What are the chances of our next baby having eczema too?

[Elf]

Sorry if this has been covered before but...

DD is 3 and has recently showed tiny signs of eczema. DS is 1 and had very bad eczema which is milder now but still a problem. Does anyone know what the chances are of our next baby having a problem? BTW the baby in question may not even have been conceived yet but I don't know if I could cope with another year like the one just gone. DS also had reflux and has various food allergies as well.

hi elf..i know just how you feel, but u should not b put off having another baby because of eczema. ds (5) had severe ecezema for 3 years, went away (hurray!) but then came back this year with a vengance. I was SO SO down about it. I hadn't changed anything, and now I'm back to square one - findng the right creams that'll react well to his skin.

with ds2 (8 months) I was a little anxious of him getting ezcema too. So following wise mumsnetter's advice I chose to breastfeed for longer, chose milupa aptamil for formula milk (contains fish oils, which is very good for eczema) and used nothing in the bath for 8 weeks. Then used balenum plus. and touch loads of wood he hasn't got eczema. He has dry skin, but that is treated well with 50/50.

i think it just depends on each individual. Everyone is different and I dont think there's any way of predicting what allergies a baby may get.
so not all your children will get it. My DH has a tiny bit of ezcema behind his ears, which probably triggered the allergy in ds1.

I heard that if a child has a sibling and a parent with an atopic condition he or she has a 50% chance of developing one. But that doesn't mean that it will be severe..... My ds1 (26 months) has eczema, asthma and food allergies but so far ds2 (7 weeks) is clear - early days I know though so fingers are very firmly crossed.
I avoided peanuts while I was pregnant, and took probiotic supplements religiously (supposed to protect against eczema). Because I was worried about allergies I saw a paediatric dietician when I was pg and Ds2 has Nutramigen formula on prescription.

dd1 had ecsema pretty much from birth. she was covered, poor love, and now has eczema, asthma,hayfever and various allergies.

dd2 didnt show any signs of eczema till last summer when she was over 18months old. and she has only ust started to have allergic reactions at over 2years of age. so far she seems clear of asthma, tho i am aweare she could develope it at any time.

#3, i am hoping will be free of eczema/asthma/allergies etc, but at least i know i can deal with it all, unlike with dd1 when i felt hopeless as i didnt have a clue about eczema at all.

Quickee before I go to bed. DD1 COVERED in eczema. DD2 - no eczema, but really struggles with asthma, allergies and is often endearingly called "snot face" .

I have a ds aged 7 and dd aged 5. Both suffer from flare ups and have done since they were babies. Dh had it really bad when he was a baby so think there is a link.

blossam, dh also has eczema, so i blame it all on him

If you do get pregnant it's probably worth taking probiotics during the last trimester of pregnancy and while breastfeeding, there are good studies that show these cut (but do not eliminate, sadly) the risk of a child having allergies.

If you do get pregnant it's probably worth taking probiotics during the last trimester of pregnancy and while breastfeeding, there are good studies that show these cut (but do not eliminate, sadly) the risk of a child having allergies.

I had this concern as ds had some excema. The bloody mvs gave him formula in hospital and I didnt know better. I did manage to bf for a long time though. For dd I exclusively bf her to just over 6 months and use no products in her bath.
So far, so good. She is now 15 months and shows none of the allergic syptoms ds did.

Thanks very much everyone, sorry I've only just got back to the computer and in fact in the meantime we have discovered that we have been successful in conceiving number three.

I felt uplifted by your replies, thank you very much and fingers crossed for those children who have showed no signs as yet. xx

congratulations!!!

heres to a healthy pregnancy, and hopefully an eczema free baby.

Congrats Elf!

My DS1 had eczema which started to appear when he was about 12 weeks old. He was mainly breastfed but I did give him some formula.

DS2 doesn't have eczema (avoided giving him any formula until after the age of six months) and DS3 still clear so far (at 23 weeks).

DD1 has had eczema since the age of 4 months, which seems to have peaked over the last 1-2 years. She was exclusively b/f until 11 months (apart from one bottle of formula), but I weaned her at 16 weeks as per the advice at the time. She also has several food allergies (cows milk, nuts and eggs).

I was really worried about baby no 2 getting it, but so far, DD2, aged 11 months, has had no sign. As a precaution I also exclusively b/f until only the other week, and delayed weaning until 6 months. I then only did fruit and veg and gluten free cereal until 9 months, when I gradually introduced first chicken, then beef and then fish, then gluten and dairy.

So far, so good. Although we have serious allergies in the family, she hasn't developed anything yet. Good luck!

Just spotted the bit about probiotics. Very interesting as I took them throughout second pregnancy and whilst b/f her. This was actually because she's on prophylactic antibiotics for a kidney condition, and I was told this was a good way of getting the 'good bacteria' replenished in her gut, and of me avoiding the terrible thrush infection I had in my milk ducts first time around (and which I suspect might have had an effect on DD1's eczema). Now that I've stopped b/f DD2 I wonder if the eczema might start?

Thanks for the congratulations and yes I think I will look into this probiotic business.

Thing is, with DS, I stopped bf on purpose at five months because I thought there must be something in my diet which was upsetting him. Put him on Nutramigen, I think that is when he started improving. But it seems most people say to bf for as long as possible, perhaps that is the case in most cases?