eczema

I use Johnson's Ultra Sensative body wash for my son as a shampoo and soap. I buy it at toys R Us. I also use Eucerin and Trader Joe's powder laundry soap. His eczema dramatically disappeared after I switched to the laundry soap. At 2 1/2 he has great skin, except for hot spots in the summer.

Shannon,
My son, who is now 5 1/2, has suffered with eczema since he was about 2 days old!! From the time he was born until he was almost 2, we struggled with the scalp problem. At first we just thought it was severe cradle cap but it would just never clear up with the standard treatments. Finally, my pediatrician recommended that I get some Sebulex and try that. It is sold in most stores and runs about $9 per bottle. We used that for a week and it cleared it right up. We had a couple of minor flare ups after that and one treatment usually worked on those. We have been eczema free on the scalp ever since! As far as the body, I have found Dove soap to be the best (and I've tried them all). I also get the bet moisturizing results from Curel lotion. I didn't get a lot of success with Eucerin for some reason. As a matter of fact, Consumer Reports just did a rating on moisturizers and Eucerin didn't fare very well. It feels very thick and creamy when it goes on but for some reason it doesn't help the skin retain moisture for a long period of time. But many people swear by it and if it works for you, of course, continue with it. I always use Tide clean rinse detergent. I've tried switching detergents to see if we would get relief and we don't, but many do. The key is to find out what your child's triggers are.
Christine

We use Eucerin, we were told that for it to work, we had to put it on THCIK< THICK< THICK at least 2x per day. His skin sound always feel like it's on. Our allergist used to work in a clinic in a very poor area and knew if she told the parents to buy Eucerin or any expensive lotion, it wouldln't happpen, so she told them to use Crisco lard. YUK! We use Dove soap, the kind that comes in a bottle and is very thick. As far as Eucerin, the bottle stuff is not good, the thick jar of original works for us. We haven't had problems with his scalp. If the ezcema gets bad enough to need a prescription, we were given Acid Mantle cream with Hydrocortisone, some docs think it's old and not that great but a tiny dab on Alex's trouble spot, behind his legs, under surface of his arms, and it's gone, gone, gone! WHAT TYPE OF SUNSCREEN do you use?????

Shannon,
I find that most sunscreens, sun, sand, beach, pool water, really flares up my son's eczema. I used to use WaterBabies also but found it really bothered my son. Lately, I've been using Bullfrog. Don't know if it's any better or not really.
Christin

I found a Sunscreen by Eucerin, but it's only and SPF of 15, I tried it on Alex and he got some kind of tiny bumpy rash? Summer is hard because, chlorine, sand, sweating, salt water grass, all make is ezcema worse. IF we are diligant about the thick Eucerin it works if we slack off his skin is thick, bumpy and itchy. It;s a mess to do it so much, all my clothes are stained, but now I let him dig in the jar too and he loves it. I just keep telling myself, I'm giving Alex a full body massage twice a day ehich is good for circulation and a time for bonding, nice things to do! Lately he likes to rub it on my legs while I do is body. Maybe I'll have nice skin some day.

I also used Johnson's body wash for my daughters hair and either the body wash of spectroderm for her skin, until she was about 3. The good news is we now use real soap. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/biggrin.gif[/img] We even found that Dove irritated her skin. We use Fa soap without any irritation. Unfortunately, they are not selling it in Canada anymore, so guess I'll be making a trip in to the States soon! My daughter is soon to be 5 and we still haven't found a sunscreen that doesn't make her break out in a rash. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img] It's getting harder because as she grows she's spending more time in the sun! We also have problems with bug spray!! We use a little bit of skin so soft when we really need something.

When I first told my son's allergist about him sneezing over and over and having a runny nose after I used Johnson's Baby Shampoo and/or the generic equivalent from Kmart he said "that stuffs very mild and I doubt that is what caused it". Well even though I knew the connection I tried it again and once again..sneezing, watery eyes, and runny nose the rest of the day. The allergist said to try Dove Sensitive Skin (body wash) which is what I currently use for my son. It seems to be better than the Johnson's but still will cause runny nose and sneezing if I don't rinse him right away and take him out of the soapy water right away. I also use Eucerin for his very mild eczema but it doesn't seem to help his worse breakouts...I have Cutivate Ointment(presc.) that works best on his face and sometimes I use Desonide(presc.) or Lotrisone (presc.)
I don't know what sunscreen to use! Hope this helps some. tkiaml

Our ped told us not to use any baby body wash (I was using the J&J Ultrasensitive) because most contain some kind of alcohol which will irritate the excema. Even though I couldn't find any mention of alcohol, we switched to unscented Dove and we've had no problems. We use ALL, Tide, or Wisk laundry detergent (liquid), the type that is free of any perfumes or dyes. Curel and Eucerin have been helpful- Curel more so with my younger son because it does not contain lanolin, a wool derivative, I understand (he's also allergic to wool). As for sunblock, we usually use Neutrogena types without problem. I was just looking at the label for the Neutro. Kids, and it does have alcohol, though. The biggest help with the excema was getting a handle on all of Josh's allergies. And I think moving to Humid Houston may have helped. (we're melting down here!!)