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Tonight, Olivia went to bed without her bath.
Since she was born, I have had the same nighttime routine for Olivia. Even on Christmas Eve when we came home after midnight, I turned off the lights in the bathroom, and by the glow of the hallway light, gave her a quick bath.
I was afraid to stray from this one set parenting schedule I have. I am not a schedule kind of person. But this one I do, every night. Without fail. The routine may sometimes start late, but it always looks the same. (The only night in Olivia’s life she has missed her bath and bedtime routine was when we drove to our cabin and arrived at 1am.)
But a month or so ago, Olivia developed some eczema on the back of her legs and arms – the parts that sit most in the water. While I use little to no soap in her baths, I think perhaps I shouldn’t bathe her every night – at least for awhile. I am putting cream on her. But other than that, I am at a loss of what to do.
The strange thing is it seems to have started when she started eating “real” food. The first patch was an actual sore rash on her leg and it was the night after she ate “real” peas with a tiny bit of green beans and broccoli that Susan had pureed. Up until then I had been giving her store baby food. I am still feeding her “real” food – pureed veggies like peas, squash, etc. – cause I can’t imagine HOW that could be doing it.
As well, I feed her rice pablum and barley pablum. But she had been eating those for over a month before the rashes appeared. She is solely breast fed and hasn’t had any formula.
Since it isn’t a really bad rash, I had just been waiting to see if it improved. But it doesn’t seem to be going away. Next week, I will probably take her to see the doctor though, just to ask her opinion.
But I know you all are VERY wise. So give it to me girls – what do I do for a baby with eczema?
Miranda says
I don’t think it has a thing to do with baths. My son gets eczema regardless of how often we bath him. Eucerin stings my son’s skin. He would scream when we lotioned his skin but we switch to Cetiphil and it works great. Also the steroid cream is a life saver. When we see a flare up we use this and it is gone within hours.
Carrie says
I actually just went to the doctor for excema I developed during pregnancy. She told me they can give a sterioid cream, but don’t reccomend it to babes or women preg/breastfeeding. She said that hydration is the answer and to use Eucerin or Aveno Baby (no fragrances) as many times as I can remember to do it per day. She said I should do at least 5x per day. Also, I noticed that it gets a ton worse if I have it in soapy water, such as bathing my kids, washing dishes, etc. and she told me that yes, water will make it worse, as well as soap. I obviously can’t quit bathing my kids/washing my dishes, so I am just going to try to keep it slathered with lotion the rest of the time to see if it improves.
Good luck to Oliva!
TheAngelForever says
My youngest son has eczema. Baths are a big battle. We are not able to put him into the tub every day. When we do we have to use products that are gentle on his extremely delicate skin. We use Aveeno wash (and the bath pack to try as well) that specifically says to use on babies with eczema. The product that quickly makes the rash go away is the Aveeno baby eczema cream. It is thick and amazing stuff. Once I see patches come up I use it a few times a day and typically within a day it is gone. I know my SIL also uses this with my niece that is your little ones age. The biggest thing to watch out for with eczema are creams and things that contain alcohol that dries skin out. Companies are tricky and often hide it using chemical derivative names on the ingredient list.
Good luck finding something that works for you 🙂
Leslie- LaMamaNaturale' says
Hi thanks for sharing this. My son is battling excema and takes baths about every other day. We currently have him drinking goat’s milk and are trying to stay away from cow milk. We also give him plenty of coconut products as coconut is an antifungal- excema is related to fungus…so we bath him every other day or 2 days depending…in an oatmeal soak bath, try to stay away from drying ingredients such as alcohol or mineral oil. We lather him up immediately while he’s still damp with coconut oil!! I use it as daily moisturizer and apply it as often as possible on my little guy…it keeps his excema at bay. Since his skin is sensitive we try to use all natural products and dress him in organic cotton when possible. It’s hard when you’re nursing (I am too) because your diet can affect his breakout too! I found out doing my own research that there is also INFANT excema which temporary and doesn’t usually go behind 3 yrs. I’m certain my son will grow out of it…instead of bathing him everyday…I wasn’t lubing him up like I should’ve…bad mommy! I was afraid of over moisturizing (something my midwife said)…anyway The Dr. immediately pointed out that it was an allergy- but we went through every food individually before giving it to him exclusively for 6 months when he began eating solids…and there was no sign of an allergy! Therefore, I truly believe I dried my poor baby out and need to nourish his skin properly!! He’s actually doing really well. It doesn’t get red…just bumpy mainly! Check out my post today if you get a chance. 🙂 Hope this didn’t get too long!
Kat says
As a mom that bathes her kids twice sometimes 3 times a day I make sure that i use lots of moisturizer after the bath so they don’t get irritated. My new favorite find is Johnson’s moisturinzing oatmeal bath (or something along those lines…its a brown bottle.) My daughter had rough dry skin patches on her knees from crawling around and this helped immediately!! Try showers instead of baths so that she isn’t immeresed in water. My kids love the shower and have loved it since they were only weeks old, in fact I rarely give them bath baths b/c i hate the wet mess…shower walls=contained water+no water buildup. Also my daughter was horribly allergic to all the processed baby foods and they gave her a horrible bleeding raw diaper rash and aveeno soaks were the most soothing thing for her after diaper changes.
Jenn says
My son developed it too, and the FIRST thing the doc told us was to stop bathing every day. We went to every other day, and that’s all we ever had to do – it went away.
Good luck!
nellbe says
Me again, I just saw a spot on a current affair program we have have in Australia, about soap made out of goats milk. A mum made it as she researched eczema and goats milk properties can help soothe it. She has moved into a factory selling 5000 bars a week now and had lots of people using it and saying its helped them. She is selling it world wide if you are interested. I am actually going to get it for myself and my son. the site is http://www.billiegoatsoap.com.au
Morning Rose says
My older son had eczema as a baby and I took him to a dermatologist who recommended that I dress him in 100% cotton (including blankets, sheets, etc.), put lotion on immediately after his baths, use Vaseline in a tube on his face, and use Dove sensitive skin to wash him. She also gave me a steroid cream to be used very sparingly.
Kelli says
Thanks for posting this…I’ve been having the hardest time knowing what to do for my son too. He’s almost 2, but he’s had eczema spots since he was just a couple months old. I have extremely dry skin so I know fragrance free body washes and lotions are key. We use Aveeno products, but lately, his skin has actually seemed worse. Mostly on the feet, hands, joints, and legs. I’ll have to try the cetaphil or eucerin and see if that works better. I also use ALL free and clear laundry detergent and give him a bath every other day. I’ve heard conflicting info about how often to bathe him, so I’m not sure what to do about that.
Tara B says
My daughter has had eczema for the better part of her 1st year. I had it as a kid, as well.
I’ve tried so many over-the-counter lotions, and the only one that has worked well is Arbonne Baby Care. Sadly, they are not selling the baby lotion right now (undergoing some testing) so I’m having to resort to trying other lotions and oils. I’m still using their baby body wash…
Kristin says
Eczema can definitely be a reaction to food. This sounds crazy, but you can actually put a bit of breastmilk on the spots for a natural remedy.
Lisa says
My daughter has had eczema since 9 months when she started eating real food. My instinct was to stop bathing her as much BUT my naturopath AND my dermatologist to me to bathe her more FREQUENTLY as her skin was drying out. We started using luke warm water in the tub with either epson salts or oatmeal 3/day. We barely patted her dry coming out of the tub and LATHERED her with any of the above mentioned creams. Trapping the moisture in the skin was key. The more frequent bathing made a HUGE HUGE difference for this kid.
We also took her off dairy completely and she started drinking fortified rice milk. We eventually took her off of wheat. It took about 6 weeks of a change in diet before we noticed any change in her skin.
Every 6 months we attempted to introduce wheat again but after 2 weeks (and a build up in her system) she would break out all over again.
My daughter is 3 now and is back on wheat but no dairy and we are able to keep her flares under control without the use of steroid cream. Yeah!!
So, those are my two cents. What works for one irritates another!! Good luck!!
Bess says
OOOH, the eczema battle! My two-and-a-half-year-old daughter continues to battle with it, and just like Olivia, it seemed to begin when she started regular foods, as well as when I weaned her from breast milk to regular milk around a year old. I have to make sure I don’t bathe her often (sounds gross, but only 2 times per week, 3 during these hot summer months), and I also limit her dairy intake. I tried switching her to soy milk, which she didn’t mind at all, but the doctor said that if it was a milk allergy, soy would still trigger it. We had her tested, and a milk allergy was ruled out.
So now, in addition to infrequent bathing, I use the think Eucerin cream on her skin once each day (in the winter months), or Aveeno lotion and bath wash for sensitive skin/eczema.
I hope things get better for Olivia! Eczema can get rather itchy and, if left untreated, they can itch their poor skin raw. 🙁
Heather G says
I’ve noticed a few people have already given this advice, but it’s what works for us too, so I”ll repeat. (at least you’ll know that it wasn’t a fluke for that one person!?!) Our son started having eczema around 7-8 months and our doctor recommended a little hydrocortizone cream followed with some Eucerin cream. When I do this consistently (once or twice a day during the winter, every few days during the summer) his skin stays clear! Also, we cut back on the baths too.
To Think Is To Create says
I already told you about this but just wanted to link it here…Flip Flop Mamma’s Baby Butter! Seriously the only thing that worked to heal my son’s eczema (after finding the source and fixing that, of course).
http://flipflopmamma.etsy.com/
WherestheBox says
Take her off milk for two weeks (you can use rice milk or almond milk) and see if it helps.
JenniferS. says
Definitely look into Arbonne. They have a natural, good for you line for ecxema. I do not sell it…just have heard many good stories about it:)
Doll Clothes Gal says
Eczema can be such an annoying skin condition. I have tried all sorts of topical creams and even prescription drugs with various success. Just don’t let it get her down.
Shannon B. says
I have had eczema all my life and that is one of the traits that my daughter got from me. Since she was very little she has had it all over her body. We generally only bathe her every other night and use cetaphil or eucerin lotion only. We have seen a dermatologist and when her breakouts get really bad we have a peanut based steroid oil that we use on those spots. I hate to use this very often but last summer the eczema on her feet got so bad that she managed to itch it into a staph infection. We have to use special cream and have her feet wrapped with gauze for about three weeks once that happened so I try not to let it get to that point anymore.
I also thought her eczema was possibly connected to food but my doctor discouraged me from having her tested for allergies before she was 2. The eczema is considerably better in the summer so we haven’t gone back to that discussion yet.
Belinda A. says
Poor Olivia. My almost 17-month-old toddler has eczema. She’s had it on and off since she was about 4 or 5 months old. We always used Johnsons Baby Wash, but it really dries her skin out.
Recently, her dermatologist recommended bathing her with Cetaphil instead and it has really helped. (I still wash her hair with a sparse amount of the Johnsons.) Also, the dermatologist instructed us to use an over the counter moisturizing lotion called CeraVe. It contains ceramides which apparently are something lacking in the skin of eczema sufferers. The CeraVe really seems to have slowed down the scratching. And for when my daughter’s outbreaks get really bad, he gave us a prescription for Desonide. I only use ths ointment when theeczema looks bad, but it does clear things up pretty snappily.
One thing to be aware of: I took my daughter swimming during the summer last year, while she had eczema, and she contracted a skin virus called molluscum contagiosum. It is a nasty little virus that can go unresolved for up to two years, without active treatment. One of the reasons she was susceptible to this virus was because she had a few little ‘raw’ spots under her arm and in the crooks of her elbows from the eczema.
brandy w says
all my children have excema it runs in my family. i have had a control on it for a while.
don’t let her stay in water to long
use a sensitive skin soap ( i use dove sensitive skin)
use cortizone cream ( i have a prescription from a doctor)
then after bath time pat her dry and put the cream on the spots. in summer it’ll get worse because its hot and sweat.
Kara says
A great lotion in Renew by Melaleuca. I use if for my psoriasis after my friend showed my what a huge difference it made in her daughter’s extremely bad eczema.
Amanda says
And P.S.
Eczema is caused by a fungus in the mother at the time of conception and throughout pregnancy…
it is often related to food…
ANY product that is NOT all natural…lotions, sunscreen, bubble bath, shampoos, not to mention all the bad foods we eat…. anyway, any product that is not all natural is actually a toxin to your system and especially to a childs delicate body. Look at the ingradients in your regual bubble bath once… TOXINS.
OH dear. I could talk about this stuff for days… I have been reading the other comments and just see a lot of us moms grasping for reasons and results…
The information.. the ANSWERS…are out there!!
Good luck-
Amanda
Elizabeth...mommy...etc says
janice-so sorry about olivia’s eczema. My Tulip has had a few patches on occasion and aquafore has done amazingly and works efficiently. I have also recently been turned on to a product line called “Arbonne” and they have an ABC line for babies/children and I’ve heard it does wonders for eczema…my daughter only has 1 patch behind her ear (I know, weird) so I can’t vouch personally…but the products are very natural and far more nontoxic than any baby products that are bought on regular supermarket shelves currently.
Hope that helps! 😉
Elizabeth
Amanda says
You MUST get RoBathol… it is essential to anyone with dry skin or anyone suffering from eczema or a mupltitude of other skin issues.
I buy it over the counter at most pharmacys… Super Target carries it… if you can’t get it in a store, try online http://www.psico.com/
And avoid chocolate and oranges… they often can trigger outbreaks.
And remember, you can bath your child every night, but you have THREE (3) minutes from the time you get your child out of the water to get her skin hydrated-using an all natural lotion (Burts Bees has one) helps… try to stay away from mainstream lotions… there is often more harmfull chemicals then good ones…
You will notice IMMEDIATE results with RoBathol…
I have a ton more information if you need… my baby used to have eczema (we were able to ‘cure’ him from this incurable disease with these and a few other great tips)
God bless-
Amanda
Erica says
My son also had the eczema rashes on his legs and arms, starting when he was old enough for regular baths. I went to sponge bathing him when he’s played and gotten dirty and only giving him an actual bath once or twice a week. I know it sounds bad, but it’s been a HUGE help with the rashes. When it flares up a bit I use Eucerin lotion and that seems to help. I also figured out he is allergic to oats. When I cut those out, the diapers, and the rash almost completely disappeared. You might lay off the rice and barely, one at a time, to see if one of those is the cause.
I tend to get light eczema when I have had too much corn. Because it’s been a grain for both me, and my son, I’d say check those first!
PsychMamma says
California Baby has great organic products that don’t irritate and some specific products for eczema. I personally love their Calendula cream for just about anything – rashes, dry skin, sunburn soothing, eczema, minor scrapes, etc. They have a great online shop and they use minimal packaging and biodegradable packing “peanuts.”
Amy Nabors says
my son’s eczema started just before he turned 3 months old. we used a steroid cream to get it cleared up. at that point he was only on formula so we switched to nutramigen formula but for him it wasn’t a food allergy. we still haven’t figured out what causes it. we used the steroid cream and/or eucerin to keep it cleared up. once he was over a year we found the best moisturizer to be olive oil. we just rub it on his skin after his bath and sometimes in the mornings. he’s now 8 and the only thing that seems to trigger it is stress.
Blessed says
My daughter has mild eczema, it started when I ran out of the oatmeal bath soap I was using for her and started using something else. We keep it under control with every-other-night baths, using the oatmeal/hypoallergenic soap, the steroidal cream from the doctor – only lightly and on the rough spots and then Eucerin lotion after every bath. She’s 9 months old and we’ve been dealing with it for a couple of months, once I got the rough patches cleared up it has been really easy to control!
April says
I’ve used Aveeno Soothing Relief soap and lotion for my daughter and it seems to help a lot. In the winter, especially, I cut out her nightly bath and went to every other night or every 3 days. She wasn’t outside as much, so it didn’t seem to matter. Also, our pediatrician suggested hydrocortisone cream mixed into her regular lotion. It seems to help with the worse breakouts.
Hope it gets better!
Lois says
I love the Earth’s Best Rich Creme Therapy for ds. It’s so gentle and non-greasy plus it’s made of 70% organic ingredients. They have it at Diapers.com. Ds’ eczema hit around the same time as Olivia. He was bf but turns out he has egg allergies and we think seasonal which cause the flareups even though we weren’t feeding him any egg at that time he was just starting “real” food too. We are constantly battling his skin issues so I know the feeling 🙁 HUGS! Have you recently started using sunscreen or anything else new? It’s not always food (although it can be) that causes this it can be environmental too.
Beth/Mom2TwoVikings says
I had to go to every other day bathing with “Pojke” and ours coincided with real food intro too. Does it run in your family at all? And, while many eczema break outs are allergy driven, not all are. Could simply be an irritant and not a life-long allergy type of thing. Pojke’s spots eventually cleared on their own. He only had spots here and there and were treated with OTC and then prescription hydrocortisone. At now 2 1/2, I only see very mild patches during the winter.
Shannon says
Yup, definitely look into allergies. Don’t neglect to consider even the foods she’s been eating prior to the eczema. It’s quite possible that she became sensitized when your introduced a food & is only showing symptoms 3 weeks or more later. The first place I’d look is any “extras” in your pablums. Most rice cereals in the US have soy, which is a common allergen.
Lexa says
I second (and third and fourth 🙂 ) the comments that say it could be allergies. Our older daughter didn’t get eczema with her allergies (eggs and milk), but our infant has a stubborn patch of eczema that won’t go away, and the pediatrician thinks it might be an early sign of allergies. I found Triple Cream (Target) works well. It’s similar to the Triple Paste diaper ointment, but it’s a cream specifically for eczema. Check BabyCenter.com and other sites about bathing Olivia. It seems like I’ve read that regular bathing is okay and actually beneficial, as long as the water’s not too hot and you don’t use harsh soaps.
chupieandjsmama says
My older son had terrible eczema but no allergies. My youngest, well, the eczema was the first sign of his mulitple food allergies. Some people just get eczema for no reason while for others it’s allergic. The barley cereal worries me too as barley is a highly allergenic grain.
For both boys, I used Vanicream (you can get it a pharmacy without a prescription but they keep it behind the pharmacy counter and sometimes it’s special order) and if it really persisted a little OTC hydrocortisone did the trick. I would see your doctor though and make sure that there isn’t a food or something in the environment that is causing it. Spring time is pollen season and pollen can cause eczema too. Good luck!!
Amanda C says
My husban had really bad eczema (where his skin was cracked and ouzy with blisters.) that the doctor gave him prescriptions for steriod creams, some cause more problems than help. Usually the eczema just came back a day or two later.
One day I got an email about Aveeno Eczema Lotion and body wash, and decided I would have him try it. The next day after using it, it was almost completly gone. After a few days you could not even tell he had eczema. Now he just uses the lotion when he feels it starting to come back, and that keeps it at bay.
My 8 month old son has patches of really dry skin, that is mild eczema and I started to use the Aveeno Eczema lotion on him when I change his morning diaper and I use the Aveeno baby wash and it works wonderfully. Aveeno ezcema is safe for babys, it has no steriods. You can find more info on the product on Aveenos website.
It is a lil pricey – $10 a bottle, but it is worth it, I swear by it.
canadacole says
My little one had her first bout of eczema when she was only a few weeks old. The first thing the doctor told us was to stop bathing her daily, so your instincts are right on with that! It’s probably an allergy or combination of allergies that you may or may not ever completely figure out. In the meantime, I recommend GlaxalBase. It’s the base pharmacies use to mix up medicated creams and it’s so lovely and smooth and absolutely allergin free. It really helped with my babies. Good luck mom!
nellbe says
I’d check out the food side of things too, the barley worries me regardless of how long you have been giving it to her.
Not sure if you guys get the Paw Paw ointment? That works well for us and the only thing my 3 year old can have in his bath soap wise is Curash baby wash. Anything else and he gets a rash.
Good luck, I know how frustrating it is.
Capturing Today says
If it isn’t an allergy to something in her environment, it could be food related. My daughters love fruit and it turns out that the high acid fruits like oranges, grapes, etc give them a patchy eczema-like rash behind their knees, under their arms and the like. An excellent resource for this is http://www.feingold.org.
Ami says
Eczema is a sign of an allergy. For my son, it’s milk and egg whites. Try eliminating one veggie at a time to find the right source. An allergist will more than likely not test here while she’s so young. All soaps, lotions and laundry detergents need to be dye free and perfume free. Continue to cut back on bathing and no soap on those affected areas. My dr also suggested patting dry after bathing instead of wiping dry, which further aggravates those dry patches.
Janice says
oh – and my husband has some mild eczema, so Olivia is probably inheriting it from him too!
Janice says
THANKS ladies – I also wanted to add that we use natural laundry detergent and cleaning products etc in our home. 🙂
Yvie says
Hi there. 🙂
As you have said, your baby is breastfeed and eats healthy food.
I think it’s best to see a doctor for your baby’s condition.
My son’s case was mostly insect bites from our garden, he loves to play there most of the time so that’s how he got his allergies. His pediatrician gave him an oitment and it’s easily cured in no time. 🙂
I don’t know if this helped, I hope your baby gets well soon.
Julie Northrop says
Hiya Janice,
My son has it as well although he is quite a bit older (10). I use a cream as well, lotion and at times vaseline. I read somewhere it could be the laundry detergent and/or cleaning supplies. I guess it’s all a matter of deduction. Hopefully you’ll get a better answer than this! 🙂
Shoshana says
My son’s allergies first showed up as eczema. It took me a long time to figure out that he has food allergies. It wouldn’t hurt to check with your doctor, and maybe consult with an allergist too.
Jane says
My daughter developed eczema when she was 3 weeks old – she’s been early with everything! She was breast-fed exclusively at that point. As best we can figure out, she’s allergic to cats, and when we moved away from the US (and our cat) it slowly cleared up. She’s had occasional asthmatic symptoms since then (caused by either cats or dust mites as best we can figure out), but otherwise is ridiculously healthy.
What to do – try to figure out what’s causing it – maybe eliminate one veggie from her diet for a week or two and see if it clears up, then try another one.
As for the eczema – we ended up going a medical route with hydrocortisone cream for a week and a small dose of Benadryl (switched to Zyrtec later) each evening, since none of the natural remedies I tried worked. I hate the idea of drugging her and will stop the Zyrtec occasionally, but start again if symptoms show up again. The hydrocortisone cream really did work and we didn’t use it very long.
And I switched to baths every other day, with no soap on the eczema areas. I’m back to every day now that she’s not having eczema problems.
Let us know how it goes!
Michele says
For my daughter (she’s 18 months old now) we’ve always used Eucerin Original Moisturinzing Cream. It’s fragrance free…we also use the lotion which is less greasy feeling. Also oatmeal baths have helped.
Our doctor told us that we were bathing her too frequently (we also had an every night bath routine). So he gave us a prescription for a steriod cream. Her eczema problems had started when she was only a few months old, and now we’ve found a good routine that keeps it under control.
Good luck. Hope that helps out some.