Advice on Eczema

You might want to change the detergent you wash clothes in. My doctor advised Arm & Hammer, as it has less "added ingredients" in it. Helps. Dove is a good choice for bath soap. Keep the house as dust free as possible.

My daughter also suffers with Eczema, some of the things that the Dr has to me to do is:
- Do not bath her everyday, I give her a bath every other day, and do not put the soap in the water, if you son wants to play in the bath wait and use the soap right before you get him out.
- If you use Dryer sheets this has been know to make the eczema worse, you may try not using them for a while. You may also want to think about change to a dye/perfume free laundry soap.

My dr. also told me that she would grow out of it... hopefully that will be soon!

Eczema generally results from an overwhelmed immune system. Support the immune system. Depending on your child's bloodtype, make necessary dietary changes. Wheat, dairy, corn, orange juice, coffee, black tea, colas and sugars are common irritants/allergens to avoid.

Our daughter too. My pediatrician said the most important thing is to use lotion then ointment over it within 5 minutes of getting out of the bath. This seals in the moisture. He even said we can give her a bath everyday although we've never really been together enough to do that.

I went through this with my now 20 year old and he did out grow it but it was hard to go through at the time. Just to be encouraging he was our second child and we had 11 and no one else ever had anything like it. We changed our laundry products but I wish I new then what I know now. It is an issue of the immune system so you want to get any toxins out of your home and while dove may be gentle it is not non toxic. There is a web site you can go to and see any ingredient you have in a product and see if it is really safe or not. http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm
We have switched to everything natural we can and use mostly Shaklee products. We began using them nearly 25 years ago and have increased as we saw the value in them. I do Shaklee now as a business now that I don't have all little guys running around. My suggestions are general and not just about Shaklee. I would suggest using supplements to boost the immune system as well since that is the true cause but you don't want the immune system to have and fight any harder than nessesary since toxins are all around us we need to cleanse the house of as many of them as possibel. It really isn't hard just takes a little time to switch things over. If you have anyquestions feel free to ask. I love helping even if you don't use the products I distribute!!

Sincerely,
K. B

www.shaklee.net/takecontrol/getclean

My daughter has eczema too as does my husband so he was really helpful. First, the perscription cream works wonders. We only used it once or twice though since ours was steroidal. Good lotions worked best.

Stay away from fragrances and dyes. We use dove soap for washing and All Free and Clear for washing clothes. Don't use baby products as most have lots of fragrance.

As for lotion - my ped recommended using an adult lotion for sensative skin. We have used Eucerin, Aveeno and Cetaphil. All work well. My personal favorite is Aveeno with shea butter.

Hi K.--
I seldomly respond to topics on this forum, but I have battled this same issue with my 12 month old since he was born. I have had similar experiences with the medical profession and have opted to do my own research. Here's is what I have found works best for our son: daily baths using Dove soap with immediate full-body application of Vanicream. It does not require a prescription, but you will likely need to ask your pharmacy to order it for you as it is not stocked in most stores. This ritual has almost eliminated our need to use steroid creams. As you know, every child is different...and some children with eczema do better with more infrequent baths. In addition to persistent moisturizing, it is also important (as many others have said) to try to locate the cause. For my son, it is mainly foods, but for others it might be soaps, detergents, perfumes, environmental allergens...unfortunately, there's no clear answer sometimes. The best you can do for now is avoid anything scented, including detergents and perfumes. I use All Free and Clear for the laundry, but have also used Shaklee products in the past. I use Seventh Generation products for the kitchen. You might consider watching his reaction after specific foods, such as milk, eggs, soy, fish. These are common allergic triggers that can manifest themselves as an eczema flare. Hope this helps!

My son has this same problem. We have tried every kind of lotion out there including all of the dermatologist perscribed steriods. What works best for us is Dermarest Excema Lotion (sold at CVS and Walgreens). We like this because it is the only lotion we have found that is not greasy yet still moisturizes. After about a week of using this my sons skin looked the best it had in over a year. I showed it to the Dermatologist and she looked at the ingredients and said she wasn't sure why it worked, but if that did the trick to keep on using it. Everyones skin is different and I think it is just a process of trial and error, but after tring all the normal lotions (Eucurin, Lubriderm, Cetaphil, etc.) this was worth a shot for us. In case you decide to give this a try there is a $2 off coupon in this months coupon book at Walgreens (they normally have these in the front of the store near the door with the weekly circulars). I think its about $10 a bottle. A bottle last us several months. I am sure you already know this, but when you put the lotion on make sure you do it right after a bath, immediately after pating the skin dry while it's still a little damp. Obviously you should stay away from perfumed lotions, soaps, laundry detergents, fabric softners etc. All free and clear is a good laudry detergent and Cetaphil or CeraVe soap is a good gentle soap. Good Luck!

Hi K.,

I understand your concern. I am a Nail Technician and an Idependent Arbonne Consultant. In my 18 years of doing nails I have seen my share of skin disorders, until Arbonne was shared with me I did not know how to help my clients. I have now seen actual results before my very eyes, how Arbonne skin care products have actually helped heal their Eczema. I have actual pictures and a letter from a Dr. of how the Arbonne products worked better than a Steroid cream. If you are interested let me know and I can share this information, plus a sample to try to see if it works for you. I know your poor son is miserable and wondering when he's going to stop all this itching and your probably going crazy trying to keep him from scratching. I would like to be able to add your story to my testimonies. Let me know if you would like this information and a FREE sample to try. ALL of our products are SAFE, PURE AND BENIFICIAL and Pediatritian tested.

Thank you for your time and oppourtunity to help,
K. McCravy
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Wow - looks like you've gotten alot of great advice already but thought I'd throw some more in there. I have a husband 2 boys with it also! We are a fragrance free home as well as using "All" free detergent and using oatmeal soking baths from Aveeno. They are great. Make sure when you get a prescription lotion or any over the counter that they don't have any "propelene glycol" in them. Nobody bothered to tell us that at the ped's office and it will burn them and you won't know what they are crying about. Also when the summer comes watch out for sunscreen. Aveeno now makes a good one, but Airbonne is awesome for kids with eczema. They make the best sunscreen we have ever used and it will last a good while also.

Hope this helps!

Whatever you do, don't start the steroid cream! If it's an alternative non-steroid ointment, that may be okay. That was the worst mistake I made. I was recommended by both the pediatrician and dermatologist to use it, and it helped at first, but it only made things worse. The eczema spread from his face to his scalp and the rest of his body. His skin became dependent upon it, and if I stopped applying it the eczema would come back with a fury (withdrawal symptoms). After weaning my baby off the steroid cream, I realized that all I had to do was to give him brief lukewarm baths everyday and moisturize his skin immediately after the bath with a hypoallergenic lotion or cream like Cetaphil. Then, I would reapply the Cetaphil every hour. That has helped so much more than the steroid cream. The weaning process is something that you don't want to have to go through. I have also eliminated harsh chemicals in the house and switched to perfume-free, dye-free, and organic household products (if possible), such as: Tide-Free detergent, Dr. Bonner's Organic liquid soap, Seventh Generation dish soap, and California Baby baby wash. We don't light our scented candles in the house anymore and anyone wearing perfume cannot hold the baby. All must wash hands with soap and water before holding the baby. No Johnson & Johnson products. I even use Jason's natural shampoo for myself, as well as Free & Clear soap and Oil of Olay soap. I haven't noticed any patterns related to diet (he is breastfed), but I eat a varied diet and don't binge on products that contain eggs, wheat, sugar, soy, etc. (all of those that tend to make eczema flare up). I have also eliminated coffee all together (even decaf) after reading that coffee, not caffeine, can lead to inflammation related to eczema.

So far, his eczema is healing well and only has a few flaky areas. Good luck and resist the urge to apply the steroid cream!

P.S., We also no longer use Dryer sheets or Johnson & Johnson products. Nixed Aveeno as well.

My son also has this. He is almost 3 and has had it since about 6 months. They also told me the same. I have learned alot about it since my son has breakouts ALL the time..usually only on the lower part of the body but what I have noticed is warm weather it just about completely goes away and cold weather is aweful. The dermatolgist suggested and it works, the Oatmeal base soaps and lotions. I also have been told and have read alot about it and they say they will grow out of it. Good luck! M.

My son is now 18 years old, and the doctor is correct, it does usually go away as they grow older. My son's skin is still very sensitive, but nothing like it was when he was a little one. The best thing I ever found outside of the ointments was Aquaphor, I think it is over the counter now, then it was behind the counter. Best stuff, for even diaper rashes, burns, and skin irritation.
We also used Cetaphil bath wash. He also had allergy/asthma early on but outgrew that also, was in the hospital 5 times before he was 2 years old. Recently he has had several bouts of itching and skin irritation - a few times we have discovered he is sensitive to certain types of soap. Otherwise, the eczema problems did go away with age. Good luck, it can be trying as you have to deal with it, but you are not alone.

May God Bless you.

M. B.

Hi K.,
Elidel worked for us, good luck!

K.,
I have 2 sons that have been diagnosed with eczema. My advice to you is trust your Doctor. The ointment with help with the rash and itching. Perfumed and colored soap irritate the skin so Dove or Ivory unscented it the best. My older son who is now 15 has out grown eczema I'm still dealing with my 7 year old. I had it when I was younger and your son will grow out of it also. The only other thing you could do is to have him use a unscented lotion. Eczema is a technical name for dry skin as long as the skin is not irritated and it is moisturized the rash will soon be something of the past.

My oldest daughter (now 6) had eczema when she was around 2. She has outgrown it. I used Aveeno oatmeal bath packets, which you can find at pharmacies and Walmart. You just dissolve one packet in the bath water every time he gets a bath. Then I would use Aquaphor and/or Eucerine cream on her skin when she got out. With this routine, I noticed a huge difference. Hope this helps.

K.:

For my daughter it is true, she did grow out of it. Asthma and Eczema seems to have a link with each other, so keep an eye out for that. Try oatmeal baths and get Eucerin cream and apply it on everyday, especially on the affected areas. Usually doctors will prescribe that to you. Phisoderm (sp) is a soap that the doctor can prescribed to you also, but to be honest I didn't see much of a difference with that soap and it's a little pricey.

The ointment they give you is great, but make sure you don't over due it if the oitment has steroids in it. Best thing is to prevent it from coming in the first place with oatmeal baths and Eucerin lotion. Dry skin will trigger it so just keep the skin moistened.

Hope it works out!
Gook Luck!!

My 17 month old daughter was just diagnosed with eczema last week herself. I've been able to combat it by using "Fragrance Free Baby Eczema Cream" by "Gentle Naturals" regularly and by applying "Vaseline" petroleum jelly on her liberaly at least three times a day. The key is to try to find what exassberates the problem, avoid it, and keep the skin moisterized. It's an all day thing literaly, but it's worth it. I've also been bathing her in "Dove" frangrance free soap. I make sure the water is not too hot, and I don't keep her in the tub too long. To help boost her immunity from the inside out, I put infant probiotic in her juice everymorning to strengthen her immune system. It's going to be a process of finding out what aggravates the problem (so keep you eye open for everything, what he eats, drinks, wears, put's on skin, change of weather, illnes, stress-these are all things that can aggravate the condition) and keeping the skin moisturized. I really wish you the best. Just be pateint and you'll learn how to keep it at a minimum.

I would start boosting the immune system asap! I would start with Chiropractic adjustments for him and add probiotics to her diet. Not sure of his age, if old enough you can give a high grade yogurt with added probiotics. This will help to rid his eczema!! He will be a much heatlhier and happy child with the chiropractic too:) For the soap, I would use California Baby for sensitive skin or Burts Bees bay wash. The Dove isnt so gentle after all!

I was told the same thing and my son will be 12 this October. I have went thru everything form Oatmeal baths to ointment , lotion and creams and it go away for a while then come right back. Now, I have my son using natural products like shae butter lotion and black soap and within days he notice a big differnce. I am not buying it out of the stores because the add other things in it. If you are interested let me know and I can give you the person information that I get the products from.

You can't be guaranteed that it's going to go away at a certain age. There is so much that you can go NOW to make it go away. It has a lot to do with chemicals as well as food, etc.

I went to the ped. a few weeks ago and saw a family come in and one boy had this stuff all over his face. At first, I thought he had been in a fire or car wreck, etc. I did ask what happened and she told me eczema. She told me that it was under control! How sad...*that* was under control? Wowsie...I feel for anyone with this stuff. Anyway, while sitting there with her, I passed on a website that you might like to look into. It's called solveeczema.org. I hope this eliminates this for your little one.

(There are too many chemicals in our houses, in our soaps, etc., and we need to eliminate them.) Good luck!

D.