Infant and Toddler Eczema

I don’t have eczema, but I do have a daughter that suffers from eczema. Whenever she has a breakout, she always asks me if I have any special medicine to make the itchies go away. I wish I did, but I don’t. That is the worst part of eczema, there is no magic medicine to make it stop itching.

 

 

As far as I can tell, preventing a break out is the best medicine available. So I am learning what I can about eczema. There are many different causes for a child to have eczema breakouts, everything from environmental to dietary. The key is narrowing down the triggers and going from there.

 

 

As far as I have been able to tell, my daughter's eczema is irritated by external forces. I learned this the hard way. I noticed that if I used anything perfumed to wash her, moisturize her or even wash her clothes in, it would have dire effects. Ever since her first symptoms occurred when she was a baby, I have made sure that I only use unscented products on her. She is so sensitive, that even if I just think about using something perfumed, she'll break out.

 

 

Bath time is the best prevention time. I make sure that I only use unscented baby products even though she is well into toddler-hood. The baby products are the most mild and you can find a decent assortment of different unscented products. (I have no idea what I am going to tell her when she is 16 and can only find Aveeno Baby wash in the house – but I can figure that out later).  Aveeno unscented products and Sensitive Skin California Baby products are the best that I have tried to date.However, I often have to mix and match products to have a truly unscented washing regime for her.

 

 

Here is our completely unscented bath routine. For her body wash, Aveeno Soothing Relief Creamy Wash. (This is hypoallergenic and unscented; the regular baby wash is lightly scented and even lightly scented is a no-go!) For her hair, California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo. I have found it near impossible to find an unscented conditioner, but thankfully California Baby has one! California Baby Super Sensitive Conditioner. For every day moisturizing, Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion. This routine seems to be keeping flare ups at bay, but occasionally she does still develop rashes.

 

 

When she first has an eczema flare up, I usually put some hydrocortisone cream on it to keep it from developing into a much worse rash. I use it sparingly. 2 times a day for about 3 days. Then I switch to Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment. I have to admit, I love aquaphor, but I am not crazy about using this product for eczema rashes. I use this daily on my kids dry lips, dry cheeks, scrapes, scratches and over all dry patches. In the winter, I actually slather them in it after their nightly bath. (They hate when I do it, but it works wonders!). For eczema, it does help the scaliness of the rash, but does not heal it. I really have no idea what to use to help her once the rash has already broken out. I am so afraid of making her rashes worse by trying something new, that I just stick to this routine.

 

 

A family friends has suffered from eczema her entire life. When I asked her for advice, she told me that nothing heals better than salt water and being naked in the sun! The healing powers of Mother Nature are amazing! Unfortunately, I don’t live on the water or else I would be dunking her out there every day and letting her run around in her birthday suit. So for now, I will help her through trial and error.

 

 

Another factor that came late to the party was laundry detergent. I read online that scented detergents wreak havoc on eczema sufferers. So, I promptly switched to “free & clear” products for sensitive skin. There are a lot of detergents out there, but I use Arm & Hammer which is both perfume and dye free. I also like Purex Free & Clear. Since switching to free and clear detergents, I have noticed a marked decrease in all of our family members scratching and itching.

 

 

Lastly, I keep my daughter’s nails as short as possible. Her eczema is so itchy that she will draw blood if she doesn’t have her nails short. By keeping her nails short, she can’t do as much damage and there is less possibility for dirt and germs to infect the rash. I have often thought about putting mittens on her, but then she would just get her little brother to scratch her itchies for her.

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