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Original poster

help...asap please!!!

29 replies

alexsmum · 21/12/2003 19:40

My 16 week old baby has really bad eczema and his cheeks are weeping really badly, and they have an unpleasant smell. I'm taking him to the gp tomorrow but just wondered if any one had any tips on what I can do in the meantime?

OP posts:
SantaBaby34 · 21/12/2003 19:42

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princessinapeartree · 21/12/2003 19:51

poor thing. sounds like it has got infected - your gp will probably give you fucidin H cream which is a mixture of antibiotic for the infection and hydrocortisone for the ezcema and which should clear it up within a couple of days. all you can do is give it a bit of a clean with cooled boiled water and a clean muslin, and try to stop him from scratching and making the infection worse/spreading. easier said than done - socks over his hands and tucked into his PJs?
good luck!

Jimjambells · 21/12/2003 20:56

Only thing I would add - if his skin blisters- a bit like chickenpox except that each spot is in a little pit -take him straight to A and E and ask "is this eczema herpeticum?" (otherwise a dozy SHO wouldn't recognise it). VERY unlikely- it's very rare- not meaning to panic you- but it shouldn't be left if it is- it can be nasty (my ds1 had it- his skin is lovely again now- and it was awful so don't worry).

Jimjambells · 21/12/2003 20:58

In the meantime just keep it clean- with a little saline if possible.

lyndsey66 · 21/12/2003 21:06

alexsmum
I know what you are going through. My ds is now 15 months old - for the first 12 months he had bad eczema. He had the weeping that you described and we got so worried we took him to casulty!!

We tried everything to help and in the end it cleared up when we stopped trying!! I know how upsetting it is. I remember crying because he looked in so much pain and in the mornings his sheets would have blood on them.
But dont frett - it bothers you more than it bothers them.

My doctor perscribed a lotion to put in his bath called oilatum - which clears off all the septic skin ect. . this worked great.

He also had hydrocortisone cream. This worked very well. A lot of people worried me about this cream because it has a steriod in it and this thins the skin - but my sons skin is fine - so dont worry.
I had his allergies done and cut out all the foods they said - but this didnt help his eczema at all - just cost me loads of money!
I used surecare washing powder - because it very mild - not sure if this helped but you could try.

I echo what somebody else said about socks over the hands. This helps stop them causing anymore irritation to the skin - also keep your babies nails really short.

Hope this helps - It will clear up eventually and there wont be long term damage to the skin - so dont worry. let us know how u get on xx

bobthebaby · 21/12/2003 21:35

Poor little man, it does sound like an infection but the cream they give you works really fast. I don't know if you breastfeed, but I once expressed some milk, put it in the fridge for a couple of hours and then applied it to ds's face with sterile dressing. I presumed that if everything was sterile, the antiseptic properties of the milk would help until I could get him to a doctor. If I was in the same situation again, I would just squirt it directly onto his face.

Original poster
alexsmum · 21/12/2003 21:37

Thanks for the replies.I have emulsiderm oil for his bath,hydrocortisone cream, emulsifying ointment etc and I can handle the dry stuff but the way its weeping is awful.It looks raw.We have been putting socks on his hands..in fact we're running out of socks as we have to have 2 pairs at a time, (one for his feet one for hands!!)I also have an anti-histamine/sedative for him which he has 2.5ml of when its really bad.
I just hope the gp can give him something to calm it down and stop the weeping.
Hey ho.Thanks again everyone.

OP posts:
Original poster
alexsmum · 21/12/2003 21:37

Thanks for the replies.I have emulsiderm oil for his bath,hydrocortisone cream, emulsifying ointment etc and I can handle the dry stuff but the way its weeping is awful.It looks raw.We have been putting socks on his hands..in fact we're running out of socks as we have to have 2 pairs at a time, (one for his feet one for hands!!)I also have an anti-histamine/sedative for him which he has 2.5ml of when its really bad.
I just hope the gp can give him something to calm it down and stop the weeping.
Hey ho.Thanks again everyone.

OP posts:
Original poster
alexsmum · 21/12/2003 21:39

Thanks for the replies.I have emulsiderm oil for his bath,hydrocortisone cream, emulsifying ointment etc and I can handle the dry stuff but the way its weeping is awful.It looks raw.We have been putting socks on his hands..in fact we're running out of socks as we have to have 2 pairs at a time, (one for his feet one for hands!!)I also have an anti-histamine/sedative for him which he has 2.5ml of when its really bad.
I just hope the gp can give him something to calm it down and stop the weeping.
Hey ho.Thanks again everyone.

OP posts:
Original poster
alexsmum · 21/12/2003 21:39

Thanks for the replies.I have emulsiderm oil for his bath,hydrocortisone cream, emulsifying ointment etc and I can handle the dry stuff but the way its weeping is awful.It looks raw.We have been putting socks on his hands..in fact we're running out of socks as we have to have 2 pairs at a time, (one for his feet one for hands!!)I also have an anti-histamine/sedative for him which he has 2.5ml of when its really bad.
I just hope the gp can give him something to calm it down and stop the weeping.
Hey ho.Thanks again everyone.

OP posts:
Original poster
alexsmum · 21/12/2003 21:42

oops. don't know what happened there.Sorry!!!

OP posts:
Original poster
alexsmum · 21/12/2003 21:43

oops. don't know what happened there.Sorry!!!

OP posts:
Jinglebells · 21/12/2003 21:47

my dd gets mild exczema now, but it used to be worse and prone to infection paticularly on her face, it does sound like an infection, I would just say the same as PIAPT, if it is infected Gp is likely to prescribe Fucidin H, known as magic cream in our house as it works so quickly. It really is fantastic, I'm sure you'll soon see an improvement, in the meantime just keep it clean with cooled boiled water. I wouldn't add anything to the water as sometimes even the emollients can irritate the infection. Hope your night isn't too bad. I do use either lavender oil in an electric burner in the room if she is ever ill or very irritable. May help.

lyndsey66 · 21/12/2003 23:27

btw just to add, do u breastfeed or use formula? Only my ds eczema cleared up when we stopped using formular milk and started using cows milk when he was a year old. This could be mere coincidence but it is something I think is relevent. Maybe you might have the same experience.

Chandra · 22/12/2003 01:19

Alexsmum, I read your postings and I could have written them when ds was the same age (he's 9m now) and...well we went to Spain for the summer holidays and he had a terrible episode with face, elbows, back of the legs and neck not only weeping but bleeding so we took him to a dermatologist there and... after four months of misery he had the skin perfect just three days after being seen by the D, curiously the products he used are available through the NHS but most doctors are not familiar with them. One is Emolytar (a tar based complex made by Stiefel) for the bath -we have used Oilatum and balneum before but didn't make any significative difference-, Eucerin (an emmollient you can get from Boots) and Mometasone which is also a corticoid that we used just once, and he was free of eczema since September, it has come back last week though maybe because he's teething, but it's nothing compared to what he had in the past. If you mention them to your doctor chances are that you may get them. Good luck with it and a big hug.

Chandra · 22/12/2003 01:31

Oops I forgot, the D also prescribed a syrup (atarax) to control the itching and... he asked us not to make him feel, how do I say this?, well, he told us that if we made a lot of fuss about the eczema the baby would start regarding himself as an ill person, so he asked us to remove the socks to avoid stressing him further(very short nails are mandatory) and it make a big difference as he had started to get behind in his 'manual' skills. Curiously, since he had been sleeping with socks in his hands forever DS requested them for other two months (I suspect the socks became for him the same as a Teddy). As for the feet... well ASDA sells some very cheap cotton sleepsuits (about £4 x 3) and the great thing is that they are very soft and have no prints or embroidery that may irritate the skin, and as all the body is completely covered they can not scratch themselves nor remove the foot coverings so, no scratches with the feet, furthermore it really helps the cream to be absorbed and to prevent the skin from drying during the night.

bobthebaby · 22/12/2003 04:15

Chandra, good point about making baby feel ill. I have asked PIL to stop talking about his skin in front of him (especially as it was always the first thing they said). If someone asks me if he is sunburnt I matter of factly say "no, he has eczema" and leave it at that. I may need to change the subject a few times though.

robinw · 22/12/2003 06:01

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Chandra · 22/12/2003 09:11

Robin, how old was your baby when you started with probiotics? we have had DS under a very controlled organic diet, oily fish included but not yet probiotics, could you tell us more about them (names, where to get them if they are specilly for babies, etc?) thanks!!

robinw · 22/12/2003 13:22

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robinw · 22/12/2003 13:37

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Chandra · 22/12/2003 13:40

Robinw, Any reference will be highly appreciated, we did a lot of reading about possibles remedies but it's the first time I hear about this.

Bobthebaby, what is your experience with probiotics?

Alexmum, how's the baby doing?

Chandra · 22/12/2003 13:44

Do you have the website of the Lancet? or if it is not online, how do you register?

robinw · 22/12/2003 14:10

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robinw · 22/12/2003 14:18

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