baby eczema

thrifty-gal26

My 7 month old has a little behind the ears.

I use olive oil sometimes and this soap to wash him

http://uk.loccitane.com/milk-shea-butter-extra-gentle-soap,83,1,30008,270279.htm

Like others have said its trial and error for each child I think!

notanewuser

waitingforpost wrote: »

Plain old olive oil works a treat on my 15mnth old's skin. We use Little Me Organics or Oilatum in the bath water. After every meal, her face gets cleaned with olive oil and warm water on a bamboo cloth (softer than a flannel). Don't use baby wipes on her face. Good luck!

Not actually "organic".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/oct/17/boots-baby-shampoo-ad-banned

I was advised by my HV that organic sunflower oil was better than olive oil.

barbiedoll

Any vegetable/plant-based oil is better than Johnson's baby oil which is made from by-products of the petrol industry apparently! :eek:

I had dreadful eczema on my face when I was a baby, my mum said that more than once, people looked in my pram and asked what was wrong with me :mad:

I grew out of it fairly quickly, my mum avoided baths as much as possible and just used water to wipe my face. I can echo the advice to keep his nails as short as possible, scratching is the worst thing about eczema, it can quickly become infected when constantly scratched and is very painful when red raw. Steroid creams are good for flare-ups, they should be used very sparingly but are helpful for when it's very bad.

Hopefully, he'll grow out of it soon.

dizziblonde

From bitter experience here - watch oilatum and stuff as it's a nightmare to get off your bath (mucho scrubbing required)... if it gets infected and they prescribe the yellow cream for it - by heck does that stuff stain! (Brother had what his dermatology consultant described as the worst case of childhood eczema he had seen in his entire career growing up)

Basically get as much moisture back in as you can (all the creams and bath emollients suggested) with whatever works best for you (sometimes E45 and aqueous can set off sensitivities so just a heads up), find some form of detergent that works for you (my own eczema is set off like crazy by some of the big brands) and stick to it, and try to minimise the scratching factor as best you can (which is easier said than done I know)!

And the odds are they'll grow out of it fairly soon!

Oh and trying to catch a freshly creamed up toddler/crawler making a run for it should be a new and amusing olympic sport!

sunshinetours

As you can see from above - noone knows what causes eczema and noone has a cure for it unfortunately. For those who only get small areas or relatively mild there is plenty of things to try as above.

If it worsens then do ensure your GP refers you to a dermatoligist as they will have far more knowledge than a GP in this area (aqeous cream is not very good but is cheap so often is prescribed) . Our daughter suffered until a year ago or so with it pretty badly and only once we had seen a paediatric dermatologist did we start to see some real options and results. However what works for one won't work wth another. thankfully it appears our daughter is currently "growing out of it" although that doesn't mean she won't suffer in future again as it can go in cycles

Also as above the national Eczema society have a wealth of info including soem great factsheets on things like sun creams, washing powders etc which can contains irritant ingredients such as preservatives, parabens etc. Avoid Johnsons products at all costs as above, look for ones without preservatives and natural ingredients to hopefully minimise any problems

Hopefully it will just be baby eczema but if not do use the resources available as it can be a very underated debilitating condition

room512

My OH has eczema and he uses Grandma Vine's Body cream and it sorts it out perfectly (but he is an adult!)

jacqhale

Do you have any pets? Dd has awful eczema and when she was about 6 months old it was awful on her face, dry and cracked skin with flaming red cheeks. Unfortunately it was the cat :-( her face cleared up almost as soon as he 'moved in' with my parents.
The rest of her body was trial and error with the docs but they were plain useless and it was not until we saw a proper specialised dermatology nurse at the hospital that anything made a difference - daily baths with balneum oil, balneum plus twice a day and steroid cream for flare ups and piriton for allergies. Hope you can get it sorted soon!

marisco_2

Sadly we had to rehome our cat as our eldest was terribly allergic to him.

lil.smartie

Olive oil, Bio-oil & cocoa butter cream worked for my daughter, she's now 4 and has only had an outburst once recently (after sleeping at her big sisters, think it was washing detergent on the bedding) and cocoa butter sorted in in about a week!

Kate

fluffnutter

Has he been taken to the GP? Eczema needs to be diagnosed and treated appropriately. Plus any creams that are advised will be free on prescription.

My 5 month old has a touch of eczema and has been prescribed Doublebase gel. It's great stuff and his skin is pretty much clear now. Take him to the quack's for a proper diagnosis.