Son Diagnosed with Eczema

S.,
www.melaleuca.com. They have a lotion called Renew, it has helped 100s of people with eczema and other skin problems. Contact me if you want to know more.
H. Mays
____@____.com

hi ,S..........my advise to you is give him a "short baths" and do not give him a bath every day.......also I use aveeno soap ,I don't use any cream on my babies (I have twins) I only use aveeno cream.........and aveeno have an over the counter cream which is wonderful itis call ........aveeno 1%hydrocortisone anti-itch cream ,I use it every time I see a little red coming out or ifthe skin is starting to get very dry.......
A friend of mine likes to use on her baby something is call cephatil(or something like that) she uses the soap and the cream ......I hope this helps...good luck

HI S.!

My son had eczema too. We were told that we should stay away from lotions and soaps that have fragrances. These make their skin itch and burn. We used Aveeno and Lubriderm lotions which work great! You may want to ask which detergent to use too? My son grew out of as he got older. He would suffer during the winter with the cold and I had to keep his skin moisturized. The sun aggravated it too. I hope this helps a little:)

this is wha tmy sister in law does and i have been doing it as well andi t seems to be helping. her little one is 3ish and she has been to all kinds of dr.s and my little one is 2 and there is hope. here is what she wrote me.
Print and post this somewhere handy. Three years and mutliple dermatologists, and this is the grand-daddy list of what to do. I will also give you a list of meds (any doctor can prescribe them, you don't need to see a dermatologist to get the prescription.

on eczema:
bath as little at possible (try once or twice a week) Or short cool baths, the idea is to keep the skins natural oils and moisture in place.
otherwise a wet washcloth wipe down is good
stop using anykind of soap on her (unless needed to actually remove dirt)
Don't use any kind of bubble bath, dyes or other things that could irritate the skin.
You can use a couple drops of lavender essential oil in the tub, it has a claming effect on the skin and the temperment.

Use "oatmeal balls" in the bath tub. We take a diaper cloth, dump 1-2 cups of regular cheap oatmeal in the center, close the cloth with a thick rubberband and toss it in the tub at bath time. This is more oatmel than in any of the Aveno products and far cheaper. Squeeze the oatmeal ball a lot and get the water milky. wash her body with the oatmeal ball. This will all help to calm the skin and help with the itchiness.


After bath or wipe down, lube a lot, while the skin is still damp. You are trying to "lock" the moisture in.
Choices of lubricants (dermatologists says, the greasier the better, and expensive is not always the best)
- vaseline
-mineral oil
-cooking oil (like corn oil)
-thick creams like eurcerin, ludbriderm (but these tend ot be pricier)
- cocoa butter (smells good, but expensive also, i find it on sale and stock up and use it on special areas like face and hands).

Most lotions won't help much to heal the skin. It is better to apply good thick coats of lube after a bath than to apply lotion several times a day.

Hyrdocortisones are good for anti-itch, but watch for the hand scratchning and putting fingers in her mouth. We have not used them much for that reason, except for night-time to sleep.

Elidel won't "cure" or heal an eczema patch that already exists. But it usually will help prevent spread or new patches. We found we got the same effect from using a good thick lubricant, so we quit the elidel (it wasn't worth it)

Prescriptions that will "heal" an outbreak area:
(ointments are better than creams)
Desonide * (very strong, not normally recommended for children)
Fluocinonide
fluocinolone
Traimcinolone
and there are still others, some of these listed are for severe issues and not for all the time use.

our typical routine for Stazya, that has "controlled" her eczema (meaning no broken infected areas. She always has a few areas of "rash", but not the broken skin and infection that can happen if not properly cared for.

Routine
1) Bath with oatmeal ball once or twice a week
2) (while still wet from bath) apply precription ointment to actice rash areas only)
3) apply lubricant to entire body quickly.
4) apply lubricant (usually cocoa butter) to face area, avoid eyes
5) on non bath days apply ointment or cream to rash areas only.
6) use lubricants are needed.

Stazya has always slept the best after a bath and lubing.

We have 3 years of experimenting to find what schedule, and products work the best.
Everyone's eczema is different. You may find Alexandria responds best to a short cool bath every other day with lubing.

Hope this helps some, in your quest to find the right combination to control her skins outbreaks and her itchiness.

like i said, it helps even when alex has her break outs when she gets a cold. good luck! B.

I found that with my son the prescription, Elidel, worked best.

S.,

Trust me you want to go all natural. Dermacort & Renew Skin Therapy will do wonders for your son. It's an all natural based lotion and cream, and does not contain any drying ingredients found in other products.

It has worked for my business partners daughter, my daughter and my neice. My nieces' eczema was so bad that it was bleeding from her scratching. Within a week, the skin was smoother and the itching and scatches were gone.

http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/pdf_us/US_RenewPIB0806.pdf AND
http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/pdf_us/US_DermaCort0405.pdf

these 2 pdf files provide you with why and how these would help heal the eczema. In addition to those what's recommended above, you should also consider detergents without phosphates.

also check out www.saferforyourhome.com

K. H.

Hi S.,

You have already gotten lots of advice, but here is what I do for my daughter, she is 9 now, and has battled this since 6 months old.

My doctor has her on a strict regimend.

(1) every morning 1 allergy pill
(2) 3 times a day coat her in Aquaphor lotion
(3) Warm bath every evening - immediatly followed by the Aquaphor lotion (do not dry him off)
(4) steroid cream on flare up spots

My child is also asthmatic & keeping her on a daily regimend has kept her outbreks to a minimum & that's the key. Flare ups are very bad for her, her skin will actually start to look like it's going to ooze blood. So find what works best for your child and keep up a daily regimend & hopefully you will see fewer outbreaks.

S.,

My son also has eczema. Moisturizing is the best thing for the skin. The only cream or lotion that works on my son is called "Vanicream". You have to ask a pharmacy for it or I order it online. I use it after his bath and first thing in the morning. Also, your dermatologist should have given you a prescription for protopic or some other mild steroid ointment.

Also, my son's eczema flares up when ever he is around something he is allergic to. You may not know what your son is allergic to yet, but that may be something to pay attention to. I do not use dryer sheets on my son's laundry and only use dye free and fragerance free detergent to wash his clothes and sheets.

Just a couple of things that helped me. I hope they help you.

A.

Dear S.,
i agree that it can be allergy on some food, first of all on milk, eggs, search other food on line, which can give allergy. Try to change regular milk on soy milk, no eggs, (doctors giving diagnoses too fast, especially for babies).
My baby had an allergy reaction on formula at 8 month old and it was really bad, doctor said that is "SEBORRHEA", BUT it was not! IT WAS JUST ALLERGY REACTION ON MILK BASED FORMULA!(a little doctor's mistake, they send us to a dermatologist, prescribed us a hormone creams!) You can imagine i was searching day and night, and i found EASY and natural recipe from all types of rushes(allergy, seborrhea and eczema). AND IT HELPED US!!!
Get dark raisin with seeds in organic store or any supermarket. Take 3 table spoons of raisin, wash in cold boiled water, then put in thermos, add 1 glass hot boiled water, it has to stay 1 hour. You've got raisin tea.
When raisin tea is cool off like room temperature, gently sponge all rush area on your baby (all body) 3-5 times a day, also after the bath, and give him to drink it also 3-5 times a day, like a regular water( 2-3 table spoons ). Every day make a fresh raisin tea. Or you can do it before you going to sleep at night and in the morning the raisin tea will be already ready. And try do not use any ointments on your baby, only one cream is really good for rushes is "Eucerin"(original), bc this cream doesn't close a skin pores and skin breathing. (i am using "Eucerin" on diapers rushes for my babies as well). In a week you'll see a difference, keep doing a few weeks, and 2 more weeks after rush is completely gone. TRY IT!
Good luck and best wishes,
V..

Hi S.

Have they checked him for allergies?? My DS used to get eczema on his arm folds, leg folds, behind his neck, eyelids, etc. Finally they checked him for food allergies @ 18 months. Once we did away with the "bad" foods, he's been clean ever since! A flair every now and then, I expect it's when he gets a trace of an allergen

Good Luck
L.

Everyone whose responded has given excellend advice. My daughter too has eczema and we've found Cetaphil lotion (in the tub) and cleanser to work really well on her skin. Due to increased flare-ups we did take her to an allergist and discovered that she had an allergy to Peanuts. When she turns two in a couple of months, we'll go back for more extensive testing to make sure that we eliminate any other irritating foods. Knowing makes all of the difference.

My baby had a rash on her back when she was 4 months old, it was bad. Her dodtor told me to use EUCERIN and AQUAPOHR (not sure if I spelled right sorry) They gave some samples and they both worked perfect for my baby. Also they told me to give her a ath every other day and to use Avenoo Shampoo and soap.

S.,

I know this can be very upsetting. My youngest son has eczema as well, thank god no blistering though. Use any of the Aveeno products. They are wonderful. They are much more gentle on the skin than anything else and they have the oatmeal in them and that keeps them moist, which is what you want.

Good luck and hope this helps.

S.
SAHM of 3 boys

Just a note on the Eucerin, use the "Original Moisturizing Lotion", it has the least amount of alcohol in it. Don't use the "Anti-Itch" one. That has more alcohol in it and that hurts when placed on the excema.

Please keep this in mind when you buy anything to put on your child. Unfortunately, that means that the creams that take longer to absorb and are a little greasier are the ones that have the least alcohol. But at least your son won't be in pain.

S.,

I see you have had a lot of advise. I have a son with eczema - not to the extreme that you are having to deal with. In the past year we have switched to using more natural products in our home. A combination of changing soap, laundy soaps, cleaning products and using an awesome lotion has made a huge diffence in his skin and my whole family. If your interested in now about where you can get these products send me a pm and I'll tell you more.

Good luck

J.

Hi S.,

I'm so sorry for you and your son. Eczema is a disease that has no cure, but you can manage it.

I've suffered from it all my life. It comes and it goes. It's usually triggered by allergies, so allergy medicine should help (benadryl & claritin).

I recently had a breakout myself. My dermatologist, recommended Eucerin cream ($10 for a tub, but Walmart brand is $3!), put it on right after you bathe him, pat him dry (don't rub), and cover him in the cream. Of course also use it as needed to combat dryness.

As the previously posters have already suggested, do not give him a bath everyday, the water will dry his skin out even more. Also don't use hot or warm water, use tepid water...hot water aggravates the skin and increases the sensation of itching.

Use Aveeno soap, or Cetaphil skin cleanser (Cetaphil is expensive I use the Walmart brand!)

Sarna Anti Itch lotion..is great in controlling the itch. It has a menthol smell to it, but if you purchase the "Sensitive" Sarna, it is fragrance free. This lotion is also expensive ($12) but its well worth the money, and I have only seen it sold at CVS, Walgreens and Albertsons.

Watch what he eats, preceding flair ups. If you have insurance a good thing to look into is allergy testing. I'm going to do it myself soon. I haven't had eczema in 5 years and all of a sudden last week I had a flair up.

Also beware when your son reaches teen years. That is when many (myself included) has the worst breakouts. So just be prepared.

The bad news is that it has no cure, but the good news is that they are finding better and better ways to manage it everyday. Hope this has helped you.

The advice on products below is great, especially the one about the oatmeal etc. My son had his first bout with eczema at 2 weeks old. My husband to this day has horrible eczema. He and our son have the same allergist.

Some other very very important tips.
* You have to use a laundry detergent that is dye free and fragrance free! No more frangrance sheets in the dryer either. Especially on the clothes and bedclothes. That will flair up the eczema every time they wear them otherwise and make for uncomfortable sleeping. We use Tide free in the white bottle. Once we used regular laundry soap and the itching and flairups were horrible!
* For bathing soap my husband went the natural path and buys chamomile soap from Mother Earth store. It is the only soap that works. He has tried every product listed below and a lot more not listed. Tea tree oil soaps are okay also but chamomile is the best. Mild temperatures for bathing and showers are best. Quick in and out. If our son had a flair up we just used cool water sponged on him. Our son has avoided flair ups for years because he uses singulair for allergies and baby soap and of course his clothes are washed and dryed dye free/fragrance free. One thing we never did was use lotions. They actually made it worse sometimes.
* Allergies are most likely the cause. Testing is so important so you know what to avoid. It could be food, environmental or a combo.
My husband was just prescribed a new medicine (dont know if it is approved for little ones yet) called mometasone furoate and he says it works the best. Our son uses elidel and it does work pretty well for his age.

You son will be fine and you are doing all the right moves by researching. Good luck!

I have same kind of eczema- I have to use a precription called CLOBETASOL PROPIONATE CREAM. It helps a lot!Try to sooth the itching with alchoil baths & corn starch on lower area like powder. Really helps. There are times my hands swell so much from blisters, just comfort your child and soak as much as you can. Blisters have to "pop" to stop the itching! I know. I am 46 and have had this condition for over 10 years now. You are in our prayers! Understaning of this condition is greatly needed-by everyone. To date the blisters have not scarred me, but it is very difficult. Be patient! God bless you; and good luck!
Kathy & family

Hi S.,
Everyone has much of the same info I have to share, except my daughter allergist recommended crisco oil (veg oil) instead of the expensive lotions to "loob" up 3 times a day. it's a lot cheaper than the lotions and you probably have it your cabinets...it does however have a sight smell but obsorbs quickly and smell will go away..As it is very important to keep the skin moist... it (keeping him moist)will also help bring any pigment back that your son may loose with eczema. My daughter has just had the allergy testing done and she's allergic to EVERYTHING... the list is literally continuous. I hope this helps..
Best regards,
Cassandra