Help! Why Eczema when BF? How to treat?

[KeyWestK]

Hi, DD is 4mos and is cmpi... just last week on Friday I noticed that she had developed some eczema patches behind her ears and under her chin... Poor thing!

I don't understand how she could have gotten it? We are doing 50/50 Neocate and BF... I thought the BF would protect her?? She has also suddenly been throwing up her feeds alot... I am dairy free and have been for 5wks now...

How do I treat the eczema? today is all pussy and crusty.. do I rub the crust away with a clean cloth with water? or let it be??

Any advice appreciate!
Tx

Have you cut all the cmp out of your own diet? Like label reading everything?

When our dds crusted over I used to leave it till bathtime then give it a wipe as it's get fluff from her clothes all stuck in it.

If it's pussy it may be infected.

Don't know anything about BF ing but could you express your milk for a few days and give her 100% neocate to see if it's def allergy related?

My DD has been treated for quite nasty at times eczema over the last year. I was categorically told by the GP (whose dd also has eczema) that there is no firm evidence linking eczema to diet.

I have to admit that I am bamboozled by all this eczema information flying around.

TBH I don't know why you thought you would avoid eczema because you are BF. As far as I know there is nothing conclusive on this and if anything it's a reduction of risk, not getting rid of the risk altogether.

Both mine were BF and both had eczema. My DD, who was BF for far longer, had worse eczema.

I would say get her seen by a GP who will prescribe something. You will get lots of people telling you what they used but it can be trial and error to see what is best for your LO.

FWIW we used doublebase, epaderm and 1% hydrocortisone cream depending on how bad the flare-ups were. And oilatum for baths. Lots of people get good results from Aveeno.

If you are using any foaming products (bubble baths, shampoo etc) I would also stop for now.

I wouldn't rub away the crust, just dab it v gently in the bath.

Thanks everyone.. I don't know, I guess from something I read I thought that the BF would help prevent it.. oh well. Maybe the answer then is more formula and less BM? Yes, I have been really good about cutting out all soya and dairy..

um the only other thing is.. I failed to mention that I gave DD 3 little spoonfuls of Cow & Gate baby rice on Thursday morning.. could this have triggered it? this was the first time.. she has just been seeming really hungry so I thought I would try a little.. a guess big mistake?

Both my lo's were BF and both had eczema all over for several months and each of them needed a different way of dealing with. DD got on fine with Dirpobase but DS had too have Cetraben and Oilatum. DD was better with as little bathing as necessary whereas DS's was less angry with more frequent washing. It's a case of trial and error, and just as you feel you are dealing with it well, it will just clear up!

Pussy eczema should be looked at by the GP in my books.

eczema can, IMO be caused by diet. well not caused but aggravated. but it can take a long time to establish what is causing it. i guess fairly simple with a baby because there is not much that is going into them, other than milk.
would also agree that and bath products, even if they are perfume free etc are likelky to be the worst culprits for making it worse. look for bath products free from SLES. You may even find that some of the emoliant creams can also not help - look for lanolin content in them (this is what casued me probs for years)..it may also cause a reaction.
pure aloe vera gel is great for cooling & calming the skin - nothing nasty in it and you can put it in the fridge to cool it even more if its a bad flare up.
also try just putting an oil (olive oil we used with DS) in the bath, to keep skin nice and moist.
sure you already do, but also chose the non-bio washing powders/liquids
hope some of these suggestions might help

Both my sisters BF and their kids had really bad eczema.

If the eczema is crusty is probably needs a topical antibiotic and maybe an oral one. Do take her to the GP. In the meantime, just wipe gently during her bath and dab dry with a soft towel, otherwise leave well alone.

Re BF, my DD had awful eczema on both cheeks and on her head from 8 weeks old until 6 months ish. I cut all dairy, wheat and egg out of my diet and it did help but TBH the problem didn't really go away until we had her on a good routine of Aveeno in the bath, Unguentum moisturiser 4 times a day and had her allergy tested (CMP, egg and fish as it turns out).

Did the vomiting start since she started on the baby rice? Some baby rice has cows milk in it so do check the box. Hipp Organic doesn't, if you want to keep giving it, but at 4 months you don't need to, just give her extra neocate if she seems hungry.

It most definitely can be caused by diet. It is not only diet but our dd2 looked like a burns victim until she was on Nutramigenm AA.

Not trying to be argumentative but why would my GP tell me that there is no categoric evidence linking diet to eczema if everyone says there is?

My daughter has suffered terribly with eczema over the last year and has had a combination of treatments eventually establishing Aveeno, Dermol and Hydrocortisone cream as the best treatments. At one point 80% of her was covered in angry eczema with 2 nasty infections on a wrist and inside elbow.

I said to my GP I believed it could be linked to diet and that I had really reviewed DD's diet and removed some items but the GP said absolutely no need to do that as there is no evidence to link it.

Does anyone have any information linking eczema and diet that I can pour over pleeeeeease?

In my experience, GP's and consultants are very sceptical about food intolerences despite plenty of evidence that cutting out certain foods helps with some conditions. This is only MY experience and there may be docs who agree that food plays a part... doesn't sound like yours is one of them though.

IME the GPs know next to nothing about excema apart from prescribing a cream and sending you on your way.

It was the hospital dermatologist that referred us to the dietitian who sorted out her diet for us.

Mine both BF and both (mild) eczema. Pussy = GP IMO.

We used hydrocortisone for flare-ups and aveeno in bath and moisturiser, on prescription.

DD1 (now 2.4) hasn't had much trouble for about 6 months now, they do grow out of it sometimes. Poor DD2 5mo has it on arms legs behind ears etc the usual.

so we went and saw the nurse tonight..

she said, it was not eczema(?) but that babies have deep crevices behind their ears that will eventually fill out. But until they do, they are sometimes prone to getting a build up of vernix/wax which can cause an infection and lead to crusty and pussy-ness.... that there was nothing I can do but wipe with cooled boiled water and wait for it to clear up...

seems a bit strange to me.. she's almost five months not five wks.. she hasn't been covered in vernix for quite awhile? I don't know.. I gave it a nice gentle wash in the bath tonight.. will keep an eye on it and see what happens.. sounds weird right?

where are you Key?
I have far too much experience with eczema and have never heard anything like that.

It's right that many GPs are sceptical about food allergies and eczema, and I can understand why, things like eczema are so hard to control, and conventional medecine can only hope to controle symptoms, so desperate parents will try anything for a cure, controlling diet seems like an obvious option...IME you invest so much in it you end up persuading yourself that you can see an improvement, when it may be just the natural variation of the condition.

I'm not saying it's never to do with food, just that it isn't often.

FWIW I'd be sticking to BF as far as possible. It doesn't prevent eczema as DD and I can testify, but it does make it less likely and has lots of other benefits for you as well as dc. 6 mths is current recommendation for weaning, I think.