We have been battling severe eczema with my toddler for about 6 months. We have a wonderful doctor and she is trying everything (Dr. Bain in Frisco). But in the mean time, nothing is working to relieve the itch! He wakes up ALL night itching. He scratches himself so hard it bleeds. I have tried every possible solution. Every brand of natural lotion/cream, changing all products to free and clear,completely changed his diet, steroid creams, Benadryl syrup, allergy tablets, prescription anti-itch syrup, Caladryl, Benadryl cream,and nothing stops the itch! Any suggestions? I am desperate.....and sleep-deprived!:(
My son has a prescription for when it's really bad, but his dr did recommend cetaphil body wash and lotion. The lotion comes in a jar and it's pretty thick. It doesn't sting like lots of lotions (well, not as much). It's great to use after the bath & before bed.
My daughter also suffers periodically with her eczema. Her allergist (she also has asthma) prescribed Triamcinolone Acetonide, a cream ointment to be applied twice daily to affected areas. She also told us when my daughter is done bathing, to let her skin air dry then apply Cetaphil cream. Also, she only uses Cetaphil Skin Cleanser to bathe. Target and Wal-mart both carry a store, generic brand of the Cetaphil Skin Cleanser and we have found they work just as well as the name brand. The combination of all these little things have created a very large improvement in her symptoms.
Good luck and I hope this helps.
My 14 yr old daughter had this pretty bad as a baby and toddler. GOOD NEWS is that a lot of kids grow out of it!!!!
She now just has a tiny bit on her feet and when it acts up it does drive her nuts. She has found that calamine lotion soothes her toes. It is not the prettiest thing, lovely pink and will stain but it does soothe her feet.
Best wishes and I hope your little ones out grows it as well. It is a mess and painful for the children.
I truly feel for you. My son, who was bloody from head to toe, was referred to the head of pediatric dermatogoly at a major hospital when he was 6 months old. His eczema was absolutely awful!
Doctors had recommended everything to us, but this older gentleman suggested that it was not WHAT we were putting on it but HOW. He suggested that, instead of drying him after bath, to slather on the cream or lotion without drying. It seemed weird, but we were willing to try anything.
Within a month or two, his eczema cleared up and his skin was soft again. He is now 4 and tends to have eczema reappear when allergy season hits, but we still lotion him this way. We have a hydrocortisone cream for him but rarely need to use it. The lotion that worked best for us is the navy-capped Aveeno Baby, which is really thick and stays on even with wet skin. I tried Cetaphil on my own eczema and it did nothing, so I periodically pilfer from my kids' Aveeno supply. :)
Also... you may want to have him allergy tested if you haven't done so. You might be surprised at what you find.
Good luck to you!
Have you tried Pine Tar Soap for bathing? I read about it when doing research on the internet. My 4 month old has eczema (first for me ever dealing with) and he would get some really good flareups. I put a few drops of Vitamin E oil in his bath water, then bathe him using the Pine Tar Soap. It can even be used on the head as a shampoo. It has really seemed to make a difference, he is not getting as many flare ups. It is called Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap and I think I paid about $3 for a bar of it. I got it at Sprouts but I'm sure you can find it at Whole Foods, Central Market, etc as well.
