Non-steroid Creams/lotions/emolient for Infant Eczema

[KrystleA]

Anyone know of a steroid-free cream/lotion/emolient that works? My poor LO is scratching himself raw and we've had to resort to wearing socks on his hands as his nails grow so quick 😟

The doctor prescribed Isomol & Dermol 500 but they don't seem to work 😔

Try aveeno products worked really well for my LO

Has your DS been tested for any allergies? Push for a referral if not. Allergy clinics will also know much more about managing eczema than most GPs.

My DS had bad eczema as a result of egg allergy, and once it was cut out his skin cleared immediately.

The best cream we had was hydromol ointment. It comes in massive pots and is a bit like Vaseline

Re steroids, it was explained to me that steroids aren’t great for skin, but eczema is much worse, so they aren’t anything to be worried about.

@Solasum my boy is only 5 months and still on just milk, would allergy clinics still be worth a go?

Hi OP, the Aveeno baby dermexa worked for my DS.

Cows milk allergy can cause eczema, if you're breastfeeding you could try cutting out dairy for a while and see if it helps, there are also dairy free formulas available.

@sqirrelfriends @Hannahmc12 I'll try that, thank you! ❤️

My DS is allergic to eggs and got really bad eczema from about 2 months when I was bf and ate eggs. Went to allergy specialist at 4 months and was told to give bath everyday with oilatum bath additive and wash him with emollient ointment. We use epaderm which is still working. But we used steroid cream to get the eczema under control and he seems to have flare ups every now and them so we are continuing to use it once a week. Dermatologist says that it is a good idea to continue to use the steroid cream and that he won't suffer from skin thinning from the particular type he's been prescribed.

Another vote for Aveeno here.

We used (my DDs have grown out of their eczema now) the Aveeno Cream (not the lotion - it's too thin).

For bath time, Aveeno Daily Moisturising Body Wash is great, instead of soap.

@theconstantinoplegardener Did you use the blue one as well?

As someone who has been back and forth to the doctor and undergone all possible tests for their DS, sometimes steroids are the only things that work.

Of course try every other Avenue first, but we found the only things that cured the eczema were steroid creams and a holiday in the sun

It's a question of managing it ;
Emollient to be applied often and used as soap
Long sleeved vests/ baby gros ideally with the cuffs that become gloves.
Mild steroid if having a flare up and stronger steroid if the mild one doesn't work ( under care of doctor)
Change emollient if it doesn't work... there are loads
A specific allergy eg egg or milk is great as it means you can avoid something but in the majority of cases an answer won't be found.
If you are bf give up dairy for a few weeks( 100% as cutting back may not be good enough) if it doesn't help resume your normal diet. You could then try cutting out egg but don't eliminate several things at once as you will be depriving yourself of nutrients and it doesn't help to pin down an allergen.

My little girl (age 2) has bad eczema and hates having moisturiser applied so we have had to try a lot to find one that doesn't lead to a huge battle 3x a day when we apply it, our current favourite is epimax ointment, it's greasier than aveeno and diprobase but because of that it doesn't feel so cold on the skin which is her main complaint!

@ScarMatty I'm interested you find holidays in the sun help as we find sun tan lotion gives our girl awful flare ups, do you have any tips or sun cream recommendations?

Mine was allergic to the preservatives so needed ointments rather than creams. So steroid ointment and Hydromol. Might be worth a go.

We also bought sleeves that we put on him while he was sleeping to stop him scratching whem he had a flare up. www.scratchsleeves.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAjwyo36BRAXEiwA24CwGex8Ax5CczJgQKstK_C_givtfx13iVOor21-1VCNOiu4tRtdxkFe8hoC-gMQAvD_BwE

I tried lots of different moisturiser, including aveeno and childs farm, but they didn't help (although child's farm was brilliant on my older dd). This one was the only one that worked. Definitely consider allergies though. Baby dd has a flare up if I eat nuts, or if she has anything with cows milk in

@Shayisgreat THANK YOU! I was looking for something he could wear that would stop him hurting himself scratching.. I'd give those scratch sleeves a go! 😍
@youCantBeSadHoldingACupcake thanks for the suggestion! I think we'll just go through these recommendations till we find one that suits bubba. ❤️

@ivelostmytrousers

We use Soltan boots own brand 50 sensitive kids.

However, we don't put it all over as we buy a full UV suit that covers all arms/body/just below knees and don't put sunscreen on the areas covered by the suit.

Somehow, even though the sun isn't directly going on his body it does the job.

We went away on holiday and I was almost in tears as DS eczema was so bad (think bleeding all over from such severe scratching) and I was at my wits end as I had tried everything possible and seen multiple private doctors....1 week in 30 degree sun and his skin was flawless. We've now been back 3 weeks and although he has slight redness in the creases (elbow/knees/underarms) I have managed these with a tiny bit of steroid cream but the rest of his body is still super smooth.

We are booking another sunny holiday for October half term (covid permitting) on the basis if the eczema flares up again, that should get rid of it

@ScarMatty wow that's fantastic that the sun helped so much, it's so upsetting when it's bad isn't it. I'll give soltan sensitive a go thanks, although currently the weather in the UK doesn't look like we'll need it unfortunately!

@ivelostmytrousers

Forgot to say also, it's the 8 hour one so we only apply it once a day unless he goes swimming lots

@ivelostmytrousers

Just looked and it's not actually the sensitive one! It's this one

@ScarMatty thanks very much I've just bought some so fingers crossed!