baby eczema...anyone know of good creams...?

[joko]

my sisters 3 month old has terrible blotchy eczema on her chest, cheeks and legs.

sis is using e45 itch relief and an aquaeous cream prescribed by doc, but when applied, baba tries to scratch and the patches go bright red.

any one know of any safe creams that work?

or any alternative remedy creams?

doc is apparently not too interested. (!)

cheers

[nutgoneflake]

Breast-fed babies' eczema could be triggered by what the mum is eating. Is she feeding baby herself? If so, she might find it helpful to make a food diary to spot any patterns, flare-ups etc. Number 1 irritant is dairy, but doctors are very wary of avoiding this when breast-feeding. Replacing it with goat's milk is the best to try as it's broken down in the same way by baby. Also, never forget that calcium is present in other foods too!! Dark green leafy veg is a great source, for instance. (Cows eat grass, after all...) Your sister can get plenty that way and pass it on in the milk without having dairy herself. The jury is still out on soya for mums/babies. It's possible to feed baby the goat's milk directly, if mum's not breastfeeding, but she'd need to ok this with the Health Visitor.

If your sister's not comfortable with any of that and wants to stick with creams - try Allergenics steroid-free (health food store) or Diprobase (prescribed). We're a bit of a sensitive family, and I have to say that I find Diprobase the best by miles! E45 has never worked for me or my son, and Aqueous cream is great when it's dry and itchy, but not when it's weepy, sore or red. It sounds like this isn't helping at all at the moment.

Your sister has to think along these lines - that any external reaction on the skin is a sign that something is not right internally with the digestion. Think from the inside out!! The things that trigger baby's eczema now will probably be things to avoid in childhood too, so the sooner she can pinpoint them, the better!

Maybe find a doctor who's a little bit more well-rounded, no offence, doc! This complaint is so common, and these days doctors should be more open to alternative remedies. It's not quackery! Failing that, do all the research before seeing the doc, so that he can see it's being taken seriously. It's all too easy to say, "baby will grow out of it," and not actually do anything for you, I'm

[nutgoneflake]

that should have said:

"...I'm afraid, but good luck!" on the bottom. I do go on a bit, don't I?! :O)

[Lily_b]

Another vote for Diprobase.

Clears up my DDs eczema in a few days - luckily she only gets it during the autumn/winter & winter/spring season changes, her trigger points are when we start and stop using the central heating, or she has been in wet clothes too long (swimming/caught in rain).

[thingummyjig]

a natural herbal solution; tried and tested by me for my son (he too was breast fed) was helenas natural remedy, they have a website, try google! possibly www.helenascollection.co.uk

It is pricey but if, like me she doesnt want to ruin her babies skin by being a guinea pig, trying cream after cream until the right one is found, and then having to use steroid, it is worth every penny!

The second best tip I had was to get rid of terry towelling sleepsuits ( I thought they looked cute!) and swap them for plain cotton ones.
When using aqueous cream, to avoid contaminating the pot of cream, use a spoon to get the amount needed.
Only bath in plain water, every other day (I find my sons skin is better when he hasnt been in water nad as he is now 3, we only shower him, very rarely bath him)
On helenas website she will give excellent tips, or is available to give advice out over the phone.
Good luck!

[joko]

thanks all,

she is not breast feeding, but my sis has eczema, i have had it in the past, and we both had it as babies, so perhaps its just that.

I will pass on all your advice
thanks again

[Ams6784]

hi there my little boy got eczema at about the same age tell your sis to ask the doctor for oilatum for the bath as normal baby bath products will make it worse, oilatum is like a oil for the bath its used as a bubble bath kind of thing, but it works great it cleared my little boy up in no time there is also oilatum cream to apply for after the bath.

[CYM 1]

hi there id say oilatum bath oil i use that coz me and my little lad ave eczema its brill, or epiderm its really thick but does the job

[Fee_B77]

Hi there
I'm a huuuuuuge fan of good old fashioned vitamin e. My daughter had infected eczema when she was around the crawling stage (at the front of her feet) and we tried everything the doc dished out. In the end I popped open a vitamin e tab and rubbed it on. Without a single exageration, it was gone within 2-3 months. Just be very careful that it's not a nut allergy that's aggrivating it. If the vit e is in nut oil that could be horrid. My daughter is 5 now and still gets eczema when it's warm. Vit E still works.

Hope you get it sorted.

[Fee_B77]

Also, try not to bathe the kiddie too much. Eczema is dry skin, bathing dries the skin out. It's a vicious circle!!

[story_teller]

DO NOT USE E45 CREAM its makes the ecema worst my son has suffered with this since birth he is now 12 i used to use e45 but it irrited him so much that infact it made it worst so i started using oilatum its gr8 stuff u can buy cream and bath stuff soap shampoo the lot and it clears up my sons ecema no end......hope this helps

[aims1202]

I dont think e45 is very good and it may be good idea to put some scratch mits on when they are very young.
I used Diprobase cream and Oliatum Bath from doctor for my son whos now 4yrs. Both were really good for helping manage it but nothing will get rid of it. I found that putting the cream on a lot of times a day was good but always rinse and dry the skin first or its more itchy. I believe it is outside factors that are partly the cause of eczema the other is that it runs in families. Things like biological washing powder, fabric softner, cleaning products(use bicarb and lemon juice) sun cream and pollen. try to stop using these as much as poss. My sons eczema has gradually got better as hes got older but it does tend to flare up if hes stressed so thats another factor! Hope this helps you.