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Original poster

Alternative to nightly bath

28 replies

Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 14:53

DS is 14 months and suffers from bad eczema on his back. He has had a good nightly routine for over a year now which includes a bath after his dinner.

I am keen to cut down on the amount of bathing to try and rescue his skin, but I can't think of a decent substitution.

His routine is dinner, bath, back downstairs for a bit of playing and a story then up to bed.

Any ideas?

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 07/01/2016 14:56

Just miss out the bath and do the rest

PennyHasNoSurname · 07/01/2016 14:57

Just cut it. More play?

My ds is 14mo and misses his bath at least two nights a week. However, and I dont mean to sound negative here, he is my second. DD (DC1) never missed a nightly bath til she was like three haha!

Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 15:01

Ok I'll try and just not do it this evening!

Don't worry Penny I'm pregnant with no 2, I can sense it will be virtually neglected in comparison!

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QuiteLikely5 · 07/01/2016 15:10

Shower?

CorBlimeyTrousers · 07/01/2016 15:14

I agree just try cutting it and still do everything else. Hopefully he'll adapt quite quickly.

We've never done nightly baths for either of our sons (5yo and 4.5 month old). In the summer we bath the older one every other night due to sun screen and general grubbiness but that's the maximum. Usually it's 2 or 3 times a week. I think it definitely helps with their skin (the eldest had eczema although it's settled down a lot now).

Out2pasture · 07/01/2016 15:18

A rub down with lotion?

Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 15:18

Cor did you use anything on his skin? We use Aveeno and Hydromol but it seems to be constantly flaring up!

OP posts:
Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 15:18

Good idea out

OP posts:
SkodaLabia · 07/01/2016 15:21

I'd go for a bath max 3 times a week, with no bubbles. Cetraben is really good, both in its lotion and bath oil forms.

GothicRainbow · 07/01/2016 15:21

We do give our DS a nightly bath, we tried cutting it once which led to bedtime chaos! Since then we make sure he has a very hypoallergenic bubble bath and switch back to oilatum if his skin flares. After bath we use epaderm lotion all over and epaderm ointment on bad patches (currently cheeks) this has helped a lot.

OreosOreosOreos · 07/01/2016 15:28

DS is 2.5 and usually only has a bath once a week - I think it's the thing that's made the biggest difference to his eczema.

I know many people will be horrified how little gets bathed, but he's a toddler, he doesn't really sweat, his hands and face get washed or wiped over several times a day and he's still in nappies, so that area gets a good clean at every change. In summer, when he's been playing in the garden then his legs get wiped over too.

I use Neals yard remedies bum cream and baby lotion on him, and oats in the bath in a muslin cloth which I then use as 'soap' on him.

At the moment his skin is looking pretty good, so I'm sticking with what's working for us!

SomedayMyPrinceWillCome · 07/01/2016 15:29

Upstairs for teeth clean, hand wash, face clean & back downstairs?

OreosOreosOreos · 07/01/2016 15:30

Forgot to include routine:
Change nappy for night, lotion up, Pj's on, milk or water whilst having a cuddle, teeth cleaned, story, then bed!

Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 15:33

Ok all excellent ideas I will try them in turn and see how we go. Thank you all. I feel like we really need to do something about this bloody eczema now.

OP posts:
CrayonShavings · 07/01/2016 15:33

If he misses the bath, could he sit in a dry bath with a washing up bowl of water and toys?

Unless that's just as bad eczema-wise of course.

Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 15:40

I was thinking of doing that. I've no idea what is causing the eczema so time will tell!

OP posts:
CorBlimeyTrousers · 07/01/2016 18:38

Lucky - my sister swore by Aveeno but didn't have much impact on our son. We used steroid cream when it was bad. What seemed to work best for us was washing with Epaderm (it's like a greasy ointment) and QV cream as a moisturiser. We used to apply cream to his face (where it was bad) every nappy change. I think it's trial and error with eczema.

Littlef00t · 07/01/2016 18:43

Dd enjoys a bit of play on my bed before a story rather than going back downstairs when she doesn't have a bath.

Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 18:52

Thank you all! I will try some of your very good suggestions now!

And Cor thank you for the recommendations

OP posts:
GoldPlatedBacon · 07/01/2016 19:18

Quick massage with oil?

Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 20:11

Oh I like that gold - now if he'd just stand still for long enough!!

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Blankiefan · 07/01/2016 20:17

Have you tried a different emollient? We went through a huge list and ended up using Epaderm.
It comes in a huge tub and is a bit like lard but it totally sticks to the skin and works really well for us.

Between this and knowing how DD's various steroid creams work (and when to use them without going to gp so we can move really quickly), we've been able to get on too of her eczema.

It still flares occasionally but we're all over it when it does. So glad as this time last year it was awful,

It's trial and error to see what will work

Original poster
Luckystar1 · 07/01/2016 20:40

Ok this epaderm seems to be the way to go! I'll get some tomorrow!

OP posts:
NickyEds · 07/01/2016 20:58

My ds had awful eczema and we used E45 bath oil and found it to be better than Oilatum - it seemed to disperse in the water better for whatever reason- and Aveeno. We did (and still do) baths every other night but the thing which made by far the biggest difference was an ointment called Pro Topic cream which completely cleared it up. He now only gets occasional patches which I treat with the pro topic and they're gone in a day or so.

Mummystar123 · 07/01/2016 21:00

How but some baby massage when you rub his creams on or just use coconut/ olive oil if he doesn't use creams. I used to alternate between coconut oil and double base and give my boy some gentle massage instead of a bath.