My poor baby's skin :-(

[Flatwhite32]

I posted before, but didn't get much traffic. My 7 week old DD has a horrible rash on her face, and every day it gets worse. I keel getting told it's 'normal' baby acne, but she keeps scratching at her face repeatedly, and I'm now wondering if it's bothering her. I have stopped eating dairy (I'm BF'ing) but only for the past few days. Up until just shy of 6 weeks, she had lovely skin, and it started really suddenly. It's also on the other side of her face, on her ears and has started to spread to her neck. We haven't changed anything, and don't use products on her skin. It is just getting worse every day, and I'm not sure what to do. She also has digestive and reflux issues. I'm finding it really hard that I can't make it better for her. Would I be unreasonable to get if looked at, or would that be a waste of a GP's time?

What are you washing your clothes in? I used to wash my clothes in bio with scented comfort. Washed baby stuff in baby stuff. Baby was breast fed so spend quite a lot of time in contact with my clothes. Took us ages to work out what they were allergic to.

Just an idea. I hope you find something that clears up your babies skin soon.

I just feel guilty that it's my milk that's probably doing this to her

Oh love, don't feel like that. If she was on (normal) formula she'd be really poorly now, her symptoms will be less because she's BF. Hopefully the elimination diet will work (the less processed food you eat the easier it is) and she'll be happy again. If the oilatum doesn't work keep at them and ask for a referral to see a paediatric allergy specialist. They tend to look after all atopic diseases because she might get eczema as well or possibly asthma depending on your family history (DS had CPMA and egg allergy which he's grown out of but now has environmental allergies, eczema and asthma and this summer seemed to have a bit of hayfever. DH's family all have atopic disease).

I'd try Vaseline! My DS had this when he was a couple of months old, his skin was so sore and raw i genuinely thought he had eczema! I bought oilatum cream and was told by a gp not to use because of an ingredient in there (can't remember which one) but he suggested I apply bog standard Vaseline, to his face a few times a day(would also act as a barrier for dribble) and within a week his skin was perfect- so clear, and so soft! I always keep Vaseline in the house after that!

Hi OP, I'm on baby number 3 (he's 6 weeks) and all of my kids had this rsall badly during the first ten weeks. It can look so sore, as though their entire face was burnt. I remember with my first i felt so awful. I had been given this precious, perfect baby and now his poor skin was deformed. I felt horrible for him and for myself!
All the doctors just told me to wait. No soaps, no creams. They were right! It cleared up all by itself every time. My two toddlers have perfectly smooth skin. And I'm sure my youngest will go down the same route.

By all means see a gp,but im almost certain this will sort itself out and you will soon forget about it all.

@AperolSprizting It's horrible isn't it. Currently up with her at 5am as she now has an upset tummy. I'm beginning to feel really isolated now, as I'll have to cancel my plans for today as I can't risk her being round other kids with a bad tummy.

I hope so @LittleBirdBlues although the GP said he didn't think it was baby acne! She wants to scratch constantly and that is definitely making it worse. We managed to swaddle her in her sleeping bag last night for the first time (surprising, as she usually hates this!) and you could see one of her arms at the top trying to escape to get to her face. She's now got an upset tummy too. Not sure if it's linked...

I missed that about the gp. It's so hard to watch them being uncomfoetsr and being unable to help. But you're being a great mum to your little one because you're trying everything possible to get to the bottom of this and help her. Take care of yourself too.

Well it's worse than ever this morning and she won't stop scratching. I'm sat here in tears not knowing what to do to help.

Go back to GP, ask for fucibet. It's the steroid cream that cleared up DS. The scratching was horrific, he looked like he'd been in a fight with a cat.

Aww.. two of my three children had a rash like this. One was just normal baby acne and I stopped using all soaps/baby products and just used goats milk wash. The other went on to develop eczema from dairy which cleared up when I switched to lactose free milk.

Bless you, take a couple of deep breaths and phone the GP back say it’s much worse and you want a prescription of fusibet (antibiotic/hydrocortisone) cream and piriton just for a couple of days to get on top of the rash. There is no need for her to be so uncomfortable any problems ask the health visitor to help speak to the GP. It’s absolutely not anything’s you have done

If you can possibly afford to go private then you could get some answers very quickly regarding any allergies.

In the meantime don’t replace dairy with soy. If she has CMPA then she is likely to be allergic to soy too and for our DD this was the more severe allergy.

Here is the nhs advice for eczema/dermatitis

www.nhs.uk/conditions/atopic-eczema/

You won't get Fucibet until they've tried 1% hydrocortisone. And if they don't think it's eczema you might not even get that! You might be able to get Piriton on prescription for such a small baby, ask the GP what they can give you to relieve the symptoms. They always start with Oilatum as a first choice emollient but if it doesn't relieve symptoms keep pushing for a referral or buy different emollients OTC yourself to try.

At home while waiting for the doctors to pull their finger out you can do various things to help relieve symptoms.
Bath everyday with lots of emollient in the water. No soap!
Swap to non-biological washing powder
Only put her in 100% cotton clothes
Did they tell you how to apply the emollient? Wash your own hands before applying. You want lots on her, put it on when she's still slightly damp from the bath, only rub down her with the direction the hair grows, don't rub it in the way you'd rub in your own moisturiser. If you've got steroid cream you're suppose to wait a bit to allow the emollient to be absorbed then apply it, they tell you to put only a small amount on but most people actually put on too little so be a bit more generous than you think, it should work fairly quickly so if it hasn't made a difference within a week go back again (or ask whenever they give you something 'how long should I give this to work before we have another appointment?). The emollient cream needs to be applied 4-5 times a day to be really effective at calming the skin down in this situation. Oh, and it can itch a bit when applied, especially when their skin is already sensitive.

I do feel for you, it's a nightmare managing it.

This is pretty much all over her face.

And it's much redder than the photo shows. I can't bear it. It's literally spreading by the hour.

Thank you @CountFosco.

@ThanksItHasPockets thank you. I'm struggling with the diet restrictions as I now weigh less than 8 stone as I'm just not eating much at all. Just saw the bread I've been having has soya in it. FML. I don't have the energy to get us to the supermarket, and I don't want people staring at my baby. I've now got nothing to eat for the rest of the day apart from plain crisps and grapes.

Oh love. I really feel for you. Can your partner pick up some stuff on the way home, or can you get a delivery? You need things with plenty of calories. Avocados, tuna mayo, egg mayo etc. Hobnobs are OK too

Please stop worrying about the diet restrictions because your breast feeding you should not stop any food group especially dairy (calcium, vitamin D) unless supervised by a dietition. The diet plus any potential allergies can be looked at when your baby’s skin is under control and you’ve had some rest.

The advice from count fosco is absolutely spot on, you should be able to get piriton on prescription but should only be used sparingly.

Please speak to your GP again and health visitor

(I am a paediatric health professional and a mom whose baby/toddler had horrendous infected eczema)

www.ruh.nhs.uk/patients/services/clinical_depts/paediatrics/documents/patient_info/PAE003_Diet_and_eczema.pdf

Thank you for the advice. It has got so bad now she has been prescribed a steroid cream. The doctor seemed surprised at how bad it is. I have had a breakdown tonight as I feel so lonely during the day. I can't take her anywhere as her tummy is awful, and she won't stop scratching. The best I can do is strap her arms down in the car seat, attach it to the buggy and go for a walk. I'm absolutely exhausted as she thrashed around all night trying to scratch. Nobody, including 2 doctors, knows why this has suddenly developed when her skin was perfectly healthy before. This time last week I was getting ready to tell the health visitor how well things were going, how much her reflux had improved etc. Little did I know what was round the corner.

To stop my baby scratching my Mum made him some little cotton mittens out of scraps of old soft sheeting. They were oval bags with a little a drawstring at the wrist made of ribbon.

They really helped to make him more comfortable. I hope things get better for you and your baby very soon.

The steroid cream worked very quickly for us. DS was like a different baby afterwards.

I hope you see results soon.

Thank you @honeysucklejasmine. How long did it take to work? It's 0.5% strength.

A day or two, that's all. I had also cut out dairy, egg and soya by that point too.