Eczema flare-ups (2 month old) to treat or not to treat?

[Worrier28]

My 9 week old has eczema and it was confirmed last week, it is all over his back, legs, arms and face. I went to the doctors who said that he needed antibiotics and that they would send the prescription to the pharmacy. There was a mix up and the prescription wasn't there. After a few days of using diprobase on his body (dry/scaly) and aqueous cream on his face (lots of red spots) it went away. Unfortunately it seems to be coming back, so do I need to treat it or let it resolve itself?

Many thanks

Ugh, eczema I know its common but I really do hate it. DS is now 3 and a half months and I had it under control for a while, I was using cetraben, 1% hydrocortsone cream, doublebase for face and doublebase emollient for bath. I then set my sights on getting rid of his body hyperpigmentation (very dark patches all over body, making his skin appear darker) so bought some african black soap and went on to oilatum as that was all that was left in the chemist. Now he has a flare-up and I think I am going to just go back to my original routine, I also washed his hair with the african black soap and he had a flare up on his scalp - I thought it was natural and supposed to help. I can't be sure if change of products caused the flare-ups but I guess it must be. I was offered Infansoy milk but declined due to what I research. My DS doesn.t seem too bothered by his eczema, he only tries to itch occasionally (touch wood). When are they supposed to grow out of it? Apologies for the rant, I've not grammar checked either so hope it makes sense,

My DS (now 10 months) came out in terrible eczema when he was 4 months old. I was devasted, as have suffered myself all my life and had hoped that staying off peanuts during pg may have helped him. It was all over his bod and back, and in the crooks of his arms and knees. We used a mild steroid for a week, which helped with the really red, swollen areas. We also used Cetraben, all over, every nappy change for a month and Oilatum in the bath.

Then I started thinking about his clothes. I had bought him some very cheap, coloured vests. Although he had had cheap vests before, they were only white. I washed all his clothes in very mild soap (not detergent) and stopped using the cheap vests. Slowly the eczema cleared up, over about 6 weeks - so about 3 months from when it started. I still moisturise him morning and evening, and only use very mild stuff to wash his clothes, but eczema (touch wood emoticon) has stayed away. And he had expensive vests now too - although none at the moment of course.

I have also found the Nivea suncream doesn't not casue a reaction.

worrier28
Do you mean actual spots or patches of eczema.
Unless the eczema is infected antibiotics are actually of little use. If it has yellow crusting it is infected.
I used to work for Stiefel laboratories which is primarily involved in pharmaceutical skin products so if i can help just talk.
Does anyone in your family have asthma or eczema because they are hereditarily linked.
Frequently children with eczema can develop asthma but the silly thing is if the asthma is bad the eczema clears up and vice versa.

Where abouts on the body are the inflamed areas as it normally has a pattern.

Diprobase , epaderm are good emollients/ moisturisers but dont use hydrocortisone if there is an infection unless they give you fucidin HC cream as steroids will make an infection spread.

Cradlecap (seborrhea)on the and body psoriasis can cause red spots with yellow centres so find a specialist, GPs generally do little training on skin problems.

Worrier 28
Just seen your other message about baby having bad cradle cap.
Fairly sure the reaction on the body is seborrheaic dermatitis which is over production of sebum /ie grease on the scalp and it forms crusts which can go yellow. Cradle cap cream which we recommend at the chemist where i work or put olive oil on the scalp to soften the plaques ( it works honestly) but it sounds as if baby has got a different version of dry eczema, this is an eczema caused by grease and the plugging of the the grease glands.
Hope this helps.
Doubt whether this is an allergy so i wouldfnt worry about changing milks yet.

He has little red spots over his body (arms, leg crooks, neck, torso) most of the time. There are dark patches where the eczema has been, I'm worrying about destroying his skin. My three half sisters have asthma and one has mild eczema, I have hayfever. I do wonder if it is the milk, if so should I pressure GP to change it? I don't think the eczema is infected.

If your sisters have it then it is likely that he has one of these three as they all come as a package deal and it is hereditary even though it is your sisters.(its linked within you whole family and possibly thro hubbys) You have the other one of the three culprits which is hayfever.Because it is gene linked it is not likely to be the milk.Dont use too much hydrocortisone cream on the areas as you get a rebound reaction when you stop using it and then it flares up and leaves reddened patches with no scaliness for a while. Try and stick to non steroidals.A little sun helps some. Classic eczema symtoms normally occur behind knees in arm crooks, neck folds and torso also in groin areas and skin folds.

What are non steriodals? I've also just been told by te chemist not to use hydrocortisone on the face?

The pharmacist is absolutely correct. You should not put steroid cream on the face or under any nappy area which is covered by nappy or any dressing. It increases the absorption of the hydrocortisone cream and causes much greater skin thinning. It should only ever be done under the supervision of a dermatologist but even then it is for very short term use.
Non steroidals....means anything without a steroid in it i.e. diprobase.doublebase which is really good,emulsiderm,hydromol,oilatum cream ,emollient and soap,epaderm,balneum cream and emollient for the bath, aveeno cream and bath sachets which has oatmeal in it to stop the itching and its great for chicken pox too! If baby is scratching put little thin cotton mitts on at night and keep nails really short. Hope this helps

All the products on my list are available on prescription so you wont have to buy them. But you can if you want to. They are all available over the counter at pharmacies

Good advice - thx, what about the neck is that safe for steriods? Also should I just moistourise red spots on face?

Alypaly you are a genius and I think your diagnosis is correct, what can I do about it? His craddle cap has gone and taken his hair wit it, a few itchy, flaky bits remain and I use olive oil daily.

worrier28 , i have had eczema since i was six weeks old & my dd(3) has it also ,
persil non bio washing powder is what the hospital recommends us to use , hope your little gets better soon

worrier28
is no one giving you any proper medical advice.
Dont let his cradle cap build up again as it can almost become like a crusty crash helmet with little blistery type red spots and on cheeks also, I used to work at the children skin hospital in london when i was a medical rep and some cases are really severe. His doesnt sound too bad.Keep up with the olive oil, it will not do any harm.His hair will probably start to come back like a thin downy covering.
I personally wouldnt use hydrocortisone on the neck especially near the skin folds because it doubles its absorption. Are you seeing a consultant with him. What percentage hydrocortisone have they given you? is it 1% or 0.5% is it cream or ointment.
You can also use emulsifying ointment as a soap substitute when you are bathing him as bubble baths, even johnsons is too harsh. Emulsifying ointment is about £2.50 for 500g and you literally use it like a soap although it is a bit messy,but it is mild and helps trap moisture into the skin or try any of the emollients i put on my other post.

Worrier28
sounds like you really your Gp to refer you to a good dermatologist. Ask your local private hospital who is the best and then find out which NHS hospital they work at

sorry missed out the word need

My GP is staffed mostly by locums, they all give conflicting advice. His hair is coming back in a downy fashion, I just worry about his complexion looking so weird and 'burnt'. For hus bath I was going to go back to using doublebase stuff, is that ok?

I will ring Drs tomorrow to try and get an appointment.

the gps normally advise emulsifying ointment.......look in this webpage cks.library.nhs.uk/eczema_atopic/drugs_in_this_topic/scenario_mild_eczema/emulsifying_ointmen t

doublebase is fairly similar and it shouldnt cause him a problem. Check it all with your gp but i hope you are not as worried now. Im at home after just having my gall bladder out so chat any time, No probs.

Ouch, that sounds painful I don't evemn know what a gallbladder does. I feel a lot better thanks and have booked a doctors for Fri so will report back.

My DD has eczema (now 1 year old). He was hospitalised before because of infected eczema when he was only 2 months old. Depends on the severity of the eczema, if not infected, then put on cream (e.g. oilatum or aveeno baby soothing cream which you can order on internet from USA-v v good). If infected, use antiseptic wipes (e.g. Mr Bump ones, non alcoholic ones), wipe the infected area to prevent bacteria and then put the cream on and steroids if appropriate. My son was on Neutramegen until 7 months old, now on Aptamil. His eczema has been under control since we changed his milk from formula to Neutramegen. Most children grows out of it so don't worry.

Alypaly
My 4 month old also has eczema, it seemed to start as a heat rash at the end of May when we had some good weather and I used some Aqueous cream then Baby Oil and it disappeared as it wasn't that bad.
However a few weeks ago, again hot weather it all came back but worse. I took him to the doctors who said it was mild eczema and heat rash and to keep using the Oilatum I had bought myself. After a week it was worse so I went back, saw a different doctor who told me it wasn't a heat rash, he seemed to be fighting off a viral infection and he prescribed an anti-histimine medicine but no creams. A few days later still bad so went back and saw the Practice Nurse who seemed to show more concern and presecribed Hydromol and also Hydrocortisone 1% cream for the bits in his arms which were really bad. The Hydromol seemed to help a little with the dryness but so greasy and unpleasant to use. The bits on his arms using the Hydrocotisone cleared up in 24-36 hours so stopped using it. He seemed to egt slightly better but now its getting worse again and he keeps itching so has scratches all over him, I do put mits on at times but he manages to get them off.
Have an appointment again tomorrow as the nurse had said he would refer me to dermatologist if not better.
However just wanted to ask your advice as this seems to be related to heat or could it be he is allergic to something else and heat triggers it?
Sorry for rambling on and i know that his eczema is probably mild to moderate compared to others but its still so hard as baby is very irritable and itchy.
Thank you in advance.

Sorry also meant to add that neither myself or my husband have eczema, I have sometimes been allergic to certain washing powders so always use Fairy non bio. Recently read that its quite perfumed so switched to Surcare and in process of washing all babies clothes again. Although would he not have been allergic to that from day 1 rather than at certain times?
Thanks again.

where abouts are babys rashes.Has it been diagnosed as eczema.
You did the right thing only using hydrocortisone cream for a short while( max 5 days) but that is only for really inflamed areas. Careful with it incase it is a skin infection as babies can get thrush (candida albicans) in their skin folds and hydrocortisone can make this spread.

KIRSTY77
Buy some aveeno sachets which have oatmeal in them and that helps stop the itching also calamine in aqueous cream for a heat rash. Please check it out with your doc or chemist as I am only a pharmacy dispenser not a doctor but dermatology is one of my special interests.

KIRSTY77
Do either your husband or you have asthma or hayfever or anyone in your close family