Has anyone used hydracortisone cream on their baby's face ?

[Looby34]

Hi. Ds is 6 months and for the last few weeks has has a rash on his face. Lots of little red spots but he did not appear bothered by them. Strangers looking at him in the street asked me if he was ill though
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The Dr prescribed fusidic acid cream, which did nothing. Then a week course of penicillin (4 times a day through a syringe - I hated giving it). It also did nothing. The Dr has suggested it could be 'baby excema' and has given us hydracortisone cream and some Aveeno moisturiser. I use the hydrac twice a day and the Aveeno three times a day. I've been doing this since Monday and it is already improving.

I wondered if anyone else had experienced something similar ? Also - how safe is it to use hydracortisone ? I was a little peturbed by it as a previous Dr we saw said she would try a few options before having to 'resort' to it.

He also has a couple of rough (but not red) patches on his legs that I have been putting the Aveeno on

Thanks

I occasionally put 1% hydrocortisone cream on my ds' face. He gets patches of excema on his face (usually when he's teething) and they get quite irritated. I've tried all kinds of natural remedies, but nothing works and it gets very sore and chapped at this time of year. I read on the instruction leaflets that it's not right to use it over extended periods, but occasionally is ok. I'm currently putting it on once a day, and I will only do it for a week. It's usually enough to clear it up if not completely then enough to stop it becoming really sore.

Thanks to you both. I took the cream out of the box and binned the box - I should also have read the leaflet .

Ds is teething too - so sounds like your ds tooth fairy.

I will stop using it once it clears.

I use it on my 7months old ds too.He also has excema and it is the only thing which has cleared it up. We only use it when it flares up and it clears the excema up in couple of days usually.

Like you, I am reluctant to use it, but I think it is ok if you don't use it for extended periods.

We use 0.5% of our LO's faces and have done so since 3 mths
You shouldn't use 1% facially iirc

If you are not sure how much to use or if it's working go back to the GP
You can use a reasonable amount but the GP should be able to give you the specifics

We used 1% HC cream on DD's face off and on for quite a few months (from the age of six months), and still occasionally have to use it.

GPs are very wary about prescribing it, but when we saw the dermatologist at the hospital (DD's excema was very bad), he was much keener, and we even used something stronger for a few days at one point.

Definitely only use it on the affected skin, but don't be scared of it. It will really help and it is much better to use the cream for a few days (up to a week) and have the spots clear up. Make sure you moisturise, moisturise and moisturise again. Give the HC cream half hour or so to sink into the skin when you put it on, and then use the moisturiser throughout the day (we apply it hourly). Keep using the moisturiser when the rash clears - it's the best way to stop it coming back.

DD's skin (she is now 17 months) is now absolutely fantastic. If she does get a bit of a rash, we stick the HC cream on, and rarely have to do this more than once.

Thank you all for sharing your stories - particular the specifics in yours YummyMam - I will apply the moisturiser more regularly. I have been using it since Monday and it is getting better so fingers crossed I won't have to use the hc cream much longer..

My dd got this when she was 6mo and it caried on until she was 2.5. I found Neal's Yard nappy cream (as recommended on a MN thread) really hepled calm the redness down. And maybe she grew out of it or maybe it stopped when she was 2.5 as I stopped using fabric conditioner. Hope that helps,

yes, used it on dd2's face. Have used it quite a bit over the years on her face. Have been using it for the last six months or so (she is now 10) due to bad eczema. It's a bummer but we have no ill effects so far.

I've been using it since Monday and today he's as spotty as ever - even though it has looked like it's getting better at times over the last few days. I have booked another app with the Dr as I was under the impression this cream shouldn't be used for anything more than short periods of time... is that not the case ? He was prescribed the 1% strength....

I'm sure we all think our lo's are gorgeous -but this is really spoiling his good looks .

Speckled hen - what did your dd's skin look like ? Ds has small red spots and in some cases clusters of them. I may give the nappy cream a go..