baby ezema,advice/ppls experienc needed

[mama2leah]

my 12 weeks old has develpoed ezema, so i need sum advice... i got oiltum from doctors to put on her all th etime..ne advicE? recommandations?

Avoid soap, bubble baths; avoid over bathing ; keeps baths short and avoid getting water too warm. instead of normal baby body wash use soap-substitue and apply oilatum or diprobase- emoolient of your choice immediately after bath. Ask at boots - lots of options. Likely to grow out of it.

With emollients, you'll probably have to try a few to find what works best for your baby. Ask your gp for other options if you get to a stage where you feel the one's you've been prescribed aren't working.

Key is to minimise scratching as much as you can - easier said than done. Babygrows are good. I used socks on hands for my dcs, they're not as easy to pull off as mits. If your dc likes to have a good scratch when you changing nappy, you can try putting the legs of the babygrow over his/her hands.

You can get tops/pjs with built in hand covers - I think the website is eczemaclothing.com.

Keep nails short.

Wash bedding at 60 degrees. Use non-bio/non-perfumed soap powder.

Wobblypig is right - they do tend to grow out of it.

Use Ecover washing liquid for clothes and bedding and no fabric conditioner. Always use cotton clothes not man made.

I currently use Aveeno body wash and cream but you will find one that works for you. I found Oilatum made her worse.

My baby developed eczema at around 4 months on the insides of his elbows. We saw a paediatrician and he prescribed a 1% hydrocortisone ointment for the flare-ups and Epaderm as an emollient. This completely controlled it and I just continue with the Epaderm because it is such a good cream.

I'm happy to say that the eczema only lasted for about 2 months and he has lovely skin now.

Some good advice above. Emulsifying ointment (very cheap from the chemist) much better than a lot of the posher emollients, much cheaper and is gentler on the skin. It can be used instead of soap as well as a moisturiser. It does however feel horrible and greasy but it works and I use it for my son.

The general rule with emollients and eczema is that if the baby, child or adult's skin does not feel greasy it is time to put some more on. The nicer to use a cream or ointment is the less likely it is to work well to moisturise the skin but it is important that you find one you are comfortable using as very few people have the perseverance to continue using something that makes their clothes greasy and doesn't smell nice no matter how well it works. Vasoline being the most greasy for example and emulsifying ointment being a good compramise.

ps. Use ointments not creams on dry skin as creams are water based and dry the skin - mad but true). If emulsifying ointment doesn't work have a chat to your GP not your chemist - Boots are likely to try and sell you something expensive. Avoid E45 as it contains lanolin which irritates a lot of people's skin.

she is also gribbin alot, does that mean she may have an allergy?

erm hard to say .. what is gribbin?

if you mean dribbling then no it just means she's a baby .... but really sorry if you mean something else as I don't understand.