Has your baby had this before? Help!

Samantha - posted on 03/12/2009

my grandson had excema from 3 days old and i never knew a baby could scratch but he found a way, he is fed on soy products and we limit his dairy, he was originally breastfed for around 4 months but this made no difference, steroid creams can help as can wet bandages as night but we mainly use a simple emolient cream and a soap substitute in his bath and we keep his skin moist with emolient cream during the day. It seems to be working as his skin is slightly improving, he is now 1 year old. good luck, i know how draining this can be and the sleepless nights with the scratching can be a nightmare but just remember that its not his fault he's itchy!

Tiffany - posted on 03/11/2009

ok there are some great suggestions here but as a sufferer of Exzema let me give you some suggestions. #1 All Pure for laundry, it cleans great and it is the ONLY detergent that does not irritate my skin at all. #2 Benydryl... your doctor can probably recommend an infant dose to keep the itch away atleast over night. Any OTC antihistamine helps. #3 The Aveeno bath stuff... I STILL swear by it and still use the Aveeno baby oatmeal bath. Cotton only fabrics help and vaseline NOT lotion for mositure.... lotions have purfumes and dyes in it. My son has some mild exzema too and I use all this stuff for him too.

Marie - posted on 03/11/2009

Ya, lol... I am giving him Bifi-flora force, a pro biotic...along with the antibiotic

Tricia - posted on 03/11/2009

You might try some acidophillis or a good probiotic for babies. This really helped my son as well. Me cutting back from sugar was huge too. The antibiotics cause an unhappy place for good bacteria to grow causing a bad chain reaction. This brings in other infections like yeast, and fungus that dont normally get out of controle.

Charmaine - posted on 03/11/2009

Hi Marie,

Are you sure it is eczema? My daughter is 7 mths and at that age she got her first case of cradle cap which was through her scalp, along her eye brow line, on her eyelids around her ears and along the sides of her face which even had the yellow crusts on it. This is nothing to be concerned about as it is just related to hormones. Cradle cap can be treated by applying Vaseline (Petroleum Jelly) to the affected area. After about an hour most of the crust should just wipe away. It worked like a godsend for us and I just kept applying it for a couple of days and it was gone. To prevent cradle cap you need to ensure you are moisturising baby's sensitive skin everyday and being careful with the products you use. A good moisturising lotion and bath wash is the Cetaphil as it is PH Balanced and contains no perfumes and is designed to prevent skin conditions. Be careful to avoid any products which contain perfumes (may be shown as Parfum in the list of product ingredients). Perfumed products can aggravate and dry out a baby's skin noting that I was warned against using any Johnson & Johnson products for this reason by the hospital and every pharmacist. It is also normal for some little small pimple like dots to appear on baby's body due to hormones and normally goes away with daily moisturisation. If you do not moisturise they may take on a little bit of a rough texture. The dots you mention should probably be checked out by a GP to confirm what it is exactly. You should also get the 'weeping eczema' checked by a GP to check again that it is eczema and not cradle cap. In serious cases of eczema you need a steroid cream to clear it, noting that all of these types of cream advise they are not recommended for children under 2yrs. My little girl also had eczema once and my GP gave me a prescription for Sigmacort 1% cream, however, it can be picked up over the counter at any pharmacy, no prescription is necessary. I would not be putting any cream on it though until you have a GP confirm exactly what condition you are dealing with. I don't know where you are from but here GPs are covered by the Governments health system. A GP is sufficient and will be able to tell you if the condition is serious enough to require specialist treatment (Dermatologist). If the Dr says it is eczema and you need to use a steroid cream then make sure you moisturise after applying the cream as it can dry out bubs skin and take longer to heal. I hope this gives you some help.

Tricia - posted on 03/11/2009

Has he had a full panel allergy blood test? It isn't the pin prick one, just a blood draw. There is also something called a biofeed back allergy test. It is generally done by naturepaths. My son had it done and we were able to elimanate his exzema and multiple other issues. It is pretty young to do them, but they are harmless to the baby and might shead some light if it is allergen related. It sounds like it might be worth a shot in your case.

Sabrina - posted on 03/11/2009

oh definitely! That is why I suggested that website...it is a canadian company, and I believe the one that helped for my friend was called herbal healer? But also, the Baby bottom better will work too. The Calendual in there will help ease the itching, and the olive oil and beeswax will help to moisturize. They're worth checking out.

Taina - posted on 03/11/2009

Yeah I agree the prescrib's don't work... Best thing for you is to go and buy the baby aveeno they even make it special for exzeme.

Dana - posted on 03/11/2009

First off, have you talked to his pediatrician? If he's on antibiotics and they aren't working, you should notify his doctor.

My first son had a mild case of eczema and his doctor recommended lavender baths. If he's in a toddler bath, put a few drops in his bath water and massage him. Don't use bath soap or a wash cloth, just your loving hands. And make sure it's 100% pure Lavender (you can pick it up at GNC for $9).

Then after the bath, use Almond Oil with a few drops of Lavendar and massage into his skin.

You may want to check the other foods you are eating...if going off the milk products didn't help, it could be something else.

Hope this helps!

Marie - posted on 03/11/2009

By the way, we try to do all natural, the antibiotics were a tear jerky for me to give him but I got desperate after he was just so miserable!

Taina - posted on 03/11/2009

Baby Aveeno products are the best way to go and wash your baby cloths with Drift. Drift is made just for babies.

Sabrina - posted on 03/11/2009

my child hasn't had this, but my best friends baby did. She found some things that helped...but nothing that totally got rid of it. She basically had her child gloved for a really long time, so that she didn't scratch and leave scarring. It did eventually subside by itself after she turned 1ish, if that makes you feel any better. I'm not sure where you are from, but if you check out the website www.mother-earth.ca, they have some products that helped my friend a bit. She also tried xango juice? I'm not sure about the spelling. I would try to stick with a more natural method, because his system is still so young to be bombarding it with a lot of drugs...but that's just my opinion. Whatever works for you, just do it. Hope this helps a little.

Alicia - posted on 03/11/2009

Poor guy, I hope that it gets better soon.

Try switching your laundry detergent. I've heard that helps with sensitive skin. I've heard Sunlight is a good one.

Taina - posted on 03/11/2009

My son had alot of cradle cap when he was around 4 months and everytime i had comb his hair, his hair would fall off, until he was ball. His hair eventually grow back. My son also had very sentive skin and wash his cloths separate and use the product Drift. I think that how it spelled. His skin use to have dry spot all over and doctor said it was exzema so my grandmother told me to bath him in Aveeno. They sell Baby Aveeno powder that you pour in his bath and take him a bath with. All I use is Aveeno to bath my son and over time his skin has gotten better and now he doesn't  have a problem thank god with exzema. Made it is something he is eating that causing the bad reactions. But try Aveeno you can get it for babies at babyrus. They also sell the baby aveeno creams and stuff. check it out. Hope everything works out.

Nicole - posted on 03/11/2009

Both my son & daughter have eczema. I nursed both of my children too. And a big culprit of eczema can be chocolate. Not milk products. My pediatrician told me to lay off the chocolate & it seemed to help a little. But its just something some children get unfortunately. I've heard that having cats can make it worse also. My pediatrician gave us a steroid cream that made it go away. There's a great oatmeal powder by Baby aveeno that really soothes eczema. Also, theres a wash called Cetaphil thats not a soap. Its gentle on the skin. Hope it helps.