Baby Eczema

[Fedupfatandfrumpy]

Hi, my son has been diagnosed with baby eczema. The doctor said we are likely to have to try lots of different creams and bath emollients before finding one that works. I was wondering which ones you have found work well for you.

Also my son has weird spots/blisters but the gp put this down as the same thing though they look majorly different to me. Baby eczema/skin conditions feel like a minefield as there are so many different causes and I can't work out what the original trigger was.

Thanks in advance!

I feel for you, we went through this as well and it was tough. With us it turned out that cows milk allergy was to blame - it started after we switched from mixed feeding to formula feeding, and the increase in cows milk quantity seems to have triggered it. Were there any changes to your baby's feeding or diet at the time the eczema came up?

We ended up having success with Doublebase gel as a moisturiser - it didn't make it go away completely but it did massively reduce the area of his body that was covered. Before that we tried epaderm which works for lots of people but for us it made it worse, so your doctor was right about trial and error. Do a test on a small area, and if you think it's making it worse stop!

If an emmolient / moisturiser doesn't work and it's really distressing your baby you might need some steroid cream which the gp can prescribe. What our gp never mentioned is that you need to wean down gradually, and if it's bad you might need to use it twice a week long term - you can discuss that with your GP. That might seem a bit overwhelming now but my point is there are options if you don't feel its manageable with just a moisturiser.

In terms of the spots, sometimes our eczema looks like little red lumps and I think that's normal, but spots or blisters can also be a sign that it's infected. So I'd keep an eye and if it spreads, or if they are weeping or look like they've got puss, go back to the GP.

Finally my top tip with eczema is that you can speak to a dermatology nurse FOR FREE with the national eczema society eczema.org/

Please take your child to visit a nutritionist with expertise in the area. It's dietary cause needs to be found. Otherwise you will just be putting on topical "band aids" forever.

As a life long sufferer I'd echo checking for food allergies and other allergies too. I was in my 30's before we worked out I was allergic to wheat, eggs, certain chemicals and dust mites.
I'd also suggest switching to a perfume free washing powder and not using any conditioning liquids or scent boosters etc.

Hello,

I'm having the same eczema problem with my nearly 5 month old. The eczema on his forehead, and cheeks is particularly itchy for him and he's always trying to scratch it. It's quite bad in his neck rolls but he doesn't scratch it. The eczema on his body has got better with the aveeno dermexa cream. I'm still trying to find a solution for his head, I've ordered some balmonds skin salvation which was recommended to me and I've switched our detergent to ecover 0% which is supposed to be good. He wore scratch sleeves to bed last night which worked well to prevent him scratching and damaging his skin even more as he can't get his fingers out and the material is cooling for his skin.

I've heard about happy skin which is clothing to eczema sufferers ,haven't tried it myself though as it's my son's head which is the reoccurring problem.

It really gets me down seeing him so uncomfortable, I completely understand what you're going through

Has he had this since birth? If not, when did it start?

I know I am an adult but I will say that even for me what works on my body doesn't work on my face. Its very frustrating to live with and to find something for the face. After all these years all I can put on my face is vaseline. I put it on at bedtime so I'm not out and about with a shiny face.

I'm hoping you're not using any soaps or baby wash on him at all? And not bathing every day. Although during an outbreak this can help, especially if you are using an emollient cream in place of soap. Another trick is the skin absorbs the creams better when the skin is slightly damp, so wash with the cream, wrap in a soft towel and a quick light wipe over with towel then coat him in the emollient all over, and just pop something light on whilst you let the cream absorb then dress him properly a little while later when the really greasy creams have been absorbed. I spend an hour after a shower with a thick layer of cream on me and minimal old clothing, as the cream does make things greasy! But, that process has made a huge difference to the dryness of my skin, which in turn makes a difference with fewer outbreaks. If I am having an outbreak it can actually be quite painful to get in the shower or bath, so I coat myself in the emollient cream BEFORE I go near the water, it just takes the sting out of it.

No, not since birth, from when he was about 3 months. Thank you for your advice. I don't use any soaps or baby wash on him at all. The doctor prescribed me Oilatum for the bath and I bath him as little as possible.

The balmonds arrived and after just one application, I noticed a huge difference in his red eczema in his neck and a small patch I had used on his face, although hes been trying to scratch his head again this evening.

There's so much advice out there and a lot of it is conflicting so it's really hard to find what works!