Eczema in Cheeks

I battled severe eczema as a kid, and one of my triplets (now 6) is the lucky inheritant. (Is that a word? lol) His regualr battle is dry lips. Sometimes, an issue starts in the corner of his mouth, and spreads from there on his face terribly.
Just recently he had a SERIOUS break out.....really, really bad. Involved sweeling all over. I was using Aveeno (it is a good lotion), Vitamin E oil (from breaking the capsules) but I could not get this breakout under control. It was theworst MESS ever. The swelling had me finally take him to the pedi clinic on a Sunday morning.

They had to put him on Prednisone, (which worked miracles quickly) but also the pedi on duty that morning said AQUAPHORE is what to use. Now...I used it years ago on mild eczema, and I think I decided it was too messy. But I used it again, and after trying evrything else with the HORRIBLY DRY stage of eczema.....AQUAPHORE really is the BEST thing to use. Even on my sons dry lips. It's a HEALING ointment. So I really cannot stress to you enough to try that! My son's face (severe mess....I'm telling you) cleared up with the Aquaphore (and Prednisone) to PERFECT skin in 2 days. I so wish I could attach a photo of how bad he was here....but just take my word for it.
Did I mention to try Aquaphore? lol

Poor little guy. :(
It could be a number of things and you are right in trying to identify if it is one thing or a combination of things. Noise is something children can be afraid of and it your house is normally quiet that could be a factor as well as him being over stimulated in general with all the activities around him at the beach or birthday party. You can start introducing music or other sounds while he is home and slowly get him acclamated (sp) to a noisier environment to see if it makes him more comfortable when he is in a noisy place. Remember to be nearby when you do this as he will be looking to make sure mommy is protecting him either way from these unknown sounds.

His eczema can be burning when he is out in the sun as some creams are photo-sensitive meaning that any sunlight can make the skin burn more quickly than usual. You will need to read the ingredients and maybe call a pharmacist to ask or google your question to find out if that is what is happening. My girlfriend Ambers son had eczema on his body and was very sensitive to what was put on his skin in general otherwise he would cry as soon as anything touched it. When he goes to his dads house for the weekend the girlfriend bathes him and uses a regular baby wash and lotion and constantly has to call Amber to say she can't get him to stop crying (he is 5 yrs. old) The only thing that Amber has found to work on his skin is Arbonne's Baby hair and body wash, baby oil, baby lotion and spf 30 sunscreen. It is safe to use and reasonably priced for the benefit he gets. No more medication either because his eczema is now in control. :) He only cries when something else is used on his skin. She buys it at www.seethedifference.myarbonne.com it is sent straight to her house.
I hope i've helped a little bit. Good luck with your son, I have two boys now 12 and 14.

Hi M.,

It sounds like the sights and sounds of the beach are over stimulating to your baby. The sun can be very bright reflecting off the water, the feel of the sand, and the noises can all be just to much. You may want to find a quieter beach to go to during the very late afternoon when it isn't so bright, hot or crowded.
Hopefully he'll outgrow this stage soon.

Hi M. -

Does your son get upset in other noisy settings? If so, it could be a sensory issue. I would observe him in other settings and see what happens. If you notice a pattern with noisy places you should obviously talk to your pedi about it but in the meantime you could look up sensory processing disorder and see if the hearing part fits your son. Something you could do in the meantime is to play the radio - low at first and then progressively louder, record a vacuum cleaner and play that, again, quietly at first then louder. Hope it goes well.

My older son had a problem with eczema when he was younger. He was allergic to milk. The salt water was really painful on the eczema. Perhaps there is something in the suntan lotion that you are using that irrates the rash.

He sounds like he has very dry skin, and the salty air probably stings like crazy. The skin can be very sensitive, especially when "damaged".
My son had the same, and we got a prescription cream for his face. You could also talk to the pharmacist and they'll be able to point you to one.

Hi M,

I had twin boys that were born with eczema. The dermatologist told me to put Aveeno sunscreen on them and then follow that with Aquaphor cream from the tube. It keeps the water from the ocean or the pool off the skin. One twin grew out of the eczema and the other still has it. He is 6 yrs old now and says the ocean water stings his skin at first. He would rather go to the pool. I would take him to a dermatologist and have them take a look at him and give you some creams to use. I would also take him to an allergist to be tested. Sometimes it can be related to a allergy that could be making him uncomfortable. My babies were never fans of the beach and the sand at that age so he could be just uncomfortable. I am not sure about the party situation. If he is bothered by the noise you could slowly expose him to more over time he will grow out of that.

Hand in there!! Hope this helped!!!!

Hi M.,
I know this is a little belated, but I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents and stand behind the information regarding eczema and it being tied to allergies. My doctor just told us that sunlight will often irritate skin rashes and such - the birthday party incident could be coincidental or it could point to the sensory issues.
You should definitely take this up with your doctor and if they aren't responsive or don't get in depth to whats causing the eczema - find a new doc.
A new mom in my local moms group was told again and again that her sons eczema was nothing and would pass. After passing on this info to her she had her son allergy tested and he was allergic to nuts eggs dairy and cats (his family had a cat and his breastfeeding mom was eating all those ingredients).
Check out Dr. Sears.com

best luck to you!
I hope you can get out to the beach again!

Some kids are just overly sensitive to noise. We live close to an oil company and everytime one of the big trucks go by my 27 month old looks terrified and runs over and needs to picked up until its gone by.

At the beach it might be a combination of the noise and the salty air that is bothering him. I would also suggest you go to an allergist eczema can be caused by an underlying allergy. My 27 month old had it terrible and then we found out he has a dairy allergy and now it rarely flares up his skin is 300% better.

Hi there,

I don't want to alarm you, but your son may have sensory issues. The technical term is "Sensory Integration Disorder," if you want to research it. At the beach he could be bothered by the bright light, the feeling of the sand and the noise. At the party the busy and noisy environment could definitely upset a child like this. (My son has sensory issues as well.) You might want to talk to your pediatrician about it.

Good luck,
A. W.

It's possible that there are so many people around that it unnerves your little guy. Because he's being taken out of his home zone, his only recourse is to cry at this stage in his young life. 7 months old is pretty young for the noise level at a birthday party. When you take him to a home that's going to be noisy and active, try taking him to a quiet area every so often (a bedroom, for instance) so that he can have quiet and calmness.

As for the beach, what happens when you go to a quiet area of the beach? It could be that all the unknown people is unnerving to him there, too. Perhaps setting up an area under your beach umbrella where he can play quietly will help.

My son also had those bumps on his cheaks. I am not sure what is going on with the son, but maybe the chemicals in the sun block is hurting him. I use all natural products, including sun block and a lotion that is 7x more moisturizing than Eucerin. It has done wonders. Shoot me an email for more info.

M.
____@____.com

Hi M.,

Since this happened in someone's home, it sounds to me like he is bothered by the over-stimulation and noise. Does it happen when you go grocery shopping, for example? With the noise of people in the store plus all the announcements over the PA system? You might try to take him into more controlled social situations with fewer people, such as smaller parties (if any) and going to stores at off-hours. Get him used to things on a gradual basis. My son was very sensitive to sounds especially when he was trying to get to sleep - so it was very challenging. However, he did well in social situations when he was wide awake.

If you are interested in getting rid of the eczema, however, even if it's not the cause of his crying, I can give you info on a patented nutritional supplement made specifically for children which has helped about 20 of my friends get rid of their eczema and their kids' eczema. It's possible that the cream you are putting on him is aggravating it but a lot of babies get this and they absolutely can get rid of it easily and safely without creams and medications. Let me know if you want more info.