new to eczema, a few questions

[monkeytoes]

Just got back from the doctors. DD2 (almost 5 months) has had a bad rash on her face for a few weeks now. Turns out it is eczema and as usual after leaving the doctors surgery I keep thinking of questions I want to ask.

I usually use QV wash and body lotion on her, and I know that I need to dress her in cotton and not let her get over heated.

She is breastfed, but has the occasional bottle of formula. Just curious do I need to cut out anything from my diet? Also what is a good formula to use on an eczema bub? What do you wash your bubs clothes/blankets in?

[susiehomemaker]

QV.... I wouldn't personally it isnt natural at all. The only thing going for it is its lack of fragrances.... try Gaia (chemists) or Carmaje (google- great stuff!) and maybe even try using an oil (Carmaje have a good one- or just some Sweet Almond Oil or Cold Pressed Avocado Oil- health food stores ;) )in the bath because the dry cold weather usually makes matters worse... Cotton is good, organic cotton we have found to be even better. We switched to using Natural Instincts laundry liquid (chemists and health food stores) and it was great! Tried a few others and the eczema kept comming back. DONT use napisan..... baaaaaad. Try to keep her face & neck dry (hard I know! dribble town!) but hydrated... a moisturiser or balm of some sort may help as a barrier and stop the skin drying out so much. HTH- Not sure on the BFing and your diet front, but I think it is trial and error. I would suggest keeping a food diary and seeing if anything is making it worse.... but I have no idea!

[Pregnor]

I have eczema myself and cant wash in anything except Planet Ark washing powder, but not the Aware one made by planet ark. It can be a bit hard to get hold of, but i can normally get it at IGA.

My advice is to avoid anything with fragrances, and phosphates.

My friends bub had severe eczema from an alergy to lactose, but its not very common, and as your little girls isnt too bad, i wouldnt think it would be from that

[susiehomemaker]

we tried both the planet ark ones with no sucess, but the aware one was def worse! Heaps of people have had success with the normal PA one though :)

[Pinky81]

My DD has very bad eczema in winter, Last week I put on some of the Gaia cream(metioned above) which is natural and meant for eczema. Unbelievably the next day her whole body was red, hot and bumpy :( So I guess all products are different for each child. I then purchased some Grahams Bath oil and Cream from a health shop and this stuff is amazing (althought quite expensive!). It contains Calandula which is very soothing and the oil is great for keeping the moisture in there skin after warm baths.
Washing liquid was also a huge factor for us so look for fragrance free stuff, this helped heaps. With the Breastfeeding I think foods high in acidity like tomatoes and citrus can cause flare ups. So maybe try to avoid these things for a while to see if it helps for your DD. HTH

[Ana Gram]

Gotta love doctors who give a diagnosis and then send you on your way. What you need to find out is what the trigger is. It is different for everyone. If it is from food, it is a matter of not exposing her to those foods. If it is environmental, then you need to reduce her exposure to that as well. Push for a referral to a dermatologist to determine the trigger. Once you find that, it is easier it control.

[monkeytoes]

With the Breastfeeding I think foods high in acidity like tomatoes and citrus can cause flare ups. So maybe try to avoid these things for a while to see if it helps for your DD. HTH

Wow! Thanks for all your comments. I guess it seems that what works for one person doesn't work for another. Hmmmmm trial and error seems to be the way to go. But thanks for giving me some product ideas to check out.

Interesting you mentioned to avoid tomatoes and citrus. I actually don't eat any citrus and tomatoes only occassionally. As a child I would get hives whenever I ate citrus and so I have always avoided them. I might start a food diary to see if I can find a trigger. DH and his family have a history of hayfever and asthma..........I was under the impression hayfever,asthma and eczema are all related, but the GP said No. Do any of you know?

Thank you ladies:thumbsup:

[Pinky81]

. DH and his family have a history of hayfever and asthma..........I was under the impression hayfever,asthma and eczema are all related, but the GP said No. Do any of you know?

Thank you ladies:thumbsup:[/quote]

I think family history played a huge part in these kind of things. My dad and my sisters and I had eczema as children and so did DF. So our poor DD had no chance:no:

That's funny what your doc said as I thought asthma and eczema were very closely linked:confused:

Good luck with the food diary hope you get some answers soon it is so sad to watch them suffer:no:

[Ana Gram]

DH and his family have a history of hayfever and asthma..........I was under the impression hayfever,asthma and eczema are all related, but the GP said No. Do any of you know?


They are related. We have to remember that GP's often don't know all the ins and outs of things as they are expected to know about a lot of stuff. Best to talk to a specialist. I would take the word of my paediatric dermatologist over my GP.

[hayleylea]

DS has just been diagnosed with eczma too, they didnt tell me a great deal either.

he is almost 3 and its just come on. Its not really bad and only on his arms and shoulders.

i got the QV wash yesterday and used it - so i cant really comment on it. Also got some cream to try too.

My question is, being a kid, he loves his Baths and bubbles etc - is there anything that is eczma friendly and fun for the bath?

[MumtoLianne]

My 1 yo daughter was diagnosed with eczema when she was 4 months. Altho, she first started showing symptoms when she was 2 months.

Most GPs just don't know anything about eczema. They would prescribed you with steroid cream and think it will solve the problem. It just makes me mad!

Eczema is more if not manifestation on something going inside the body. It takes trial and error to find what cause your bub's eczema. With mine is definitely milk. What I mean by milk is all food that contains milk solid, milk powder, lactose, which is milk sugar etc etc. I eliminate all that from my diet. No more margarine, butter, milk, ice cream yada yada yada for me.:mad:


You can research on milk and it will surprise you how dietary consumption like milk can play major factor in aggravation of asthma and eczema. As people aren't aware allergy manifests differently, it can be a form of eczema, asthma, pimples in adolescent, sinusitis. Of course milk is not the only factor, it can be so many other things like wheat, citric food, dust, dust mites and pollen etc. What I am trying to say is that since your gut's health amounts to 70% of your immune system, a healthy gut wins 70% of your immune system. So if it is something from your diet or your bub diet that's causing it then better get rid of it.

Environmental factor plays apart as well. My bub eczema will flare up with every season changes. Since I am still breastfeeding when the season starts changing, I boost my immune system with resting well, eating well, drinking plenty of fluid, taking probiotic drink. This will surely help your bub cranks up her/his immune system too. I also add probiotic supplement to my daughter's food.I mentioned probiotic drink here is because I took antibiotic for the last 3 years including once when I was pregnant with bub.

Avoid rough detergent and moisturise your bub well. Finding the right lotion is a pain but its just all well worth it when you do find it. Feeling your baby skin smooth again is just a joy! In my case, lotion containing borage oil, evening primrose oil works wonder. For other, Calendula extract etc. Winter is generally the worse. It makes your bub skin very dry. People with eczema have dry skin, therefore, be extra vigilant in moisturising.

Get a good bath oil. Mine is Dermaveen, altho you can go for a natural one like putting oatmeal such as Uncle Toby's brand in a bag and put it in the bub's bath. Again with this it might not work for your baby cause some babies allergic to oatmeal.

Cotton clothing is the best. Wool and Fleece are NO NO for my bub.

Last but not the least, I have to go on reminding again and again that what causes your baby eczema may be different from others and what works for one might not work for you.
Don't give up and keep looking at every possible factor which might contributes to your child eczema. No lotions out there can help your baby's eczema if you have not avoided the factor(s) that aggravates her/his eczema.

I have so much to say about eczema but I do not want to bombard mums here with information. Eczema is just such a hard thing to handle sometimes. My heart goes out to all of you mummies. Keep the good work and dont give up! :goodvibes:

[JabberJaw]

Hi,
I unfortunatly have had eczma and dermatitis my whole life (i am 31) and 2 of my children also have it. There are quite a few different things you can use that can be helpful at different stages,
QV Flare up OIL : use in the bath when eczma is really red and in the flare up stage, will settle it down after a few good soaks in it. worked wonders on my son 4 and my new born
Pine tarsol : smells yuk, great for the itch
or the best one is plain old oats, i just stick them in a stocking and float it in the bath, the bath goes a milky colour but the actual oats have healing properties and anti itch properties, they market this at a high cost in the chemist but i buy black and gold oats for less than $2 for a kg bag and it lasts a few weeks! i have personally used this and also have done on my children, when you get out of the bath gently pat yr bub dry as it leaves a thin protective layer on yr skin, i find this to be fantastic and is great to give sore tired feet a good soak also!!!
The next problem i have had with myself and also my children is washing powder, this one was a real trial and error for years with me but i now use Amolin senstive liquid, smells gorgeous and works well with all of our skin, you could also try double rinsing which my mum did with my clothes for years!
and the final one is food: also trial and error but for me it was oranges (citrus) and chocolate that set mine off as a child and also in adult years, my baby who has eczma is breastfed and i find if i sneak a bit of chocolate, she comes out in a itchy dotty face ( yes i know i shouldnt eat it but its so hard not to!)

Asthma and Eczma are both problems of the auto immune system so it is true that they can be related and usually you have one or the other not both at once! My sister suffered the asthma and i got the eczma in our family.

Oh and one more thing, really try to keep skin moisturised even when no rash is present because when the skin dries out, it tends to flare up. I just use plain old sorbelene cream which can also be used as a soap alternative (or use it to shave etc)

Hope this helps,
From a severe sufferer!
Kellie

[jaktel08]

just to clear something up.you can have eczema and asthma at the same time.my 2yr old ds has just been diagnosed with both and my dr said that his asthma will make his eczema worse and visaversa.

heres what i was told to help with both
make sure he doesnt get over stressed or upset.

change what you wash him in and his clothes.

also try not to take them out of a warm/hot house into cold weather as this can flare the eczema up too.

its hard when you arent told properly on what you need to do to help them.i just kept asking questions