When it was at its peak at 4 months we did a round of oral steroid. Now (at 2.5) we keep it under control w daily baths with cerave cleanser and then cerave moisturizing cream. If she has a flare up we have prescription ointment. Daughter had egg allergy that she outgrew but still has peanut allergy. Fwiw Burt's bees doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Good luck!

Take it for what is worth since my child is 4 (she just developed eczema and it was pretty bad). Her dermatologist (allergist) told me to put one cap of bleach on her baths every time, unless she had gone to the pool that day (chlorine is basically the same as bleach bath).

She also told us to use CLN body wash and to put Aveeno Eczema Therapy cream twice/day head to toe. She also said that one of these times to be just after the bath, as in, NO MORE than 3 min after the bath.

At the time we saw her, my dd's hands and arms were pretty bad so the doctor also said to slather them with Acquaphor before going to bed, then put one damp sock over it and one dry sock on top of the wet one.

I didn't do the wet sock thing for long, just the dry sock because my dd thinks the acquaphor is yucky. She is better now but I still put the aveeno 2x/day and acquaphor at night time. I stopped the steroid cream. Oh, and I also still do the bleach bath + special body wash (cln).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

P.S. If you had the pets when you were pregnant, then it's probably not pets that are causing the eczema (that's a benefit of in-utero exposure).

I also agree to use All Free and Clear, also only aquaphor body wash/shampoo and/or Dove Sensitive Skin. Basically, you want no fragrances of any type, organic or not.

Another tip is to gently pat DC dry after the bath and slather lotion on immediately (again, no perfumes, no dyes -- we like Eucerin all over and aquaphor on the bad spots). The thought is to "lock moisture in" in with the lotion with the exception of the diaper area -- that should be completely dry to avoid diaper rash).

Not true. Plenty of kids with pet allergies. A close friend's kid is allergic to dogs (it was obvious before he turned 6 months), and they'd had their dog for 3+ years before she became pregnant.

Mustela made our baby's eczema much worse, by the way. I don't know why. But i'm really surprised it worked for others. I would never buy it again.

Aquaphor, Aquaphor, Aquaphor!!! Plus prescription hydrocortisone for the flare-ups. Doc must prescribe. I think the courses are 5-7 days, top off with Aquaphor and use Aquaphor to maintain. Just slather him on up. He'll be greasy but his skin will thank you.

Anonymous wrote: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?

We put socks on ds's hands while he slept at night, and sometimes during the day if it was a particularly bad day. I think it helped keep him from scratching til he bled. The more you scratch eczema, the itchier it gets, so yes use mittens or socks!

I used Mustela wash for eczema, I think it's called Stelatopia Creme Cleanser and it was a godsend. It worked really well. When he was older (around 4), I switched him over to Aveeno Baby Wash, which is what I use, and it works well for him still.

We tried Aquaphor and I didn't realize notice much change, but on a positive note, he did seem to outgrow a lot of it. He still will have an occasional flare-up (he's 8 now), but nothing like it was as a baby.

I used Dreft once and it didn't go well, so I exclusively use Arm & Hammer Free & Clear (not the super concentrated bottle because it does have a scent and breaks both of us out).

Burt's bees made my DS's eczema worse. We switched to California Naturals Super Sensitive wash. For lotion, we use Exederm intensive baby moisturizer all over. It seems to be working. Also, sleeping with a humidifier helps.

You might try switching your laundry soap. We use Dreft with no issues for the adult and child eczema-sufferers in our house. I tried using a liquid fabric softener for awhile and that caused flareups.

FWIW, we've found the dermatologist much more helpful than the allergist. The dermatologist can tell you what's safe to use and in what quantity at that age. The allergist left us with more questions than answers.

we have used pressed coconut oil ( Whole Foods ) to help with moisturizing for our son. He has had eczema since he was an infant. Turns out he has an allergy to certain processed tomato products.

I have already responded to OP, but I do just want to stress for OP that chances are higher your child has no allergies than that he/she does have an allergy. Of course pursue the allergy stuff, but know that might not be a magic bullet. I went through a crazy dairy elimination diet with my first and it didn't help at all. Nothing helped and he grew out of it. And now has no allergies.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+2
DC has a non-IgE allergy to soy and eczema is one of his main symptoms. Non-IgE allergies are true allergies (milk/soy protein intolerance is an example) and can have a range of symptoms.

My son's eczema cleared up by around 10 months. But it has returned again at age 2, I believe due to the weather (getting sweaty playing outside and in his car seat).

I'm surprised you're using Burt's Bees. Of all the soaps I've tried, Burt's Bees smells the most perfumy of the bunch. I used it once and never again. I also wonder about the organic laundry detergent. Not sure organic necessarily = good for eczema. Like a PP, we use the Aquaphor baby wash.

Mustela Stelakar.

Adding bleach to DS's bathwater pretty much eliminated his eczema. I did this on the advice of BIL, who is a pediatric dermatologist.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

P.S. If you had the pets when you were pregnant, then it's probably not pets that are causing the eczema (that's a benefit of in-utero exposure).

I also agree to use All Free and Clear, also only aquaphor body wash/shampoo and/or Dove Sensitive Skin. Basically, you want no fragrances of any type, organic or not.

Another tip is to gently pat DC dry after the bath and slather lotion on immediately (again, no perfumes, no dyes -- we like Eucerin all over and aquaphor on the bad spots). The thought is to "lock moisture in" in with the lotion with the exception of the diaper area -- that should be completely dry to avoid diaper rash).