Eczema
- Thread starter ELT
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somebodyfamous
Registered User
we have the same problem, our girls are 4 and half months old.... Any suggestions from others?
My DD's eczema came up around 8 months and it became so bad that her whole neck was oozing pus and infected. My doctor prescribed Oilatum for bath and Physiogel as a lotion. But after it cleared, my cousin recommended that we try Gentle Natural's Baby Eczema range and we used the cream on the daily basis and never had another problem with her skin. From what I know, it's not availble in HK but you can order through various websites. I am not sure which website because my cousin buys it for me from the US. I recommended it to my friend in HK and her DD's skin is better too. http://www.gentlenaturals.com/
terrible flare ups since Friday. Finally the PD referred us to a Dermatologist. The Dr said there's no use changing formula (taking Nan HA). He gave us Advantan cream and oilment, it's mild form of topical steroid cream. Used 2 times a day. Condition improved lots after 2 days. Also using Oilatum as recommended by the clinic.
Our baby has had bad flare ups. We have used Olilatum, Cetaphil, Dermaveen and QV products as an alternative to soap. They have all been good but the eczema never disappears right away... I have heard that Aveeno Baby Oatmeal Wash is quite good but I don't think they sell that here. I also have Pentaten and try that out the next time our baby has a flare up.
WARNING: be careful of using aveeno oatmeal cos gluten (ie wheat oatmeal barley etc) is one of the most allergenic foods. I tried oatmeal moisturiser on my daughter shortly after birth and she broke out in one of the most horrible rashes ever; we seriously thought she had measles. Now we know why - she is allergic to wheat and oatmeal... so do a patch test first and make sure there is no reaction
as unbelievable as this may sound, my dermatolagist and pediatrician said during the first year, Baby having eczema, or other skin irriations are very normal, almost all babies get it one time or another, especially in tropical places like Hong Kong.
His suggestion was to DO NOTHING. Don't put steroid, or other creams, DO LESS, it would heal faster and would not have after effects AFTER baby is older than 1 year old.
It's SO true. I left the eczema breakout alone, other than using a good moisturizer and using a shower gel for baby that he recommended. Then nothing. Just resist from doing anything..... yes it looks ugly, but it is better not to do anything than to fiddle and try a lot of creams and remedies.
Baby's skin gets better after 1 year old. Holds true for BOTH of my children. He scolded me for : "because you as the mother CANNOT stand the sight of the ugliness/not so perfect skin on your baby, you are damaging and adding more problems to your baby's skin and health by fiddling and trying all sorts of products and medications!"
Of course, if baby's skin is infected, it needs attention. He said as long as it is not infected, don't touch it other then wash and moisturize.
Hope it helps some of you frustrated and worried mothers.
BIODERMA is what I am using, works wonderfully.
His suggestion was to DO NOTHING. Don't put steroid, or other creams, DO LESS, it would heal faster and would not have after effects AFTER baby is older than 1 year old.
It's SO true. I left the eczema breakout alone, other than using a good moisturizer and using a shower gel for baby that he recommended. Then nothing. Just resist from doing anything..... yes it looks ugly, but it is better not to do anything than to fiddle and try a lot of creams and remedies.
Baby's skin gets better after 1 year old. Holds true for BOTH of my children. He scolded me for : "because you as the mother CANNOT stand the sight of the ugliness/not so perfect skin on your baby, you are damaging and adding more problems to your baby's skin and health by fiddling and trying all sorts of products and medications!"
Of course, if baby's skin is infected, it needs attention. He said as long as it is not infected, don't touch it other then wash and moisturize.
Hope it helps some of you frustrated and worried mothers.
BIODERMA is what I am using, works wonderfully.
ELT, good question and awaiting pianokc's reply. I have hoped I need to do nothing too but the incessant scratching, combined with the thick rubbery skin, means I can't help but do something to relieve it. I think what pianokc means is that if your child's eczema is mild or borderline case, you can ignore it and it will go away soon enough. And I do see many of such cases - slight redness on cheeks or one small rough patch on chin/cheek/forehead/elbow that doesn't seem to bother the child more than the parents who yearn for flawless abby skin. But it is a completely ball-game for kids with recurrent eczema flare-ups or with eczema so bad they scratch till skin breaks. In your case, ELT, your son's condition seems to belong to the latter category. Even my daughter's condition, which I thought is serious, doesn't induce her to scratch till she bleeds. My paed told me that I am compromising my daughter's life and wellbeing if I ignore it as she spends more time scratching than playing and it is keeping her awake at night. If a child does not feed and sleep well cos of the eczema, he/she will not put on weight (from reading your link. What a great article and I am trying the wet dressing treatment mentioned in the article soon).
As a side note, if your son is scratching till skin bleeds, have you considered bringing him to the allergist?
As a side note, if your son is scratching till skin bleeds, have you considered bringing him to the allergist?
We have seen 2 Pd and recently got referred to a Dermatologist. All 3 docs said the baby is likely to outgrow it by 2 years of age and that we should just accept eczema is not something that can be healed, and baby is going to have flare ups until he is older. They all reassured us that it's safe to use steroid cream and we SHOULD use it to minimize discomfort. They all object to changing formula because in our case, 'weather' is the obvious culprit. My son did scratch himself to bled the first time he had flare ups but that was back then. Since we found out it was eczema we treat it with steroid cream so he doesn't scratch that hard anymore though we still have to keep the mits on at night and make sure his room is cool.
BTW, we tried wet compression yesterday. It worked!
BTW, we tried wet compression yesterday. It worked!
My 6 mo. old son has eczema. I have a question regarding how to wash baby's clothes and blankets. Do you handwash everything? What brand of detergent do you use? My son's dermatologist suggested we use the washer but hand rinse because the rinse cycle doesn't really rinse. Sure enough the water is cloudy and looks like there's a lot of residue on the clothes. But, it's really hard work rinsing everything...
He said it was ok to use the dryer but I feel that there's so much lint. I line dry using a dehumidifier which is not the most efficient. What are your experiences?
He said it was ok to use the dryer but I feel that there's so much lint. I line dry using a dehumidifier which is not the most efficient. What are your experiences?
I use Dreft from Gateway (Sheung Wan) as it was recommended to me by someone else. I used Pigeon detergent before but my daughter reacted to it - don;t know why. Re rinsing, I do include an extra rinse cycle when we wash our daughter's clothes and not only that, we put 1/3 to 1/2 the recommended amt (ie instead of 1 cup detergent, we use 1/3 or 1/2 cup depending on how soiled the load is) and it rinses really well. I only buy cotton clothing that are not thick as eczema skin overheats so don't overdress your child. even in winter i dressed my daughter lightly and was often told by "grandmas" that I am not a good mum as she will catch a cold!