Newborn Eczema

[OliviasMama21]

Hi all

My LO (8 weeks old) has quite bad eczema, particularly on her face and neck. It's in her other folds too but her neck in particular weeps a lot. We've been to the doctors today who has suggested to continue using oilatum cream 6-10 times per day. So far I have been using it 1-2 times each day but she hates being undressed and messed around with so cries all the way through and becomes really distressed. So now I'm worried about having to apply the cream so often 🙁 Any advice??

The GP is also going to speak to the lead doctor to decide whether I need to go dairy free (as I'm breastfeeding).

Any advice will be greatly appreciated 😊

First of all, here is a virtual hug. I’ve had eczema all my life and it must be awful to see your newborn with it.

I would strongly push for a referral to a paediatric dermatologist or eczema nurse.
GPs are often reluctant to prescribe steroid creams which are needed sometimes. Even in newborns (my source for saying this is Professor Michael Cork - a leading peadeatric dermatologist). You could google him and read his interviews etc.

Other advice I can give is:

• use water only on her skin. No soap or foamy cleansers.

Your gp might prescribe an emollient for the bath.

• double rinse all her clothes and bedding and use a non biological powder.
• use 100% cotton clothing only
• keep her cool.

Probiotics really helped my eczema. I use optibac every day extra strength. I don’t know if it’s helped but my daughter is eczema free and I like to think she got the probiotics through my breast milk.

It’s tempting to go down the route of trying a zillion different things....try to steer clear of miracle cures. But I’d try to stick to prescribed stuff - get the doctor to give you different emollients to see if one is better for her. It’s a lot of trial and error. Personally I’m a big fan of aveeno which you can buy yourself if easier.

It could be worth cutting out eggs and dairy from your diet just to see if it helps.

Good luck.

Probably the reason they're reluctant to prescribe steroids is that children (especially infants) are at greater risk of systemic side effects. The skin is thinner in children and the skin on the face is very thin compared to the rest of the body.

For now, I echo using lots of lotion and avoiding scented soaps and laundry detergents.

DO NOT use a steroid cream unless your provider tells you to do so. Many of them are much too strong for an infant.

Yes of course that’s true, but often what’s needed is a few days worth of steroid cream under the care of a detmatologist if the inflammation is bad (and emollients on their own won’t control it) In my experience, GPs don’t have the expertise/knowledge/confidence to oversee this, which is why i’d push for a referral.

Why does she need to be undressed to do her face and neck?

I was born with eczema. My mam used to just bang creams on without undressing me. Wherever she could reach.
Cows milk still doesn't agree with me. I am OK if it's processed like cheese or in rice pudding.

Has the GP considered the eczema on her face might be fungal? DS had a rash on his face when he was around 2 months, dr thought it was related to cradle cap and gave us some cream that cleared it right up. DS does also have eczema which we manage but applying epiderm every nappy change, annoying having to undress him to apply it everywhere but needs must.

Agree with PP that have said it's trial and error with what works though-we've had many appointments and prescriptions for him until we've found the right combo!

I have a 4 year old who has had eczema most of his life, my sympathies. We had to pay to see a private consultant in the end which has improved his condition a lot.
It will probably take a lot of goes before you find the right cream, diprobase is currently the best for ds but we've tried loads. Keep going back to go if what us given doesn't work.
1-2 times a day is not likely to be enough, for the cream it needs to be at least 4-5 times maybe more for bad flare-ups.
On top of that ds has a 10 minute bath daily, we cover him in dermol 500 first and then dermol 600 goes in the bath. Lots of diprobase after.
As for steroid at her age hydrocortisone is the only one that can be used. Do not be afraid of steroids, sometimes they are needed. If prescribed then dr recommended it once a day half an hour after bath.
We use a great steroid called elocon but I think you have to be 2 for that one, I hope she will grow out of it by then......

Have you tried Hydranure moisturiser? My friend has been using it on her 6 month olds eczema after worrying about using steroid cream for too long and trying various other creams and emollients with little improvement. It's really helped calm his eczema down. You can get it on Amazon or direct from the company.

Try e45 cream. I find that helps me if I get a flare up. I had it as a baby as my dad has it everywhere and always will, but it was just a baby thing for me. I only get flare ups if I'm stressed. At least that seems to be the issue.

I have chronic eczema on my face and neck so really really sympathise.
Echo the use of cotton only, double rinsing of clothes and using non bio products.
Apply cream constantly especially before going outside and coming back in from outside. My eczema nurse told me those big pump bottles of diprobase, zerobase etc (i think they're about 500G) you should be going through those one a week.
Limit baths to when shes actually dirty, warm water opens the cracks in the skin that makes it worse, if shes having a bath keep it as short as possible then smother in cream BEFORE you dry her, it helps seal the water in. Also echo dermol 500 or epimax as a soap substitute

Not sure if this will help, just wanted to say that my DD was exactly the same, and creams weren’t really helping so I went dairy free, just to see if that would help. ( I was exclusively breastfeeding). There was a marked improvement within 2 weeks and it wasn’t particularly tough on me. After 4 weeks I went back to the doctor and explained what I’d done, showed her the massive difference in the eczema, and that was enough to get a referral to the hospital for further testing. I explained that I was concerned about weaning and thought it would be helpful to know what to avoid in advance. Allergies were proven to be dairy, berries, tree nuts, eggs and tomatoes. Very few flare ups since ( the eczema has been fairly extreme before all this). DD is now 5 and has grown out of all the allergies.

Try this. fedup.com.au/factsheets/symptom-factsheets/eczema

A combination of a dermatologist and an appropriately trained dietitian would be good. There is a fb page and a Uk fb page for added support.

My experience with baby with infant eczema. It all sounds weird, but honestly it’s what worked.

1. Cetraben (or whichever suits your baby). Apply liberally, all the time. Only use a mild soap in the bath. Babies don’t actually get that dirty.

1. Put 10ml of bleach in each litre of bath water, every other night (basically half as chlorinated as a swimming pool, it shouldn’t smell bleachy at all). This prevents any open skin from becoming infected (something you want to avoid at all costs), and they don’t know why but it also has a preventative effect when it comes to infection. Seriously, do it. The baby won’t even notice, it’s so diluted.

1. Cut dairy out of your diet. You never know, and there’s no harm to you. Get your calcium from other sources though, bf after pregnancy can deplete your reserves.

1. Finally, most importantly, don’t worry. Infant eczema peaks at 5 months approx. Again, they don’t know why but it does. Wait another month after that then consider steroid treatments.

It’s awful, and you feel so bad for them. Also, don’t want to freak you out, but babies born with eczema often have a higher likelihood (chose those words carefully) of allergies (food, pollen etc) and asthma when they’re 5/6yo+. Be careful when you start her on solids. One thing at a time to ensure you identify allergens correctly.

Good luck

My DS11 had very bad eczema all over his body when he was a baby. It wasn’t until we started introducing solids that we realised the cause. He is anaphylactic to dairy and was “getting” dairy via breastmilk. No history in the family so it was all new for me. Even the tiniest amount of cows milk in direct contact with his skin resulted in huge welts. He was given phenergan in hospital and eczema disappeared for a few hours. I was able to continue breastfeeding but I had to be dairy-free ( as well as the other top allergens egg etc) paediatrician prescribed Zyrtec daily, as well as prescription creams and he became eczema free.

Thanks to all who have replied with helpful advice!

TeamRocket - I saw a different doctor a couple of weeks ago who thought the redness in her face was baby acne but that she had a fungal infection on her neck. He prescribed a cream but it didn't seem to help. In the meantime her face got worse and began to look more like typical eczema so I tried oilatum and it temporarily made a difference.

I think dairy free may be worth a try as she also seems to be struggling to poo- straining a lot and crying. Sometimes it can take a fair few hours for her to go and she's writhing around in pain 😭

Massive hug, I have had eczema since I was a baby, and I am 41 now. It is the pits. Poor baby, yes try cutting out dairy, maybe and allergy test.

Ds one had really bad eczema from day one. It got out of control and infected and we ended up on 4 courses of antibiotics back to back. They were dark days and the first nine months of his life I was in a living hell.

Do not listen to people that say don’t use steroids. One of the reasons it got out of control was that we were too conservative with the steroids.

Ds 2 (4 months) also has eczema. Not as bad but the second he started showing signs on his face I went straight tot the gp and instructed her ( I know more than most gps these days) that he needed dactacourt ointment ( mild steroid plus anti fungal) for his face and an ointment Emoliant ( hydromol of epaderm are good) use a spoon as they can harbour bacteria. Use the steroid twice a day until it goes and get straight back on it when it comes back. Get a referral to the dermatologist in the mean time. Don’t be fobbed off with a gp with special interest. We also bath daily with dermol 600 in the bath. This is superior to oilatum etc as it has an antimicrobial in it to prevent the spread of bacteria. If we ever run out of this my ds1s skin goes down hill rapidly.

Moisturise frequently. Get a moisturiser too for when the ointment is too much hard work.

Please insist on a steroid. The alternative is much worse. Recent studies have shown it is much less damaging than people originally thought. The alternative is much much worse I can’t stress enough.

Cotton clothing too and don’t let them get too hot. Extra rinse on the washing machine and use minimal non bio fairy washing powder.

Ds2s skin has luckily has not got out of control and is so far much better and I that to getting on top of it.

Ps do not cut out any major food groups till you have seen a dermatologist. Go private if you need too.
Also get referred to an allergist. They will probably advice weaning early. My ds1 has multiple food allergies ( allergies not intolerances as in he flares up with hives immediately) and the allergist said children with eczemaa need to be weaned early -4-5 months to get food into the gut before it’s is absorbed via the skin, as eczematois skin is more “open”. It’s complex but late weaning has been attributed to the rise in allergies in the last few decades.
I will start weaning ds2 at 18 weeks.

Hi all,

Hoping for some more advice.

DD's cheeks are still red raw- they look a mess and I'm sick of people commenting on them like I'm doing nothing about it!

I'm using Childs Farm moisturiser several times a day, all over her body. Tried a dairy free diet but the eczema didn't improve and her weight was adversely affected. Recently her cheeks have become weepy and infected. She's at the end of her second week of oral antibiotics and for the last week we've been using an anti fungal cream too. They've made no difference.

Her cheeks and neck seem very itchy, particularly at night time. I'm making sure her hands are covered so she can't cause further damage but the discomfort is affecting her sleep.

I just don't know what to do 😭. Please help!

How long did you go dairy free for? It can take up to 6 weeks for dairy to completely clear from baby's system. Soy can also be a common allergy alongside dairy. I would be pushing for a referral to an allergy clinic

I was dairy and soy free for 2 weeks- I also thought it would take longer but the doctor advised that there should have been at least some improvement and as she was losing weight I should go back to eating dairy.

I'm going to ask for a referral tomorrow.

Thanks

I heard (though never tried as oilatum worked for my DS) that Elemis bath milk (can’t remember name) is good - you can also apply it neat but might be worth trying in the bath?

I don't have anything to add but sending lots of solidarity - DD (now 15 months) was identical from 3 months on. Childs Farm (cream and the corresponding bath wash) and lots of sun seemed to be the things that helped. We did use hydrocortisone after seeing a private dermatologist. It won't last forever, however much it feels like that now.

Don't use child's farm if red and sore. My son has quite bad eczema, wet wraps, steroids, Protopic, immune suppressors the lot. People kept raving on about Child's Farm, I tried it on my mild eczema and a) it stings badly and b) it really isn't moisturising enough.

You really need to push for a referral, GPs are amazing but give totally different advice than a Dermatologist/eczema specialist will.

We don't use any of the emollient creams suggested, they don't give enough moisture. Our specialist suggests something like 50:50... it's messy and greasy but is more effective.

Don't use only water to bathe, it dries the skin too much. Always add a bath emollient such as QV oil or Oilatum (or you can melt something like 50:50).

Also check that it's not infected. If weeping and raw the skin is vulnerable.

Hydrocortisone will only be effective on mild eczema so a stronger steroid may be necessary.

Food wise the triggers for DD seem to be acidic things - tomatoes, strawberries... just in case it helps you at all.