Baby eczema - could it be the nappies? Can’t get rid of it

[Historygirl91]

does anyone have any advice please?
My DD is 5 months old and for the past two months has had dry skin patches behind her knees, in her elbows and under her neck. Child’s Farm moisturiser keeps it under control somewhat but it hasn’t cleared up. This has now spread to her cheeks and her chin.

GP said it was eczema and prescribed some moisturiser which didn’t help at all.

I use non bio washing powder, bathe her in plain water and keep her as cool as possible.
I’m actually wondering now if she could be reacting to the nappies. Her bum area has always been ok but in the past few days she’s had some little spots on her inner thighs and legs. I use Sainsbury’s own nappies, could it be these?

I’ve tried aveeno on her skin but it inflamed her skin.

I’m wondering if she needs some mild steroids to clear it up on her legs as the moisturiser is doing nothing, but would rather avoid this if I can.

the whole thing is making me feel anxious and I feel sorry for her; she doesn’t scratch at her dry areas but I just wish they would clear up :(

Pic attached - it looks worse than this in real life, just struggling to get a decent picture

I would stop the aveeno. It could be an oat allergy. My friends son had this and it was diagnosed after using avenvo and it made his eczema so much worse. With my daughter we were told not to use any products with food ingredients before they have had them directly as it can cause or show allergies to that food.

I would have thought that if it was the nappies the eczema would be predominantly in the nappy area. If that is the case it wouldn't hurt to trial a packet of a different nappies. Or a different washing powder, I have terrible itchy skin for any fragrances in washing powder or fabric conditioner. I also only have solid washing products and use soap and shampoo bars on

I would go back to the GP to see what other creams are available, steroids can be very effective and can be a short term solution to get reflux under control and allow other approaches the chance to manage the eczema. My daughter has a steroid cream prescribed for allergy rashes but so far we have been able to get it under control with aqueous cream and antihistamines. Her gp was very cautious about giving it but when I brought it up with her paediatrician he would have got us to use it earlier and less doomsday about the area she would have needed - her rash covered from the bottom to her neck including arms.

No harm in trying a different brand of nappies, but I'd agree it seems unlikely to be the nappies if the rash is mostly in other areas.

How often are you using the moisturiser? DD2 gets her full body done twice a day, plus problem areas every nappy change – and that's not at all extreme. I'd also ask the GP for a different emollient. It's quite individual which ones work and which ones don't. Child's Farm is quite light. It's actually our backup moisturiser in case of supply problems with DD2's prescription emollient because we know DD2 can tolerate it, but it takes quite a lot more applications every day to get the same effect.

Thank you both. Interesting I ate porridge yesterday and noticed it seems worse today, so could be an oat allergy? I have used some of the Child’s Farm oat variety which seems to have helped a bit though.

I used some epaderm ointment behind her knees and this seemed to help a lot but spoke to a pharmacist who advised not to use this on her face as it could block pores.

I’ve stopped the aveeno as it was definitely making it worse/more inflamed. She has had a bit on her face but that seems to have cleared up by itself, hmm!

i will go back to the GP next week and ask for a different cream. Thank you both again.