Has anyone's children experienced excezma? My 19 month old daughter has had it from the time she was born. I have tried the eucerin creams, cetaphil baths, oatmeal baths and Aveeno products, elidel cream and cortizone cream. I feel bad for her because I know it has to itch. I have a tiny spot on my arm and it drives me nuts and she has it on her legs, arms and sometimes it gets around her eyes. I am taking her to a dermatologist on Wed. I am thinking about taking her to an allergist too. I want to see if she is allergic to anything. I just want it to go away because I feel so sorry for her.

By Jtsmom on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 06:46 pm:

My oldest son (4 yrs old) had it from the day he was born. It was so bad until he was about 2 months old that it covered his face, he really looked pitiful (sp?) He only has a few flare ups now. Luckly the doctor said he would outgrow it and he almost has. I can't remember the name of the med. the doctor put him on, but he had to take something by mouth because it was so bad. I hope you get some answers from the dermatologist. Poor thing, I hope she feels better from it.

By Debbie on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 06:51 pm:

My oldest ds has it. It has gotten much better as he has gotten older(he is now 6) My ds used to scratch until he would bleed. We have been able to manage it pretty well now. I always use dye free detergent. I also use about 1/2 of the recommended amount. He only takes a bath every other day and we make sure to use lots of lotion when he is done. We have been lucky that the elidel has worked for him.

Hopefully, the dermatologist can help make it more tolerable for her. I was told that most children outgrown it. Hopefully, this will be the case with your dd.

By Colette on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 07:43 pm:

Try a small amount of dandruff shampoo.

By Children03 on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 07:49 pm:

Dandruff shampoo to bathe her with?

By Kim on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 08:19 pm:

Kayla has had eczema since she was born too. Regular creams do not work for her. She has to get special meds from her doctor. Some of them are steroid cremes. But you have to keep up with it for it to work. They help quite a bit. Also, she cannot sit in a bath for any period of time or it aggrevates it. Seasonal changes affect it also.

By Colette on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 08:33 pm:

Just wash the eczema spot with the shampoo. I would not put it on her face though. Try it on your spot on your arm and see if it helps.

By Children03 on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 09:10 pm:

Okay, I can give it a try. Thanks.

By Mrsheidi on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 09:42 pm:

Have you tried Cetaphil lotion?

By Pamt on Monday, November 15, 2004 - 10:34 pm:

In addition to everything else, my ped., allergist, and dermatologist told me to only bathe my son every other day (esp in the winter) and to use unscented Dove soap or bodywash when he did take a bath.

By Kernkate on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 12:01 am:

My DS who is now 10 had it when he was younger very bad. Especially in the joint areas. I used a prescription for him but can not remember the name of it, and it did work. Mommy brains, can't remember the name. He did outgrow it, thank god. Ditto on what Pamt said the dove soap is great and I also did give DS oatmeal baths.
Good Luck and hopefully your DD will outgrow it.

By Tink on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 01:16 am:

I haven't outgrown it but luckily, I only have it on my hands and feet. We only use Dove soaps and dye and fragrance free detergents. If you are already doing this, I think the oral medications are your only other option. I'm surprised your pediatrician hasn't already suggested an allergist. I went to one before I was 4. I hope that the dermatologist is able to help you out.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 10:34 am:

We use Protopic. It was expensive, but works!
Ame

By Fionadeassis on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 11:10 am:

Ds had it on his face BAD.......when I look at pictures of him from then, I can't believe it.

He completely outgrew it by the time he was 3.

We didn't want to used the steroids so a friend gave us a cream that she got in chinatown. I think it was called 'fluosimine'....it was derived from vegetables I think, and only cost about $2......
Eliah's face went from giant weepy sores to healed in a matter of days....(he had a slight bit of scarring from having big sores for so many months......but it all healed in weeks)....

He never had it on his face again...but would get it in the creases of his knees and elbows....

Now it is all gone.....what a pain it all was....

fiona

By Fionadeassis on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 12:46 pm:

Actually Ijust found the container and googled the real name(fluocinonide)...it is a topical steroid....so I guess I did use steroids on Eliah. It seemed to help dramatically....but I wish at the time we had had a computer so I could have researched it better....

The chinese doctor told Dh that it was made from vegetables....I didn't think you could go into a store in chinatown and just buy steroids so easily(and cheaply)...

There is no english on the package at all....

By Imamommyx4 on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 04:01 pm:

I tried all of the other stuff (steroids, lotions, Aveeno) and the Elidel is what helped my dd. Using twice a day for about 3 days and the spot is gone.

Sometimes the exczema is allergy related along with other things like asthma. DD takes Singulair and Zyrtec which seems to decrease the incidence of flair ups. If I forget to give her the Singulair and Zyrtec for a few days it will flair up.

And the dandruff shampoo was a good suggestion, too. Try it for a several baths before you decide it didn't work.

By Monicamomof3 on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 10:17 pm:

I would suggest treating from "the inside out" and getting that under control while you are treating her symptoms. Many times excema is due to not only an allergy, but also a defiency in fatty acids. Try supplementing a fatty acid from and organic supplier (since preservatives could be an allergy). My dd's went away when I got some GOOD PURE vitamins with NO color or preservatives, put some flax seed oil in her favorite smoothies and omitted anything with color; including yellow cheese (which has dye as well. Lecithin granules are wonderful as well and really good for the brain! Also- try keeping a diet diary to help you link any food allergy to outbreaks. If you don't treat from the inside out, you will be band-aiding the symptoms until she grows out of it!

Good luck.

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 06:29 am:

I think dairy products have been linked to it in some cases.

What worked for my daughter was Elidel, a non-steroidal cream (no side effects like thinning skin). It's expensive but works well. We also cut baths done to oe or two a week. Of everything, cutting down the baths made the biggest difference.

By Children03 on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 08:59 am:

Thanks for writing and giving me ideas. Morgan and I are both heading to the dermatologist this morning at 10:15 and I hope he can give me some good ideas. I also am going to make an appointment with an allergist because I think she is probably allergic to something because she always has a clear runny nose too.

By Rayanne on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 03:09 pm:

Rylee has it...we think. The doctor can't say yes or no because she isn't old enough yet. Something about her not having enough hormones to diagnose it yet. I use Aveeno lotion and bath and I also use baby oil in her bath. Just keep her skin moisturized really well.

By Cutemom2002 on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 08:26 am:

My brother was born with this and moisture is the key! He is 22 and still has it but has learned to keep it under control. He used to use the oatmeal bath and lotions and it worked great. Also he found out the vasiline is in most of his med the Dr. gives him and when he uses it it also works. So maybe this might help someone

By Dandjmom on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 08:58 am:

Thxs Cutemom, my 1 year old has this condition also ( it runs in the family). Sometimes I just wnat to yell becaue he is constanlty in agony itching all over hsi body, he stratcheds is inner arms ( at the bend) until it bleeds,I feel so sorry for him because the creams &ointments (Eucerin & Cortaid) that the doctor has recommended hasn't helped. I will try the vaseline tonight after he has his bath and pray that it will help him as it has your brother.

By Cutemom2002 on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 10:08 am:

Dandjmom,
Try the oatmeal bath! It is extra moisturizing ansd works also

By Pixie on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 02:27 pm:

There is a product by Burts Bees Baby Bee called Apricot Baby Oil. Its moisturizing and smells wonderful. I'm sure it won't cure the eczema, it may help (not sure) but it will provide relief for both you and your DD. It doesn't contain mineral oil its also all natural I love it!

By Marcia on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 11:18 pm:

This might sound ridiculous, but it works very well. Mix together half shortening and half thick cold cream. It's obviously very greasy, but it works like nothing I've ever tried. I'm sure I've used every expensive cream, as well as cortisone, and nothing has cleared it up like this. I only use it at night.
I was told to do this by a couple of nurses.

By Andream on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 11:48 pm:

My ds didn't get excema until I started weaning him and giving him cow's milk. We eliminated milk drinking and that helped some, but more recently we have completely avoided milk and all milk ingredients. (It's amazing how much food has traces of milk-lunch meat, for example!?!) My ds's excema is almost all gone now. Yesterday I gave ds a bite of peas from my plate and just the crust from a chicken nugget that must have gotten on the spoon caused him to get light hives. Clearly, his excema was caused by a milk allergy.
One thing I read that was really helpful for my ds is right after his bath I coat the excema with Vaseline. It works wonders. I hope you get the answers you need.

By Abra on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - 12:58 am:

I was born with excezma and have been seeing a dermatologist since I was 6 months old. While I have outgrown it immensely (I got it on the backs of knees and inside of my elbows which is completely gone now), I still have it fairly badly on my hands and feet.

Most kids will completely outgrow their excezma or it will at least get much better. Although your child is itching, you have to be careful what you are putting on their skin. This is why it is very important to go to a dermatologist. Topical steroids are really dangerous for little kids and as a parent trying to alleviate your child's suffering you may be putting on more medicine than is good just to try to get the problem spot better faster.

Some easy ways to help, as some of the other posts have suggested, is to not bathe your child at all. Lightly wash them down or if they are old enough, have them shower every other day at most. People with excezma almost always have atopic dermatitis (fancy way of saying dry skin) so water just aggrevates it. So does anything scented - so use unscented lotion (and apply this liberally after your child showers - I like Curel) and hypoallergenic laundry detergent. Excezma patients often have allergy or asthma problems too, so don't wear perfume around your child or smoke.

Another big problem is that stress is a trigger that makes excezma worse. It is a bit of a catch 22 since if your child itches and is uncomfortable, this will make the area worse, but that's why they are uncomfortable in the first place. When I was little and I would throw a temper tantrum, hives would appear on my body - so it really can make a difference to calm your child down. If they really itch, even an ice pack can help because heat makes me a lot itchier. Putting on the ointment or lotion and then cotton socks and/or gloves is something I have found to be helpful for softening the skin and preventing scratching in the sleep. You can cut long socks to make knee and arm bands for those areas.

I feel like I have tried literally every ointment made and when it has been really bad oral medicines, so I think the best bet is to talk to a dermatologist. Right now I am using protopic and elidel (for the random face rash I get), but I don't know if these would be okay for very little kids. Establishing a routine is very helpful too (like putting on cream right after your child showers) because taking care of the problem the best you can will help make it better and they will feel better and then will do it when they are older and care that their hands and feet are not smooth looking.

Good luck!

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - 08:24 am:

I haven't read all these posts, but both my kids have sensitive skin and had eczema when they were younger. Switching over to perfume and dye free detergents and soaps made a huge difference. Bathing every other day instead of daily also helps. We use Cetaphil and/or Eucerin often.

By Cybermommyx4 on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - 10:56 am:

I have a friend who has a child with VERY disturbing exzema, and she swears by a product you can buy at Walmart called Blue Emu Oil (it is in a little jar with a blue lid - around $13-$15 if I remember right). I hope you find something that works

By Andyjoy on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - 05:53 pm:

I have had eczema since childhood and am allergic to most lotions (including unscented). I've found that aloe vera gel helps keep me moisturized. Johnson & Johnson and Equate (Wal-mart) brand both have a clear, undyed baby version.

I avoid bar soap and use baby soap. Bubble bath is a definite no-no (this made me very sad as a child).

When she's older, some things to watch for that bothered me were underwear/shorts/pants with exposed elastic (laundry soap residue is more concentrated there, plus the rubbing factor), and vinyl tennis shoes (don't breathe well).

By Monicamomof3 on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 - 09:35 pm:

My daughter had this really bad. The folds of her elbows had puss filled bumps that would pop and bleed. It was so sad to watch her claw at her little arms and cry. She would even do this in her sleep.

This is some of what I did:

****Added lecithin granules to anything I could get away with: soup, smoothies, etc

****Added cod liver oil to anything I could: apple sauce, soup, simply from the spoon to her mouth.

****I took out all dairy from her diet and supplemented with veggies high in calcium.

****I stopped using my usual soap and began using Aveno Oatmeal soap.

After about one week, the excema began to get better. By 3 weeks, the excema was COMPLETELY gone. The only thing that was left there was her leathery skin from so much scar tissue (due to intense itching), and scars from the puss oozing sores.

Boy, I tell ya- we were celebrating in our home.

My research led me to believe that excema is due to a deficiency source of fatty acids and/or food allergy. So, I am so grateful what I did worked.

I hope it gets better soon.

Good luck