Baby Eczema

[overanalyser1]

Hi all. I'm looking for a bit of a reassurance. My little boy is about to be 6 months old and has been suffering with eczema for the last 2 months. He's had a few flare ups in that time and we can't figure out what's causing it. The rash is mostly on his stomach and scalp. The GP seems to think it's related to a cows milk protein allergy (CMPA) and have prescribed my son with Neocate formula (I gave up breastfeeding a month ago for another reason). I guess I'd like to know that if my son does have a cows milk allergy that is causing his eczema to flare up, will we be able to control his eczema? If it isn't the CMPA is it worth getting an allergy test so we can better understand what's triggering it? We tried the laundry detergent, cotton clothing, no fabric softener, luke warm bath with no soap at all and have had no luck. He seems happy most of the time and is sleeping well so it's all very confusing. I know there are bigger issues for a lot of families but it is breaking my heart a little bit to think my baby is uncomfortable. Any thoughts?

Hi i would love to know how things turned out for you as i am going through a similar experience with my 3 month old... did Neocate help at all? Did you find out the cause? xx

Hi @Mamaslove55. My little boy went for various check ups and allergy tests and the only thing he was allergic to was egg. This showed up when he ate it and when having the skin prick tests. We went private and were given 0.5.% hydrocortisone. I was anti steroids but this very good doctor who specialised in eczema helped us so much. We started off using it twice a day for a week, then once a day for a week and then every other day etc etc until after 3 weeks we weren't using it at all. I was very good about moisturising my son every time he had a nappy change and now we are down to no steroids, dermol 500 for baths, epaderm moisturiser once a day and that's it. I hope your little girl is okay. I know eczema can be triggered by things but sometimes it can just be dry skin that needs TLC. Fingers crossed for your little girl x

Thank you xx That’s good you found out the cause for it so did you end up taking him off neocate or kept him on it? I am also using epaderm which is helping loads atm and only use the hydrocortisone for flare ups, If you don’t mind me asking was it your gp who referred your little one for allergy tests? I also think there may be some triggers other than milk which is causing the flare ups but my gp says it’s too early to refer as baby is not weaning yet :/

Push like mad for an allergy test. My little girl had seven allergies and we would never have figured this out with trial and error. If you can afford it go private to avoid the waiting list which could be months or years. Don’t go to a quack though go to a consultant paediatric allergist at Spire or somewhere reputable. You also have to stick to everything you’re already doing, Hoover like mad to avoid dust, wash on 60, moisturise etc. My little girl is now seven, she’s grown out of some allergies but still has some; her visible eczema is gone but she still has top to toe Aveeno twice a day or it would get dry again, she still has cetirizine most days, but her skin looks lovely and it’s a million miles from the poor itchy baby who screamed and scratched her face and couldn’t sleep. Eczema UK Facebook group is good and there’s an excellent book about eczema and allergies called The Eczema Diet by Karen Fischer.

How long did it take before the rashes and itchiness subsided for your LOs? My DD has been on Neocate for a week and the difference in her skin is remarkable, though she is still scratching her eyes and legs in her sleep even though there are no rashes anymore. Any tips on how to make her more comfortable? Will the itchiness go away on its own or do I need more steroid cream?

@CardiganBlobby My little one has also been on neocate for a week his skin improved almost instantly but still having the often flare up (i think there are other triggers).He is so unsettled all the time after a feed crying in pain and barely sleeps well at night always tossing and turning, it’s really tempting me to try him back on normal formulas. Did your dd have any tummy troubles when starting neocate? xx

@mamaslove55 nothing too bad really, took a few days for poos to settle but now we seem to be generating one sticky forest green poo a day, and she seems pretty comfortable now. There may have been a bit more wind at the beginning of the week but nothing remarkable. Reflux is more of a problem now though with the thinner formula so I have to keep her upright for a lot longer now. If I don't she does get quite uncomfortable during and after a feed. Could be silent reflux for your little one?

I am a little concerned about coconut as a trigger just now - I put coconut oil on her cradle cap and her scalp went bright red which is now fading. I'm keeping an eye out anyway as we want to wean off antihistamines too, she has been on those for a while given the severity of the initial reaction so I will see if other symptoms start to pop up again now.