10 week old dd with red raw skin. Any help gratefully received

[silkcushion]

Dd has had dry skin on her face for 4/6 weeks now. Hv suggested getting oilatum to put in the bath. This seemed to make skin on her body go dry too.

Steadily this has worsened over the weeks until week ago last monday gp said he thought it was eczema. Prescribed a hydrocortisone cream. This did seem to be helping but not now.

Since yesterday her skin has become really bad. Chest, legs and arms are covered in red scaly patches. Face and eyelids are looking very sore.

Been back to gp today who has said he doesn't know what is going on. Started her on a course of antibiotics and we've to go back on thursday. He says if she's not improved then we'll be referred to hospital.

I have tried the following:- e45, diprobase, normal baby moisturiser, reducing frequency of baths.

All clothes and bedding are washed in non bio powder. I am running out of ideas and it 's getting worse. DD, who is a laid back cheerful little girl, is starting to be miserable cos I guess it must hurt

We've used unscented baby wipes since birth and the one area which is unaffected is where her nappy is??!!! Can't work it out

stop using the antibac soap- you really don't need it- simple soap is just as effective at removing germs.

can you see someone before wednesday? what a worry

hope you get sorted x

Have you tried using less detergent in the wash and putting an extra rinse cycle on each time, just to make sure there is no residue at all on the clothes.

She grizzled all evening after being out to bed and started really crying at about 9pm - normally a very chirpy, placid and easygoing baby. Went to check on her and she had got this rash all over her neck and one side of her face. Very red, very warm and with a sort of white blistering.

Rang NHS direct who said they'd ring back in an hour! I asked them if there was local walk in centre - they said no. So I took her to A&E - who said pop into the gp drop in centre next door Flippin NHS direct!

Gp said he thought it was urticaria (sp?) like a nettle rash, unrelated to eczema and despite appearances not serious. Glad I got it checked cos I'm paranoid now that something we're doing is causing this to happen. The new rash has disappeared now but appeared on different parts of her body.

Can't wait to see the consultant. I wish I could see someone sooner but this is the earliest appointment available (at that is going privately)

Thanks everyone for yr advice so far

Hi silkcushion, your situation sounds very much like what happened with dd. She developed eczema quite suddenly at 8 weeks. It began on her face and spread to her arms, wrists, tummy and legs. We tried everything to cure it and I became so familiar with emollients etc. The good news is that although it was quite bad when she was about 10 months old she is now 20 months old and it has almost gone. Her face is baby soft and her arms, wrists and tummy are clear. She still gets the odd flare up on her legs but nothing like it was.
I think she has just out grown it as I can't pin point any one thing than made a big difference to her. My advice is use the hydocortisone if you need to and don't worry. The dermatologist told us that all the bad press about it goes back to when it was first available and people used it at a much higher strength. Do a patch test of every cream/oil/ointment you try as what suits one baby can cause a terrible reaction in another. The cotton sleep suits with the built in gloves are great if itchiness becomes a problem. Product wise I found Unguentum M and Epaderm to be the best for dd. Aveeno and the oats did not suit her at all.Plain water in the bath is fine as long as you are not in a hard water area. We are and found if we didn't add something to the water it made her a lot worse.
Hope some of this is a help. Best of luck.

Your new post came in as I was typing. Sorry to hear your dd has come down with the new rash. Her skin is probably quite sensitive and has reacted to something. My dd is like that also. It is a worrying time for you but hopefully you will get some answers when you see the consultant.

i second the idea of aloevera though I have never used it for eczema. i have heard it is great for skin complaints though. it is the best thing to soothe burns. it is available in Holland and Barrett as a pure gel.

as an aside, My aunt was a private nurse for a man who had a ulcer on his nose for months which nothing in modern medicine was helping. when she started looking after him, she made up a little bandage with plain aloevera in it and the thing disappeared.

meant so say, would you consider making up your own babywipes? even the unscented wipes contain some serious chemicals which can aggravate skin.

go to the nappies and pottytraining people, they will have excellent suggestions. (my dd's nappy area didn't suffer like the rest of her)

Update for you. The new rash - urticaria got loads worse overnight sat and early sun morning. I rang abck NHS direct who sent us back to out of hours GP. By this time she had not eaten for 12 hrs and was being sick and having diarrhoea.

He diagnosed gastroenteritus (dh also developed symptoms sat night) and said he thought the rash was her body trying to fight off infection. He gave a prescription of antihistamine which I gave her last night as she seemd very distressed and itchy - it worked really well. But she has needed a second dose this lunchtime cos it came back. Pharmacist said urticaria could be fighting a virus or a reaction to the penicillin she had last week.

Aveeno seems to be helping the eczema a bit. Skin is getting softer again.

Thanks for all the advice and help