recommended by other MN'ers) but it did soften the water considerably ... and you'll find your DC's pretty fascinated about having a squidgy oozing sock in their bath too

Epaderm worked where Oilatum and Aqueos Cream didn't.

Epaderm is available in the chemists and on prescription (for free) It is an emulsifying ointment - that means that unlike other fats (oilatum and aqueous cream) it bonds with water molecules creating a moisturiser and a barrier to water loss. Oilatum and a.c. are just barriers.

Take a teaspoon of it, and melt it in a bowl of hot water before combining it to the bath water. Or if you are lazy like me, take about half a teaspoon's worth in wet hands rub them together and it lathers up like soap. you can then smother the child with it. Then do the same with the other half tsp worth and rinse your hands in their bathwater. It is a soap/bath gel replacement. (gels - detergents no different from Fairy liquid in reality! - are very drying and v. bad for eczema.)

You should moisturise him again outside the bath. I use Aveeno but also know that you can use Epaderm as a lotion. Again by lathering it up in your palms. You will have to put hydrocortisone on any flareups as moisturising alone isn't enough. Weeping eczema needs a hydrocortisone with and antiseptic. She's used Fucidin in the past quite successfully but the dermatologist my dd saw recommended one called Vioform which is fab.

we use balenum in the bath, ansd then apply aveeno after the bath. works wonders.

oilatum and aquous cream arent good for my kids.

go back to the doc and ask for ssomething else.

Not surprised to hear people say that Oilatum and ac don't work. You don't want any animal or mineral products near a child with eczema. Oilatum contains mineral oil and aqueous cream contains parrafin. Both are byproducts from the petroleum industry. Don't go anywhere near them!

Get good at reading labels. And just because the doc says you should use it or if it comes on prescription does not mean it will work. GPs are amazing but they have very limited training in skin conditions. Their usual protocol is to suggest an emollient (that contains animal or mineral products e.g. a.c. or Diprobase) plus steroids (long term use thins the skin and they have a hormonal action on the body - you can't use them when you are pregnant - so why would you put them on your baby?) (That said, occasionally for a really bad flare up they are a life saver.)

Stick to veg only products and be wary of anything that foams - the foaming is usually produced by chemicals called SLSs.

You should be able to find a low chemical, vegetable based soap with calendula at your health food shop e.g. Weleda, Faith in Nature.

An amazing and affordable choice is Halos and Horns baby bath products which are available in the supermarkets (I've seen them in Morrisons, Tesco and Waitrose). The price is less than £2 for a tube of 250mL. It does not contain any chemicals that are known to be linked to eczema, asthma or other health problems in children and was developed by a desperate mum who had a son with eczema!

My dd2 has quite bad eczema. The bath always makes it worse sadly and she loves baths. I have found that if I cover her in an emoliant before she gets in that it provides a barrier to the water and lessens the itching and redness. We have tried so many different lotions and potions and nothing works on her but this does. Each child responds to different treatments so it is worth trying things you haven't tried before.

Hi - my little girl used to flare up too (thankfully grown out of it). She still only gets bathed every 2nd day. I don't use anything in the water unless I can smell the chlorine.

Do not wash your baby twice a day - it will take all the natural oils out of their skin!!!

My fourth baby only got a bath once a week (plus top and tail with wipes)! Now he is 11 months he gets twice a week, three times if he's lucky!

I put a drop of vegetable oil(olive) in the bath after following the advice of a midwife, after experiencing a horrific full body rash with baby oil. I don't put on anything after. I would recommend this but do a test behind the ear before trying any products.

I only used this after I discovered that she didn't react to it during a baby massage class. I asked the teacher and she said it was just base oil for massage that you get everywhere.

I also put this on before taking the kids out for winter walks as it helps protect for the wind and cold.

All the "excema" products you mentioned just made it worse (oilatum and eucarin included)Lanolin in E45 was a nightmare as with many nappies and sensitive baby wipes. (The best wipes were and still are tesco scent-free soft wipes. )

Can I just add to that they are very slippery suckers when you get them out of the bath - especially if they are newborn! So be careful!!!!!

didn't mean emoliant meant emulsifying lotion

don't use E45 I did as I was recommended to by my eczema specialist at the health centre!!!! I ended up having to take my dd to out of hrs drs as her eczema was weeping all over her clothes, was sore and nasty. Dr asked why on earth I was putting E45 on baby with eczema, I explained and he said never ever put it on as it aggrivates it. She had to be put on antibiotics and steroid creams to clear it up. We now use aqueous cream in the bath and epaderm to moisturise at all other times. Oats in sock did make a difference to feel of water but not to dd skin.

Last I heard (from a GP) was that aqueous cream had been proven to make eczma worse so not to use it.

We put oilatum or epaderm in the bath for DD and smother her in diprobase as soon as she gets out too.

Its a mad world, who do u believe, 1 person gives u 1 bit of advice some1 else says opposite. Guess it depends on childs skin as well. health and education r as bad as each other

If it's confusing, trying to understand the logic of the suggestions may help.

If you have weepy eczema then anything that makes a barrier on the skin will make it worse. The allergic reaction has caused the cells in the skin to bloat. The moisture has to come out for the condition to get better. Anything with mineral oil or animal fat will create a barrier and you get waterlogging. Mineral and animal molecules are big - they sit on top of the skin.

If you need a barrier to prevent moisture getting in - great. But if you want to soothe but let moisture out, it must be a vegetable based product. It just must - there's no other way to do it when you look at science and anatomy. That's why E45, aqueous cream etc. aren't working in many instances. They may soothe for a short while but then the barrier effect will kick in and the condition will flare up again.

Keep checking those labels!

When my daughter was in hospital with a severe skin infection her skin was very sore when it was growing back, we saw lots of dermotogists and they precsribed dermol 500 for the bath and dermol 600 cream which is used for eczema too I think.
It was brilliant the bath stuff can be used as a shampoo and liquid soap as well have continued to use it and skin has been wonderful since. May be worth a try.

I'd stick to an ointment based product which is the best by far for dry skin such as Emulsifying ointment (can use as a soap substitute) Emulsifying ointment:liquid parafin 50:50 and Epaderm (which is just an updated version now available in primary care). Creams and lotions (which are just watered down creams) are fine but they aren't as effective as the ointments and are sometimes easier to use during the days as there not as greasy. It's all personal preferance. As stated before avoid anything with lanolin such as E45 as may people are sensitive to this. Bathing dries the skin out so doing this twice a day doesn't make any sense and I would bathe your child alternate days and make sure you put an emollient in the bath or as suggested cover the skin in the emollient first before your child jumps into the bath (also a good idea to do this if they go swimming). Dermol 500/600 are good and simply have antibacterial properties in them for skin which may be infected. Its all about quantities... and the more emollients you apply to your childs skin the more comfortable it will be... and I'm talking handfuls on a regular basis

Just to add a little idea...I've always used the women's product'femfresh' to wash the genital area thoroughly of any child I've ever looked after with eczema and never had a reaction as yet. It means that you can ensure that they will be clean and fresh and hopefully prevent any nastier attacks of nappy rash through under washing.
xx