Baby eczema

[CardiganBlobby]

My 3 month DD has broken out in rashes on her face, tummy and other patches on her body and I have been to see the doctor for some cream.

I have 0.5% hydrocortisone to apply twice a day and a lot of emollient (Epimax) now - I started applying yesterday morning but things aren't really improving much.

Does anyone know how long it should take to see improvements in the rashes? I'm worried the creams aren't enough to get this bad rash cleared up.

Also, does anyone have any tips on how to keep cream on the lower area of the face - right now DD is moving her head side to side and everything is just wiped straight off I am just very worried about stuff I read saying that eczema rash cannot remain untreated, so I am at my wit's end trying to keep it on her face.

Last question - how do you keep their hands away from itching? I can swaddle her for sleep just now, but when she is awake it's a nightmare trying to keep her hands away from her face.

Any tips very much appreciated

How old is she? Could you use scratch mits and cut her nails or is she too old for those?

Do you have any idea of what's causing the rash?

We needed the 1% to see any improvement. Ask for a referral to the paediatric eczema nurses, their input has been amazing for us.

Are there any food allergies?

And look up/ask for a prescription for 'skinnies', they might help avoid itching!

Baby eczema is terrible, one of mine
suffers terribly with flare ups and the cream doesn't seem to help. I'm not sure if you've tried an oat bath but it helps mine. Epsom salt bath also helps control his flare ups, might be worth a go. It's quite important not to let them soak for too long and we've found if you apply loads of moisturizer (either prescription or natural hippy types) to wet skin and wrap in a towel for a while and pat dry not rub, it seems more effective.
For itching at 3 months you could try long socks over the hands at night, they stay on better than mittens. For really bad times our GP okayed an occasional dose of antihistamine but always check with your Dr because it's not usually recommend for babies.
We also noticed a dramatic difference when we added an extra rinse cycle to our standard washing machine setting.
I hope your baby gets some relief!

Also surcare washing powder for everything and like PP said, good rinse cycle
Dermol 500 in a bath- no baby soaps
Try a different emollient- we had less luck with the first two and much happier on our third

We tried a number of prescriptions from GP and nothing seemed to work. I didnt want steroids so went to Boots and got Aveeno Dermexa Baby Lotion and its Baby Bath - been using it for months and it's brilliant. Shame they don't give you that on prescription as it's a bloody fortune! Hope you will soon find what works for you x

Thanks all - since I posted her rash got so much worse and we needed up in A & E last night with a horrendous face and body rash and general puffiness that got referred to paediatrics very quickly.

The doctors agreed that it most likely looks like CMPA, given the severity of the allergy-type rash and the previous symptoms of slow gut and vomiting that started recently too, so we have some new formula to try and a lot of emollient to apply.

@flickeringgreenlight I got some of the Dermexa balm and it seems to be helping a bit, agree that it will cost a fortune if that's the only thing that helps.

They said to try with the 0.5% steroid cream for now @bookish83 but also that we might need 1% to shift some of the stubborn body rashes. All great tips otherwise that I will take on thank you!

@noorandapples we were prescribed antihistamines yesterday pre-hospital - her rash was very bad and so itchy and uncomfortable and it seems to be helping the rash recede a bit.

Does anyone have any experience of how long it took for rashes to fade away and swelling to die down? She is now off CM formula completely. My poor DD is so miserable just now and I am hoping I get my smiley happy baby back soon. I have been in tears myself today just seeing how miserable she still is even though she seems through the worst of it. She seems just a shell of herself from just this weekend

That's so awful. How is she taking to the new formula?