Hello moms, I am concerned with the skin of my 11 month old son. He has some eczema patches on his belly that does not go away and it's been there since about 8 months I think. It is getting worst. I nursed him exclusively until 6 months then started adding enfamil lipil because I was so sleep deprived and we were cosleeping and needed him to take a bottle and now writing as I am pumping, I still nurse him once a day (I know I should quit cause I only get like 1.5 oz) Anyway I thought nursing would prevent the start of allergies and I feel that is untrue. He eats healthy solid food organic and all. I am wondering if I should stop giving him solid food for a couple days to see how his skin would react. Would formula be ok for a couple days? Also any of you had any experience with eczema in the baby years that when away overtime. I just don't want to get an increase in the rash and the itch. He does not seem bothered by it though. My other son is 3 and has also some eczema but he is a little asthmatic also and used to get croup a lot. His eczema is much less now at 3 than it was at 1 and 2. Also if you have any remedy, creams, something to put in bath water, food to avoid or to eat, any information and your own experience with it, would be greatly welcome. thank you for your time. N.
I thought eczema is just severe dry skin. Some kids just have it and they grow out of it......
I love aquaphore...it is the best. It is in the baby aisle. And Cetephil for baby wash and lotion......should help a lot with these comb.
Good luck.
Take him to a doctor.
Hi,
We had the same problem with my daughter. She's 5yrs old now and rarely ever has a breakout now. If she does, it's minimal and doesn't bother her at all. A few years back, I decided to look into Shaklee and the results we got with my daughter were amazing. We switched to all of their Get Clean laundry and cleaning products. They are safe and non-toxic. Plus we got rid of all fragranced things in the house like air fresheners and Fabreeze. You have to really do your homework when choosing products. There are conventional products on the market that say "fragrance-free", "natural", "green" etc, but many of them are still not safe. For instance, laundry products contain chemicals called monoethanolamines (MEB's), even Dreft and "Clear" products. Laundry products do not completely rinse out of our clothing and even tiny amounts can trigger reactions in asthma, allergies, eczema, and other respitory and skin conditions.
Second, we switched her over to Shaklee's baby line of body wash and lotion. Everything that goes on your child needs to be toxin-free and once again it takes alot of work to research the products, even if they say they're organic and free of chemicals. Also, we limit baths to every other day for her skin.
Another thing we did was start her on Shaklee's Mighty Smart chews. It's an organge-flavored omega-3 fish oil chew for children. This was the icing on the cake for us and made all the difference in her keeping her skin moisturized and clear.
We're happy as can be now! Let me know if you would like any other information and good luck.
There's a great over the counter lotion called Dermarest that you can get at CVS. It doesn't smell the best, but it's not horrible either. It works wonders, seriously. Before you go the crazy elimination diet route, which is really tough on everyone, try the lotion for a week. After all, if your son doesn't seem bothered by the itch, then it's not really anything more than a cosmetic problem at this point. Both of my kids get eczema, but since it doesn't bother them, I try not to let it bother me.
Good luck.
Eczema can be caused by different things, each person being different. For my Mom, it is triggered...by Oatmeal or anything with Oats... and Citrus.
Also, there is a natural cream ointment called "Florasone Cardiospermum" by Boericke and Tafel.
It is a natural alternative, to Hydrocortisone creams.
You can find it at Whole Foods... and online like Amazon. You can also see it and read the reviews of it on Amazon.
I have it and it is for eczema or any itches/rashes.
all the best,
Susan
My kids nursed exclusively and my first still had sensitive skin as a baby. He broke out right away and we realized we had to switch to dye/perfume free laundry soap and he still broke out if someone else held him against a shirt that was washed in regular detergent. Now I just make my own laundry soap and it is great. My oldest has grown out of the sensitive skin and has no food allergies.
My younger boy has much more sensitive skin, develops the eczema patches easily, and has asthma. I use petroleum jelly for moisturizer and he uses Aveeno bath wash (I get the perfume free). He has no food allergies.
Some things to keep in mind include that even "sensitive" products are still products. I bathe both of my kids while water runs in the tub, rinse them, and then fill the tub with clean water. My pediatric physician's assistant suggested using the bath wash right at the end and then rinsing as an option, too, to keep kids from sitting in the suds. I have no idea how diet would be contributing, but if you think he has allergies it couldn't hurt to talk to your pediatrician. He or she could probably make some suggestions that would allow you to see if there are any triggers or allergies in general.
First of all, good on you for making it as long as you did. Many moms don't. However, just because you only get 1.5 oz from the pump doesn't mean your son's not getting plenty. The pump is WAY different. My half sister has severe eczema, and her allergist said that nursing likely would have lessened its severity (she was always formula fed). I'd believe it since my eczema is very minor, and I was nursed for 3 months before being put on soy formula since I was colicky (not long, but better than nothing. My mom works ICU, so it really wasn't possible once she went back to work). It could be something he ate or is eating or it could even be something in the environment.
Diet-wise, try getting rid of one item at a time and see if that helps. I have a tendency to break out if I eat nuts or chocolate. My sister gets AWFUL welts if she eats eggs, milk (even things with milk in them like bread), including anything with casein or whey, chocolate or nuts. We both also break out around fresh cut grass and have to use detergents like Purex Free and Clear or Dreft and be careful about what kind of toiletries we use. You can either use a long process of elimination or a prick test to figure out what he's allergic to. Not all fragranced products will cause a breakout, but many do. You could also try switching formula. It's gotten less severe for me and my sister as the years go on, but we both have to avoid certain things to avoid breakouts; her list is just WAY longer than mine, and she also has to take meds. Typically Aquaphor or Eucerin have worked for me except when I stayed over at a place with 5 cats and needed a shot. My sister's been on many different meds, none of which I can name at the moment. At some time or other, they have used Aquaphor, vaseline, Eucerin (the kind in the tub) and even Crisco! We also both use the Aveeno oatmeal bath, too. That stuff is great. I also put a few rooibos teabags in the bath. One of the babies at my daughter's daycare uses the Gentle Naturals eczema cream, though, and her mom swears by it.
Aveeno lotion and bath oil is great for this. Grease your son up after each bath while he's still wet and let the lotion sink in. Then apply at bedtime.
Hope this helps!
My daughter had severe eczema from the age of 9mo on. It was really bad until she was about 5, and has cleared up a great deal, but she still takes an antihistamine during allergy season and has a prescription ointment for the bad rashes. I nursed her until the age of 3yo. Nursing doesn't prevent allergies, it does help build a strong immune system, but eczema is thought to involve both the immune system and the neurological system of our bodies.
She had food sensitivities when she was little but grew out of them, and I know that she benefited from the extended nursing because her diet was so restrictive (no dairy, soy, citrus, cantaloupe, kiwi, pineapple, any juices that had added vit C, and eggs). Winter is tough in her skin, so we have to keep it moisturized, especially her face.
Her allergist told us that kids with eczema and asthma tend to have it for a lifetime, but kids with just eczema tend to outgrow it as they get older.
It may not be food related.
My oldest developed it all over his abdomen around 18mos, and I figured it out that it was because of the Baby Magic baby lotion I was putting on him.
As soon as I switched him to fragrance free, sensitive skin generic lotion, it went away.
So take a look into what else has changed with him recently. Detergent? New clothes? New toys? etc... It could be anything.
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