Eczema

Well we noticed that our bub was getting very dry skin and noticed that it would flare up to a very mild redish-pinkish color so we took him to the GP and they suggested he had eczema and prescribed him a cream.

But the only problem is that the cream is doing nothing I'm thinking it might be doing worse than any good as when we apply the cream it makes it look worse.

We have tried natural creams like kawakawa and bee's cream which seems to be doing nothing either. Plus eczema does not run in the family :/

So just wondering if anyone else has had these sort of problems and what you have used.

hi, it could be something in his diet ie the formula he is on or if he is BF could be something in your diet like dairy or gluteen these are 2 very common ones that cause eczema.

You could try giving him some fish oil or acidophilus which you can get from chemist or health shop as both these products have scientific proof of helping with eczema.

good luck and hope it gets better soon smile

My DD was also diagnosed with eczema at about three months, and we also do not have it in the family.

Was it aqueous cream that the GP prescribed? We were given this initially and found it useless.

The main way that we have managed it is by cutting out all soap products, and also bubble baths and creams and anything really. You can bathe him in just plain water, or we use Cetaphil cleanser but there are other non-soap products which might be okay. Many pharmacies have free samples of Cetaphil so definitely worth trying if you can get a free trial. Then after bathing, make sure you dry him thoroughly, particularly in his creases, backs of knees, etc, and then liberally use a moisturiser for sensitive skin (we also use a Cetaphil one). Don't save the moisturiser just for after baths - use it at other times of the day too if he needs relief.

We also find that Papaw ointment can work well when we need instant relief. Just be aware that it kind of sits on the skin as opposed to being absorbed, so when your son is a little older and more mobile then it will be rubbing off all over the furniture and carpets.

While you need to be conscious of the effect of sun on baby's skin, you should also be aware that fresh air can be really good for eczema, so do expose his skin to sunlight when you can. Similarly try to dry laundry in fresh air and sunlight, although we've found that what kind of laundry detergent we use doesn't make a difference.

I breast-fed DD up to 12 months and during this time repeatedly made modifications to my diet but nothing made a difference, so I don't believe that my DD's eczema is/was caused by diet.

Ultimately, my advice is that there are loads of products out there and some will work for some people but not others, so you've just got to try anything until you find what works for you. But it can get expensive if you're out buying a new cream every week, so don't be afraid to ask, if a friend recommends something, if you can borrow a bit of theirs to try.

Hopefully, you will soon get to the point that we're at where it is manageable. It isn't problem solved, but DD isn't too irritated and you can't see too much. But it's such a fine line - she only has to skip a bath one night, for example, and she'll have a major flare-up which will take days to bring back into line. I have heard that children can and do grow out of eczema, especially those who have no family history of it, so fingers crossed that that is what will happen and it won't be a life-long affliction.

Hey, my 4 month old daughter has really bad eczema all over her body. A couple weeks ago she had to spend a couple nights in hospital for it. The nurses put dermeze all over her body except her head, they put just plain olive oil on her head. And they cake the dermeze on her. And they bathed her in bath oil with no scent. She still has the eczema but its not as bad now. You can buy dermeze at the chemist, its much like vasaline. Hope that helps, there are heaps of different creams and stuff out there, give it atleast a week or two with each different cream you use to really tell if its working smile

My four month old has eczema in addition to just very dry skin which appears rashy (but not necessarily with eczema) at random times. I've trialled a number of different products and have finally stumbled across a skin care routine which appears to be working.

I've eliminated all soaps and even soap free baby washes from the bath and instead just put in a few drops of baby massage oil. I then wash him with sorbelene cream (I actually only started this a couple of days ago and it's made an amazing difference already. Then I use a baby moisturiser after his bath. I'm still looking for one that I'm totally happy with, but I'm getting around this at the moment by mixing a bit of paw paw ointment with whichver moisturiser I'm using to make it thicker, but it's not as oily and greasy as using paw paw ointment alone.

In his creases I use either sudocrem or paw paw ointment (depending on the area as for some reason one will work better then the other in one area but not the other) otherwise they become very red and raw no matter how well I dry them.

The whole thing is a bit of a process and I'm hoping he grows out of it. Eczema runs in my husbands side of the family but not all the other problems.

My eldest also suffers from eczema, but luckily it rarely ever flares up these days (he's almost 4) when I do notice it flaring up on him I add some "milk bath"to his bath and it's gone in no time. I saw a baby milk bath the other day that I'm keen to try on my youngest, but just didn't have the money at the time. Hoping to get it this week. I think it may have even been a goat's milk which I believe is meant to be even better, I guess we'll see.

Hi,
My 8 month old started with the eczema a couple of months ago. We were told/prescribed lots of different things from a cream with cortisone in it, to Aqueous cream, to Dermeze. All of which seemed to flare it up even worse. It was so red and angry on his back the poor little man. A friend of mine whose baby has it on his face quite severely suggested Sudocream as she'd tried anything and EVERYTHING but found this worked the best.
As one of the other lady's said, different creams will work on different bubs but the Sudocream has been 100% effective with Flynn. I also only bathe him every second day, and only with Sorbolene (no soaps). I keep him out of public pools (the chlorine dries it far far too much) and only occassionally have dips with him in private pools (far less chlorine) and then rinse him afterward.
I too have found that the washing powder I use and the foods I feed him make no difference. The one thing I did find that flared it up though was when it's hot. We live on the Gold Coast and have been having some horridly hot days lately. Unfortunately, the only answer to this is leaving the air con on all day. Expensive but well worth it!
Good luck! Be interested to know how you fare.
X

Hi, my noticed my DDs eczema when she was about 5 or 6 weeks, shes now 5 months.
Her specialists told me to use QV wash (soap free), QV bath oil and QV balm.
He gave me a sample pack with all 3. So maybe ask the dr for any samples?
The QV did help but it would just come straight back. So her paed prescribed a cortisone cream. It helped ALOT, but i read a few articles about too much cortisone isnt good for babies skin. So i went to the chemists and found Dermelex for babies and children. Its cortisone free and it did help. But it did take a good 2 or 3 weeks to clear completly.
Im still using QV wash, and i apply QV kids balm (its sting free) on her everyday. She gets flare ups when the weather starts heating up or changing suddenly.
Like everyone else says, it does depend on bubs skin for what works and doesnt. Hope u find this useful smile

All my 3 kids have had eczema and like everyone else its trial and error. What we use though is QV cream after bath and during the day and oils in the bath and has worked a treat. I also use the qv anti flare in the bath as well. What I actually did before buying the products was to ring the companies and asked if they had any samples and tried them. Ego (which is QV) were great and sent me a pack with oils and creams. The pharmacy also have samples so just ask them for it. why waste your money on something that doesnt work.. Good luck!!!

DD had a flare up of eczema in winter and the doctor prescribed a cream (can't remember the name though!!) that we had to put on twice a day for a week. This calmed it right down, every day I apply Aveeno baby moisturiser twice a day which seems to keep it away. If I forget a few days I notice the patches coming back so it obviously works for my DD.