what is the best treatment for my 10 months old son's eczema??

Answer 1

Medications

Medicated ointments or creams are often used for reducing and controlling eczema. These include Elidel and Protopic. They are used twice a day and can be used on all body surfaces including the face.

Steroid creams

Steroid creams were once the main treatment of the itch of eczema. They are presently used less frequently but do still have a place in managing eczema flare-ups.

Hydrating the skin

Hydration of the skin followed by lubricating cream is the main way to prevent flare-ups of eczema. Your child should have one bath a day for 10 minutes. Water-soaked skin is far less itchy. Eczema is very sensitive to soaps, especially bubble bath. Young children can usually be cleaned without any soaps. Teenagers need a soap to wash under the arms, the genital area, and the feet. They can use a nondrying soap such as Dove for these areas. Keep shampoo off eczema.

Lubricating cream

Apply a lubricating cream once daily (twice a day during the winter) every day. Some lubricating creams are Eucerin, Nutragena, Aquaphor, Aveeno, Keri, Lubriderm, Nivea, and Nutraderm. Children with eczema always have dry skin. After a 10-minute bath, the skin is hydrated and feels good. Help trap the moisture in the skin by applying an outer layer of lubricating cream to the entire skin surface while it is damp (within 3 minutes of leaving the bath). Apply it after you have put steroid cream on any itchy areas. Avoid applying ointments, petroleum jelly, or vegetable shortening because they can block the sweat glands, increase the itching, and worsen the rash (especially in warm weather). Also, soap is needed to wash them off. For severe eczema, ointments may be needed temporarily to heal the skin.

Itching

At the first sign of any itching, apply the steroid cream to the area that itches. Keep your child’s fingernails cut short. Also, wash your child’s hands with water frequently to avoid infecting the eczema.

Antihistamine Medicine

An antihistamine is occasionally used to relieve itching.

Antibiotics

Scratching the dry, broken, and compromised skin of eczema may at times allow secondary bacterial infections to develop. Antibiotics are often used to resolve these infections.

What can be done to prevent eczema?

Wool fibers and clothes made of other scratchy, rough materials make eczema worse. Cotton clothes should be worn as much as possible. Avoid triggers that cause eczema to flare up, such as excessive heat, sweating, excessive cold, dry air (use a humidifier), chlorine, harsh chemicals, and soaps. Never use bubble bath. Also, keep your child off the grass during grass pollen season (May and June). Keep your child away from anyone with fever blisters since the herpesvirus can cause a serious skin infection in children with eczema.

Try to breast-feed all high-risk infants. Otherwise, use a soy formula. Also try to avoid cow’s milk products, soy, eggs, peanut butter, wheat, and fish during your infants first year.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

1. All eczema is commonly due to allergies and dry skin combined.
2. All alergies has resistance levels. This means if you give a product today and it was OK then that does not mean that person is not allergetic to it. Tomorow the same product can trigger allergies.
3. Protiens are the source of major allergies. Try to introduce protien rich food later. Also avoid milk, potatoes, wheat, eggs (esp. whites), sea-food, food colors, artificial food favorings and nuts.
4. Keep the child away if you are cooking in your home. I found that the smell of allergy causing food also creates allergies.
5. Keep a log of daily activities including food / drinks, motion and irritations. If you keep the log it will be easier to find the problem foods.
6. Give one food for one week without switching. Start with rice and carrots or rice and broccoli (choose one). Give the same food for a week. If severe allergies are noted then remove it from diet and introduce a new one. Any one food introduced should be given continously for 1 week.
7. After giving a bath pat with a towel slightly leaving a film of water in the skin. Seal that to skin by applying thick gel like plain Vaseline. Many creams also create allergies so be careful in using creams other than plain unscented Vaseline. Also do not use the baby oil - many kids are allergic to mineral oil.
8. The allergies becomes severe if you reintroduce the same allergic food again and again but may go away if you remove it from diet for long periods like more than a month.
9. Angry and sad moods of child make the situation worse. I know that a child with eczema takes parents to the edge and many times we may become harsh. Try to keep your child happy.
10. An unconventional treatment, NAET (http://www.naet.org) worked well for my grandson. For people I have referred it did not work well since it depends a lot on the practitioner. For my granddaughter we did not take treatment since we knew a lot about eczema and could control it well.
11. It is late to tell you but it is best to introduce the solids a little late to kids with eczema.

Answer 5

My little boy had eczema on his cheeks. I was not sure what method to use but I didn't want to make my boy go through any surgery treatments at this young age. Some suggested a plastic surgeon since it was in a very visible location but our family doctor recommend this natural guide.

Best Eczema Treatment?

Answer 6

My son is 15 months and he has suffered from eczema from just about the start. I use a combination of cortisone 10 (extra strength - doctor recommended) and an ointment (actually comes in a jar and also doctor recommended) called Aquaphor. I use the cortisone to aid with the itching and to prevent/heal wounds and the Aquaphor to moisturize. It is not a cure but it helps tremendously. I apply it as often as needed. You can buy them both at your local pharmacy or grocery store. AdditionalIy, don't bathe him too much. He is 10 months old..a good bath 2 to 3 times a week is plenty. Wipe him down at other times. I assure you that he will be much more comfortable and his little wounds will heal. Good Luck!

Answer 7

Before jumping to creams etc perhaps it is an irritant that is causing the problem. You need to look at the type of soaps you are using. Dial body soap for example is very harsh and strips the skin of it's oils. Perhaps he is allergic to the laundry soap or bleaches you are using. Is it the diaper area? Perhaps the plastic on the diaper is the problem. His skin may be extra dry, don't bathe him every day and use a lotion designed for babies. If you don't see improvement in a few weeks a pediatric dermatologist would be the best person to see for this. Keep in mind that some lotions especially prescription ones used for adults shouldn't be used on infants.

Answer 8

i went through this with my now 4 yr old. i would recommend Avenno lotion and body wash. it's costly but worth it. does ur baby have food allergies because of the eczema? IN matter of fact we just recently had a trip to children's hospital due to a allergic reaction. poor baby he would look at his self and say mommy is that me? He did not recognize his own self because his head neck back and whole body for that had broke out so bad in one big hive. I was told the food allergies were from the eczema. It was heart breaking he was sad to look at his self and not be able to recognize him. also can't leave home with out it Benedryl. It helps really good for hte itching, irritation. good luck!

Answer 9

my daughter had eczema at a young age. I took her to the dermatologist regularly. Nothing he did ever worked for my child. So my mom ( who is from the old school) got my daughter sasperella from the health food store and it cleared it up within a week. My daughter was really light on one side of her body, and dark on the other with redness and bumps, use the sasperella it does wonders for this terrible condition. Cephil did not work for my child. I had her worked up on allergies she had none. She had ezcema. She is 9 years old now, the ezcema never came back

Answer 10

try to keep your son's skin moisturized with products that are perfume and dye-free. When you bathe him, use a mild soap like Dove or Cetaphil, use soap only in dirtier areas, and limit the number of baths a week you give him. You might also want to speak to your pediatrician about special steroid creams or ointments to help treat and fight skin infections.

Check out http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nhealth/0,,3qdq,00.html for more tips on treating eczema in babies.