Baby rash/eczema

[jack_sdb]

Hi I am in desperate need for help. My 14 month old has developed really dry eyes and dry skin. The dry skin is on his face, right foot and small tiny patches on his legs (around 4 patches in total) i live in the UK where unfortunately my gp has prescribed steroids without asking any questions about what he eats if he is breastfed etc etc. I tried talking to my gp multiple times and it’s useless.

I feel like I’m failing as a mum because I can’t seem to get to the root cause.

Some information that will help
The rash/dry skin started around 2 months ago. He was ebf when the rash/eczema started but now we’ve weaned since my milk has dried up because Im pregnant. Before weaning I used to add breastmilk to his baths and would lather his dry spots and rashes with breastmilk but for the first time ever there was no improvement. Baths are around 2-3 times a week and I only use a homemade olive oil soap bar with no fragrances. I add oats to his bath and sometimes even epsom salt.

When weaning I introduced goats milk in a straw cup but his rash drastically got worse. I then tried whole cows milk, same. So I moved to cows and gate formula. He doesn’t have any restrictions on diet

I am just looking for someone to understand my frustration and if anyone can advice. I feel like a complete failure that I can’t help my little one. I am aware it could be due to dairy products but when introducing solids he never had an issue with cows milk in porridge or yogurt or any type of cheese. Can this suddenly change?

Also I dont know if this helps but my husband has recently removed all inflammatory foods from his diet and his severe eczema that comes out in the winter is healing so rapidly. My question is also do you think I should do that to my little ones diet too? But I just worry I dont want to restrict him from eating dairy and in my mind it makes more sense to keep him having it at low quantities so his body can build tolerance. Is that correct or just a myth? Sorry for the long rant Ive communicated all my concerns to my gp who just chuckled at me and prescribed steroids even after asking not to. In my opinion our body shows us it’s concerns through the skin so it’s just about finding the root cause. Also shall I get him a food allergy test? Thanks x

 

[frknfly]

@jack_sdb My son has had eczema since he was born, on and off. After 2.5 years of the struggle, I’ve learned that eczema is often just a part of infancy/toddlerhood and most kids grow out of it. Eliminating certain foods or changing certain products didn’t help my son’s skin at all. Neither did the goat milk products or anything natural. We have to use prescription fluticasone cream or desinide cream to handle the breakouts. I use it very sparingly but I do put it on him when he has red itchy patches. It’s one of those things where if I can’t find a natural remedy that works, I’m breaking out the big guns so my son can feel comfortable in his skin. Also highly recommend using a thick cream like CeraVe moisturizing cream or Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Cream. Keep the skin super hydrated at all times. Good luck!

 

[jack_sdb]

@frknfly Thank you!!

 

[relle25]

@jack_sdb I've had eczema myself my entire life (it comes and goes in terms of flare ups, almost exclusively on the palms of my hands but occasionally on my ankles) and for me personally it doesn't seem at all food related (I've done allergy testing and have tried eliminating certain foods for prolonged periods of time with zero effect) but rather a few other factors: it can be aggravated in winter when the heat is on indoors and the air is dry or in summer when it's hot/sticky outside, if I'm really stressed and generally just not doing well overall that can be a big trigger (especially for the scratching psychological component), and coming into contact with water generally is something my hands absolutely hate so I always use rubber gloves when doing things like washing dishes and I put hand cream on immediately after washing my hands and keep showers to 2x a week maximum and moisturize thoroughly right afterwards.

Definitely can't hurt to do allergy testing as some people do react to foods when it comes to eczema. Other things that can trigger eczema: scented detergents, synthetic fibers, certain body care products (you could try to quit the soap bar and do a soapless body wash/shampoo instead and even baths and switch to showers as opposed to baths, as something to try out), dust mites, mold.

 

[abnormal2001]

@relle25 Seconding all of this (and also palms of the hands! Now it is confined to the creases of my elbows and wrists, thankfully). I also had pretty bad eczema as a kid, and still get some minor patches from time to time. For me it was food-related as a child, but now is very much related to seasonal dryness. I am generally more on the moderate end of moderately granola but I will admit that—apart from once in a while using cortisone cream when it’s really bad—what works best for me is to use a really emollient but totally unscented cream like vanicream on it. It’s really the one nod I make to petroleum products (I try to be plastic free as much as possible, and don’t otherwise use them on my skin), but anything with “natural” ingredients—even oats and food grade oils—worsens the rash.

 

[jack_sdb]

@abnormal2001 Thank you!

 

[abnormal2001]

@jack_sdb Also, OP, re: dairy I would second the recommendation to talk to an allergist. Depending on the allergy (or if it’s an allergy at all), eliminating it can avoid making the allergy worse. It also sounds like this is coinciding with a lot of other changes, so an allergist may be able to disentangle which factors are contributing to the rashes, and which are just red herrings.

 

[jack_sdb]

@relle25 Thank you so much!

 

[meaningfulchristianity]

@jack_sdb A lot of wise advice in this thread. I will just throw out there that eczema is one of the things where I give myself a total free pass to be non-crunchy, so go easy on yourself if you decide to try some remedies that aren't particularly natural. I've had eczema all my life, and I've never found a natural remedy or cream that works for me. For me and my little one, I do Cerave cream (the thick stuff) on damp skin, then topped with Aquafor. Not my favorite ingredients lists, but works for us. Good luck!

 

[jack_sdb]

@meaningfulchristianity Thank you x is there any products you use for your little one? I currently use childs farm and a prescribed epaderm ointment but I cant seem to see any difference

 

[meaningfulchristianity]

@jack_sdb LO gets the same Cerave cream + Aquaphor combo that I use. I think the pediatrician gave us a hydrocortisone prescription once and we used it briefly, but Cerave + Aquaphor works pretty much every time for us. Good luck!

 

[bolingbroke]

@jack_sdb My toddler's eczema is caused by dairy and eggs. It sucks! I hate to eliminate such nutritious foods from his diet, but for him it really does make a huge improvement. We've been trying to introduce those foods back in slowly to see if he can tolerate them now. So far he can eat duck eggs baked into a muffin.

 

[jack_sdb]

@bolingbroke Thank you! I think I will have to even though I kept thinking his body will grow tolerant one day but hate seeing those rash spots like acne and dry eyes and face.

 

[bolingbroke]

@jack_sdb My understanding is that if you cut out the foods that they can't tolerate for six months, after that you can use the allergy ladder technique to reintroduce those foods. So it's not necessarily a life long ailment. Of course nutrition is vitally important at a young age, so you just do the best you can in the circumstances. I prioritize a lot of high quality, high fat meats for my son since he can't tolerate dairy or eggs.

 

[godsgatekeeper]

@bolingbroke Seconding this!

Sadly we are still working out my son’s triggers so I haven’t gone long enough without a reaction to be able to trial anything

 

[lpadr009]

@jack_sdb For my oldest two, eliminating foods did fully fix their eczema. With my youngest, I'm still figuring out his triggers—corn, wheat, soy, certain oils are all definitely exacerbating his eczema,

If you can try just one or two weeks of simple meals without the major 8 allergens and minimizing inflammation, that might give you useful information. Two weeks won't do harm, especially if you offer a range of healthy foods, and then reintroducing foods one at a time (every three days add in eggs, then cow dairy, then...) might help you see what bugs him.

 

[jack_sdb]

@lpadr009 Thank you! Have you reintroduced the trigger foods for your oldest two? And how is it now? I dont have anyone who really suffers from eczema apart from my husband so I am learning a lot.

 

[lpadr009]

@jack_sdb After some time without the allergens bothering them, some allergy treatments, and a few years to grow older, they now eat almost all their former allergens without any reaction, and the remaining reactions are much more manageable.

 

[javier_is_life]

@jack_sdb I don't know how the NHS works but is it possible you can see a pediatric allergist, or would you have to go through your GP for that?

The best lotion I've ever found for eczema is Isdin Nutratopic Pro-AMP. It comes from the EU so is probably a lot easier for you to order than for me. It's pricey but works better than a million other things I've tried.

The second best thing is just a basic squalane oil.

 

[jack_sdb]

@javier_is_life Thank you! I thought oils were not good. And with the NHS everything has to go through the GP for them to approve a referral and then unfortunately you can be on the waiting list for months and some couple of years! Thank you I will have a look at the cream you mentioned