Toddler rash

[Littleamy84]

Hi my son is 23 months old and started with a rash nearly a month ago. Due to him being under the weather at the time, cold/runny nose/poor appetite, I was told it was viral. Anyhow he picked up a bit but the rash stayed so I went back to the GP and was told maybe it is Excema, given antihistamines and various creams to use for 2 weeks. The 2 weeks is nearly up and the rash is just getting worse. All over his back and stomach now as well as his face, arms and legs. The rash is really itchy. He is also itching his head alot. We haven't changed anything in terms of washing stuff and I am bathing him in Aveeno, not using any bubble baths. Just wondering if anyone can shed any light? He is otherwise well. No temperature and no vomiting and is eating better than previously.

Maybe the formulation of whatever you use to wash your clothes has changed and is now causing irritation. What do you currently use?

Fairy non bio. I've never stuck to a specific brand but always used non bio. I had been using that for a while before the rash started too.

Poor little chap. In my experience viral rashes aren’t itchy so I’d guess your looking at some sort of dermatitis, eczema brought on by something DS is allergic to. It’s such a sod to try find the culprit/s. I think as despite the antihistamine and creams it’s getting worse your going to have to go back to the GP and see what they can offer.

Are there any allergies in either side of your family that you know of? Anyone with eczema, hayfever, asthma? Did DS have any reactions to anything he was fed when you were weaning him?

What are you washing/bathing him with?
What are the creams the Gp has given him?

I think as it's been two weeks I'd at the very least take him to a pharmacy and see if the pharmacist can suggest anything.

It looks eczema-y to me but it's hard to see properly on the pictures.

If he's been wearing new clothes with wool or fleece, or polyester (especially the type used for super hero costumes etc) I'd stop using these for now and dress only in cotton. Make sure he doesn't haven't too many layers as being over warm and the skin not being able to breathe exacerbates eczema.

Obviously if he starts showing any signs of being unwell over the weekend it'd be worth calling 111.

This looks like eczema to me rather than a rash?

I agree that it also looks like eczema

I’d also ask MN to delete your 1st and 3rd pics, one is identifiable and the other is of his bottom - you have no idea what weirdos might access the pics on this site and I’d not be comfortable with my child’s photos being in the public space like that

I'm bathing him with Aveeno since the rash started. The one for skin conditions. He pretty much wears cotton only too. He's using an emollient x 4 daily and then he is on hydrocortisone too but that seems to be making the rash worse at times despite me only using a thin layer. I thought excema was mainly in sweat patches? I thought maybe he has developed a cows milk allergy so have switched him to Soya to see if that makes any difference so I can feed that back to the GP on Tuesday.

Neither me or mu husband have had excema but I do suffer from asthma (mild) and hayfever.

@Littleamy84 eczema and be all over. Gets worse with cold weather too sometimes.

Doesn't have to be hereditary but asthma and hayfever and eczema all fall in with eachother.

Looks like how my DDs eczema started out but hers was confined to the typical areas e.g. crooks of arms, back of knees, face etc. Through a few weeks of trying different things to find out what was causing flair ups I found that it was the washing powder I used.

We had been using persil non-bio since birth but at 4 months something must have changed as this is when the flair ups started and they would only happen when she would wear clothes washed with that powder.

Try switching to a different powder even though you say you use different kinds anyway. Could it be an allergy? Would it be worth getting a referral. DD also has CMPA.

Myself and my partner don't have eczema but there is a family history of asthma and hayfever and the three are linked. So if there is a history of them it makes eczema more likely.

We use Aveeno dermexa and this has completely cleared up the eczema. It is quite expensive tho £10 a tube but completely stopped the itching and there is no longer any rash.

If you can get both the body cream and the night balm. Night balm is thicker and is really hydrating - I put this on 2 x a day, morning and evening even though the rash is gone to keep skin soft.

I also use oilatum junior which is prescribed from the doctor.

Oat baths can also be soothing!

Hopefully the GP will refer to dermatology?

I'm using the Dermexa body was but will try those other ones you have mentioned and also try a different washing liquid/powder. It's causing me so much stress as his skin was perfect. It's literally happened out of the blue. And of course it is distressing for him as it is so itchy and the antihistamine isn't helping much!

It looks like eczema or an allergic reaction to something. But you need to ask for this to be deleted. Putting pictures of your naked child on the Internet for anyone to see is never a good idea.

It's awful isn't it. When her eczema and itching started I just felt so upset about it. Contact the GP about the oilatum as that can be prescribed instead of buying it otc.

Also different products work for different people so it really is trial and error. I have a friend who has eczema and Aveeno makes her skin worse and she absolutely can't use it. Luckily after trying a variety of different creams the Aveeno worked for us.

Also how often do you bath LO? when DDs eczema was first diagnosed the GP suggested bathing her every 2 days instead of every other day just incase this was drying out her skin too much.

My little one has the exact same skin! Sometimes worse cause he scratches it.

I have been told he has exzema and I have pretty much every cream known to help. (They rarely do)

He has to take antihistamine 4 times a day.

I have betnovate, eumovate, hydrocortisone plus many many hydrating creams and emollients but the best thing I have found is Tropic tanmu balm (it is pricey) but works amazingly!

I woukd just use Epsom salt in the bath and moisturise after within a couple of minutes before before skin dries out. Stick to one non bio powder and use only a small amount.

Re the cows milk, it can take 6 weeks at least for you to notice a change but likely if allergy you will notice in stools as well. Its unlikely to be that at this point you would have noticed it earlier. It isnt recommended to remove something from the diet that significant. Soya in itself is a high allergen and there can then be a risk in developing an allergy on reintroduction. Not to mention the nutrients from cows milk.

Make sure skin doesn't get to hot...are there too many bed clothes?

Aw that looks so sore and itchy. The leg looks more like eczema than the back. It's quite risen and bumpy so I wldnt be 100% sure. When we've had flair ups we've had to use a steroid cream from the doctor. All the creams they prescribed though were rubbish. We find that Childs farm moisturiser twice a day, morning before clothes on and and every night after bath helps a lot. I only use Childs farm hair and body wash too and sometimes their bubble bath if skin is doing ok. It's worked on both my girls who have eczema and it smells so nice too.

We have hydromol bath ointment on prescription too (it's just a liquid you pour in). I only use fairy non bio too but gp also told me to stop using fabric conditioner.

I've also heard oats in the bath can help but I didn't try it.

So would you recommend not changing to Soya milk then? Just continue with cows milk and see GP on Tuesday?

I wouldn't change to soya before seeing GP. If it is a dairy intolerance, some are also allergic to soya. At least that's what the Dr at the allergy clinic told me.

OK I didn't realise that. I will just keep on with cows milk then. He's only had soya for the past 24hrs.

@Tee20x I agree, I've been told my
Soon needs dairy free but soya is so close to cows milk it comes with other issues too.

Have to say the nhs are 8m behind on allergy testing where we are if it is allergies,

It's outdated advice to remove dairy from the diet for kids suffering with eczema. Dairy fat is good for us and the benefits of cow's milk aren't replicated in dairy free milks without quite a lot of processing to try to make them nearly nutritious enough.

Soya is nowadays not considered to be the best replacement milk for young children. Incidence of intolerance/allergy to soya is fairly high and it has been shown to meddle with estrogen levels.

I'm still reaping the rewards of my childhood GP saying my eczema was a dairy allergy and prescribing soya formula. I turned out not to have a dairy allergy but a low level intolerance to soya which caused various issues.

Any changes to a young child's diet would be best be done under the guidance of a dietician.

Before changing diet I would look at ruling out other external factors by trial and error (clothing, washing powder, contact with animals, products, turn central heating down etc).

This is worth trying. It doesn’t have any fragrance and is allergy approved. When mine was really bad i used emollient cream instead of soap/bath oils. It’s impossible not to scratch so keep his nails as short as you can get them to cut down skin damage.

Hayfever, asthma and eczema often run in families. So you could have one parent with mild hayfever, one with asthma and a child/children with eczema as they’re 3 sides of the same coin.

I’d definitely go back to the GP as soon as you can and if you aren’t seeing any improvement with what is prescribed next I’d ask for a referral.

Another recent thread on here was discouraging Fairy Non bio.

Also, get MN to take down the bum photo, as a pp said, there's some weirdos around

Will do re the photos. Thanks for all the advice too. Will change washing powder and keep to cows milk using the creams and stuff and see what GP says on Tuesday.