Dermatitis treatments

[NannyJulie]

My DD is 10 weeks old and I have just been told she has dermatitis. She only has it on her face and mostly just around her eyes. I thought it was just a part of the normal milk/hormone rash but then as the milk rash faded, the red spots around her eyes didn't :(

The doctor prescribed her some cream for it. I can't remember the exact name (I'm BFing at the moment so can't go look) but I think it was called Cortico 1% or something like that. I put the cream on yesterday and today and it seems to be helping but after doing a google search it seems creams like this are only a temporary fix for dermatitis and can sometimes make it worse and the skin can become addicted to it (and flare up again as soon as the cream isn't used aymore)

How am I meant to treat the dermatitis then?? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Bub is only 10wks old and the rash is around her eyes.

[jake's mum]

Sorry to hear. My DS is 22 months old and had it since he was 7 weeks old.

The problem with it is that it's really personal and what works for one doesn't work for another, and the triggers are different - my sister gets it from stress and dust mites, and my son from diet, lack of sleep and teething. For others it's an allergic reaction.

It's important to find what are the triggers for your little one. cortisone is good for getting out of a vicious circle but not for long term.

Homeopathy works for many but didn't work for me (though it helps DS with pretty much everything else!). Naturopathy really helped us - I had to completely change my diet because he was completely breastfed (no acidic foods eg tomatoes, strawberries etc., no dairy, meat limited to 2-3 times a week, and plenty of green veggies - and more but there were the important bits).

The psoriasis and skin clinic are helpful - I did it all with them.

But my DS doesn't have allergies (that I know of!) - if the kid does then it's recommended to do a skin prick test to know what to avoid.

There's also traditional Chinese medicine that I'm trying now with DS as his eczema came back after over a year with cutting 4 teeth in under 3 weeks... But their recommendation was similar diet was just that DS is getting different herbal supplements (the ones from the skin clinic that I took for him whilst breastfeeding don't help now that he takes them himself).

Oh and the horrible diet isn't forever, only when there are outbreaks - for a whole year he ate everything including a mandarin a day and was fine!

It's a pain in the bottom and hard to figure out, but once you do it's usually ok.

Non steroid creams help some people but are mostly a waste. I've spent over $2000 on every possible natural cream and none helped. It needs to be healed from the inside out...

Oh and there are irritants like sand, grass, washing detergent and softened - I used Eco sensitive (planet arc??) and vinegar instead of softener. No soap whatsoever (chamomile tea or oats and a bit of oil in the bath).

Good luck :-)