How can i clear up dd's dry skin?

[EvesMama]

my DD is 16 months old and for around the last year, her skin has been quite dry and gets very sore looking patches on back of arms, elsbows and back.
have tried steriod creams, which made it worse, e45/oilatum/aqueous cream and even hemp cream from body shop but nothing seems to really get rid of it.
it looks awful and sore and sometimes irritates the poor little lamb.
i have tried changing soap powders and softers but they dont seem to make much difference? please help, im running out of ideas

hi evesmama, my ds1 has eczema and we've been battling a year and a half! have searched high and low for the ideal cream. like you, aqueous cream doesn't work too well, many kids actually react to it.

aveeno CREAM not lotion is fantastic. get it at boots for around £7. depends how much you're willing to splurge, but i recently found a brilliant cream from the Organic Pharmacy on King's Rd (they do mail order but check out their website here )

very oily but does sink in and made of lots of natural ingredients so less likely to have a reaction. it's called Beauty and the Bees Leatherwood Honey & Coconut Cream and costs £ 25 for a large jar. seems like a lot but using it daily after bath it lasts us 3mths! the aveeno isn't exactly cheap but you could see if you could get it on prescription.

for patchy bits, try the BAch Flower Rescue REmedy CReam also available at Boots. small tube is roughly £5 but works wonders on ds1 - rashes vanish within a couple of days!

HTH!!

message withdrawn

No soap in bath - just emulsifying ointment, diprobase on the dry patches and fucidinH on any really bad bits. Persil original non biological washing powder and NO fabric softener. Worth a try.

I'm all for Aveeno too best cream ever!

thanks minkmamma, have even been using aqueous cream as body wash in bath as it suggests on tub but still feels dry and has patches on arms and elbows tonight. cant get onto that site at mo, so will try later, where is kings road? are you in london?i'm in middlesbrough.
thanks for helping

twiglett & cab - will try the extra rinse cycle and also leaving out softner. i would like to think its not excema(is this the right spelling?) because i dont want to slather her in hydrocortizone cream and first lot made her worse, but dp has psoriasis on elbows and knees, so it could be something like that. my skin is dry but not bad so maybe genetic????

You could try Bio Oil - available at chemists and Boots (I think). It works wonders on my dry skin. Costs around nine pounds for 60mls but it lasts for ages as a little goes a very long way.

You can get Aveeno on prescription if taht's any help.

message withdrawn

I don't believe it, just posted you a HUGE message and it didn't go through!

basically, i live just outside london so also use their mail order.

i don't necessarily use expensive lotions, but have just found this one to be the most effective! have literally tried it all, aqueous, oils, infraderm, liquid paraffin, infused herbs....

wouldn't recommend vaseline (sorry twiglett) as it doesn't allow the skin to breathe. we use epaderm (also on prescription) as a soap now as it's very similar to vaseline and works a treat. also using oilatum but doesn't seem to be doing that much on its own.

oh, and if you can try ot turn central heating on low or put a wet towel on radiator for moisture! i know you're up north and it can be a bit chilly...

twiglett, have you tried Barefoot Botanicals SoS cream? supposed to be good for psoriasis...

is psoriasis itchy?

message withdrawn

sorry twiglett...just so used to hunting down these things!! know what you mean by ARGGHHHHH

i've tried the aloe vera, doesn't seem to work for us funny isn't it?

message withdrawn

Aveeno is fab

I've just tried (on Mumsnet recommendation) putting oats in the bath, and it was wonderful! I put about a handful of porridge oats in an old sock, closed it with a foodsaver clip, and squeezed and swished it about in the bath. Lots of slimey creamy stuff came out which made the bath quite milky and totally spooked ds, but dd's skin stayed clear, even though London water always makes eczema break out all over her face. Another vote for Aveeno, too.

Have you considered whether it may be caused by something in her diet?

Lush do something called Snake Oil which is a massage bar, it's meant to be used for irritated scalps but it works on really dry skin as well, and it's safe for babies as it's chemical-free. Stinks to high heaven, but you can't have it all

Have you tried evening primrose oil or Propolis cream??

Aveeno!!!!

My DD also has dryish skin, but we keep it under control with DIPROBASE. You can get it on prescription or it is around £8.50 for a massive pump action tub over the counter. DD's skin is now peachy thanks to this stuff.

I avoid using soap on my dd. I use J&J softwash and her skin is so much better. Aqueous cream is just as good alternative to soap as well. I sometimes put it in the bath too.

I can't use any scented bits on DD. The only thing I can use is a really mid baby shampoo. I still can't use baby wipes on her face or nappy area at 2y 1m ! Cotton wool and water all round.

hi twiglett and minkmamma - thanks 4 advice. just switched back on as dd not very well, full of cold and cant dirty nappy!
dp first got psoriasis when he was about 20 (now 34) but has never had it checked out at docs.
only thing to ease a little is hemp cream from body shop, but nothing has cleared it up.
Eve's dry patches are on top of arms, back/under arms and on back and tummy feels 'bitty' if you know what i mean? Hemp cream helped when Eve's patches were bad but didnt clear up fully?

We had similar but not quite so bad, with DS around that sort of age. In the end we 'greased' him up from the inside with Eye-Q liquid, which he still has every morning even now aged 3. I know it sounds abit strange - but maybe worth a try?