Dry Skin - Macungie, PA

Hi K. - it sounds like she has eczema. I worked for 3 years in dermatology. Slather her hands before bed with aquaphor - it' very greasy but works wonders - trust me. Have her wash her hands with something mild like cetaphil. If it's really bad take her to the Dr. they will give you an Rx for a mild steriod cream. *hugs* K.

Hi K.,
My daughter used to have the same thing! Only it wasn't just her hands, it was her whole body..ahh!!
We used (and still use) Arbonne's baby care products. They are pure, safe, and beneficial. And they REALLY work! I have a weeks worth of samples if you would like I can send it to you.
Just private message me and let me know...

Good luck! Take care,
M.

We swear by crisco at our house. My daughter gets flaky, itchy, ugly, scaly red patches of dry skin all over her. When she was tiny, our ped. suggested some crisco on the dry skin before we went the steriodal cream route. TOTALLY does the trick for us. I like that it helps her fast and that it's safe if it gets in her mouth. I put some on her, rub it in and put her to bed. You can see a difference in a day. My mom decorates cakes and the icing she uses has a high crisco content- she's got the sofest hands I've ever felt because they're in crisco so often! This works for young and old!!
Good luck!

try aveno baby. I use that for my son's dry skin and eczema and it works so well.

My son has the same problems and eczema

Have you tried Hydrocortizone or Oatmeal?

Here is a great article I found - good luck:

Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a common problem in infants and children. It usually begins between two and six months of age with very dry and sensitive skin that will then become red and extremely itchy. It often starts on the forehead, cheeks and scalp and spreads to the trunk, creases of the elbows, knees, and wrists. With scratching the rash may become raw, crusted and weepy.

It is not yet known what causes it, but it does seem to run in families that have a history of asthma, allergies or atopic dermatitis. It is a chronic disease, but only about a third of children with infantile atopic dermatitis will continue to have problems with it as they get older.

There is no cure for this common condition. The main treatments are aimed at controlling and preventing inflammation and itching and include avoiding triggers, frequent bathing and hydrating of the skin, liberal use of moisturizers and lubricants, and the use of steroid creams for flare ups.

New Warning: A boxed warning from the FDA has been added to both Protopic and Elidel, warning about a possible risk of cancer, even though the reports have been rare and the link is not proven. To be safe, neither should be used in children under age 2 and they should only be used as second line treatments, when other medications have already been tried. And neither should be used for long periods of time. They can still be used though. In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology disagrees that the warning is even necessary or that these medicines are at all dangerous when properly used.

Lubricants

To help with dryness, these creams, such as Eucerin, Nivea, Cethaphil Moisturizing Cream, or Lubriderm, should be used every day, even when the eczema isn't flaring-up!

Apply right after baths within 3 minutes (and after the steroid creams) to help trap in moisture and throughout the day as needed.

For severely dry skin, try using an ointment, such as Aquaphor.

Alternative lubricants that some parents find useful include Hydrolatum and Vanicream.

Many experts recommend avoiding moisturizing lotions, as they often don't work as well as a cream or ointment.

Steroid Creams

These are the main treatments for atopic dermatitis when it flares up, and should be applied right after baths (and before a lubricant) and again during the day as directed. When the rash improves, cut back on how often you are using it and then stop until the rash flares up again.

Common steroid creams include Cutivate, Westcort, Lociod Lipocream, Artistocort, and Elocon.

Avoid using prescription steroid creams on the face or in the diaper area, unless specifically instructed to do so. An over the counter 1% Hydrocortisone cream is safer in these areas.

For severe cases of eczema, a steroid ointment may be more effective than a cream.

If your child's eczema improves when he is on a steroid and then quickly flares up again when you stop, it may help to use a 'step down' strategy where you taper the use of the steroid and use it less often, for example every other day and then 2-3 times a week, before finally stopping it. Or use a less potent steroid, like over the counter hydrocortizone after using a prescription strength steroid like Cutivate or Elocon.

You might also ask your doctor about one of the newer non-steroidal medications, like Protopic or Elidel.

Bathing and Eczema

Bathing and eczema is a controversial topic, but many people think the practice of limiting baths is old school or old fashioned. Many experts now recommend a daily bath for kids with eczema.

A daily bath for at least 15-20 minutes helps to moisturize the skin and make it less itchy. Be sure to use a mild, nondrying soap, such as Dove, Neutrogena, Tone, Caress, Dial, Basis, or Purpose, avoid vigorous scrubbing, use a soft towel to pat the skin dry and immediately (within 3 minutes) apply a lubricating cream afterwards.

If your child's skin is not tolerating a daily bath, limit baths to every other day or try using a soap substitute, such as Cetaphil. Avoid using bubble baths, harsh or drying soaps and keep shampoo off the affected areas.

Itching Relief
Atopic dermatitis is a very itchy rash, and scratching usually makes it worse, so it is important to help control itching. You can use an oral antihistamine, such as Benadryl, especially at night to help control irritability and restlessness that the itching may cause. Always apply your steroid cream to areas that itch.

Wet or damp dressings can sometimes help with severe itching. A wet-to-wet dressing can be made by having your child wear wetted pajamas after he takes a bath and then apply a dry layer over this.

Also, keep your child's fingernails cut short to limit the damage caused by scratching.

Eczema Prevention

Help prevent flare-ups by avoiding things that are known to trigger your child's eczema. These may include certain foods (cow's milk, eggs, peanut butter, fish), wool fibers and clothes, rough or tight fitting clothing, dry air, sweating, getting too hot or too cold (avoid hot or cold water), harsh soaps or chemicals, and stress.

Swimming is allowed, but immediately shower or bathe to wash off chlorine and other chemicals and apply a moisturizer to help prevent your child's skin from drying out.

Important Reminders

* Be patient. This is a chronic disease that usually improves and then flares-up again, but one which is usually easily managed with the above therapies.

* Call your pediatrician if your child is not improving in 1-2 weeks with his current treatments, the itching is keeping your child awake at night, the rash is infected with pus or honey colored scabs, or if the rash becomes raw and bleeding.

* A secondary skin infection can often be to blame for eczema that isn't clearing up. A trial of an antibiotic or a bacterial skin culture might help to see if this is complicating your child's eczema.

* You sometimes have to experiment to find what works best for your child's eczema.

* Consider seeing an expert, such as a Pediatric Dermatologist if you and your Pediatrician are not able to get your child's eczema under good control.

HI K.... I've had luck with Calendula. Calendual is an herb made into a lotion or salve. Its a natural product. You can buy it at any health food store. Good luck!

B.

For my son's exzema we used Aveeno products - lotions, body wash, oatmeal baths. We also used hydrocortisone cream and aquaphor. All these seemed to help. Have you talked to the pediatrician about this to find out if she is having a reaction to something? Aside from the discomfort and the underlying cause I would be concerned about infections and scarring. Good luck!

have you ever tried utterly smooth?
and as weird as it may sound, try putting alot of cream on her hands at night and covering them with something. like those mittens they put on babies to keep them from scratching their faces. it will hold the moisture in longer and hopefully it will at least ease the discomfort.

maybe a trip to the doctor to see if it is eczema and needs a prescription is in order?

these over the counter creams and lotions even the ones that that say dr recemended all have alcohol in them, and evevryone knows that alcohol dries the skin. get tube of pure zinc oxide, most mom and pop drug stores have it,dont relay on the amount found in diaper rash meds, its not enough, if you cant find it ask a pharmist to order some,that will heal the present scabby condition, put it on like you do a sunscreen, nice and thick, cover her hands with gloves if you want to, put some on your hands to and put on some gloves and make it a beauty routine so she wont think its so weird.

then every day i would use vitamen e oil, or pure cocobutter, again ask the pharmist, because the stuff you see on the shelf that says" contains vitamen e or contains cocca butter" is not the real stuff, real cocca butter smells like coccanutt and butter and it yellow, aand real vitamen e oil is found in the vitamen section. another often overlooked extremly good skin softener is suntan oil, panama jack trophy oil is the best, it has olive oil, cocconut oil, vitamen e oil, put this on her a couple times a day, and wathch and see how soon her skin heals up, and gets and stays soft, buy some extra for winter. i use it to make soap with, and use the soap all summer long, when my skin is so dry from being outside all the time. and i put it on my hands in the winter, as my hands get so bad thay crack and bleed, so out comes the zinc oxide and gloves, then evry other night with the trophy oil and gloves, works for me and mine.

She has excema my daughter has it. I took her to the dermatoligist and he said the best thing is bathe her in aveno or something else that is Natural and do not bathe her everynight! also he told me to use Cetifill (thats not spelled right) you can get it at walmart or costco. or they can prescribe an ointment my daughter had it soo bad her sking would get discolored from the scabbing, but since i started to do the above its gotten a lot better i will message you with the correct spelling when i get home!! also with the lotion you have to keep them lotioned at one point i lotioned her 3 times daily!!! good luck!!!

Have you tried Lansinoh? It's meant for breast feeding moms but I found it works really, really well on dry cracked skin. It's super sticky, which is the good thing and the bad thing. Another advantage is that it's safe to ingest, so if a baby or child sucks on it, it won't hurt them. I used to use it on my daughters face when she was a baby as she had very sensitive skin and got rashes easily. Try putting it on before bedtime, it will have the best chance of staying on then.

Has her doctor seen it? They can prescribe a stronger cortisone cream then you get over the counter. my son has dry skin also and that is what we use. AMAZING difference.....

I have used Dove body wash and Eucerin lotion for the kids. They both have dry skin so it helped a lot.
Eucerin came out with a new lotion called Eucerin Daily Replenshing lotion-it is supposed to replenish what the skin has lost during the day.
I just got that for the kids so I am figuring it would work the same as the original

Hey K.
I don't know if you've been to the doctor, but if you haven't, go. It really sounds like eczema. As a lifelong sufferer, I know (from what my mom told me, and dim memories) that my excema started on the backs of my hands as a toddler, and progressed up my forearms, to my elbow creases, and also back of the knee creases. As an adult, I still have flares that are sometimes so bad that they cover my entire torso and then some. Luckily, there are more treatments nowadays than even ten years ago, still mostly steroidal, but prudent use can turn misery to livability.
Oh, and if your family doc/pediatrician has brushed off the problem, get a second opinion or go back and be very insistent. There is medical treatment that can help your daughter, and what you describe is not garden variety 'dry skin'.
Good luck! If you have any other questions, I am actually a research scientist with professional knowledge of allergic skin disorders and inflammation, as well as having done the dogged up-til-3am-on-the-internet research for anecdotal remedies for my own wacky immune/skin problems, shoot me a message, I have a LOT of info on OTC products, things to watch out for, dermatologists' gems, etc. There are also mailing lists on this topic specifically, I can dig back in my files and find their current location. Oh, and here's an eczema faq site with lots of good info:
http://www.eczema.org/faqfile.htm