any tips on treating very dry skin on a 12 week old baby?

Question

my baby daughter has very dry rough skin all over her body and on her scalp,nothing seems to help.ive tried using olive oil on her scalp but the dry skin comes back almost as soon as ive removed it.a friend told me she got something from the doctor for her daughters dry skin which worked brilliantly but it was a few years ago and she couldnt remember the name of it but thought it was something like oil adam or adam oil,anyone ever heard of this?

Answer 1

What you have described sounds more serious than plain ol' dry skin. My first suggestion is have your child see your pediatrician and if you get nothing more than - put lotion / cream on her, then I'd take her to a pediatric dermatologist. If her skin is that dry it must be itchy and irritating to her. I wouldn't put it off - better safe than sorry. I have a daughter who is now 9 with very sensitive skin. Anything can set off a red area that with in days can end up being a full blown rash that she will rub and scratch till it’s raw. Our Pediatrician prescribed a medication for her.

You could also try Mustela Moisturizing Cream, I haven't used it personally but I have a few friends who swear by it. Just one link to find it is this
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2302673&cp

Eczema and Very Dry Skin Information
One in four babies has eczema or skin that is extremely dry or easily irritated. Babies with eczema or very dry skin have special skin care needs. Consider using baby products designed for sensitive skin-products that cleanse and moisturize without drying and are dermatologist-tested. For babies with eczema, preference for fragrance- and dye-free products should be given. Babies with atopic dermatitis should be bathed in tepid bath water, remaining in the tub for no more than 10 minutes, and then patted dry immediately. Bathing should always be followed by an application of a suitable cream or lotion to help lock in moisture.

Avoid:

high humidity
sudden changes in temperature
grasses and weeds
wool clothing

and also certain:

foods and preservatives
fragranced fabric softeners
perfumes
harsh detergents
cleansers containing soap or fragrances

GOOD LUCK TO YOU BOTH ! ! !

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Couple of ideas...

1. If you're bathing her every day, stop. Babies don't need to bathe but once every 2-3 days. Their skin is very sensitive and can/will dry out if bathed too often.

2. Use liquid Cetaphyl lotion for her bath. (You'll find it by the Physohex, Noxema, etc...) It's a very gentle cleansing lotion, which won't dry her skin. The Cetaphyl bar didn't work as well for my kids... had to use the liquid.

3. Rinse her REALLY well...

4. Lotion, lotion, lotion.. twice daily.

Look at her scalp differently than the rest of her little body. The scalp may show some cradle cap... which is different than just dry skin. treat it all like dry skin, but be prepared that the scalp issue could be cradle cap.

Also... FYI... when my kids reached their teen years and started breaking out, I bought Cetaphyl cleansing lotion and Lubriderm for moisturizer.... cleared their sensitive skin right up...

Answer 4

Three months is the age when eczema typically appears. The very first thing I would suggest is to stop using Dreft and start using any detergent that says "free" or "clear" on it. I used Dreft for my daughter, and it worked just fine. So I was a bit surprised when my second child broke out in a dry, scaly rash around three months of age. When I took him to the doctor, the first thing the she said was that it looked like I had been using Dreft (she could actually tell just by looking at his skin) and that I should change detergents right away. He cleared up quickly after I changed detergents -- it turns out Dreft is not as baby-friendly as it claims. It is actually loaded with fragrance (mmm smell the baby powder?) and therefore irritates baby skin for those with particularly sensitive skin.

Barring that, if you aren't using Dreft and you are already using a "free & clear" detergent (fragrance and dye free), you should ask your baby's doctor if it looks like eczema. You can try using Eucerin cream (not the lotion, but the really thick cream that comes in a tub) -- I've been told to put that all over my son after baths. If it is eczema, there are lots of prescription lotions, creams, and ointments that can be used to help soothe your baby's skin and make her more comfortable. My son even has a prescription for Zyrtec (an antihistimine) to be used as needed to calm his system from all the itching. Fortunately, I haven't needed to use it for a while, but as a very young baby he used to scratch at his forehead until he drew blood, more than the usual scratching that most newborns do.

I put some links below about eczema if you are interested. Good luck!

Answer 5

Hi. The problem with some products are that they contain ingredients that might cause irritation and/or dryness (ie alcohol, wax, dyes, chemicals, acetone, fragrances, and/or mineral oil). Products that contain mineral oil give a temporary feeling of softness but have little to no long term benefit. These products do not penetrate the pores of our skin because the mineral structure is too large. It sits on the top layer and gets wiped off over time. This might be why you're not experiencing any benefits. I have not heard of oil adam or adam oil. However, I use Arbonne's Baby Care (ABC) for both of my children. These products are beneficial for their extra sensitive skin. Arbonne's pure, safe, and beneficial baby care line (hair and body wash, lotion, body oil, diaper rash cream, and sunscreen) is water based, botanically-based and pH correct, pediatrician and dermatologist tested, non-sensitizing, non-irritating, and formulated without nut oils. They are formulated with natural ingredients like oat flour which is an emollient and an emulsifier. It’s highly absorbent and hypoallergenic. Oat flour helps to soothe and soften dry, itchy and sensitive skin. If you're interesting in learning more, I'll be happy to help you.

Answer 6

Is it cradle cap? This is a yellowish, crusty skin that peels off on the baby's head and sometimes in the creases of the armpits etc. If so, you can shampoo frequently and brush your baby's head a lot more than usual to remove the excess flakes. It's supposed to go away on it's own. See article below.

If it's just dry skin, I recommend Mustela's Stelatopia cream for eczema prone skin. My 9-month-old son gets eczema pretty badly and this is the only think that keeps him soft and smooth. Oh, and Eucerin's Aquphor ointment is pretty good too, although quite greasy, it's great to put it on their cheeks before going outside to give some extra protection against the elements.

Answer 7

Is it dry skin or just the "cradle cap"? If its allover her body are you bathing her to often and not putting lotion on her? if its neither of those when my daughter was a baby she is soon to be 14 she had very dry skin on her cheeks and her dr told me to use Eucerin cream on her. And it worked great in fact I still use it on her if her feet get dry or even on the bottoms of mine in the summer time. As for the woman making the comment its cuz the child is formula fed..LMFAO what else will you titfeeders come up with if you dont know the answer blame it on the formula. There are more formula fed babies in the US and Canada then there are breastfed exclusively so admit that formula isnt as bad as you want everyone to think it is. I have 2 formula fed children and in 35 yrs have only known of ONE breast fed child. Both my children were premature first weighed 1.7 pounds and is soon to be 14 and my second was 5 weeks early is now 10 months and devleoping well beyond his gestational/birth age.

Answer 8

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RE:
any tips on treating very dry skin on a 12 week old baby?
my baby daughter has very dry rough skin all over her body and on her scalp,nothing seems to help.ive tried using olive oil on her scalp but the dry skin comes back almost as soon as ive removed it.a friend told me she got something from the doctor for her daughters dry skin which worked...

Answer 9

Heres what my Ped is having me do. my 4 month old gets a bath in the morning and at night with no soaps, just to soak up the water then without drying him i put Eucerin cream on to help contain the water and keep his skin hydrated, if he is having a serious break out (meaning its really red and itchy in an area) he has a prescription for fluocin acet which is a skin steriod that i put on under the eucerin after his bath. for his scalp the ped recommended using selsun blue just make sure it doesnt get onto the rest of his skin because it could cause a break out. and with that I put it on and use a baby brush with the really soft bristals and basically brush it into his scalp then wash it out.

Answer 10

My son's doctor told me to try Eucerin lotion or Luberderm lotion. Apply it at least twice a day. It will soon clear up. I used Eucerin on my oldest son he has eczema and it worked. If your daughter has eczema the doctor can give you some
hydrocortisone ointment if it is a bad case. But keeping the skin moisturize with the Eucerin helps with dry skin as well as eczema.