Eczema Remedies

Updated on October 07, 2006
N.W. asks from Charlotte, NC
31 answers

My daughter has had eczema really bad since 3 months of age. I have tried everything, from prescriptions expensive lotions, socks on her hands to stop her from digging until she got old enough to take them off herself.I have tried Elidel but that did not work. My daughter would scratch so bad she would dig thru her skin and getting all bloody and bruise herself. The pediatrician had a great idea it was to put Eucerin cream on her legs at night and wrap it with saran wrap to let the moisture soak in. That gets her legs nice and moisturized, and he gave me the Rx Zyrtec as well. But she still itches really bad. I cut her nails as low as they can go. Anyone have any suggestions?

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N.

answers from Miami on

My daughter had some mild eczema when she was younger and she outgrew it. Have you tried looking into her diet. Maybe she has a sensitivity to dairy? Google "causes for eczema and diet"? I remember reading about this.

The best cream that worked for my Daughter was the Weleda Diaper Care Cream. This cream was refered to me by a lady whose daughter had terrible rashes, that no other cream would take away. So i bought some at nutritionsmart for my daughters eczema rashes. It worked better than the Elidel, and seemed to soothe and stop the itching. Here is a link. I bought mines at nutritionsmart by the baby products/shampoo aisle.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00023AQUE/103-###-###-#...

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K.

answers from Tampa on

My son has been having the same problems with eczema. Someone told me about a product called Skin Zinc, they have a web site, you may have to google the name. I am going to order it for my son to see if it is as good as they say. Good luck with this, it seems like every one has an answer, but nothing works, poor kids having to itch all the time.

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S.S.

answers from Miami on

I would try the aveeno lotion, bath wash and oatmeal bath. My little boy has eczema as well and that seems to really help.

Good luck.

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A.P.

answers from Miami on

The best thing is the Palmers Shea butter in the circular container. i used it for my eczema and my kids as well. I stopped me from itching and it also put so much moisture back in because it is an oil base! i can say from using it that it is really great and i know how bad it itches 0----- try it..

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V.

answers from Boca Raton on

Dear N.,
my advice go to Wholefoods, buy organic raisins with seeds. Take a 5 tb.spoons of raisins, wash it in boiled cold water, put in 1 cup hot just boiled water, cover a cup and let it stend 1 hour( usually you can do it before night, and in the morning you can just warm it a little in microwave before each use, don't warm all, just a little, what you need for one time). Gently sponge with soft cloth your baby body and face every 3 hours and give her to drink 1 tea spoon every 3 hours too. In a week the redness will be gone, continue to do it 1 week after everything is gone. Do not use any creams in that time!
Believe me, it will help!
Best wishes to you, N.!
There is my phone, if you have questions: ###-###-####
email: ____@____.com
Good luck, V..

1 mom found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Jacksonville on

Our son is now 6 but has had eczema his whole life. We have tried a lot but here is what is working now. We bathe him once daily with lukewarm water and aquafor unscented baby wash. Then we coat him in steroid ointment (not cream) on the areas that are affected. We then, cover him with Cetaphil Cream and leave that on for the evening. We coat him again in the AM before we do anything else. He takes Atarax for the itching at night. Its very similar to Zyrtec (he takes that in the AM). If not, have you seen Dr. Kwong at Nemours? She's a pediatric dermatologist that might have some other ideas for you.

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A.S.

answers from Jacksonville on

There is a great product called Renew. It works wonders. You will have to order it online or call the 800 #. www.melaleuca.com or 1-800-282-3000. It has all natural ingredients in it. This is so much better then eucerin. My son used that for a long time. He is 12 now. This stuff really works great. My son had it so bad as a baby that he couldn't wear cloth diapers or pampers. It's not so bad today but she still can't have buttons on his jeans touch his stomach. I hope this helps. A.

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C.J.

answers from Lakeland on

We used to live in the Minneapolis area and that's where Dr. Kenneth Bloom is. He's one of the top pediatric dermatologists in the country and is doing studies on pediatric eczema. He was going to put our oldest daughter in the study and recommended that in the mean time, keep her moisturized. We used Aveno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream at every diaper change. When we took her back to start the study, he wouldn't take her because her eczema has cleared up too much. He prescribed Atarax (1-2 mL 4x a day as needed) for itching. It's an antihistimine. He also prescribed a .5% steroid cream for her red spots when she was having a breakout. Try finding an antihistimine, like Benedryl. That might help.

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B.L.

answers from Orlando on

I have battled my daughter's allergies & eczema since she was 3 months old & now at almost 5, we still sob together day & night about it. We have a graveyard of miracle creams & steriods. She is on Zyrtec twice daily & singulair 1ce a day & benadryl as needed. She literally sticks to her sheets at night from the bleeding & pus. Some days she has to wear garden gloves everywhere she goes. My heart breaks for her & I am desperate for her to heal. I would love for her to meet other children who itch & scratch like she does. She is allergic to nuts, dairy, eggs & wheat. Dust mites & being out in the heat set her off. I held her for her entire 1st year of life to keep her from making herself bleed. Some nights I still have to sleep with her & hold her arms still. We are tired, but we press on & pray for healing. Thankfully I can stay at home with her & somedays it seems that her skin condition dictates our lives. If anyone is interested in having some sort of playdate for our sweet children, we would like that. It would really help my daughter to know that she's not as different as she thinks she is.

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R.M.

answers from Washington DC on

My son too has eczema and he does the same thing...scratch and scratch and scratch.

I use the eucerin too as well as "White Petrolatum USP" (vasaline, basically)at night. I try to keep my son clothed at all time, especially his legs (that's where he scratches the most). I try to keep him moisterized constantly...every diaper change, every chance i get so he won't break out. I suggest you do the same if you havent already.

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S.R.

answers from Atlanta on

My daughter developed eczema at an early age & it sounds like your daughter has a more severe case than what we dealt with but I wanted to share what we used. We also used Elidel which did work for us but I was eventually able to use Aveeno products to subside her symptoms. I used Aveeno oatmeal bath every night and washed her with Aveeno baby SOOTHING RELIEF CREAMY WASH and then applied Aveeno baby SOOTHING RELIEF MOISTURE CREAM after each bath and even on days that she did not get a bath. This did seem to help. I had the most luck finding the creamy wash at Target or Walgreens. For some reason Walmart never has it.

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L.

answers from Daytona Beach on

My daughter also had Eczema and her dermatologist suggested we used Vaseline as a moisterizer and Dove for sensative skin when we gave her a bath. They both worked great! She is know 3 1/2 and her Eczema is all gone.

Good luck!

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V.H.

answers from Tampa on

Hi N. - I am an independent consultant for Arbonne International. Arbonne has the most amazing and results oriented products I have ever used. We have an extremely gentle baby care line. There is a Doctor in my upline her name is Dr. Deanna Osborn, she swears by the baby care products, as a doctor she has access to every product out there and nothing worked until she started using the baby care set on her daughter. I can email you additional information about the products. Please check out my website and let me know if you would like additional information. Thanks.
Vickie H. - ____@____.com

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S.

answers from Miami on

Hi N....I know the feeling. My 14 month old has ezcema also. I tried everything...he went to the dermatologist and had cream and after cream. However...I finally found something that works. There are 2 creams at whole foods..one is in a blue and purple bottle it is made by shikai and it is called Borage Dry Skin Therapy. It is like lotion and it controls the ezcema. I put it on him every time he gets out of the bath or water. Since I started using this cream months and months ago he has not had a flair up. Also, there is a little white and yellow tube called ezcema inflammation. When he was first inflammed I used this and it cleared up. Since I started using these he's been flair up free and a happy baby!! I hope this helps...

Best,
S.

J.

answers from Tampa on

Poor thing! I have psoriosis so I have been down this road often... The only things I can think of that are safe for little people are to use the Neosporin Pain Relief when she makes herself bleed, do oatmeal baths, and putting Vitamin E on the affected area because it calms the itching (never use synthetic vitamin E because your body will not be able to utilize it). You may find something usefull in this website too. http://members.tripod.com/~Barefoot_Lass/index-4.html
You may also want to discuss diet with your pediatrician. I'm not sure what you're feeding yet but they do find corrolation between diet and eczema. Good luck!

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S.M.

answers from Miami on

Hi N.. Sorry to hear about your daughters exzema. I have heard from others what a hard time their children have with it. A friend of mine who says over the years she has tried every prescription and non prescription rememdy out there.

her daughter has found relieve from shea butter, and a melaleuca product (cream) - I don't recall the name but if you know any melaleuca reps I am sure they must know.

good luck! your daughter will be in my prayers.

hugs,
S. M

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I.

answers from Miami on

Sorry, I don’t have any good ideas for what kind of cream to use. The only thing I can say is that I was told my daughter would outgrow it, and she did, at about age 14.

Her doctors also said that they now know that eczema, allergies, and asthma are all tied together. Usually if one is bad, the others will be too. This also turned out to be accurate with my daughter. When her eczema lessened, so did her allergies and asthma. That also coincided with a move from the midwest to Miami, and we were told that may have had been a factor also.

Just thought you could use a heads up so you can be on the look-out for allergies and asthma symptoms. It took way too long for my daughter to be diagnosed, but the connection between the three wasn’t known at that time.

Good luck!

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D.

answers from Tampa on

Dear N.,

I got this information from an out of print book, Let's Have Healthy Children by ADELLE Davis. She says that the itching is a lack of B complex vitamins. A source of this vitamin is brewers yeast. Or you could purchase childrens liquid vitamins and liquid B complex. The main point is get your daughter off of sugar, soda, and wheat. Try to ensure she has lots of stuff that helps her digestion. Yogurt, fiber through fruits and salad. Oils are important for the skin. Not fried foods oil, but good oil in salad dressing.

Use vingar (white) in the laundry rinse cycle because some people are very sensetive to detergents and only use detergents that are free of dyes and perfumes.

A B vitamin deficency takes approximately FOUR MONTHS to correct. So whatever you do take your time and know that there is no overnight fix.

That is all the stuff I know.

D.

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P.M.

answers from Orlando on

Eczema is a alergy at times by the food the child eats what are you feeding her? Most doctors wont tell you that it can be caused by what one eats.. I would change what she eats and see..

P.

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S.G.

answers from Tampa on

Hi N.:
I'm S., mom to 8 month old Sara and boy have I been there. At first they assumed it was a food alergy so we went back to just formula and more slowly introduced food, boy did that make her mad since she wanted food. When that didn't work we went to soy formula, within two days it was all over her body, then we switched to Almentum formula at $50 a week! Yikes - but it turned out she wasn't allergic to any food. July 3rd we took her to a dermatologist and her is what we did. He gave us three presciptions. The first is her "everyday cream" it's called Mimyx. (by the way any petrolum based products aggrevated Sara's rashes) Then two times a day for two weeks we put Bactroban Cream which is a topical anibiotic in her belly button and around her nostrils - sounds crazy but those are the best places for it to absorb. Then on the actual rashes twice a day we used Desonide. After about a week it was just about gone, but of course after the second and final week it came right back so our dermotologist said to use the Desonide on the rash and the Bactroban for two days in a row of the week (we do it on Mon and tues) and it has kept it at bay!!! Other things we've done the entire time is she get a bath everyday, and I use that term loosely as every other day she sits in water and plays. On the opposite days we use Cetaphil soap, but not everyday. Also, the Mimyx cream even with my presciption plan is $40 and I have found the Cetaphil cream does the same job and is like $12 for three times as much and I grease her up whenever I change her diaper.
I thought it would never go away. She would get the rash so bad on her face and then with eating and drooling it would get infected and all crusty so I know how it is. I am in Land O'Lakes Florida, so my dr is to far for you to go, but if your regular pediatrician can't give you prescriptions for any of the products I or others have mentioned I would check out pediatric dermotoligist. I will worn you though the three prescriptions I purchased with a prescription plan was $80.
Good luck and if you would like to e-mail me directly you can at ____@____.com
S. Gallo
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S.H.

answers from Tampa on

My middle son had excezma pretty bad from about 1 year until just recently it stopped coming back as much. Whew they say most outgrow it by 5 years old and he has just turned 5 - I am glad for it to be going away.

Anyhow, we found that aloe gel works very well to sooth and cool the skin to stop it from itching so much. You can buy it at any store, I think we have Walmart brand as a matter of fact, it doesn't have to be expensive stuff. Also for the bad flare-ups I talk to your doctor about a steriod cream. We were prescribed Locoid (hydrocortisone butyrate) and it would take about 2 days to calm the flare-up and then we could maintain between flare-ups with the Elidel as needed and daily with the aloe. I feel the pain you're in and your little one too. *hugs*

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K.S.

answers from Melbourne on

My son has it too. We use Cetaphil for all this lotion and shampoo or soap needs. It is at Wal-mart. It cost 10 for the soap, and 10 for the lotion but well worth it. Also we use Dreft laundry soap on his clothing, sheets, blankets, even our sheets and some clothing that we wear around him and that he would be in contact with us. It has to be double rinsed though...very important...to get all the irritants out. Hope this helps.

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J.V.

answers from Jacksonville on

Hi N.,

My son (7) has eczema (allergies & asthma, too!) and gets extremely itchy whenever he sweats or plays in grass. We do our best to avoid the grass and to keep him as cool as possible, but, living in Florida, that's not always possible!! I have found the following to have helped him A LOT!

1. Switching from cow's milk to goat's milk
2. He is on prescription Zyrtec, as well, which he takes at night but also prescription Singulair in the morning.
3. After every bath, I slather him with Cetaphil cream and then I use prescription Elidel on his bad spots.
4. I hate doing this, but when he was REALLY bad, I gave him Benedryl prior to his going to bed....since I noticed that he mostly scratched at night while he was sleeping....it knocked him out just enough so that he would sleep without scratching...giving his skin a chance to heal (somewhat!).
5. During an itchy episode, I give Ryan a cool, damp cloth with some Elidel or Cetaphil on it, as well. He then rubs his itchy spots with it instead of scratching his skin off!!
6. Try using Cetaphil body wash instead of soap and alternate baby oil and Aveeno (or equate, cvs, or walgreens brand) oatmeal bath. It will prevent the water from irritating and/or further drying out her dry skin.

I hope this helps!! If not, keep in mind that, most likely, she'll grow out of it and as she gets older it will get better!

Take care,

Jen

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K.S.

answers from Tampa on

I have Eczema, at one point and time it was so bad that I got an infection from all the scratching. I had one dermatologist that told me to use Lever 2000 soap. Other soaps dry out your skin, which is what Eczema is dry skin. That doctor also suggested to not take hot showers and when drying off leave a little bit of water on the skin, so the moisture soaks in. Cetaphil cream (not the lotion) was also a suggestion. The last thing is stress, which will make eczema worse.

--I used all the above to get it under control. While I don't use Cetaphil cream anymore, I do still practice the other things including, stress management.
--Stress managment is not something you can teach your toddler, but perhaps some of the other things will help.

Good luck.

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A.M.

answers from Kansas City on

My boy had pretty bad exczema since day one.
We've used hydrocortisone, only when he gets the rash though.
What has helped a lot is 2 or 3 short baths (not to hot water) during the day.
I moisture his body (I use mustela or ABC from Arbone ($12.00 a bottle) because it's fragrance free, and also it's body wash (but just a little).
What does she get it from? Is it the sweat? heat? clothes?
Hope I was able to help. BTW his skin looks way better, so I am sure you'll find something.
Good luck
Best wishes.
A.

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C.G.

answers from Orlando on

I have a similar problem with my son. He too has eczema and I've tried just about everything on him(inculding natural remedies and homeopathics). I really don't have any advice just support cause I'm going through the a similar thing.

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C.G.

answers from Miami on

Aveeno oatmeal baths, just let her soak in it and this will stop the overnight itching.

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A.F.

answers from Tampa on

There is a lotion with coconut oil in it. It is recommended for women with stretch marks. Cocounut oil is a great natural moisturizer. You can buy it at any local pharmacy.

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D.G.

answers from Jacksonville on

My son has eczema, and the only thing that works for him is this lotion I found. It's from the store called Bath Junkie. The lotion is called bummy butter. It's completely natural and really thick so it won't just wipe off right away. The pediatrician also had us switch to Dove bath soap for him. I hope this is helpful!

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C.

answers from Miami on

my girlfriend's baby has eczema really bad and this was her advice:
This is the stuff I have used to keep Ari’s eczema manageable. www.drugstore.com has good selection and prices (especially for the California Baby products)
I have been using Mustela products specifically geared towards babies w/ eczema and other skin problems:
Mustela Dermo-Pediatrics, Stelatopia: Cream Cleanser, Milky Bath Oil and Moisturizing Cream

I have also been using California Baby Calendula Cream which has worked really well. I keep in my diaper bag and use at bedtime, and several times a day.

California Baby also has a Shampoo and Body Wash for “Super Sensitive Skin.” I haven’t used it, but it has gotten good reviews.

If her skin gets really dry (especially in the winter) I also use Aquaphor, Baby Healing Ointment

I also had a friend recommend Arbonne baby product line – I got samples so I am going to try it out. I’ll let you know...

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R.

answers from Jacksonville on

My son suffers from eczema also. I took him to the dermatoligist and he recommended that we use the Cetaphil lines of skin care products. He uses the body wash in the shower, the foaming face wash for his face, the bar soap for his hands and he had the cream type lotion. He has been able to keep it under control pretty well with Cetaphil. We also have the prescriptions for a bad break out. My son is 12, and I didn't have to deal with his eczema at such a young age; so I really can't offer any other type of advice.

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