Help with 4mo DD eczema!!

[Tee20x]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone can provide advice/support in relation to 4 month old DD eczema.

Started off about 4 weeks ago as a pimpley rash around mouth and chin which I initially thought was teething rash/dribble rash. GP advised that it was eczema and prescribed zerobase emollient cream. Used this for a few days but seemed to make affected areas more red/irritated so discontinued use as per instructions on bottle.

Consulted GP again who then prescribed 1% hydrocortisone cream to apply to affected areas as a last case resort. I am yet to try using this as I am trying to see if I can find a non-steroid cream combination which will work. GP in agreement with this course of action.

Approximately 2 weeks ago had a flare up and took DD to pharmacy to have a pharmacist look at the rash and see if any advise could be given - she suggested trying aloe Vera or Aveeno so I purchased Aveeno emollient night balm - really moisturising and seems to have improved things HOWEVER - still having flare ups and now there are patches of eczema across DD back and shoulders and small patches on arms, crook of arm, elbow, legs and ankles.

Along with the Aveeno have been doing oat baths but am now at a loss of what to do. I know that with eczema it is a case of trial and error but it is awful seeing her suffering with itching and redness and being confined to mittens :(

Consulted with GP this morning who has prescribed oilatum for bath time and has suggested bathing DD every 2 days instead of every other day.

Would be grateful for any success stories/advice!

:)

My DD had a bit of eczema as a baby. Less frequent baths and using oilatum in the bath helped.

@Beamur thanks for your response. After using the oilatum in the bath did you carry on with emollient cream as normal?

I can't quite remember! I don't think you can put too much moisturiser on, it rubs off on clothes etc..if she feels nice and oily after the bath, maybe just use the cream on the other days or as and when?

My DS had bad eczema and it turned out to be a milk allergy. However by 12 months he had grown out of it which was very lucky. At its worst it was horrific - big sore patches. After one became slightly infected we starting using steroid cream and got referred for allergy testing at the hospital.

I am worried about eczema for my DD as I was terrible as a child and it has flared up badly again since being pregnant. I only bath DD twice a week maximum using child's farm bubble bath and then moisturise her with their unscented cream after, again only twice a week. Then if there are any red scaly patches I use Tropic's tamanu balm and it gets rid of it immediately. I also used it on her baby acne and cradle cap and both have completely cleared up. It is the only thing that works on my own eczema too. I found if I moisturise my own skin daily it almost becomes sticky and peels off..

don't be afraid to use the steroid cream.
it works and is safe if used as directed.
the angry skin needs to heal to prevent infection (plus baby must feel miserable with the itching).
for my dc it turned out to be hayfever related hindsight is a great thing and was then treated with antihistamines (cetirizine).

Steroid cream is your friend but use it twice a day until the eczema has gone. It’s better to use it twice a day for a week and the eczema completely clears up than to use it here and there and never get rid of it. I know a paediatrician who said you could use hydrocortisone on a baby’s face every day for months and it wouldn’t do the slightest bit of damage.

I also swear by cerave moisturising cream. I’ve tried every emollient going including Aveno on my DD’s skin (like yours eczema came out of nowhere at four months) but cerave absolutely transformed it. Initially I was doing a full body cream five times a day (it was that bad) but now just do once a day after bath (I don’t need to use oilatum or anything in the bath) just to keep on top of it.

Use the steroid. If it's getting worse emollient won't do much. You need to put out the fire and then keep on top of maintenance with creams.

Be aware that eczema doesn't usually just go and never return. It flares and then goes with treatment and then eventually flares again.

It's a nightmare but that's what it is, hopefully it's childhood eczema and will go soon.

Make sure you pay her dry when out of the bath and then immediately moisturise - emollients don't add moisture they only trap it.

I've heard Childs Farm has worked miracles on some kids but it made no difference to my adult eczema.

Hi all,

Thanks for your responses. DD has scratched herself awake despite wearing mittens & is now settling back down :(

@Bobbybobbins I had considered whether or not it could be related to a milk allergy as that seems to be a common theme but have been advised not to cut out dairy as yet but will keep this in mind if other things don't work.

My main concern with the steroid cream is that sometimes there are no distinct patches to focus the cream on I.e. on her face, there is eczema all along her jawline and under her neck & around her mouth etc. Tomorrow I will attempt to insert a picture - but would it be safe to use on such a widespread area. I would understand if it was just small patches on knees and elbows etc but it is the face and neck which really seem to be bothering her.

@SaturdayMood I will have a look into the tamanu balm this sounds interesting and haven't heard of it before.

@Bancha I have also heard cerave is good. It's just so annoying that there is no one size fits all approach and that it is a case of trial and error :( I think an issue for me is that the Aveeno seems to help up until a point where it looks as if it has cleared and then the next minute will be back to square one. I don't know whether to keep on with what I'm doing and give the skin time to work with a particular cream or switch to a new one.

@CorianderBee I have heard good things about child's farm too and actually have some stocked in the cupboard - but again it's a case of how long do I try a particular cream before I decide that it's not working well enough - a few days? A week? I'm also afraid of not giving the "right" cream enough time to work and thus overlooking her miracle cure!

Use a light moisturizer, coconut oil or jojoba works well. You need to keep the skin cool as thick creams just trap more heat in the skin I find.

Honestly use the steroid cream to get it under control. And on all the areas. As for the emollient, I can't remember which one we had prescribed first but it was awful, heavy and made it worst and the child more distressed. We were then prescribed diprobase which was far better. And use oilatum for baths. Good luck!

Are you breastfeeding? Keep tabs on what you are eating if so, as Something might be triggering it. Possible triggers: eggs, tomatoes, citrus, dairy etc.

GPs are often bad with skin. My DS has dreadful eczema at a similar age which vanished after prick testing revealed an egg allergy, and I cut it out entirely. If it is really bad push for a referral to paediatric allergy.

@Tee20x

I was the same as I was breastfeeding. They said either I could cut dairy out but reintroducing it might be harder or treat the eczema. He didn't have a severe allergy as it didn't affect his stomach etc so I decided to do that. I agree with other posters - use the steroid cream - it was the only thing that helped when we eventually got it. And don't be afraid to keep going back to the GP. We saw three different ones before we got referred on.

I realised I didn’t give the proper name for the cream. It’s this one that I use. www.lookfantastic.com/cerave-moisturising-lotion-236ml/11798696.html?affil=thggpsad&switchcurrency=GBP&shippingcountry=GB&thg_ppc_campaign=71700000026979856&adtype=pla&product_id=11798696&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInevhkvu28AIViLPtCh1EWQqtEAQYASABEgJ_HvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It was recommended to me because it restores ceramides in the skin rather than just being a barrier cream - they never seemed to do much for my DD. It’s like the cream rebalanced her skin and gave her what she was missing so her skin is now much stronger and healthier. So now whenever I hear of a baby with eczema I always tell them about it just in case their baby’s skin issues are similar to DD’s. For some it’s really seemed to help! I should take out shares haha.

Really hope you get to the bottom of this.

Hi all,

I have uploaded some photos of her shoulder and face - quite hard to take photos due to lighting etc and they were taken over a few days to show how it can change.

I am new to the world of eczema so am unsure whether this would be classed as severe and would warrant the steroid cream.

I am off to the pharmacy later on today to pick up the oilatum so will get the pharmacist to have another look & get more advice regarding application of steroid cream.

I will also post a few images of a flare up she had a few weeks ago when I would say it was at its worst. Thankfully since then it has got better and resembles the photos in this post.

To answer a few questions, yes I am breastfeeding @Solasum was it a case of doing the prick test privately or were you referred to someone?

@Bancha thanks for the link - I will take a look! The amount of products and different combinations are overwhelming but I hope to make some progress - at least with the itching :(

These pics were when she had a flare up before I was prescribed the steroid cream. Strangely enough they were taken just after we had returned from the park - so I was thinking maybe something along the lines of hayfever/pollen allergy?

I have mentioned this to the GP and pharmacy but are of the view that at the moment it's hard to tell what is causing it.

As I didn't have steroid cream at the time - I applied Aveeno and seemed to settle down within an hour or so.