Baby Eczema- Help!

amother

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 10:52 am

My baby has had eczema since she was 3 months old. I've seen dermatologists and allergists.
I've been told to use aquaphor (which didn't help) and hydrocortisone, which cleared the skin immediately but came back right away.
Since then I've been in this cycle of using the cream, seeing results, and then seeing the eczema come back even worse (or at least it seems worse.)
My baby is very itchy and uncomfortable.
I got mixed answers from the allergist. But the dermatologist says that food allergies dont play a role in eczema (yes, I know many mothers would disagree.)
I'm still nursing almost full time so to go off food without knowing if it's conclusive is kind of hard. I would do it if I knew for sure but I would need a month or so to really see a difference, I am told.
Anyone btdt with good advice?

amother

Forestgreen

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 1:01 pm

Eczema is usually an animal protein allergy. I wonder why you don’t think it is...? Did your baby get tested for allergies?

amother

Amethyst

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 1:09 pm

My baby had awful eczema on the face, and even the hydrocortisone didn't help.
I took eggs out of my diet and it disappeared.
And once when I accidentally ate salad dressing with raw egg it came back badly.

I highly recommend experimenting with your own diet, but you need to give it a bit of time to see the responses. I would get advice from a professional on how to do this.
Surprised you were advised that eczema has nothing to do with food.
Buy often it is very hard to identify the source.

This child is now 12 and still gets eczema, but now it is seasonal, and usually arrives with the cold weather, disappearing again in the spring.

amother

Gold

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 1:12 pm

Hi there, my son had terrible eczema as a baby. Changing detergents, shampoo and using alot of moisturizer helped. We also couldn't bathe him more than 2x a week cuz it dried out his skin. We also used hydrocortisone creams. A skin prick test at the allergist showed he was allergic to chicken and garlic so as a nursing mom I went off these. He also had projectile vomiting, frequent ear infections, the works. The big change came when we moved appartments when he turned 1; our downstairs neighbor smoked. I didnt realize how much that was affecting him, we always had an air purifier on. When we moved and he wasnt breathing in second hand smoke, most of his challenges went away. The allergist had told him that he would have eczema for life. He is 7 now and BH doesnt have any allergies or dermatological conditions. Chasdei Hashem. (My memory may be a bit foggy as it was a while ago but this is what I remember)

baby12x

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 2:26 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

That's interesting. Like regular coconut oil that you buy in the grocery?

Yes.
And trust me we tried every cream and hydracortizone and everything in between.
We did all the testing and diets but never found a cause.
But the coconut oil really helps.

amother

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 2:55 pm

Ok thank you baby12x. I will try it.
And to respond to Amother Amethyst, apparently it's a big machlokes among doctors whether or not eczema is food related. Dermatologists are adamant that eczema does not come from food allergies, though everyone agrees that children with eczema also present with allergies and asthma. It's all very confusing.
Just wondering...how long did it take to see improvement after cutting out eggs?

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:01 pm

I had a baby with eczema ( can’t believe I’m saying in past tense bh!!) we tried everything from cortisone to bleach baths to wet wraps, allergy testing chiropractic you name it!! The only thing I would’ve changed if I can turn back the clock would be to wean my baby!! He exclusively nursed till the 17 months. He refused to eat any solids and he was in so much pain that I didn’t have the heart to fight with him. At 17 months he started eating solids. By 22 months I weaned him since I needed to take antibiotics. And after a few weeks it just disappeared bh!! This is how I was able to figure out what he’s allergic even though it didn’t show on the allergy test. As a side note most kids outgrow it by the age of 2. When people told it to me I didnt actually believe them. So hang in there!! Loads of hatzlucha!!

amother

Forestgreen

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:04 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Dang they taught us the wrong stuff in PA school. All of those poor, misdiagnosed kids on rotations... Shame.
And when I brought my baby to a dermatologist who said that it’s not allergies, and I called him out and went to an allergist instead, I guess his egg allergy was a joke!

All joking aside, please go to an allergist to rule out allergies before you decide that it’s not.

amother

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:13 pm

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

I'm with you. It's so confusing. I've spoken to at least 10 doctors and been told different things by each. But only the dermatologist insisted there was definitely no connection. Another dermatologist explained to me that it's a big machlokes because in about 50 % of cases, the eczema is caused or exacerbated by food allergies.

amother

Saddlebrown

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:16 pm

I friends toddler has eczema. He definitely gets it from eggs. When he eats anything with eggs in it the eczema flares up like crazy. When they are careful with his diet he has it only minimally. Once a raw egg cracked open and spilled over the toddler. His skin immediately developed what looked like hives in the area where the eggs touched him.

That family did kinesiology and it helped a lot.

amother

Forestgreen

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:22 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It’s pretty much standard across the board to rule out allergies, though. Your dermatologist is right that it may not be an allergy thing, but that would be the first thing that would come to my mind. Can you try an elimination in your diet and see what happens? Try going off of eggs first because that’s the #1 eczema-causing allergy. And dairy is a close second, even though the symptoms of dairy can also be gastro. Does your baby have bad diapers or excessive vomiting?

amother

Copper

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:28 pm

I would not use any food products on eczema as that is one of the pathways linked to allergy development- introducing food protein via broken skin as opposed to orally first. Babies with eczema are at higher risk of allergies. I learned that the hard way. We currently use a prescription cream called eucrisa.

cupcake123

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:36 pm

I had the same thing...
The eczema was so bad I had people giving me advice all day.
I bought every cream and tried everything . The only thing that helped eventually was to eliminate dairy.
Now shes 4 and BH clear. She is allergic to dairy and some nuts.

cupcake123

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:40 pm

I also agree to the amother that posted about using non fragrance detergent and soaps. I still use those even though her eczema is BH all better

amother

Azure

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:44 pm

I use vanicream on my baby that has allergies.
Also I didn’t have to stop eating the foods but when my baby started crawling and corona started and everyone was home is when it all came out. In the summer when she didn’t crawl indoors so she didn’t touch every tiny crumb that fell it was much better now it’s day by day.
I hope she’ll start walking soon. She mostly has it on her fingers and around her mouth.

amother

Forestgreen

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:54 pm

amother [ Copper ] wrote:

Yeah don’t use coconut oil, anything with avocado in it, and try to avoid fragrance. Aveeno makes soaps and lotions formulated for eczematic skin.

amother

Salmon

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 3:59 pm

amother [ Forestgreen ] wrote:

Yeah don’t use coconut oil, anything with avocado in it, and try to avoid fragrance. Aveeno makes soaps and lotions formulated for eczematic skin.

The aveeno products have oats in them. I know quite a few kids who used their products and got significantly worse because they were allergic to oats but didn't know it.

amother

Salmon

Wed, Dec 02 2020, 4:02 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Many kids with eczema have allergies. Some kids only have one or the other. And some kids have both but not completely related so even when they stop eating the allergen, they don't necessarily see relief in the eczema.
But definitely test the child for allergies.