Help with Baby's Skin

I agree with all the other responses. Both of my boys had/have eczema. My oldest grew out of it and my youngest (he will be 3 in Nov) is getting SO much better.

The only thing I want to add is watch for food allergies. My oldest child has none and his eczema was mild. My youngest son's eczema was severe (scratching until he bled, hands and feet cracking open, waking in the night to scratch, etc) and he has numerous food allergies.

Good luck!

As a former eczema sufferer, I can honestly say that the best thing I ever used was OLIVE OIL! Sounds weird, but it is a natural moisturizer that is very close to our body's natural oil. It worked so much better than the creams.

My son has/had eczema. Especially when he was younger. It gets better and worse but has pretty much gone away except a few little bumps on his torso. We use organic oatmeal baths and lotions when it gets really bad and make sure to use sensitive skin sunblock. It should get better as he ages-my boy has.

To me it sounds like he might have eczema. My nephew has it and it feels like snake or alligator skin. THey do make special lotions and soap for the condition, just check with his doctor and see what he thinks.

It does sound like eczema. My dd has had it since she was 2 mo (I say that right as I see her starting to scratch, lol). We use aquaphor body wash and lotions on top of aveeno unscented cream and 2 prescription creams. This is something they are going to have to deal with all of the time. Elidel used to be prescribed for younger children, but for now they have changed it to 2 yrs and up. Anything you can find by aquaphor or eucerine is very moisturizing. good luck

R.,

First of all let me say that is it nice to hear that there are other older mothers of younger children out there. I'm 46 and have a two year old and a seven year old and two stepsons who are 26 and 28. All of my children's friends parents are in their 20's or early 30's and it's sometimes hard to relate on some issues. Anyway back to your problem. My daughter has exzema(sp?) and she seems to constantly have some sort of unidentifiable rash. She also has dry patches of red bumpy areas that get worse in the heat - her exzema. It clears up with a prescription cream the doctor has given me. Ask about this. It may be the problem; however it is so common I would have thought your doctor would have suspected this first. Good luck.

B.

My son had the same issues crop up around 4mo or so and it is Excema. The only things that help are Elidel or a precription steroid cream when it gets really bad. He's two now and he still has issues on his elbows and backs of his knees. It itches really bad and he'll scartch it until it bleeds if I'm not on top of it.

I see someone else has already said the same thing...but my son went through the same symptoms and our doc said it was ecsema...as the doc if that could be what it is. Basically you have to get rid of all lotion, soap, etc with anytype of perfumes in it. I use aveeno products with my son...it has helped...it took awhile to clear up and he still has outbreaks sometimes, but it is better.

He might have excema (i thinks that how its spelled) I know my boyfriend has it on his feet and it sounds like the same thing you said your grandsons skin looks like. He had to go to the doctor and get a crea to put on it. Also when i worked at a daycare one of the children had it all over his body he had to use the cream too but he grew out of it and it went away the older he got. Maybe he should go to a skin doctor and see about some cream for it. i hope this helps

Yep- sounds like eczema to me, too. The fragrance free detergents are important, and don't use dryer sheets or fabric softener. These irritate skin. As another poster mentioned, keeping the skin hydrated is a BIG preventative for eczema breakouts, and this needs to be done RIGHT after getting out of the tub. I'm allergic to lanolin, so we only use petroleum jelly.

Also, keep in mind that some kids have eczema flares in the summer, some in the winter. Using sunscreen on a regular basis seems to irritate my daughter's eczema, but that doesn't stop us from using sunscreen!

Try dressing the baby in cotton clothes because they breathe better, and maybe have a fan going to make sure he's not overheating. I'm glad I had winter babies, because I'm sure I would have overdressed my two kids in the summer! LOL

Good luck and good for your daughter on seeking another doc's opinion. We mothers are dismissed too many times by docs when we have valid concerns. My sister is a nurse practicioner in dermatology and she says that you wouldn't believe some of the cases she's seen that ped's have tried to diagnose and treat themselves.

It sounds like eczema. My son who is now 3 had it bad when he was a baby. The pediatrician told us to use Cetaphil lotion or Aquaphor. If he had bad breakouts we had a prescription for Cutivate. Just keep him lotioned up all the time. We did in the morning, at every diaper change and at night. We didn't really change detergents or anything ( i used dreft). I can't remember what soap we used, but find one with no fragrance and dyes. Gentle Naturals makes some products like this. Hope this helps!

My son had a similar problem and the doctor ended up saying it was eczema. As long as we keep him lotioned up well (when I dress him in the morning and at night after his bath) the problem goes away. The doctor recommended using regular Lubriderm and it has worked well for us.

My daughters skin was very similar when she was younger. Her ped. told me to use Aquaphor ointment in the place of regular baby lotion. It's kinda expensive, at least to me, and it's think, but it worked wonders for my little girl. There was a big difference in just a few days.

He probably has eczema. It is so common in children now. We took my daughter to the pediatrician and wasn't much help, but referred to a Dermatologist after i insisted. A baby's skin should not be rough. Anyway, went to dermatologist, and he presecribed some low dose steroid creams and it worked, but he also insisted on the parents/grandparents/primary caretaker to mix vaseline/petroleum jelly and eucerin cream (can be generic)together in your hands and rub all over baby's body. THat keeps the skin moisturized and conditioned. So try it. it helped and is still helping my daughter when she goes thru the dry spells. Often times they grow out of it and have less dry skin. let me know.

I wanted to add. Usually people or children with exzema get hot easily and sweat. So keep him cool. No jeans or limit the wear of denim and rough/hot fabrics b/c they rub against the skin when dry and irritates the skin more. Keep cool/cotton clothes on him.