Baby cheek rash - eczema?

amother

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 9:24 am

My 4 month old seems to have a chronic rash on his cheeks. It's red dry inflamed and itchy no matter what ointments I use. Can this he eczema if the rest of his body is perfect? Or is it just due to cold weather and dry air.

amother

Floralwhite

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 9:28 am

My baby also has it. I think it's dry from the cold weather/steam inside situation. I apply baby aquaphor and don't wash his face with soap.

amother

Copper

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 9:30 am

Same with my babes. I'm getting him tested for allergies when he's 6 mos.
Get hydrocortisone (prescribed)

amother

Floralwhite

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 9:32 am

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

Same with my babes. I'm getting him tested for allergies when he's 6 mos.
Get hydrocortisone (prescribed)

I wouldn't use cortisone on a baby, that's for extreme eczema.
Is the rash bleeding? Is he scratching? Does it look like it's bothering him?

amother

Tan

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 9:53 am

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

Same with my babes. I'm getting him tested for allergies when he's 6 mos.
Get hydrocortisone (prescribed)

Please be extremely cautious with hydrocortisone, especially for babies, especially on the face. My pediatrician told me I can't test til six months. Baloney. Earlier testing was perfectly accurate. And steroids is a dangerous band aid that doesn't solve the problem anyway.

And yes, op, what you're describing sounds just like eczema. My allergic kids had it on their cheeks as babies until we figured out their allergies.

amother

Copper

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 9:57 am

amother [ Floralwhite ] wrote:

I wouldn't use cortisone on a baby, that's for extreme eczema.
Is the rash bleeding? Is he scratching? Does it look like it's bothering him?

Yes
Yes
And yes

amother

Floralwhite

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 10:05 am

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

Yes
Yes
And yes

This does seem like eczema and not typical dry winter skin.

njwife

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 10:11 am

Sounds like why my baby had, he had eczema and we got a prescription steroid from the pediatrician. Worked in a day to start clearing the redness. Nothing else helped, like aquafor, aveeno eczema creams...ask your doctor for his opinion

sky

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 10:12 am

My baby had horrible cheeks as baby in the winter.
Everyone kept telling me it was allergies and driving me crazy.
I went to my ped so many times that it was eczema or test for allergies - and he insisted it was dry skin - especially on face from drooling and moisture.
As soon as the winter was over it went away and never came back.
I just kept it covere in aquaphor. It was a bit disgusting but it helped.

Eta - I have one son with really bad eczema. Personally I’d avoid using steroids unless it’s really horrible. Especially on the face. Unless it was a out of control flare up.

Last edited by sky on Fri, Jan 24 2020, 10:14 am; edited 2 times in total

amother

Floralwhite

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 10:13 am

njwife wrote:

Steroids are not the answer for eczema. You have to figure out what is causing the eczema and not just heal the rash.

sky

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 10:15 am

amother [ Floralwhite ] wrote:

Steroids are not the answer for eczema. You have to figure out what is causing the eczema and just heal the rash.

It can be stress or seasonal allergies. It isn’t always food. My son used to get start of school or around Yom Tov. He has minor food triggers - but that never causes the worst of it.

Also the body can get addicted to the creams. It will create rashes so you will apply it. Weaning off creams is horrible.

amother

Tan

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 10:22 am

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

Yes
Yes
And yes

Go for allergy testing, as it's a very likely cause. You can test a four month old accurately, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Call the allergist and ask yourself what age they test, so you can tell the pediatrician if you get pushback.

teachkids

Fri, Jan 24 2020, 11:18 am

Before you panic, how long has he had it? My baby gets a rash every time she teethes- From she drool and pressure

amother

Lime

Sat, Jan 25 2020, 3:58 pm

Starting at 4 months my baby had severe eczema on the face and nowhere else. The oozing weeping kind. I tried all the moisturizers and nothing helped. I thought maybe it was cold weather related. At 7 months I took my baby to an allergist and dc was diagnosed with a severe allergy but was getting it through my nursing. I went off the food but had to give zyrtec 2x a day along with hydrocortisone and bactroban until face cleared up. Eczema can be the breeding ground for staph.