Dry skin on baby

[Youngmum222]

Hi everyone my 4 month old, 5 weeks early, has extremely bad dry skin all over her back and has started to spread around her side, under her armpits and under her hair.
I took her to the pharmacy to get some advice and they gave me a cream to put on but I think it’s burning her as she just cries as soon as it hits any infected area, and made her skin go bright red aswell, so stopped giving her that.
As it’s not causing pain or bothering her we can’t get an emergency appointment at the doctors so have to wait forever and a day for an appointment.
And the health visitor isn’t coming for another few days.
We’ve also tried baby lotion and baby oil.
Has anyone else got experience in this?

Sounds like eczema. You can use creams but you also need to get to the cause, not just great the symptom (the dry skin) and it's often an allergy to food or to something in the environment.

I would start by strip washing all her clothes - wash long and hot without any detergent or softener.

After that id trial a dairy free diet if you can (if bf) or df formula.

Different age but my 3 week old baby had bad dry skin all over him, the health visitor said to use Vaseline or Coconut Oil.

I couldn't get Vaseline at our local shop so used coconut oil and it made a massive difference even just the first time using it and after a few days has cleared it right up

Hydromol cream from the chemist

When DS was a newborn I was advised to use olive oil on it and it cleared up quite quickly.

My daughter is 2 and we have had a battle for a long time with eczema. Try the child's farm cream that is really good for dry skin. Don't start changing milk until you speak to your health visitor or doctor ..

I was advised to use olive oil for my babies and it worked a treat

My little one gets bouts of dry, red, itchy skin (I suspect its eczema). I found using Aveeno baby lotions and moisturisers helped a lot. He has recently been given some steriod cream from the hospital when we went for something else, and that really has helped clear it up. If he gets another flare up, the hospital said I can request the same cream through my GP.

I wouldn’t use Child’s Farm, it is incredibly highly scented and will burn/sting sore skin.

Something like Zerobase is your best bet. And get a GP appointment when you can.

My little one had this at 9 weeks old (she's now 17 weeks).

Zerobase made her scream and her skin went scarlet, so I took her to the GP who prescribed the Aveeno cream with oatmeal and hydromol. Don't use anything apart from water in the bath, and cut baths down to only a couple of times a week! We creamed her up at least three times a day for a month or so, and now her skin is almost perfect again! Hopefully it was just a phase🤞🏻

If you breastfeed, try expressing some milk and bathing her in that. It's magic stuff.

I am 64 and my mum was told to use olive oil for two months and not put any water on me !! Sounds very strange I know but she said it worked

Hi, sounds like might be eczema. Children often grow out of it - not necessarily an allergy that you need to be too worried about unless the eczema is very bad,and there are other symptoms eg foul loose nappies and tummy ache.

In any case, to relieve symptoms:

• there are plenty of over the counter remedies, we especially liked Diprobase ointment (not the lotion, you will have to ask for the ointment in a pharmacy). It is very greasy but instantly reduces itching (I use it too). Apply a thin layer all over, not just on the affected area, immediately after baby is dry from the bath. When the dry skin flares up, you could apply again topically on the dry areas at each nappy change

• keep baby’s nails short, as can scratch and draw blood then it gets very sore
• keep baths short and tepid , NO soap. Use a bath additive like Oilatum. Hot water makes it itch like anything.
• loose cotton clothing, ideally. Look for a few long sleeve line trousers, some long sleeve lightweight cotton shirts for warm days. Hot skin will cause itching as it will make the skin have increased blood flow/sweaty.