How Do I Take Care of Infant's Skin?

It's a phase. We use Cetaphil becasue it is Pthylate (s/p?) free and is really gentle! It is kind of expensive, but lasts a really long time! Aquaphor made my little girl break ou worse.

My one year old has exema and had it pretty bad on his face. I tried everything and finally found a product that works really well for him it is baby Aquaphor healing ointment. Try that and see if it works for your little guy. Hope this helps

Have you tried Aquaphor? That's very mild and doesn't sting and could really help. This could just be a phase, but it could be eczema. If dry skin, dry rashes and eczema run in your family, I have some advice, so read on; otherwise, it might be too much info ;-)

We have gone through the eczema with both of our boys. I have a three month old going through it right now. Here's what we've learned:
--Baths every other night or even every night, if you have time.
--when skin is damp, lube him up with Aquaphor and/or Eucerin or other ointments/lotions of your choice. The Eucerin is hard to spread, so the damp skin helps.
--Vaseline, Vanicream and some of the other ointments are very oily and stain. We had hand prints in Kyle's room on his carpet for over a year before I could get them out! And, I went through several nice shirts from work. So, I recommend putting a cap over his head immediately after you treat his scalp and then long sleeves and pants after treating limbs. And socks for the feet! Kyle's hands get so bad, we lube up his hands and then put socks on those.
--It's constant work. You have to really stay on top of it, lubing up the rash-prone areas every day, or the rashes can get worse. When the rashes go away, I switch to regular lotions (Aveno, Lubriderm, Eucerin), but I put them on every day, or the rashes come right back. I have not had good luck with Burt's Bees baby lotion, even though some of their other products are great. It doesn't seem to do a dang thing on the baby, the kid, or me!
--Generally speaking, ointments are better then creams/lotions. Creams tend to sting
--Your pediatrician might recommend some light steroid ointments. We've been using these on Kyle for three or four years now and we've got it pretty under control except for his hands which, at five years old, he chews and beats up and then doesn't wash. So, that's a new twist on the challenge. But we're doing better with the baby this time around, I think.

You can try over-the-counter cortizone creams, but they tend to sting if the rashes have cracked. And, they just haven't been enough for our boys. But, every kid is different, so it's not a bad place to start.

I've found the local pharmacist to also have some good ideas.

Our pediatrician has prescribed a fluocinolone at .01%--very light steroid--in drops for the baby's head. Our older son has the fluocinolone as an ointment. It seems to be the only thing that really works on their eczema. But, check with your doc to see what he/she thinks. I was really adverse to the light steroids for a long time, but in the end, they are the only thing that really knocked the rashes back and even made them go away.

They really don't know a lot about eczema and babies--why babies get it and have trouble beating it back. At least, this is what my doc's office told me two weeks ago. It's a new area of study. And, the eczema has links to development of childhood asthma--which is also being studied. Our doc told us he thinks is all a sign of the times.

Anyway, that's what has worked for us. Good luck!

H.
My daughters skin was really dry and I bought her Aveeno for babies with dry skin. It was like 4 or 5$ at the grocery store. But it worked miracles for her. Her skin healed so quickly. I was really surprised how fast it worked. Hope you find something that works!

A.

My dd has allergies and she ended up with the redness and I used aquaphor which is great. When we saw the allergist they did reccomend vanicream because theres no lanolin which can cause stinging on the skin. If by chance the baby may have cradle cap which can also move down to the face the peds recommended selsun blue. you would put the shampoo on the scalp let sit for about 5 minutes then rinse. we did this 3 days aweek for about 2-3 weeks and it never came back except with a food allergy.

Hi H.,

My little girl had the same problems at 6 weeks to 2 months, she was completely covered with bumps on her head and her chest. Then it started cracking and drying out I tried everything from cetaphil, aquaphor, eucerin, they all made it worse. Finally I found the only thing that worked was Aveeno baby wash and lotion. There are a couple different ones but the one that worked was in a cream colored bottle and has dark blue writing on it. It also has NEW at the top. Just wanted you to know so hopefully you can find the right one. The other one is see through one with light blue wrighting, don't get that one. There are no perfumes or anything in the specific one I'm telling you about. Her skin began healing up in just a few days. It was a life saver she is now 10 months old and I still use it. I am so thankful I found this stuff I even use the lotion on myself I have terrible eczema and it helps me. Good luck hopes this helps or you are able to find what does.

Oh yeah another thing I read that sometimes this happens at this stage of their lives because they are riding their selves of our hormones and it can come out in this way..Not sure if its true it was an article I read but kindof interesting.

Hi H.,

I used Aquaphor on my son's face when he was a baby and it helped a lot. I am now using it on my baby daughter's bum as she gets diaper rash pretty easily. It works in both places really well.

Aquaphor always burned our babies. We like Gentle Naturals Eczema Cream. The Eczema bath wash is great, as well. It never seemed to burn, even on the worst of skin and worked just as well as Aquaphor. We still use it for all types of things.

Have to agree - Aquaphor is the best! I put it on my daughter's face - especially when chapped from drooling (teething). It's great on just about anything!

Once my daughter's skin wasn't so dry anymore, I switched to using Eucerin (our of the tub) to put on her body. It's super thick and has no perfumes or anything. I get the WalMart brand of "eucerin" for a fraction of the cost, and it has worked great.

Start with Aquaphor - grab a big one for the nursery, and a squeeze bottle size for the diaper bag. You'll be glad you did!

Tiffani's line looks awesome! Also, if you are nursing, eat sunflower seeds and anything else with Vitamin E. You can put olive oil directly on his skin. Cut sugars, preservatives and anything else unhealthy in your diet and get plenty of fiber - that will help his skin and yours. My husband has Crohn's disease and I can always tell how fast he is healing by watching the sores on his back. Remember skin is the last thing on the body to heal, so the more nutrition and the more bowel movements (within reason) the better. Good luck!

I make quality, natural bath products, and have a line especially for babies. In the case of cradle cap, exzema, & skin sensitivities I recommend using an all natural soap (no commercial products, which are detergents and rather harsh) and a combination of our shea butter and Honeybuns oil, you can check them out here:

http://www.wildlyluckysoap.com/wild-child.htm

My pediatrician and personal doctor use these things (especially the shea and oil) for themselves because they help their dry, cracked hands, and they also recommend them to other patients. I can vouch for them myself, as I created them to help my littlest girl's skin. (she's 3 now!)

HTH!