Very dry skin - eczema

[pacita]

My son is 8 weeks old today. He has very dry, scaly, itchy skin, which is particularly rough and hardened in his legs. It is also pretty bad in his wrists and in his cheeks. I can tell that he is itching, but the remedies that the GP has recommended do not seem to be working: e.g olilatum for the bath and aqueous cream to moisturise. He believes he has atopic dermatitis or eczema.

He also gave us a course of antibiotics which improved the condition temporarily, but we are back to square one. it has been worsened by the cold weather and central heating.

I use non-bio detergent to wash his clothes (surcare) and dress him in cotton.

Does someone have the same problem, and is there something you could recommend? Thanks in advance.

Hi Pacita,

DD was similar at that age, she is now 2.4.
Is your DS breastfed? If not, then the only thing I can suggest is to try changing the formula you use, as this is what helped DD. We switched her from cow's milk (obviously not at that age, but when she was over a year) to lactose-free milk and it improved immensely.
However if he is BF, then scrap that (for now!)

I didn't find aqueous cream any good, we went through a range of different creams and emollients until we found one that didn't irritate her (Diprobase)

We have also used steroids for particularly bad flare-ups, but you may not want to go down that route just yet.

We also had a course of wet-wrapping, this was when we saw the dermatologist at the hospital. It means smothering him in loads of cream, and then putting a wet cotton suit on him, with a dry one on top - you can get them on prescription, then dressing him as normal. The suits are nice and tight so he can't scratch anything. A few weeks of this and she improved a lot too.

We use the Boots detergent for sensitive skin as well, though I have used Surcare and didn't find it any different.

It's been a while though, so I may have forgotton a few things. I think it's mainly trial and error with different creams, and watch the diet, though again at 8 weeks this may not make any difference.

Best of luck, I know how hard and how frustrating it can be. Most people I talk to tell me they used to have eczema and just grew out of it eventually. I'm sure your son will too.
If I think of anything else I'll post again!!

thanks so much for your post, annie. Yes, he is exclusively breast fed. I am thinking about eliminating milk and derivatives from my diet to see if it improves.

Thanks a lot for posting.

dd2 developed bad eczema at 5 weeks when she was being ebf. We started a long long cycle of dermatology referrals etc. She is a very atopic child. When she was weaning and going on to formula we used goat's milk etc, changed washing powder, bought anti-dust mite bedding.

By all means, find out as much as you can, make any changes you can without exhaisting yourself and giving yourself loads more work. But take it day and week at a time and don't expect one simple solution will present itself one day.

Check out advice on Eczema society website. And enjoy your beautiful boy!

dd2 is now 10 and still has great problems with eczema

Thanks pointydog. Patience seems to be something that everyone recommends, as there is no quick solution - I'm sure we all wish there was, though.

How are you dealing with eczema now that your daughter is older? And has there been no respite since she was 5 weeks?

The funny thing is that neither my partner nor me suffer from any kind of allergies or eczema. I don't know where it's come from...

yes there has been respite. Long patches where all seemed ok with her skin. We thought it had gone completely when she was 6 but very soon after her eczema completely cleared, she developed asthma quite badly.

For some reason the eczema came back and now she has both. And hay fever.She's just a very bunged up, snotty, atopic sort of kid. Glue ear, five sets of grommets, adenoids out.

But it certianly does go away for many children so just tune in to your child.

Thanks again pointy. I do hope there is more respite round the corner for you and your daughter.

For now, I'm trying to moisturise him thoroughly, I have removed woollen blankets from his bed just now, and will start off on a diary free diet... I have a very unhappy little one tonight.

You could also try only eating wholegrain and wholewheat - white wheat triggers my daughter's eczema as does dairy.