Parent tip: Caring for eczema
Baby Girl has had eczema since about 2 months of age. It's an inherited skin condition, and a personal history of asthma or hay fever or a family history of eczema increases the chances that baby will have eczema. We're not sure which side of the family she inherited hers from, but she's got it, and over the course of the last several months, through trial and error, we've found a few products that have really done a great job helping us to manage her skin and treat flareups when they occur (which is typically when she's sick).
Eucerin - We slather this on her twice daily - when she's getting dressed and before bed. When she's healthy, this does a fantastic job of keeping her skin soft and moist and preventing any kind of rash or breakout.
Mustela baby cold cream - the thickness of the Eucerin cream can make it hard to spread sometimes if the skin is a little rough and when Baby Girl does have a flareup, she tends to need a cream that goes on a little bit smoother - more like lotion (but still a cream). Mustela baby cold cream for dry skin does that. It's pretty expensive so we only use it when she's especially sensitive.
Mustela baby relaxing bath with cleansing milk - this stuff ROCKS! It's the only stuff we'll bathe her with. we buy it online at the mustela web site 6 at a time so we always have it on hand. It is soap-free and non-foaming and especially formulated for sensitive skin and to prevent drying. We use it liberally in her bath and don't even rinse it off afterwards. It also has a really nice smell and is guaranteed to relax Baby Girl.
Mustela dermo-cleansing gel for hair and body - we use this for her hair since we need to avoid getting any shampoo on her skin as that can irritate it. This too is soap-free, but can be worked into a lather, and we know first-hand that it doesn't irritate or sting the eyes.
Aveeno 1% hydrocortisone cream - I'm sure any 1% hydrocortisone cream would do, but we trust the Aveeno brand and like their products, and this stuff works like a charm so we stick with it. we only use this when we need to, to treat a flareup. Typically when Baby Girl has a flareup, one application of this on the red rough patches before bedtime and before applying the Eucerin or Cold Cream and by morning it's almost all gone. If the flareup is especially bad it can take 2-3 days of applying twice daily tends to take care of it.
Osh-Kosh B'Gosh - 100% cotton PJs - they have some really fun gender-neutral and colourful prints on their PJs and is a nice change of pace from the standard carter's baby stuff. They're also pretty affordable - especially during their sales. 100% cotton works best on Baby Girl when she's dealing with dry skin and/or a flare-up. She can wear the other stuff (which seems to be more abundant than cotton in the spring and summer months) when she doesn't have any flareups going on but I still like to try and keep her in cotton as much as possible
Comments
Hayfever: check.
Asthma: check.
Eczema: check.
I think our genes might be the culprit. Baby girl might also want to avoid cheap, nickel-based jewelery in the future, as well. I can't wear a watch for a day without getting hives on my wrist.
Posted by Sarah on March 15, 2006 7:19 AM.