6 month baby with eczema

[Solveitch]

Hi

I was wondering if anyone knew what creams are able touse on a 6 month old? Especially face? My nephew has it here and the GP has told his mum there isn't a lot he can give him because of his age. Also said not to use hydrocortisone on face unless it is infected. I thought you could put hydrocortisone on face as long as it was very weak percentage - 0.5%?

Any advice?

Ta
tracey

hi tracey- my d has facial eczema and has had it for ages. I have tried Fucidin H- which did nothing and having seen a dermatologist she was prescribed modrasone which also doesn't seem to be working. i find the best thing is washing frequently, keeping face dry and using aqueous cream (£2.80 for a big tub in Boots). i also find that when i give her processed foods it's worse so i try to only give her homemade purees/mashes etc. i also bathe her in Oilatum plus which I got on prescrption. Tell your SIL to insist on visiting a dermatologist

dd1 had 0.5% hydrocortisone from a very early age. was b4 six months. obviously best to avoid it if possible.

with regards to creams for his face, oilatum cream, aveeno (i think), most things really. just avoid lanolin and should be fine. i think your sister/borther/in laws need to take him back and demand some creams that are suitable. they cant leave the poor mite with a raw face.

my ds had eczema from 3 months (fully breastfed).

i found the following helped enormously (he's all cleared up now at 11 months):

sea salt in baths (lots of it, i had to buy it in bulk, needed four or five generous handfuls)

cutting out cows milk altogether (this happened later as he had started wheezing) he has been on goats formula/yoghurt/milk/cheese since about five months old

and as many trips to the sea as possible (not really practical in winter..)

aloe vera is kind to skin, sos cream was excellent (but v expensive)

hth

Sorry- meant to add- she's 8 months now but started with it about 16 weeks- got fucidin at about 20 weeks and the modrasone 2 weeks ago- 7 1/2 months old

We used hydrocortisons on ds from this young, plus loads of emolient creams. Aveeno works well for us and you can get Aveeno bath powder too. The biggest improvement we had was when we switched from brushed cotton flannelette type cot sheets to very smooth flat cotton ones, and I started to wash everything with an extra rinse cycle to get rid of detergent residue.

SK Cream for eczema is one of those secret, word-of-mouth remedies that people swear by - its got chamomile, almond oil, and beeswax in it. You get it by mail order 01526-832491.

Hi,

just wondering whether anyone out there has any advice - we have a seven month old son who's been on Hydrocortisone now constantly since he was 3 months (and Eumovate when it's really bad or Fucidin if it gets infected).

The eczema now isn't actually that bad, but never goes completely - the minute we stop putting the steroids on (mainly face, feet, knees, elbows and wrists), it comes back.

The other big problem is that he scratches himself to pieces, and since he was 3 months old never sleeps for longer than 3-4 hours at a stretch - the itching wakes him up.

We've just been prescribed Ucerax, and after alot of misgivings have given him the first dose of 2.5ml - and he has fallen into a stupor. We are really concerned about giving him this medicine, so would appreciate hearing of any experiences anyone else has had.

We also want to stop using the steroids. We use Epaderm as his ointment 3 times a day (under Tubifast garments) and bathe him once a week with Oilatum. Has anyone tried to just stop using them, and if so what were the results?

Apologies if this is really long - I've just discovered this site and like so many of you am really frightened about the amount of steroids and medication generally being heaped on my sons little body without the eczema ever going.

For my 18month old who I have been wet wrapping at night time for 8 months now I have also used steriod creams or ointments to treat the flare-ups. My current regime is oilatum in the bath with lukewarm water (so colder than 'ideal'), wet wraps after bath ie coating legs in epaderm followed by damp tubifast and then a dry pair of tubifast tights (eczema is resticted to legs only), then baby grow. During the day I use diprobase and its the amount and application that are critical to ensure you don't generate an itchy feeling - small amounts, lightly and gently applied from top to bottom of legs ie in direction of hair growth so as not to aggravate the hair follicles, and no rubbing in of the diprobase emollient. The latter does not add moisture but prevents moisture loss. I apply the diprobase as often as possible up to 6-7 times a day. I started using 1% hydrocortisone cream, then the ointment, then fucidin H. Each worked for awhile ie no scratching, but then they stopped working, and this may have been due to potency of the steriod or the frequency of application. I requested a referral to a dermatologist and we now use eumovate. So intially I used this twice a day, before diprobase application in the morning and before application of the epaderm which precedes wet wraps for 2 weeks. After week 1 all the red patches had disappared and there was no scratching (and all feeling of dryness had gone), but I continued for a further week as reccommended to address hidden healing. However within 3 days of this 2 week intense period the patches re-appeared. Having done a lot of reading I now using eumovate for further 2 weeks after the red patches have disappeared to address hidden healing. Once the eczema re-appears, as we do not know what allergens are causing her eczema, we have been advised to apply twice a day for 3 days, then once a day for 3 days then stop. I haven't got to this stage yet so will see if I deviate from this. I think the key is to not to be afraid of using steriods intensely initially as this should cut down using it on and off. I spoke with a friend yesterday who has been prescribed hydrocortisone for her daughter as there are red patches in the creases behind the knee and she was told to just use HC til the redness has gone. I am not convinced as you need to address what you cannot see.