Baby excema questions

[Pheebe]

Been told that ds2 has 'baby excema'. its on his face, not huge patches but seems to need steroid cream constantly. i get it under control, switch to aveeno and it comes back within 2 days and i have to start the steroids again.

doc says this is normal and he may grow out of it ... or he may not

i'm really uncomfortable putting steroid cream on him all the time even though we have the lowest dose cream available. are there really no alternative???

I presume you have hydrocortisone 0.5%, this is perfectly safe to use even on a daily basis and far better than leaving the eczema untreated. DS has had eczema since he was 8 weeks and it has got a lot better over time, but we still need to use the steroids or it flares up.

thanks meg, we're using 0.1% at the moment although i think we'll need to step up a bit. agree it can't be left untreated i was concerned about the possibility of skin thinning though? do you use it every day regardless of whether the excema is visible then?

if its not going away, it's not under control.
is he bf or ff? milk allergy was the cause of my ds's.

Sure you're doing this anyway but make sure you put the emollient cream on as often as you can. With DS we smothered him at every nappy change! he hated it! Maybe ask the GP if you can try a different emollient if Aveeno's not working (although have heard it is very good). We had a cabinet full of emollients and ended up using Epaderm (as prescribed by dermatology clinic) which is quite greasy and stays on the skin well. DS still has dry skin and patches of eczema but 3 years on we don't even put emollients on him much anymore! Have noticed that DD has bad facial patches at the mo though (she's 17 months) and am wondering if it's teething related. So like you, I'm cautiously applying the hydrocortisone...and hoping it doesn't spread. It is better to use the steroids consistently for a few days to get the eczema under control than not to apply (so I've been told).

Although the 0.1% cream should be very safe I would be cautious of using any steroid cream every day, you're quite right. I've had eczema since I was a baby and years of steroid cream use has led to significant skin thinning on body and face. I'm 26 and incredibly wrinkly and crepey in places where the eczema recurred the most. Mine is triggered by allergies - if you can try to get him tested to see what's causing it and you may avoid having to use steroid creams for the most part.

Consistant use of emollients is your best bet for now, after bathing, and perhaps even applied as a barrier cream before food (sorry, don't know how old your baby is!) hth

ds 20 months started getting it in certain areas a few months ago. I spoke to a nutritionist and she reccommended I supplement his diet with an oil such as flax seed so I bought the Udos oil which I add to his food. She said once I stopped bf he probably wasn't getting everything from his diet.

he's 5.5 months now and has had it from birth really, he was 2 weeks overdue and VERY red and peely when he was born. he's formula fed and has been from birth. could it be allergy related as its only on his face though?

doc didn't seem phased when i said it seemed like a few days on to clear it, a few days off when it stayed away then it gradually starts to creep back again. is that normal?

oo, thanks everyone for replying btw

I cannot stress enough - ask for allergy testing.

my dd had mild eczema from 6 weeks which got steadily worse.

We were told 'she will grow out of it ' and given steroids by numerous gp's.

We had to take her to a paediatrician for an unrelated thing and were told to get referred for allergy tests as eczema is always caused by an allergy.

The GP said 'they wont allergy test babies' we said'yes they will please refer her'
GP said ' how do I do that'.
She was tested (blood test) at 8 months and is allergic to egg and dust mites.
It has made a huge diference , her skin is mostly clear, apetite better and she sleeps better.

My ds also has eczema... he is bf, could it be caused by allergy to something I have eaten?

I had to exclude all egg from my diet too when bf.
You need to get some proper allergy testing.

My little one has eczema. We have put it down to washing powder and teething in not helping it. We are using steroid creams but once it is under control we switch back to epaderm.

I have bad eczema and first thing is it can take 7-14 days before an improvement is seen. We use the steriod cream morning and nite for 7 days after a break out even if his skin seems clear, (low dose cream for short periods will not harm him as long as skin is kept mosturised at all times). I have had terrible eczema all over my body including my face, have used steriod cream all my life especially on my face and I have no problems at all.

I know skin may looked healed but it needs more time than most people give it. He has cream on continually all over to prevent further problems. He has body stockings when he is really bad and we just smother him and rap him up.

You need emollients for your bath, be careful of shampoo as that has loads of perfume in it and just a few soap suds can set it off. I put a muslin square under his sheet where his head goes to protect his skin from the matterress and stop heat rash. All his clothes are rinsed twice through the washing machine, don't use an economy setting it doesn't get all the soap out.

I feed him foods full of good oils ie advocados (mixed with banana babies love it). Protect his skin from damp weather, condensation in the house etc, wind and heat variations all have a major effect by making skin itch. Baby may be affected by any perfume you wear or make up etc ( when you touch or cuddle)

I have lived with it all my life so I know how to manage it. There is so much you can do to help!!

Thanks droopy, I'll be going back to the GP next week anyway so will ask for a referral.

Cupcake, thank you so mcuh for the advice as well, i've been stopping the steroid cream as soon as the skin looked clear so perhaps thats why it keeps coming back so quickly. i'll try your suggestion of a weeks treatment with masses of emolient too as see how we go.

thanks guys, much appreciated and very reassuring