Eczema .....! Help need advice on washing powders

[helszebub]

My little one is just six months but has eczema all over his back and around his neck. I am using a non-bio washing powder but wondered what else I could use or do so his clothes don't itch his skin?

Hi, my son's eczema was pretty bad at that age, to the extent that we had a specialist nurse come to our home to instruct us on wet-wrapping etc. One thing she told me was that as well as using natural fibres only and a non-bio powder, only use half of the amount suggested on the packet. It's still enough to get the clothes clean, but there's far less residue left in the laundered fabric. Thirteen years later, I'm still doing this.

I also found Aveeno cream really good for moisturising his skin. With other moisturisers I had to resort to steroid creams more often.

Try to pick a soft water area for holidays! His eczema always cleared up when we went to Scotland.

Good luck!

Bathing only once a week made a huge difference to my dd's.

Agree with not bathing too often, and when you do put a muslin bag of porridge oats in the water (about a handful of oats). Squeeze the wet oats into the water, so it looks milky, and then use the bag to wash the eczema areas instead of a sponge. Sounds mad, but it really worked for my DD

Also, let the affected areas get as much fresh air as possible, easier now it's getting warmer and less layers are needed. DD had it behind her knees and in her elbows, so I dressed her in shorts/skirts (no tights) and tshirts whenever I possibly could. Obviously exposing your DCs back to fresh air is harder, but I'd do it at home as often as possible, even if not anywhere else

Hope it gets better soon

I agree with previous poster, use less powder. Ref softwater: does anyone know if you buy a water softener (expensive I know) would that make a difference?

igetcrazytoo - it made no difference whatsoever!

zuleika - I think that's why Aveeno works well, it's oatmeal-based. They do a bath oil too, really soothed his skin.

White vinegar can be used as a water softener. It won't make your clothes smell of vinegar by the way!

agree with others on using less detergent (we use about a third of the recommended amount) plus doing an extra rinse.
sometimes softener (fragrance free) helps, but that is trial and error.
bathing less often, only a very short bath with mild shampoo (again trial and error what works for you)

Thank you very much - I will try the avenno cream and reduce the washing powder.