My 19 month old daughter Lauren suffers from eczema ever since birth. It started a few weeks after we brought her home when we noticed that her cheeks were inflamed with red bumpy rashes. We didn’t know at first if it was allergies or eczema. So we took her to the doctor and he said that it was a combination of both. The doctor told us that the chances of her having eczema was very high because my husband also suffers from the same skin condition.
My daughter Lauren when she was 1 month old.
I’ve done a lot of research about eczema and I found out that it is hereditary. If one or both parents have eczema there’s an 80% chance that their child will have it too. We were hoping that it will bypass her but of course it didn’t happen. The good thing was it wasn’t severe.
Just in case you’re wondering what eczema is…
Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a skin condition that causes recurring skin rashes, dryness and itching. Some of the symptoms also include redness, red bumps, flaking, crusting, bleeding and temporary skin discoloration.
What is her excema like?
Not all eczema are alike. In my daughter’s case her rash was mostly visible on her cheeks, behind her ears, inside her elbows and behind her knees. Sometimes it comes and goes, but when it does appear her cheeks gets red and bumpy. Her elbows and behind her knees gets really dry, scaly and patchy. She would also get rashes on her tummy and behind her neck.
The most frustrating part is the itching and the scratching. She gets scratch marks that turns into scars mostly on her arms and behind her knees. She scratches so hard that sometimes it bleeds. The intense scratching mostly happens at night. She’s usually fine in the morning and in the afternoon but as soon as night time comes she scratches like crazy.
If anyone knows the reason why, please enlighten me!
How do we treat her eczema?
We’ve tested a lot of different products and some of them worked for her and some not so much. But our main rule in buying baby products is no perfume and no dye. Here’s some tips that worked for us.
- Bathe in lukewarm or cool water.
- Always, always moisturize! We found that Aquaphor works the best!
- In worst cases where she can’t stop itching we would give her children’s Zyrtec especially at night.
- When her eczema flairs up we apply a small amount of hydrocortisone to relieve itching and to reduce the inflammation
We are still treating her eczema everyday and every night by greasing her up with Aquaphor. When it does flair up we try to control it as fast as possible by applying 1% Hydrocortizone. It’s frustrating for us but it’s probably more frustrating to her. We’re just hoping that it will improve soon.
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I just wanted to come by and offer empathy–our oldest had what sounds very much like your daughter’s (on his cheeks, knees, elbows, wrists). And like you, we tried everything under the sun (sometimes it seemed like something would work for awhile, but then it would stop…so frustrating!). We used hydrocortizone when the eczema was really strong but the rest of the time, we used Nature’s Gate oatmeal lotion (and just slathered it on many times a day). Anyway, here’s the main reason I wanted to post (because I wish someone had shared a story like this with me back when we were pulling our hair out!): when our son turned four, the eczema calmed down a lot. He still gets it on the back of his knees and wrists when it’s dry, but it’s nothing compared to what he had before, and it has not returned to his face at all. Our doctor had said he would probably “grow out of it” but it was hard to believe that until it happened. And then it did. So I’m sending you lots of positive wishes for (an even quicker) healing for your daughter. I know it’s stressful, but hopefully she will just grow out of it before too long!
ps: I forgot to mention the Aveeno “Soothing Relief Creamy Wash” (not the regular baby soap), which seemed to help, too!
I feel so touched by your post on eczema.
It brings back memories of days and nights spent in front of my laptop as I researched on the subject of Eczema.
I saw that stuff break out on my skin and begin to spread.
My research showed that it’s a hereditary thing. I had a history of Asthma that spanned over 17 years. I had acute asthma.
I was supernaturally healed and the story was featured on a Christian Carnival.
You can read the post here: http://wdfavour.successacademyonline.org/?p=9
That is the story of my healing from Asthma.
However, this year, I had a protracted battle with Eczema. It’s a very painful and frustrating experience. And my love and sympathies are with your daughter, and your husband.(How old is he?) No one really can imagine the pain, discomfort and inconvenience of having that condition. The scratching and itching is hell! But I’ve been able to overcome it and the rashes have practically dissappeared from my body.
I don’t blog on health, so I want to share my experience and lessons here with the hope and expectation that it will help someone.
1. By God’s special grace, I discovered what was trigerring off the allergies…it was a deodorant that I was using. So I stopped it.
2. Then I stopped bathing with hot water and started using lukewarm water. I was bathing once a day.
3. Then I got vaselene. Yes vaselene. So each time I finished taking my bath, I ensured that some water was left on my skin. I then rubbed the vaselene all over my body so that it would trap the moisture in. Eventually, I had to change to baby oil which did more for me.
4. And this is what I consider the fundamental secret that helped me. Detol. An experienced dermatologist, I can’t remember the site, actually advised that the colonization of bacteria was about 90% on eczema areas as opposed to about 30% in other areas. He advised fighting bacteria at the same time that you are taking the other treatments. I combined the use of Detol with the other things that I was doing. It helped!
5. I also used tetmosol soap in my battle against the bacteria.
6. I also prayed to the Lord about it. And I believe this, more than any other thing I did, brought me out of that terrible condition.
So my prayers are with your daughter, and your entire family. I ask our dear Lord to help you overcome this challenge.
I can tell you that it has practically disappeared from my skin today. What a relief.
I wish these comments from my own personal ordeal with help you and your readers.
Hi there – re the daily peaks and troughs of eczema. This was interesting because I find exactly the same. When I wake in the morning, nice and calm, increasingly hot and angry as the day wears on, and unbreable often at night, probably the heat of the bed. don’t know anything more.
But I thought I would link you to my recent post on same. I am 50 and have suffered all my life. I find homeopathy quite helpful, but takes a wee while to see results.
Best wishes,
http://leaningonfences.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/eczema-again/
dont stress so much about it, both my kids have it and its just something you deal with it isnt a curse its just the way they are, its tough when they start scratching but there are antihestamines that will relieve that for them. when they get that itchy no cream i believe works. they shouldnt be put into some category and there shouldnt be a support group for it, it wont kill them, or you for that matter. if you make a big deal out of it so will they. so everyone take a deep breath and just know your child isnt different. i use epsom salt for the kids to bathe in its a natural cleanser too so you dont have to use soap, i just wipe with a wash clothe where they are dirty and it seems to work, and i use baby oil gel when they get super dry and any fragrance, color free kinds of lotions will work just fine. you dont need expensive things to get through it, and some of these items can be found at your local dollar store. i would say good luck but none of you need it.
p.s. sun is also really good for helping the healing process of excema, when i am at home i let the little guys run around with their tops off and put shorts on them. only when the weather is apppropriate for it of course. feel free to ask me any questions by e-mailing me
Every morning it looks like my one year old’s face is clearing up. But throughout the day it turns beat red, especially after naptime. Have any of you experienced the same?
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.