Author Topic: ezcema  (Read 3613 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline dee 100

  • New & Learning The Ropes!
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 1
  • Location:
ezcema
« on: June 22, 2005, 22:57:44 pm »
I need help with baby eczema - my daughter is 8 months and driving me nuts. She constantly wakes up at night and I'm so tired I'm finding dealing with her and her 3 year old brother very difficult to cope with during the day. Any helpful advice????

Offline Ricardo's Mommy

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 19
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 564
  • June 2006
  • Location: Virginia
ezcema
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2005, 23:04:51 pm »
Trying to remember where the thread is....there is a long one since many of our babies deal with it....I will look for it and post back.
Michele
Mommy to Ricardo

Michele@thebabywhisperer.com



 "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Offline Ricardo's Mommy

  • Resident BW Chatterbox!
  • *****
  • Showing Appreciation 19
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 564
  • June 2006
  • Location: Virginia
ezcema
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2005, 23:05:55 pm »
Michele
Mommy to Ricardo

Michele@thebabywhisperer.com



 "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Offline Livvismum

  • BW Aficionado
  • ***
  • Showing Appreciation 4
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 164
  • Location: Swansea, Uk
ezcema
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2005, 20:32:45 pm »
What options have you tried so far to ease it? We're trying to deal with it too?

Sara

Offline Williamsmom

  • New & Learning The Ropes!
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 17
  • Location: Olympia, WA
cream/ointment
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2005, 02:54:04 am »
My son got a huge eczema rash when he was exactly 3 months old.  From his chin to his ankles--bumps  EVERYWHERE with bright red in all his joint creases.  I thought it was a heat rash at first since we were traveling from the Pacific Northwest to D.C., where it was hot.  The MD prescribed a hydrocortisone cream for bad spots, pimecrolimus cream (brand name "Elidel") for his eyelids (yes, he had it there, too!), and triamcinolone acetonide ointment (for night) & cream (for day).  She recommended the following bath routine (we bathe every night as part of wind-down routine):  no washcloth as strips moisture from skin; very mild soap like Cetaphil & absolutely no perfumed soaps/lotions;  PAT dry with towel--don't rub; immediately apply hydrocortisone cream to bad spots & then triamcinolone ointment to all affected areas; dress in jammies immediately b/c ointment is greasy.  When he's not broken out, we use either Cetaphil cream or Aquaphor all over to lock in moisture.  The key is to get it on RIGHT after bath while skin is still moist.  We use the hydrocortisone cream & the triamcinolone cream also in the AM when he's broken out.  His skin has been SOOOO much better since we started this & if we do have a break-out it's usually cleared up overnight now.

Sorry so long & hope it makes sense.  Feel free to ask further questions if you are confused.  Very tired & I tend to ramble anyway.

HTH,
Sarah

Offline Eden's Mum

  • BW Aficionado
  • ***
  • Showing Appreciation 4
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 178
  • Location: UK
ezcema
« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2005, 11:37:55 am »
We have been advised to use absolutely no soap at all. we use something called Oilatum in his bath, and if we can't use that for any reason we wash him with something called cetraben. (an emolient cream) It works just as well to clean him and has no soap what so ever in it. We were also told that many of the off the shelf remedies or treatments for eczema that claim to be soap free actually aren't if you look at the ingredients list, you just find them under other names. The basic clue can be that if it lathers at all then it has soap!

this has all been pretty effective with the combined use of emolients and hydrocorizone.
Clare
Eden:

Noah:

Jude:

Offline LukasMom

  • BW Aficionado
  • ***
  • Showing Appreciation 2
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 180
  • Location: Olympic Peninsula
Cetaphil and no soap
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2005, 10:04:34 am »
What everybody said above is pretty much right on.  I will just add that eczema is what they call a multi-symptom disease and that the basic underlying cause, at the cellular level as it were, is dry skin.  Therefore the cure is to avoid all irritation of the skin and keep moisture locked in to the skin so that it can function as the protective barrier it was meant to be. 
This is done by avoiding soap, keeping clean (sounds paradoxical, I know), and using moisturizers like Cetaphil.
Eczema is actually NOT an allergy although it is often seen with allergies. Any sort of irritation or upset can start the eczema.  So therefore an allergic reaction can set off eczema, or stress can set of eczema, or an abrasion to the skin can set off eczema.  It's actually pretty interesting how it all works together. 
Once the eczema gets going, it can develop from a rash into infected skin which as I understand it is doubly hard to treat because you have the initial rash/delicate skin condition plus a bacterial or fungal infection.  This is where the really bad inflamed skin comes from.
Sun seems to be good for eczematic skin, although of course you don't want to get too much.  The reason why is not fully understood yet.
My lo had mild eczema that is almost completely cleared up at this point.  We treated her red seepy areas with corn starch powder when she was very young, which dried it out enough to apply lotion (again, sounds paradoxical).  Now the only treatment she needs is using a none-soap cleanser, using a gentle detergent on her clothes and sheets, and applying Cetaphil lotion after her daily bath or swimming.
Other precautions I take--having her wear jeans outside so she won't scratch her knees, and quickly disinfecting any abrasions.  I also take care to avoid heat and stress, both which can cause an outbreak for her. 
Some people notice an eczematic outbreak in response to some foods. This is not always an allergy! Sometimes if the introduction of a food is stressful to the digestive system, eczema is the result.  But when the digestive system adjusts (within days), the eczema stops.  This was the case with Luka. She had no food allergies, but she would have stress outbreaks.  Then she'd adjust to the food and be fine.
If you want to read more about eczema in a scientific vein, the New Zealand dermatological society has the best site I've ever seen.

http://www.dermnetnz.org/

Good luck and I hope your lo has a full recovery from her symptoms!


"I don't understand your crazy moon language!" --The Tick

Offline Nickysmom

  • New & Learning The Ropes!
  • *
  • Showing Appreciation 0
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 4
  • Location:
ezcema
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2005, 01:21:21 am »
i have had very bad ezcema from birth, and im hoping that my baby ( due in 4 days) does not end up with the same problems. The best thing i have found, not to treat, but more to sooth the itch from the dryness is eucern. It is an over the counter moisturizer avaliable at most drug stores. It is very thick and will last the night, which most dont, So i cant wake up with out being scatched to pieces.