Eczema question?

Question

Are there any good eczema treatments out there? My 5 month old daughter has it pretty bad on her legs and some on her arms as well. Any tried and true solutions?

OH I forgot to mention, the Dr. is the one who told me it's eczema and said that I should just "keep it moisturized" and mentioned that if we can't control it on our own THEN they will prescribe a cream.

Answer 1

The strongest creams I know that are over the counter are Cetaphil and Aquaphor (made by Eucerin), and while both are very good, some eczemas don't go away easily and need a little push. If you tried everything and nothing helped, rub hydrocortisone 1% on the dry spots for 2 weeks. It should help. If it doesn't, then your pediatrician can give you prescription for hydrocortisone valerate 0.2% which will help for sure. Once off it (usually a 2 week course), you should be able to keep it under control with Aquaphor or similar product.

My son's eczema is stubborn, and no matter what I do, it keeps coming back. Believe me, I tried everything: buttermilk and oatmeal baths, organic and all natural creams, etc. Nothing but prescription cream helped. I rub it on him for a few days in a row, then give it a break for a couple of weeks, and for that couple of weeks I use Aquaphor and Cetaphil (in turn), then when it gets bad again, I switch back to the valerate.

The good thing is that they grow out of it by 1 year of age. Good luck!

Answer 2

Well for moisturizing: limit baths and when you do bath no soap or very limited. Use the soap last (so they aren't sitting in it) and rinse with clean water from the tap.

No perfumes, no dyes. Not in the soap, not in the detergent. And possible not even in the dish soap. Preferably for the whole family.

Olive oil and lanolin are good moisturizers.

5 months old is not too young for a probiotic suppliment. Many of which have been proven to treat and prevent eczema. Many also have not been tested to see if they prevent/cure; however all are safe.

You can take them and it will end up in your milk (if breastfeeding) or you can just crack open the caplet, they inside tastes good. My son loves them.

Also put 1/3 to 1/2 cup vinegar in the rinse (use a fabric softener dispenser) this will get your clothes cleaner and make them soft. An extra rinse and using the least amount of detergent possible won't hurt either.

Answer 3

My 5 month old son also has eczema. We've tried many things since he was 3 months old and just recently we were able to get it under control. Here it is: 1. We wash him with Cetaphil 2. a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of 1% hydrocortisone and aquaphor 3. to seal it in we use a coat of plain Eucerin lotion.

If that doesn't work, ask your doctor for a prescription. I know its a steroid but our doctor gave us a prescription for Elocon. You can use this for 4-7 days. We were also prescribed Elidel, which is a non-steroid and it REALLY works, but some doctors don't like to use it because it is a new drug. My son is also taking Atarax, which is an oral medication to get the itching under control.

No matter which route you are planning to take with your child, do some research first and talk to your doctor. All kids are different so what might work for my child may not work for yours.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 4

my son has horrible eczema but he is 8 and the cream they precribe would be too strong for the baby i would recommend that you use dove soap (they make baby dove) use aveeno moisturizer and than just a small amount of hydrocortizone cream , it could be the weather that is triggering it or it could be allergies... we just got my sons eczema under control for the first time he has it all over and it has been infected before the key is to moisturise kids who have eczema have a problem with dry skin also give her pleanty of water to drink and when you bathe her soak her for 5 min or so before you use the creams good luck i know how frustrating it is if after a few weeks it gets worse go back to the doc and let him know how you've been treating it because it could be allergies and if it is nothing will work untill the allergies are treated good luck

Answer 5

Aveeno products! Our daughters was so bad it was starting to crack and bleed on her knees and upper arms. Our doctor recommended Aveeno wash and lotion. Don't get the scented ones, just original. Also, our doctor recommended 2 baths (in luke warm water only because warm to hot water can dehydrate the skin but turn up the heat in the bathroom and it's fine) a day and to pat dry and then use the lotion while skin is still somewhat moist. Our daughters skin was better within a few days and we still use that system, but only one bath a day now because she is 15 months old. Also, we had problems with diaper rash and the only cream that worked for her sensitive skin was the aveeno diaper rash cream. GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 6

I don't know about babies, but I just started getting it 2 years ago in the winters. I use Eucerin Calming Cream-it is the only thing I tried that did me any good. Those scented creams actually do more harm than good for some reason. Also, oatmeal is very calming to the skin-you could giver her an oatmeal bath (aveeno)

Answer 7

Ive had bad eczema too all my life on my face mainly and hands mainly. pops in in various places on my body aswell. I use a big tub of cream called Aqeuos cream bp on my face 2-3 times a day. its great. also if you have EXTREME eczema I have a tube of oinkment called protopic. try some of them. they're really good

Answer 8

Eucerin creme or baby aveeno. I use both on my son. Sometimes Eczema is a sign of an allergy. Did you offer any new foods recently? If so, you should let your Dr. know.

Answer 9

Have you talked to her pediatrician about it? There are creams and medicines you can put on it. Make sure they don't have steroids in them..not good for babies!

For now, putting something cold on the areas where the eczema is will relieve the itchiness and pain. Good luck :-)

Answer 10

Your Dr. is right. It bothers us more then it bothers baby. use a mild detergent for washing clothes and extra rinse cycle. Mustella makes a great cream I have used it lots in the past 18 years( I am a nanny). Hope this helps. My teens use salt and sugar scrubs this helps on older kids DO NOT try it on baby. Baby oil helps too.