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Hi there,

So... Our poor 4 month old baby boy has been suffering with Eczema since he was 8 weeks old. It has been getting progressively worse and is now covering him from head to toe. It is worse on his face and looks raw, weeping and sore. He is on a 7 day course of antibiotics which seems to be helping with the infection. However, there are patches on his face which are still weeping. In terms of moisturisers and steroid creams - we have been prescribed... Aveeno, Cetraben, Olatium, Fifty Fifty Ointment, Hydrocortisone 1% and Emuvate.
His body seems to be responding well to the Emovate steroid cream but the Hyrdocortisone 1% is taking a lot longer to work on his face. Im wondering if i can just go ahead and use the Emuvate on his face, just to speed up the healing process. I would rather use a moderately potent steroid cream for a shorter period of time than a milder one for longer.. does that make sense?

Has anyone else been in the same position???

Hi Mummaof2

Thank you for your post. Sorry to hear about your little one, have a look at our free support programme, myeczemachild, https://bit.ly/2O1uW3X.

Please let us know how things progress.

Kind regards
talkhealth

Hi Mummaof2

We have also found this on our twitter feed, it might be worth a read? https://twitter.com/hydranure/status/10 ... 05856?s=20

Kind regards
talkhealth

I have used the stronger steroids on my 17 month olds face when he is at his worst. The doctor started us off with the hyrdrocortisone 1% but it didn't touch it and he was given the steroids once the dermatologist had seen how serious and sore his skin was. I try to use them only with the worst outbreaks, when we really cannot cope, it only gives him relief for a short while and then the cycle seems to start again. He is much improved in summer and I am hoping to ride it out till then. I try to moisurise as much as possible in the meantime and find the scratchmitts a great investment.

Thanks for sharing and hope the rashes do not come back so soon/ severe.. may want to explore whether it is some form of contact eczema and if so, what to remove e.g. shampoo/ bedding material, bath? Especially if the rash is concentrated only on face..

An extract of an interview that I had with a dermatologist on facial eczema
What it looks like: Irritant contact dermatitis causes a well demarcated rash which is red and itchy and there can even be swelling and blisters. It can occur anyway in the body where the agent is in contact with the skin. In infants, the rash can occur around the mouth as a result of frequent contact with saliva.
http://eczemablues.com/2012/10/facial-e ... -and-lips/

Hope things get better soon, take care!
Mei

I haven't been in your specific position, but I think this article on treating eczema in babies could help. Good luck with everything!

That was the case with us when our son was around that age. The triamcinalone steroid helped clear and close it up. His skin was prone to staph which spread to all of us. We did diluted vinegar and bleach baths to get rid of the staph. I use diluted tea tree soap to keep it away. Trust it does get better but your priority right now is keep those infections away. Close up those wounds with topical steroids but have breaks if not needed. He is almost 2 years now still a battle but mostly focus on moisturizing. Our son showed allergy to eggs milk wheat and soy. Cutting those out helped his flare ups. The problem is formula if you are using it most have milk. We eventually switched to pea milk called ripple which worked out for us. Hang in there, get sleep when you can. Keep your baby cool and moisturized and bacteria and fungus down.

Hi Dermatalk,

Thank you for posting on the forum regarding your baby's eczema. You may want to consider contacting one of our clients, 'Chuckling Goat'. They have helped thousands of people with their eczema by educating them on how our gut bacteria and how not having enough diverse and benefical gut bacteria, can causes conditions like eczema. They also have a range of lotions with kefir in them to help topically. They have nutritionists on hand to help when you visit their website. Please check out here:

https://www.chucklinggoat.co.uk/product/eczema/

We also have our own eczema support programme for children:

https://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/support/eczema

Kind regards
talkhealth

Hey! Currently having problems with my 5 month old. How did it work out in the end for you? What did you figure out and is it under control? We're having a hard time keeping his little hands off him.

Sara

You can try getting an allergy test and if there's no clue from there (like my child's eczema was triggered by sweat and inherently dry skin with staph bacteria), then mostly, it's keeping cool and moisturizing, with wet wraps or anti-microbial wipes depending on whether the itch looks like it's more of a dry skin or reddish patch. Night time is always crazy.. from baby till now. Can try wraps at night which would moisten the skin and reduce a bit of itch. Then also the usual of washing weekly in high temperature water all the beddings. take care!