My sweet 6-mo old has recently developed a dry skin rash all over. Her arms, legs, back, torso, and face are very dry - also her face is a bit ruddy. Any suggestions on what is going on and what to do about it?
Thanks in advance!
I have reduced baths and am slathering her with Aquaphor when I change her. We also use a bit of cortisone on small areas. I appreciate all of your suggestions and will refer to all of your advice if things linger or become worse.
THANK YOU!
It could be eczema. They have lotion for that. Sometimes they can be itchy too. My daughter had it and they just said to load her up with lotion.hope this helps. :)
sounds like eczema. My son started showing signs of this around 6 months old. We stopped using Dreft and went to a dye/perfume/enzyme free wash and it seems to help. Have you taken her to the Dr. they can give you some relief for her thru the night. Aquaphor loction works wonder to..
Good LUCk!!
One of my boys had mild dryness, which was aggravated by change in weather, cold weather and certain foods. He has since been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. Its a form of non-contagious allergy. I don't know if your baby has that but you can read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atopic_dermatitis
We were advised to keep his body well moisturized several times during the day (every time we changed diaper, we moisturized), mild soap, not-too-warm water baths, etc.
I found the following products very useful:
Oilatum Soap Bar for bathtime (excellent soap!!!)
Oilatum Moisturiser after bath and any other time
Any 1% or 2% steroid creme for breaking the rash-itch cycle.
Eucerin was also effective, though less than Oilatum.
I would massage his body & scalp with baby oil, then give him a bath in luke warm water with Oilatum soap bar and then moisturize him with Oilatum moisturiser. I hope this helps.
you should visit your doctor. but it's most likely some form of atopic dermatitis (ecsema). our son has it & we've gradually learned how to avoid most flare-ups. go to whole foods and buy all natural bath products & lotions. forget about anything that you'd buy at a regular store. it won't help & is full of petroleum.
we love a lotion called ShiKai Borage Dry Skin Therapy. it's for children and for ecsema. it works very well. also limit baths this time of year (summer is fine but as the weather gets cooler you'll notice the problem much more).
the only other thing might be some kind of allergic reaction.. but that's what we thought our son had the first few times we saw the big flare-ups. the doctor finally figured it out... the red patches behind the knees, the neck area... are common signs. but we did have the rash all over the body several times... it happened immediately after using any kind of baby oil product (even burt's bees). stick with products that have no scent at all too. and nothing oily. the doctor will recommend Eucerin, but it has petroleum which is not good for anyone and the Shi Kai we've found to work 10 times better anyway.
good luck!
It's probably excema. Is it worse after baths and when you put lotion on? My doc gave us a steroid cream to use on flare ups and I used my extra PurLan on the worst dry patches. It will probably get worse this winter, it's the dry air. Keep a good humidifier in her room. Don't fall in to the bath-every-night routine if possible, it will only make it worse. Since she's spending little or no time outside, a bath once a week is plenty for a baby her age. Just keep hands and face clean the rest of the time.
Good Luck!
Good chance this is eczema. You may need a steroid cream, special bath solutions and an allergy test. it can be very itchy and uncomfortable so keep fabrics soft and natural. Cotton is best, avoid wools and wool blends. Also,be careful with Aquaphor. It contains lanolin which provokes skin allergies in many kids. My red head son got worse and worse as we slathered on the Aquaphor at the pediatrician's recommendation. Now, we use Cetaphil cleanser, lotion and cream and dab the dots at the first sign with 1% hydrocortizone.
J.
dentist and mother of 4 with eczema
It sounds like excema. My little one has it. It bothers different people at different times of the year. Try using Dove sensitive skin soap. It is very lotiony so it helps. Also try using really thick lotion like eucerin cream to help clear it up and then once it clears you can use something like aveeno everyday to keep it at bay. I put lotion on my little one as soon as she gets up and then again after bath time. If this doesn't help try talking to your pediatrician. They have creams that can help, but I would try this first as the creams they give you are not good for baby, unfortunately those creams are just necessary sometimes!
My daughter would get really dry skin on her face and cheeks this time of year, I LOVE aquaphor. It is a very thick ointment. My daughter also broke out in a rash one time when I didn't wash her outfit first- oops! Just a thought. I would bring it up to your pediatrician in case she may need more than a lotion. Good luck!
My daughter had crazy skin issues. Dry patches,itching like crazy, etc. When she was under a year old, we switched her formula to soy, and after she turned a year old, once she was on regular milk, the issues continued. We had her blood drawn for a food allery test. Come to find out, she was slightly allergic to milk and eggs. Within days of taking her off of all dairy and returning to soy products, her skin instantly changed for the better. I would recomend taking her to a dermatolgist. If you have introduced any new baby foods recently, this could be the cause also.
My son had the same thing and when he got older he developed a more classic eczema. We use cetaphil cleanser in the soap dispenser, Dove unscented soap in the bath, and Eucerin calming cream or just plain lotion on both kids after the bath. Aquaphor is great to have for the patchy flare-ups, and it's also all-purpose. I use it on almost any type of skin irritation and for chapped lips. (all of these are available in any drugstore, and the Eucerin/Aquaphor products are recommended by pediatricians.)
We also don't use any scented detergents (including Dreft, which is perfumed) We use "free" products and avoid using fabric softener or dryer sheets unless necessary - I use half-sheets of "free" fabric softener in the winter months. Also, don't use bubble bath.
My son gets this this time of year when the weather changes. He has since he was an infant!! If you moisturize daily it won't occur but forget and BAM! The peditricain said Cetaphil lotion but that really didn't help my kids much I did find if I moisturize daily he won't get it. He just came down with it bad and was itchy (I haven't been putting lotion on him) and I gave him a bath with baby oil in it and that worked WONDERS!! I have tried the aveeno bathes & lotions too and that did NOTHING!!
Be sure to use a gentle cleanser and MOISTURIZE!!!
We use the aloe line from The Body Shop At home which of course is on my website www.thebodyshopathome.com/web/faithjones
We also use the shea body butter. I started giving baths with only water and baby oil and that helps too. If they want bubbles int he tub I use a moisturizing shower gel (Aloe) and that gives some bubbles and helps to cleanse a little. Good Luck!!!
It might be exczema (sp??) Anyways, I get it real bad this time of year and my dermatologist told me to use Cetaphil creme, instead of lotion, she told me lotion irritates it and water irritates it as well so, maybe try less frequent baths. But, that's all for me so, talk to your pediatrician for sure. Good Luck, I feel for your little girl.
It could be viral. I would call your pediatrician and see if you can take her in for a look. Also, Aquafor does wonders for baby's skin plus they even make a bath wash for sensitive skin.
Is it dry with bumps and red? My son had dry bumpy skin that was red and come to find out, he has keratosis polaris. I was told it was eczema, even by my own pediatrician at the time, and he was even treated for it for about a year. Nothing helped and I soon found out why when my current pediatrician said keratosis polaris. It's actually not curable, but there are ways to help treat it and lessen the effects of it. I use products from dermadoctor.com. They have quite a bit of things to try. If she's not itching at it, there's a good chance she has what my son has. He has it on his legs, arms, and cheeks, poor guy
Same thing happen to my daughter when she was little especially as it get cold out. I would suggest Eucerin and Aquaphor very pure lotions and also may try a hypoallergic soap. My duaghter ended up having eczema but these treatments did help a lot and she also grew out of it!
Good Luck!!
K.
SAHM to a 6yr girl, 3yr boy and 18month girl
Cetaphil cream works for my son. I use it everyday after his bath. If I stop using it for a couple of days, the dryness will come back in patches. Some people say that it is too greasy, but I do not find this to be the case at all. I use it sparingly and it seems to soak right in. I also like that it is fragrance free.
