[TM1024]

Our son has terrible eczema on his cheeks and has had it since we brought him home 7 months ago. His pediatrician said to use a little hydrocortisone cream and get him some sun and it would clear up...well it hasn't.

To date we have used hydrocortisone cream every day with no noticeable effects (both over the counter strength and stronger prescription strength). We have spent hundreds of dollars on all types of lotions and creams for sensitive skin (in other words if it's out there we've used it) we use a super sensitive laundry detergent, we don't wash his face with any type of soap, just splash water and yet it still remains.

The rash is very red, scaly and remains the same no matter what type of clothing he is wearing, no matter what the temperature is outside or inside and no matter what he eats and is only on his cheeks.

I am at my wits end as to what to try next...any suggestions?

Thank you
Terry

[cici32]

Sorry no advice but I can sympathize...

I have a spot of eczema on my eyelid that refuses to clear up. Like you, I've tried everything imagineable and nothing seems to help. I go back to my GP on Wed and she will be sending me to a dermatologist. I'll let you know what I found out.

[votemom]

My daughter had excema. We found out she had several allergies to foods we were giving her. Thankfully, she outgrew the food allergies and the excema.

I know the two are often related.

[klk88]

I have battled with eczema patches for years. Mine would show up on my eyelids and patches on my face - how lovely. I have tried every potion, lotion and prescription possible. I have FINALLY found some cream that works for me. It also makes my skin feel really soft. If you want to PM me I will give you the website for the product. It has a money back guarantee, so that is why I tried it and it worked.

[KGM]

our ped gave us two creams to put on elidel and locoid lipocream mix together and put on spots. It helped a great deal.

[tbristow]

We had to go to a dermatologist for my youngest dd when she was just 6 weeks old. I think what they gave us was Aclovar or something along those lines. It cleared it up pretty fast. There are also some over the counter eczema meds in the baby aisle at Target that do a decent job.

[charles2004]

Our son also had terrible eczema. We took him to Toronto Hospital for Sick Children (sick Kids) and they had us use Aveno bath oil, and Vaseline! Truly works!
Also what works well is pure emu oil!!!

Tami

[aimeemk]

You may already do this but just in case you have not thought of it. Rheagan started to get eczema (as diagnosed by her pedi). Same thing scale like skin on the cheeks. My IA doc said it is kind of odd that she developed it after coming home as in all her orphanage pictures she did not have it. I started to watch where she rubbed her cheeks. Well it was in the crib on the nice sheets I washed, used fabric softner on and also dryer sheets. I took that all out of her laundry. I wash her clothes only in dreft and then put them through the rinse cycle a second time. No more eczema on the cheeks for us. Turns out it was indeed an allergy.

[charles2004]

Hydration: Your skin is dry, not because it lacks grease or oil, but because it fails to retain water. Therefore, to correct dryness, water is added to the skin, followed by a grease or oil-containing substance to hold the water in. This can be done by soaking the affected area in a basin of water, in the bath or in the shower, for 20 minutes using warm water. Pat the skin with a soft towel to remove excess water, and immediately apply Emu oil. You should bathe and lubricate at least once a day or more for optimum hydration. Many folks find additional applications (2 or 3 times a day) of agents like Emu oil that hydrate the skin, help keep their skin moist.

[Kasey]

We also deal with it on the cheeks and his feet, but thankfully hydrocortisone clears it up for us, we try to use the Aveeno products, vaseline at night and I still wash his sheets in baby detergent, because that is how it all started.

I wanted to add a word of warning about two products though--earlier this year the FDA issued a public health announcement on Elidel and Protopic regarding an increased cancer risk (now this was found in mostly animal studies, but also in some post marketed collected data. These products should only be used short term and should not be used in kids under 2 years of age, there is no data on the drugs and young immune systems, they also said they should not be used in children with underlying immune disorders or decreased immune systems. So definitely talk with your docs before using these two products!

[ddahl]

I have also had eczema and my dermatologist tried everything and nothing worked. She advised trying Cetaphil lotion and Voila! No more skin problems. Also, I have used pure olive oil after bath and it seems to help as well.

[stephw3boys]

Kalina too has excema - did not seem to have it in the orphanage. I have tried Aveeno pdts, eucerin and aquaphor. I have been reluctant to do the hydrocortizone and elidel cause of the above post - and I think hydroc is a last resort (I had had success with outbreaks till the last 2 weeks). I have yet to switch to dreft as I use Tide free - and the excema did not start to be unmanagabe at all till recently. Though it could be the long clothes on her body????
We live in CO - it can be as dry here as it is in AZ. I turned my house humidifier on last night - maybe that will help a little.
If it is set off my a food allergy - are there typical ones that relate to excema?

[MMC66]

I have had exzema all my life. I would just add a couple things.

1. Don't avoid soap on his face. Soap can actually help. Just use something really mild like Cetaphil cleanser or eucerin makes a baby wash without any dyes or fragrance for sensitive skin - I use that for me and for my baby

2. Be careful of using too much hydrocortisone. Topical steroid on a regular basis for long periods of time can actually make the skin thinner and basically defenseless and raw. I've learned this the hard way. It should also be used super sparigly on the face - it can make the skin more prone to scarring.

I fit doesn't clear up, I would get him in to see a dermatologist soon.

Good Luck

Martha

[LilyMoon]

My son had exzema as well. We did a contact allergy test at the dermotologist and found out that he had an allergy. I think allergy testing is the best course of action. The creams and such are just a temporary fix and do not get at the cause of the problem.
Good luck!
LilyMoon

[gabmom]

We just got back from Russia with our 17 mos. old and he had excema all over his body. Our dematologist has him on steroid creme and antibiotic creme (as it's also infected in certain areas). The steroids are working great.