Eczema and staph infection???

Mei - posted on 03/06/2013

Hi!

I've interviewed a dermatologist on staph infection on EczemaBlues and basically,
staph bacteria is a persistent bacteria found on skin, and particular for eczema skin, it deterred the skin from recovering as it can cause skin inflammation.

Ways to get rid of it are basically killing it via chlorhexidine, bleach bath or swimming and observing good hygiene, avoiding hospitals (tons of staph live there). Eczema skin has weakened barrier, therefore making it easier for irritant to penetrate, whereas normal skin may not be worried much about it.

moisturizing and active treatment of eczema flares :) good diet, exercise, normal healthy habits. Eczema comes and goes though, so it's not like you won't get another one forever, but protecting the skin barrier via moisturizing does help.

Take care!
mei

Carlie - posted on 11/03/2012

My youngest daughter Audrey has had mild eczema since about a yr old. What works for us is no tub baths. Mildly warm shower. Fructisse triple nutrition shampoo and conditioned(it contains olive avocado and shea oil). On her body dove unavenged for sensitive skin with nutrium moisture. Once out slather on light sesame bath oil. 3 times daily unavenged moisturizing creme. Do not use lotion it contains alcohol and will worsen eczema. If they scratch a spot and it becomes red and irritated see your pediatritian. Ours gave us an ointment called mupirocin to fight infection. Never use neosporin on eczema. The neomycin will actually bring on an infection. I found that out the hard way. .hope this helps anyone suffering.

Carlie - posted on 11/03/2012

Unscented....sorry silly autocorrect

Carlie - posted on 11/03/2012

My youngest daughter Audrey has had mild eczema since about a yr old. What works for us is no tub baths. Mildly warm shower. Fructisse triple nutrition shampoo and conditioned(it contains olive avocado and shea oil). On her body dove unavenged for sensitive skin with nutrium moisture. Once out slather on light sesame bath oil. 3 times daily unavenged moisturizing creme. Do not use lotion it contains alcohol and will worsen eczema. If they scratch a spot and it becomes red and irritated see your pediatritian. Ours gave us an ointment called mupirocin to fight infection. Never use neosporin on eczema. The neomycin will actually bring on an infection. I found that out the hard way. .hope this helps anyone suffering.

Deana - posted on 06/07/2011

My youngest daughter Sidney was born with atopic dermatitis and it is very similar to Eczema just rather atopic runs in the blood. She was given several skin creams that in turn would further flair the attacks. What I had found that worked the best for us was going to the local dallar store or what not and buying a large tube of patrolum jelly and a large tub of Vitamin-E. When you get home get a large bowl and mix these together the easist is to to it with your hands your gonna emd up applying it anyways. Worked wonderful for her. Also the cortizone 10 intensive healing was good also. We had also got steriod cream from the doctor and applied a small amount of it with her lotion.

Melissa - posted on 06/07/2011

I have never seen Zote before, for myself i do 2-3 loads, and for each child i have i do up to 2 loads each and i have 2 kids. so i do 4-7 loads of clothes and then 1 of sheets and 1 of towels.

Frances - posted on 06/07/2011

Zote is much cheaper than Tide Free. For only $1.19 I can get enough Zote to last at least a month. I usually do at least 7 loads of laundry per week.

Zote is actually in a bar form. It comes in a 14 oz. bar. You dissolve it in water or grind it to use it in laundry. It is in Dollar Stores or Mexican grocery stores.

Melissa - posted on 06/07/2011

I like Tide free too, i have used it since my son was born, it's cheaper than dreft!!!!

Frances - posted on 06/07/2011

At six weeks old, my son got eczema which progressed into cellulitis. We were given antibiotics, which did not clear it up. I finally tried soaking his hand in warm salt water and it cleared right up. We have tried Dove for sensitive skin soap and Cetaphil soap and he still had some problems. Now however, his eczema is practically gone and is better than it has ever been in his whole life. I switched to Kirk's castile soap. It has made the difference. It is found at some grocery stores. What triggered his eczema as a baby was that he was allergic to the soap that I washed my blouses in; just holding him against me caused eczema. I still have to watch what soap I use for his laundry. I use either Tide Free or Zote. He is 15 years old now.

Melissa - posted on 05/24/2011

MRSA is a type of Staph infection, not all staph infections are MRSA, MRSA is a severe form of staph infection- it is the most resistant to antibiotics, most staph infections are not resistant to antibiotics but MRSA is the most resistant and sometimes needs multiple rounds or consistant treatment depending on where the MRSA is, i have worked in an assisted living and had 1 elderly man have it in his urine and he was on medication continously for it because it was in his urine because it was so hard to cure! You can treat eczema with depending on where you live in a variety of ways, i don't know if you can order this from canada or not, but there is a cream in canada i used for my daughter made by avene it's a french company with a little ' over the first e called trixera, i may have spelled it wrong, i used it on my daughter when she had eczema bad when she was born, and i use it on myself when mine flares up. It's $20-$30 a bottle, it's worth it, you put only a little on at a time, and put it on 2 times a day sometimes 3 and it really helps and it's worth spending the money. Shoppers Drug mart in canada sells it. You may be able to order direct from the company. Eczema and staph are not related, however if there is an open sore your baby could have picked it up from some where because it can be easy to pick up by contact especially since it can sit on surfaces longer then a common cold or flu! So no they aren't related, your baby's skin was probably just a little more sensitive when your baby picked up the staph so that's probably how your baby got it is that your baby's skin is a little more sensitive then yours so caught it easier!

Renee - posted on 01/29/2011

A very credible medical website is www.physicians.shaklee.com. You will find all kinds of articles, research and treatments for all types of medical issues,including eczema.

Kayla - posted on 10/22/2010

My pediatrician told me that staph and eczema are related. Staph is naturally on our body at all times, and we get a staph infection when the balance is broken and we have more staph that the equilibrium. He said that babies with eczema have a harder time controlling the bacteria on their skin. I've never been really sure about what causes eczema but from some articles I have read from the parenting magazines it suggested that there was a missing protein in the skin. I'm not sure if that's accurate, but it is a more reliable source than a random web page. Eczema is associated with allergies, so I would recommend having your kido tested for food allergies that may be contributing. Also keeping the skin moisturized is a biggy. I also use perfume and dye free detergent, as well as body wash for my baby. It may also be a good idea to bath in perfume free body wash because when your baby comes into contact with your skin fragrances may irritate it.

Mary - posted on 06/22/2010

*Sorry correction*
I've regularly visited a website....

Mary - posted on 06/22/2010

My almost 5yr old has severe atopic eczema, asthma, & almost every food allergy (I'll have to remember the "Earth" reply, very funny. Thats how we feel LOL). When he was an infant and toddler, he got staph and MRSA due to his ecema. Several times he was hospitalized for a day or two for it (plus seems he have asthma attacks that occurred alongside of the skin infections. With Atopic Triad (or atopic march), they all affect one another and can set each other off.). Our allergist readily gives us prescriptions of Bactroban (mucipron) to use w/ the steroid creams. We also put bleach in his bath water 1-3 times a week. Its great at preventing infections and it helps clear up his sking. Sounds crazy but it works. Its hard to prevent flareups if you're not sure whats causing them. It could be simple as irritants to the skin (soaps, detergents, etc) and not enough moisture. The above suggestions are great. We've used Vaseline, Calendula oil, Aquaphor, Cetaphil cream & lotion, Aveeno, & various other "eczema" marketed lotions & potions. Right now we're having great success with Vanicream (The cream and the soap which is made out of the cream. Dermatologist gave to us and now we buy at Wal-greens). We also only clothed him in 100% cotton and regularly taped socks over his hands onto his pajama's (the 1 piece footed kind that zipped up). At one point Atarax was prescribed to help him sleep at night and not scratch while he was asleep.
Food and/or enviormental allergies could be the cause. When our son was 8mths old he had a skin prick test to see if food could be a reason that we just could not get his eczema under control despite everything we tried. Turned out he was allergic to all of the top 10 most common food allergies plus a few more and to dogs and a few enviormentals. So, we had to completely eliminate those things out of his life and add allergy medicine (singulair and zyrtec). We also were informed that some children's emotions can cause a flare-up and looking back we saw the connection. If he got upset and cried, he'd start itching. Didn't matter the reason why he was crying (sad, hurt, mad, etc.) Sometimes, there's not much you can do but try to calm and soothe the child.
I trick we've used fairly well the past year or so (once he became an older toddler/preschooler) is to use a Boo-boo Bear. Munchkin makes these ice packs in the shape of a bear head w/ the front side soft & fuzzy like a stuffed animal and the back is a ice pack. The ice pack has a thicker soft cover so it can go directly on the skin. We've also used bags of frozen corn/peas (bought solely for this reason), wrapped in a dish towel, apply to itchy bothersome area. Saw it on the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy, popped in my head when trying to get my son to stop itching and it worked. Now he'll ask for it, especially if he's getting hot. Thats another thing, with my child, as soon as he gets hot, he gets itchy and starts tearing at his skin.

So I've wrote a whole book. Sorry, I get carried away in sharing our expierences. Remember, what may work for one family doesn't always work for another. It depends on how severe the eczema is and what causes the flare ups. Sometimes, the treatment has to match the cause. We have this huge bag filled with different creams, medicines, and bandages. Every night its a custom treatment for his skin that for that day.

I've a website for the american association of dermatology ( I think thats the group, or something similar to that) to be helpful.

Kristi - posted on 06/04/2010

My son also has allergies to the same as you metioned plus some! People ask "What is he allergic to?" I reply with "Earth".

Sarah - posted on 06/04/2010

I would go see an allergist! We had no idea that our son's symptoms were all related to food allergies!!! Milk is making his eczema and diaper rashes the worst! See below...I forgot to mention he put my son on generic Zyrtek (1/2 tsp. at bedtime) and said it would help the eczema! It was such a great experience going to the allergist and I love my pediatrician but kinda peeved that I had to figure the food allergy and eczema thing out on my own! The pediatricians advice was always a lotion that didn't work, a steroid cream that I do not like using and dove soap-which made his skin drier! The one good hting he did give me though was a tiny vile of DermOtic oil for ears(my son had crusty hard skin behind his ears) I rub a tiny dab behind them it clears right up!





My 20mo old son has battled with terrible eczema since birth and is now seeing an allergist for allergies to peanuts, milk and egg. Which may be the culprit for the bad breakouts. The best eczema remedy I have come up with is as follows (the allergist even commented today on how great my sons skin looked!):



No dove soap or any kind of baby shampoo or body wash!



I fill the tub with warm water until it reaches just above his butt. While the water is running I put in three capfulls of Mustella-Stelatopia Milky bath oil for eczema (found at Babies R Us. It is $17 for an 8.4oz bottle, but you will not regret it!!)

While he sits and plays, I pour the bath water over his body with a cup. You do not need to rinse any of this!!! It will not make him greasy either!

I wash his hair and body with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. You do not need to rinse with clean water, just use the bath water.

I pull him out pat dry, but leave some droplets of water on him and slather on Cetaphil Cream-not lotion!



After 2 or three of these baths and his skin looks and feels great!



I am not a fan of the hydrocortizone and steroid creams and only put it on a spot if it is particularly red and irritated as it is not good for them. I found that if I keep his skin hydrated with the Cetaphil Cream I have no need for them. Aquaphor also works for those bad spots, it doesn't clog the skin as much as vaseline. After spending tons of $$$ on lotions and washes this is the first time I have had success! Hope this is helpful to someone!!!

Katy - posted on 06/01/2010

I do know it's possible. My son's eczema is not that bad, thank goodness, but i did take microbiology, as I am a nursing student, and I often read medical journals. Basically, eczema lowers the body's germ fighting abilities. Especially if the skin is itched at often enough to break the skin. Itching + more itching + dirty hands (even slightly dirty) = infection. I looked on WebMD & Medicinenet.com, which are 2 sites I think of as reliable & they confirmed what I remembered from previous readings. Cause, unknown. Thought to be genetic, but not proven. Common in families where there is a history of other allergies (from medicine to food to nasal allergies) and asthma. Scented soaps & lotions tend to make it worse. Triggers are different for different people, but common ones are scented soaps & lotions, sweating/overheating, stress, sudden changes in tempature or humidity, scratchy clothing (i.e. wool), harsh cleaners (i.e. bleach), and enviromental factors that are commonly known to trigger other allergies and/or asthma (mold, mildew, dust, pollen, pet dander...) The main idea is to learn what her triggers are, and avoid them. Use lots of unscented lotion, and if your doctor gives you hydrocortisone cream, make sure to ask how often is too often to give it to her. (It has a nasty side effect.) My pediatrician said twice per day is ok.

Also, MRSA (mentioned in Kristi's post) is Methacillin Resistant Staphlacoccus Aureus, though I'm sure the spelling is wrong. As Kristi mentioned, I also suggest finding a specialist. Either a dermatoligist or a allergy specialist would work.

Kristi - posted on 05/28/2010

My son has had eczema so bad that he ended up with MRSA. Done know if your familiar with that, but it is like the baddest staph infection of them all and sometimes can only be treated by iv antibiotics. Basically eczema is hereditary and goes hand in hand with allergies and asthma. My son had eczema since he was 3 months old, at a year he was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, at 2 diagnosed with asthma. My sons eczema flairs up tremendously when he has certain foods. Try a dermatologist if you havent already. My pediatrician is great with caring for my son, but my dermatologist solves all his skin issues!!