What helped with your infant's eczema?

[Anonymous]

Our baby is 4 months old. Since about 2 months he has had eczema on his face--moderate. Also has had mild cradle cap. In the last few weeks the eczema has spread and there are now patches on his upper arms and a few on his legs. Ped confirmed eczema and recommended aquaphor, which we have been using but it is not helping. I have made an appt. with a pediatric dermatologist which is in a few weeks.

What has helped with your infant's eczema? He is eating the same formula since 3 weeks old. We have started solids but just carrots and sweet potato, which he seems to be enjoying, and we started those before the eczema spread. Could it be related to the solids? I would think carrots and sweet potato are relatively non-allergenic.

I have no allergies of any kind and his father has moderate seasonal allergies. There are no other allergies in the family--no food allergies, etc.

Any advice?

[Anonymous]

I would see an allergist. Also, you might try hypoallergenic formula for a month to see if it makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Also wanted to add that we use organic laundry detergent, and Burt's Bees soap in the bath.

[Anonymous]

OP here. If we see an allergist, what exactly do they test for at such a young age? I have zero allergies and spouse has seasonal allergies but there is no history of any allergies food or otherwise in the family.

We do have pets though--could that be it?

[Anonymous]

How are you using the Aquaphor? on dry skin or after a bath? I found to to be useless on dry skin.

We were told to give baths twice daily, no soap or shampoo of any kind. Lukewarm water, and fast. Grease up with Aquaphor immediately to seal in moisture. Treat red spots with OTC cortisone.

We did all this, but only one bath a day. I couldn't fit in two while working full time. It was enough and as long as we kept up the regimen, we didn't need cortisone.

[Anonymous]

My now-toddler needed a prescription, which we use sparingly. To keep her eczema in control, we use aveeno cream regularly and always dress her in 100% cotton. We're also very careful about overheating, especially in the winter. Her skin does better in the summer, though this spring has been rough for her.

[Anonymous]

I'm in a similar situation, OP. Our son is 7 months old and his eczema started around four months, and was so bad by six months we had to try a short burst of oral steroids to get it under control. That worked, but is obviously only a short term solution. We're on a trial of Elecare now to see if that helps. It's been almost a week and his skin seems slightly better.

We do the lukewarm bath then aquaphor lube and it doesn't seem to help. Once we decide on Elecare either way, we'll switch up what we apply. If anyone has recommendations for something other than aquaphor, I'd love to hear them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. If we see an allergist, what exactly do they test for at such a young age? I have zero allergies and spouse has seasonal allergies but there is no history of any allergies food or otherwise in the family.

We do have pets though--could that be it?

First off, ditch the organic laundry detergent. Use All Free & Clear or any other free & clear detergent. And skip Bert's Bees. I don't use soap on my DS with the exception of Cetaphil pump cleanser for his hands at the recommendation of the allergist. I will soap his body if he has gotten particularly dirty playing, but a baby does not need soap on their skin. I use a mild shampoo every third night for his hair and he gets a bath every night regardless. I used Aquaphor at first after the bath, but found Aveeno Baby cream for eczema to work much better. We also have prescription cream for when it gets really bad.

When we saw the allergist, she didn't test for anything. She determined he had eczema and had us start the regimen above. He did get tested for food allergies at 1, but nothing showed up. Seasonal allergies don't show up in testing until closer to 3, but DS showed signs of seasonal allergies last fall at 1.5 years and takes Zyrtec. DH and I both have bad seasonal allergies, so the allergist was not surprised to see them in DS. We will test next year when he turns 3.

[Anonymous]

OP here. These are excellent tips. We have been using the aquaphor both after the bath and on dry skin but I will discontinue use on dry skin as it doesn't seem to be helping. Will also limit the soap baths--that is a good tip too.

Would mittens help for the face and arms scratching?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. If we see an allergist, what exactly do they test for at such a young age? I have zero allergies and spouse has seasonal allergies but there is no history of any allergies food or otherwise in the family.

We do have pets though--could that be it?

I used Aquaphor at first after the bath, but found Aveeno Baby cream for eczema to work much better. We also have prescription cream for when it gets really bad.

OP here. We were using the Aveeno baby cream for eczema first, and it wasn't working, and ped told us to discontinue and switch to Aquaphor, which also isn't working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. If we see an allergist, what exactly do they test for at such a young age? I have zero allergies and spouse has seasonal allergies but there is no history of any allergies food or otherwise in the family.

We do have pets though--could that be it?

I used Aquaphor at first after the bath, but found Aveeno Baby cream for eczema to work much better. We also have prescription cream for when it gets really bad.

OP here. We were using the Aveeno baby cream for eczema first, and it wasn't working, and ped told us to discontinue and switch to Aquaphor, which also isn't working.

I'm a PP who said Aquaphor works well for my son, so I haven't tried anything else. But I've heard good things about Vanicream.

[Anonymous]

My first had terrible eczema as an infant.

First, for most babies it's not food-allergy related. I can't remember the stats - only 30 percent go on to have a food allergy?

Second, my ped told me and I read that the earlier they get it the more likely it is they will completely outgrow it. That has been the case for my son, who is now 5 and has outgrown it. It took until he was about 3 though.

Third, our treatment protocol. I tried everything. We used ceravae that comes in the giant tub. Not the lotion, but the cream. Also prescription steroids on the flare ups and once they are under control, moisturize like hell to prevent outbreaks. But you have to use the steroid cream to get it under control initially. I remember being very reluctant to use the steroid cream. But it's fine as long as you aren't using it continuously.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

My son had eczema as an infant but did wind up having a peanut allergy. One thing I would do differently is get more proactive in allergies as they develop--I am told it is called the "allergy march"--maybe he should have been on some seasonal meds earlier. I noticed around this time of year actually when he was about six months old he got what I thought was a cold and was on a nebulizer--looking back it wasn't a cold but was environmental stuff--prior to that he had the exzema. I am saying this as you should look for this and if you notice colds at high pollen times of the year get into an allergist and maybe you can do something to stop the 'allergy march".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would see an allergist. Also, you might try hypoallergenic formula for a month to see if it makes a difference.

+1. We also have zero allergy history in our family.

My DC1 had terrible eczema and it didn't go away until we figured out he was allergic to soy (which was still present in the Similac Organic milk-based formula we used to supplement, and, it turns out, almost all formulas). We switched to hypoallergenic for a few months and I did an elimination diet and then when his skin cleared up we took him to an allergist for confirmation.

My DC2 has no allergies or eczema at all.

My sister's new baby also has eczema and, based on my experience, she took her to be tested for allergies at 5 months. Her baby is not allergic to soy, but is allergic to dairy and eggs.

Good luck, with whatever your baby's situation is, and getting it under control.

[Anonymous]

The Burts Bee's bubble bath actually made my son's eczema worse. We use The Honest Company soap now. As much as I wanted to go the all-natural route, Aveenos Eczema lotion seems to keep my son's eczema in check.