My daughter has had eczema ever since she was 1 month old. Her Dr. said it will go away with age. Does anyone have any ideas?

Carys - posted on 04/24/2009

Hi Erin.



A little boy I teach has had terrible eczema, and his doctors gave him gradually stronger and stronger steroid cream. One doctor finally bit the bullet and gave him ELOCON cream which has totally cleared his skin. It's just like new, after 4 weeks.



When I have flare-ups, I avoid citrus, I make sure I'm well moisturised, and have a bah with a handful of oatmeal in a sock, swished around the water. I also used to swallow evening primrose oil capsules, and rub evening primrose oil into the affected area.



I do hope this helps.

Jennifer - posted on 04/24/2009

my daughters dr. said to use cetafil lotion used it it softened it up but cortizone cleared it up ?????

Laura - posted on 04/24/2009

i have just thought of another thing to add....my uncle is a dermatoligest and told me that olive oil works as a moisturiser and crisco is realy good to. but not to use lotions..use creams..they are thicker and seal in the moisture better. (my sister agrees and she's had it since childhood also, she's 26 now)

Jayne - posted on 04/24/2009

My daughter had eczema at this age too and now has gorgeous skin! We went to see a dermatologist when she was a few months old and he was fantatic! Keep the skin routine simple, dont put too much on there was the basis of his help, ask your doctor to refer you.

Laura - posted on 04/24/2009

i'm told that childhood eczema is comon and in most cases goes away usualy by the time they are two years old. my 3 month old son has it also and i use aveeno soothing relief moisture cream every day and it realy helps to keep the outbreaks at bay. when he does get an outbreak though my doctor told me to use an over the counter hydrocortisone cream such as cortizone 10 and it has helped! Aveeno also makes a baby oatmeal bath treatment that is nice because it cleans without soap that can be iritating to the skin. hope this helps!

Kelly - posted on 04/24/2009

I have 4 kids and all but 1 have eczema the best thing that works for mr my youngest who has it the most is aquaphor healing ointment. that worked better then the creams that the doctors told me to use. I used it everyday till it clear up then now I can get away with every other day.

Nashieka - posted on 04/24/2009

I have had eczema since I was 8 and Im 26 now it does start to clear up as you get older. I suggest you use baby aveeno products they really works it will stop the itching and as long as she dont scratch it will clear up a little. I use aveeno on my skin and it really works for me. So the aveeno baby products will probabyl work for her.

Amber - posted on 04/24/2009

my daughter had that when she was born but now she has asthma the dr's says they are both linked . so now she is on special eczema cream and puffers for her asthma. she uses steroid cream called ELOCOM.

Angelique - posted on 04/24/2009

eliminate dairy.

Becky - posted on 04/24/2009

my friend has had eczema since she was 18months old(she is now 20) she had a beautiful baby boy and from shortly have birth he started to develop it as well... i think it all depends on the body. she uses arbonne products and she says that helps alot...give it a shot

User - posted on 04/24/2009

My sons are almost 9 & 7 and still have eczema. It gets worse in the summer. It is best to bathe with ivory and lotion up right after a bath. I can't find a miracle cream..... yet. When it gets real bad I do use the hydrocortizone cream, but only for short periods. Things that are perfume free are best and keep her nails cut, then she can't scratch and make it worse. Oh and I have an adult friend who still has eczema to this day!!

Cheryl - posted on 04/24/2009

First if it is really bad cortizone till it calms down. Then the second is finding a lotion that works and use it as much as you can. Every recommend lotion didn't work for my son. I found a business that had the lotion that works for my son and the rest of the family. Meleluca.com. It is costly and it is a membership kind of thing but it was worth it for his eczema...

Chan - posted on 04/24/2009

Eczema is very dry skin and the dermatologist will prescribe all types of cortizones due to the itching. What worked for my son is Olive Oil. After a bath add it on like baby oil and you will see immediate results. My son was 4 and he is now 24!!!

Karri - posted on 04/24/2009

Hopefully it will go away within a couple of years. Best thing to do is keep skin moist as drying out seemed to trigger my daughter's eczema. Use a special eczema bathing oil and follow up with lotion such as QV. Also remove all soap products - bathing and laundry. I would suggest using cortizone cream sparingly only on really bad patches as it does tend to thin the skin.

Brandy - posted on 04/24/2009

My son had/has the same thing.. the best stuff I have used/found is actually from Johnson and johnson - clear bottle Yellow flip top lip- its like a clear jelly and use it RIGHT AFTER a bath and or first thing the mornig it is wonderful- called Johnson & Johnson's Baby Oil Jel helps keep like a layer over the skin so it won't bother them and makes it not so red/ we also use Eucerin cream if I see flare ups..

Rachel - posted on 04/24/2009

I've had eczema since i was born...it does get better but in my case never went away totally. Depending on how bad it is you can use something as mild as sorbolene cream to keep the skin moisturised or if you need to, use the hydrocortisone cream. I find that now it only flares up when a little burnt out or over-stressed, Winter can sometimes cause flare ups as well.

Annie - posted on 04/24/2009

Hi,

I am 35 an dhave suffered severe ezcema from early childhood. Yeah it went away for a short time as a child, but returned worse than ever when I hit puberty.

I find that I get it really bad when I am stressed, and have trouble managing it at these times. I have found that it can be bad in winter because my skin is covered and cannot breathe, and bad in summer when it is reallyhot and I sweat.

I need to be careful with what I wash my clothes in and what I use to clean my house. Chemicals flare my skin up like there is no tomorrow.

I use a product called 'Earths Choice" for all my clothes washing - and sometimes a little napisan. I use enjo cleaning products - they are all natural with no chemicals.

I do use a hydrocotozone cream during the really bad times, and I out sorbelene cream on every morning and night. Patting the skin dry also helps, as rubbing can annoy the skin. Both my children suffer from ezceme, but only a small patch behind the knees on one and a tiny patch on my little girls hip. I have always treated them as I have myself, so hopefully they will never suffer like I did. I scratched my skin raw, and still do when stressed and asleep. I even had to have bandages wrapped on my skin after the cream was put on to stop me scratching my skin off at night.

Hope this helps, and yes get a doctor who will listen and help. Eczema is a live fungus when looked at under a microscope, and a good skin docotr will help you determine if it food based, chemical based, hormone based etc.

Annie - posted on 04/24/2009

Hi,

I am 35 an dhave suffered severe ezcema from early childhood. Yeah it went away for a short time as a child, but returned worse than ever when I hit puberty.

I find that I get it really bad when I am stressed, and have trouble managing it at these times. I have found that it can be bad in winter because my skin is covered and cannot breathe, and bad in summer when it is reallyhot and I sweat.

I need to be careful with what I wash my clothes in and what I use to clean my house. Chemicals flare my skin up like there is no tomorrow.

I use a product called 'Earths Choice" for all my clothes washing - and sometimes a little napisan. I use enjo cleaning products - they are all natural with no chemicals.

I do use a hydrocotozone cream during the really bad times, and I out sorbelene cream on every morning and night. Patting the skin dry also helps, as rubbing can annoy the skin. Both my children suffer from ezceme, but only a small patch behind the knees on one and a tiny patch on my little girls hip. I have always treated them as I have myself, so hopefully they will never suffer like I did. I scratched my skin raw, and still do when stressed and asleep. I even had to have bandages wrapped on my skin after the cream was put on to stop me scratching my skin off at night.

Hope this helps, and yes get a doctor who will listen and help. Eczema is a live fungus when looked at under a microscope, and a good skin docotr will help you determine if it food based, chemical based, hormone based etc.

Ingrid - posted on 04/24/2009

usually if they still have it after 10 yrs old it is for life. there are lots of creams and oils on the market, sometimes it is allergy & asthma related.Also found that my daughter when doing year 12 had eczema bad due to stress.

Melissa - posted on 04/24/2009

Ditto to what Whitney just said. Exactly.

Jami - posted on 04/23/2009

My daughter had it but it was not real bad but we changed her soap to dove bar soap and it worked - the doctor also suggested tone also. Hope it helps

Derith - posted on 04/23/2009

Detergent? Eczema runs rampant in my fam. We only wash clothes in Ivory. Anything else = breakout. Try to single out a cause so you can eliminate....

Roni - posted on 04/23/2009

Both of my children and I have eczema. The best thing that I have found is finding the right moisterizer. I have to use a specific cream on my hands that really keeps it at bay. It is called O'Keeffe's Working Hands. I get it off the internet and I suggest it for my patients undergoing chemo. My kids have it on their feet and I have it on my hands. It gets better in the summer because they wear flip flops every day. You can try this and see if it works. I like it because it is completely steriod free.

Lou Chinna - posted on 04/23/2009

hello my niece was born with eczema and she is 14 now with no signs of it on her body. my sisters doctor told her to put baby oil in her bath water. she bathed her like this everyday and followed with eucerin cream lotion. she has pretty skin now. it was exspensive but worth it. hope this helps

Tammie - posted on 04/23/2009

Could be a milk allergy

Laura Pumarlo - posted on 04/23/2009

Baby Aveeno every day!! It worked for my daughter! Not a lot of wheat products.

Parrish - posted on 04/23/2009

my 3 yr old had a aliitle bout of it ( intense redness & dry tight on her cheecks & chin) i found an eczema cream by gentle naturals called baby eczema cream, it's got disney charecters on the front. it took about 4 wks of constantly applying but it worked. it's usually on top shelf where baby shampoo is in the grocery store.

Whitney - posted on 04/23/2009

My son has ezcema really bad and the best solution I have found from experience, even after asking several doctors and a dermatologist about it, is:

~Use FREE and CLEAR laudry soap, Dreft has a fragrance and doesn't work as well

~Don't use dryer sheets, even if they are unscented. Use FREE and CLEAR liquid softner.

~We use Cetaphil cleanser and the lotion-the off brand is just as good.

~Apply lotion within 2 minutes of bathing and put a thin layer of vasoline jelly on top of the lotion to seal in the moisture.

~your doctor may want to prescribe a mild steroid cream if it gets bad enough, but we had 3 doctor tell us to give our son benadryl to help with the itching, but you may want to ask your doctor before you do that.

Anyways, I know this is a lot of information, but we have battled it for a year now and this is the best routine we have come up with. Hope this helps. :)

Olivia - posted on 04/23/2009

Try mixing hydrocotzone with Eucerin, the cream not the lotion, it definitely helps when the skin is extremely dry. At least 2 times a day if you can. It just might help.

Blanca - posted on 04/23/2009

my son had a similar problem and the dr. told me the same thing. His condition went away at around 2 years of age. I have also heard that it might not go away-it truly depends but hopefully it does go away-it is painful to see a little one uncomfortable.

LaKrisha - posted on 04/23/2009

I dont think it ever completely goes away. But the best thing we found for that is anything with shea butter. Like the lay iton thick from bath and body works. It seems the be the best thing. Daughter, Mother and brother all have it very bad and that works great every time.

Lori - posted on 04/23/2009

I had eczema as a child, I am now almost 50. I grew out of it at about 2, but then reapeared in my early teens and was very bad, meds were not working and some lotions just set me on fire. Finally went away in late teens, and only acts up like my sinus, in the Fall and Spring. I use Elidel for a few days and it is gone.

I did find that I could NOT us Lubidrem Lotion at all, just thought I would warn you, it made it worse and burnt my skin.

Debbie - posted on 04/23/2009

two out my three children have had it 1 still does suffer breakouts (he's 9) no bath soap in this house and don't be scared to use the ointments prescribed by your doctor good luck

Marney - posted on 04/23/2009

My son had I all over his body. The doctors told me the same thing. By age 2 he was so bad. I found a doctor who would listen. We switch laundry soap to ALL FREE & CLEAR, soaps, or lotions don't use any with perfumes or dyes in them. If you go to this web site they have everything you need to make her skin health! www.psico.com

This stuff works great. My son is now 11 and much better.

Denise - posted on 04/23/2009

My friend's daughter was allergic to the peat material inside the car seat. Try putting a liner between the child and the car seat cushion.

Adrianna - posted on 04/23/2009

I didn't read thru all the posts but have you heard of Arbonne? My sister in law sells it and I swear by the stuff....everyone in my family uses it. It lasts forever and it's all natural. There is baby lotion, baby oil, and when used in combination will help take it away. Let me know if I can get you any additional information!

Michelle - posted on 04/23/2009

I have two daughters w/the same problem - the condition was more severe as they were younger. My oldest daughter, now 16 - has mostly grown out of it but has flare ups every now and then. My youngest daughter now 11 has to get allergy injections (3) every other week and uses topical ointments - Elidel and a heavy cream such as Eucerin helps espcially after baths...they say you can do soaks - give child luke warm bath - let em sit in water for about 15-20 minutes then after they get out immediately put on cream - don't dry completely, but blot dry...you want to try to "trap" the moisture in the skin. I also keep my daughter out of the sun as much as possible. Hope that helps.

Anna (Pooh Bear) - posted on 04/23/2009

no. my daughter has the same problem. I have to put oilatum plus (this is a soap so no need to use soap or gell or anything) in her bath instead of bubble bath and she also has to have aveeno cream every day which does wonders. She is 20 months now as has had it from about a month too. Ask your doctor to see if the above will help your daughter and if so you should be able to get it on perscription. I do. Who knows how long she will have it for or when it will go but still. My daughter gets it everywhere.

Heather - posted on 04/23/2009

Hi there. I have had eczema since I was about 2 years old. The key is to find out what her triggers are. In my case it was foods, ie: Citric acid and Chocolate. Some people it's stress, sometimes laundry soaps, diapers and sometimes even the elastic in clothing (I have that problem with certain brands of underwear). It can also have to do with how often she is pooping, I know that sounds weird, but what we found with me was that if I were regular I wasn't as bad, still broke out, but a little less. Mine still has not gone completely away and I am 33 years old. What it has done is eased up a lot. This change came when I got prego with my first baby. I can now eat my triggers but I have to space it out and not eat to much at once. Over the years I learned what worked and what didn't I used cortizone creams and while they did work, every few years I had to up the strength. The thing I found that worked the best was swimming. The chlorine "itched" the sores and dried them out as well as killed any bacteria. Afterwards, and this is the key, I would go in a shower, put on my ointment and then lotion, either Keri or Eucerin. Most drs tell you not to swim, but in my case I found it helped the best. Most likely because of what I did afterwards. So, I hope that helps. I see you've gotten quite a few replies to this and they are all different. There are so many things that you can try, I hope you find what you need. Good Luck and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I think you can do that through this site.

Jinglebones - posted on 04/23/2009

Oh, yes, watch the detergent you use - I still have to use the baby kind for Luc and he's 27 months now.

Jinglebones - posted on 04/23/2009

My youngest had the worst case all over his face (people can be sooo cruel) also on feet, belly, chest, neck etc. Turns out he has a lot of very serious allergies but here are a couple of things that helped: Glaxal Cream AND vaseline applied at least 4 times a day, or as often as you can; bathe in warm water at least once a day for at least 10 minutes, do not towel dry, immediately slather on the glaxal and vaseline (I found it easier to mix the two together). You can buy both of these at your local drug store - glaxal is not cheap - I buy the big bucket here in Canada for about $22. I would also watch her diet - see if some things make it worse. I also can only dress my little guy in cotton and have to cut tags out - they irritate his neck. What kind of socks is she wearing? tights? check the material.. good luck - it is a very frustrating condition.

Bobbie - posted on 04/23/2009

My daughter also was born with eczema, the docters could find any prescription that would work on her.we tried the hydrocotozone cream and lubriderm nothing worked. she itched so bad she bleed from itching, Finally we got a prescription for elidel and it worked in days. i swear by the stuff. thought id let u know.

Cori - posted on 04/23/2009

The good stuff that in the derms office that I said was pricey is calle Vanicream

Jackie - posted on 04/23/2009

I took my daughter to a Chiropractor and it took it away. No manipulation needed from this doctor, he uses a tiny tool and adjusted a small spot on the side of her neck. About 10 sessions and it has disappeared. The creams Elidel and Elicom works great so ask her doctor to prescribe those to her.

Pamela - posted on 04/23/2009

aw bless my daughter is now 20 she was covered in it from 2months in had to be bannaged up have u used fairy wash powder it really does help it u can also get special bath oil for the bath its not nice but it does work its called balleum bath oil. i stopped given my daughter tomatto sauce in beans and spagetti in orange smarties its to do with the E numbers in food in sweets and orange jelly babyies no did re spect but the doc tld me alsorts in i tryed all it didnt all work have u try'd fussaden cream not sure if i spelt that the right way it does fade away as he child gets older as lond as u keep useing the creams but saying that it some creams made my daughter worse but over that that she's ok now just gets in on her toes every so often from pam stephenson-dodd ps hope this is of some help in hope ur little girl gets better soon x

Erin - posted on 04/23/2009

My 2yr old has had eczema since infancy and my ped said to use the 3min rule to prevent flareups. Lotion on her within 3min of leaving the tub and if I deviate from that (or she stays @gmas house) I can definitely tell!

Katrina - posted on 04/23/2009

My son had the same exact thing! I hated the idea of him taking medication or putting a steriod on his little skin. My Grandmother told me that the best thing to do is get some crisco and rub it in kinda thick on him so his skin is pretty covered white then let him play in the bath. It made all the differance in the world. Try it and post what you think about it. Worked for us and I'll send good thoughts your way that it'll work for you too.

Amanda - posted on 04/23/2009

Our Dr. gave my baby girl Eucerin that was mixed with some kind of steroid. It worked miracles! No more itchy skin...and has come in handy for me as well.

Patricia - posted on 04/23/2009

Quoting Erin:

My oldest daughter had it bad when she was little also. It does clear up with age. I actually took her to a dermatologist and he recommended using the Aveeno Oatmeal bath powder 2-3 times a week and to use eucerin body lotion. He also prescribed Zyrtec and she took that 2 times a day. She is now 10 Years old and every now and then breaks out but not much. I have also found that using the oatmeal lotion from Avon works just as good. Hope this helps.

This is pretty much what i did as well and it worked very well! i had it on n off until i was out of school. Sometimes bad enuf that my hands would crack n bleed so i will say eventually she will grow out of it but until then i would avoid lotions with perfumes and also bubble baths with perfumes. Aveeno has worked awesome and i still use it to this day.

Emma - posted on 04/23/2009

hi! im 36 and still have eczema!!!! and yes i do still scratch my feet even though i had years of my mum tellin me not too!!! trouble is you put cream on thinkin it will help of which it does to a certain degree but with me just irritates my skin for a while. yes hydrocortizone creams do thin the skin out so the harder you scratch they do tend to cut open + bleed. i remember growing up + my my sitting me on the work top in the kitchen everynight + soaking my socks off my feet!!!! and to this day it is really horrible i would love to have perfect skin, but i was so lucky i didnt get it on my face, just my hands, elbows, backs of knees + feet!!! i did hear once that allergies can disappear every 7 years. just depends how your daughters skin reacts to the creams anything is worth a try. use non-bio soap powder + pure soap no perfumed ones.