Hi friends....

I found out today at my baby's 6 mo. check up that she has eczema and VERY sensitive skin (which I thought anyway....the doc just confirmed it). I had already stopped using fabric softener sheets b/c she seemed allergic, and the doc recommended the lotion Eucerin, which already seems to have helped her after just two applications. Does anyone with experience with eczema have any fabric softener recommendations? We're all walking around here shocking each other from all the static cling we're generating! I'm already using Dreft detergent for all her clothes and any of my clothes that come in contact with her while she's nursing. Any other tips, too, for making my baby girl more comfortable are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

My dh and both my ds's have it, and we don't use any type of fabric softener. We use All or Purex Free and Clear for detergent, and dryer balls in the dryer to help with the static.

http://www.tvproducts4less.com/dryer-balls.html?c={ifContent:14}{ifSearch:1}&kw=dryer%20balls&OVRAW=dryer%20balls&OVKEY=dryer%20ball&OVMTC=standard&OVADID=13266344021&OVKWID=136929493021

They are pretty noisy...noisy enough at first that I don't run the dryer if I'm on the phone, but as the dryer and the balls heat up, they get quieter. They work pretty well against the static too!

My dd is extremely sensitive ti any fragrance or dye . I switched all of over to Purex Free or All Free I use free Bounce and Free Oxy Clean liquid and for stains I use Lava and rinse it out really well before washing. I can always tell when she's been in contact with a blanket or something of someone else's she breaks out immediately. I really have to watch my cleaners too I tried using CLR spray for the glass in the shower and the poor thing paid dearly. I use strictly use Eucerine until it was cleared up and give her a bath every other day in the winter. I always use non scented anyway. My friend's little boy that has eczema uses the Aveno wash. My dd seems to be more a topical. Good luck!

Kelley

My 5 yr old DS has been fighting eczema on and off since we brought him home from the hospital. Fortunately, as he has gotten older, his flareups have not been so bad. Right now is probably the best winter season we've had so far. We've always used the All Free & Clear detergent (even before he was born) because both we don't like the heavy fragrance of regular detergent. I used the Bounce Free dryer sheets, then tried the dryer balls. They worked great until the humidity started dropping and all of the blankets, etc. were stuck together coming out of the dryer. So we're back to the Bounce Free sheets.

I found that the Aveeno Baby Lotion for Sensitive Skin worked really well at preventing flareups, and our Dr. gave us some samples of various prescription strength cremes to use when needed. We only put him in the bath like every other day, which also seemed to help. He does seem to be outgrowing it, though (YEAH!!!!). Of course my 3 yr old DD has never had the first problem. Go figure!

HTH,
Karen

My son's is so bad that it cracks open and bleeds. Summer is always better than winter for him skin wise (and we live in a cold state).
Anyways, there is a small pamphlet type book called the Girlfriends Guide to Eczema that I recommend.
I buy the dye and fragrance free laundry detergent. I don't use dryer sheets, I use those ball things you can put in your dryer.
I was using only Aveeno for bath soap and Aveeno Baby or Eucerin for lotion but I've found something that works better for him now. I now use Cetaphil for bath soap and lotion for him. The DR. here told me that it works the best because it leaves almost like a film on the skin to help lock in the moisture.
I lotion him up right after a bath and sometimes 2x day. He only gets a bath every other day which helps, but he is a boy so that doesn't always happen. He's been known to get 3 baths in one day.
He's in first grade and because of it being winter his skin is flaring up again. I buy lotion now for his classroom that sits on his teachers desk, any of the kids can use it though-I don't care if they do, that way he can put it on his arms if he needs to.
We've tried medicated creams and even bought eczema spray from Spain and it just never help as much as we thought it would.
I plan on taking him to see an allergist for it within the next 6 months, just to see if any foods can be causing it. I've read that egg allergies and wheat allergies can cause eczema, but he's had this since he was just a baby so I'm not so sure, sice he wasn't exposed to these foods.

Because everyone is different you'll probably have to try a couple different things before you find what works for your family.

Some of the soaps that people are recommending don't work for my child, ALL being the worst of the bunch for us. Not everyone is sensitive to the same things, I know that sensitive skin products give me rashes.

Baths are one thing to cut down on especially in the winter.

For bar soap we only use Dove, that's what the doctor told us years ago and I can tell when my kids are in school just looking at their hands because of that nasty liquid soap they have.

For dryer sheets I've always used Bounce without a problem but it might not work for your child.

If your baby's skin is really dry try a bath with oil in it, it will make his skin nice and soft. My brother was in high school still taking a bath in baby oil at least every couple weeks.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to post your experiences & suggestions. This is totally new territory for me, my first two had no problems like this!

A good baby wash to try is Aquaphor. I think it's made by Eucerin, for babies. It's the best stuff I've found for keeping my kids' skin soft. Their pediatrician said they had Eczema, but it only was occuring during the winter, so Im not sure if it really was or if it is just dry skin. Either way--the only thing we had to change was to switch from Johnson & Johnson's Baby Wash to Aquaphor. Worked wonders!!

We used to live in Houston. I had one daughter that would break out on her skin from contact with things like ranch dressing and certain sunscreens. I never had a big problem till we spent three weeks in Dallas in the winter. Houston is very humid and that time we spent in Dallas with colder drier weather caused all kinds of problems! We now live in Indiana and I've learned a few things. The BEST thing is prevention. We got a whole house humidifier and start running it as soon as the weather gets colder. We refill the tanks every day, so we're putting 5 gallons of water in the air every day! If we skip two days, all of the sudden my dd breaks out and it can take weeks to get it under control. Lotioning after baths is a must, and right after too since your skin will absorb more then. If you want to save money, try using vaseline or oil. Mineral oil or a massage oil that's oil only or even cooking oil!

When giving her baths, use water just warm enough to be comfortable. I have to keep on my dd not to take hot showers. If you're formula feeding ask your ped if giving her a little water is okay. If you're breastfeeding, make sure you are drinking plenty of water!

Seriously consider a whole house humidifier though, it has made the biggest difference for us!

Thi might sound silly but I used diper cream on my son and it worked well. I used the Desitin brand. He hated it on (especially on his face) but it gave him relief and took care of the 'break outs' when they occured.

I use white vinegar in the washer rinse water and use the dryer balls in the dryer. And no, we don't smell like salads (everyone always asks that!).

Good luck. It is so sad when your little one is crying and screaming from the pain of lotion on cracked skin.

Recently, it has ben pretty bad for my daughter's hands, with the cold weather/dryness. She also washes her hands a lot. I have tried so many things. In the past, Aveeno worked wonders, but no longer. Eucerin, Aveeno, Lubriderm sensitive, Cetaphil, some prescription stuff, all made her scream. 100% shea butter helped a bit but it is such a pain to use (she needs to sleep with socks on her hands for that. We recently switched to La Source from Crabtree & Evelyn and it has been working wonders (after just on application even) and she said it doesn't burn. The only thing I don't like is the fragrance (they don't have unscented). We also bought the liquid hand soap that goes with it. It's pretty expensive, so only my daughter is allowed to use it.

I use white vinegar in the washer rinse water and use the dryer balls in the dryer. And no, we don't smell like salads (everyone always asks that!).

Good luck. It is so sad when your little one is crying and screaming from the pain of lotion on cracked skin.

Recently, it has ben pretty bad for my daughter's hands, with the cold weather/dryness. She also washes her hands a lot. I have tried so many things. In the past, Aveeno worked wonders, but no longer. Eucerin, Aveeno, Lubriderm sensitive, Cetaphil, some prescription stuff, all made her scream. 100% shea butter helped a bit but it is such a pain to use (she needs to sleep with socks on her hands for that. We recently switched to La Source from Crabtree & Evelyn and it has been working wonders (after just on application even) and she said it doesn't burn. The only thing I don't like is the fragrance (they don't have unscented). We also bought the liquid hand soap that goes with it. It's pretty expensive, so only my daughter is allowed to use it.

My poor baby has it bad, she has cradle cap, and bad spots on her back. I find that the Baby Aquaphor does work pretty good. We use alot of the Burt's Bees products and they help. I don't like to use the steroid creams because I don't think they are good no matter what age you are. The thing I think helps the most is just humidity. We use a vaporizer even though we live in Florida, near the coast no less. It has just been so cold here lately that we have had to run the heat and that of course dries out the air inside, but since it is nice outside today we are going to spend sometime outside, which always, always helps. I don't think there is any one single cure, but a mixture of things, such as creams and increasing humidity does help, but we haven't found something to make it all go away.

I had no idea so many others had this problem! I have been using the Eucerin lotion, and I think I am going to try the Aquaphor wash next. Her worst spots are under her neck and in the crooks behind her knees. We also need to get a humidifier. I am going to start simmering some water on the stove ASAP until we do get one. Thanks for all your tips, most of which I would never have even thought of.

All three of my girls have eczema. With my first daughter we tried switching stuff around and seriously, for laundry detergent and fabric softener, plain jane purex and bounce don't cause flare ups but All Free and Clear does. Go figure.

As far as soap, my oldest is 5 and we still use Johnson's Baby Wash for her, as well as the Johnson's shampoo. Goes without saying that we use it for our younger girls too.

I think definitely different people are going to have different stuff that works so you may have to try a few brands of everything before you find something that works.

I use regular baking soda to wash my clothes in. I use oatmeal packets in DD's bath.

Dove soap contain trace amounts of arsenic. So that's a no-no even though almost every dermotologist and allergist in America recommends it. Ivory is much better to use. Also stay away from the blue Dawn dish detergent. Lemon Joy is better to use.

I have a 9 month old little girl. We took her to the doctor for her eczema at 2 months and he said there is new medical research that suggests that changing to a partially hydrolyzed formula (like enfamil gentle ease) may help. Once we put our dd on the gentle formula her eczema went away in less than a week. Might be worth asking your doc about.

I have a 9 month old little girl. We took her to the doctor for her eczema at 2 months and he said there is new medical research that suggests that changing to a partially hydrolyzed formula (like enfamil gentle ease) may help. Once we put our dd on the gentle formula her eczema went away in less than a week. Might be worth asking your doc about.

I have a 9 month old little girl. We took her to the doctor for her eczema at 2 months and he said there is new medical research that suggests that changing to a partially hydrolyzed formula (like enfamil gentle ease) may help. Once we put our dd on the gentle formula her eczema went away in less than a week. Might be worth asking your doc about.

We had the same problems with my son from the day he came home from the hospital.

Our doctor also recommended Eucerin which helped. A friend suggested Amway's laundry products as they have no filler which is what gets left in fabric and causes irritation. This has helped a ton with my son.

Good luck with your little one.

1) Eucerin -- the heavy cream, not the lotion. I use the CVS knockoff for half the price. At least once a day, often twice.

2) Dove unscented soap. Can bathe him daily.

3) Laundry detergent doesn't seem to matter much for us, and we don't use fabric softener anyway.

4) Talk to someone about the current thinking/research on eczema and food allergies-- especially if your child has shown any sign of asthma. My doctor told me not to give him any nuts or peanuts until at least 2-- and I think the current thinking is more like 3 or older, particularly if you have food allergies in the family. They are all related. My son DID turn out to be allergic to peanuts-- and it's no picnic, though we are learning to cope.

Hope some of this helps.

I've had eczema since I was a child. I try to find unscented laundry detergent and I don't use fabric softener at all. Moisture is also key since most people with eczema usually have really dry skin. I've had pretty good luck with Vaseline Intensive Care (there's an unscented one, and I can't remember exactly what it's called). Eucerine and Lubriderm did nothing for me. The Burt's Bees products make my skin worse, but I've had pretty good luck with the Kiss My Face brand if you're looking for a more "natural" product. The drawback there is that they don't make anything unscented.

I never found a bar soap or body wash that I could use other than coal tar soap, which is actually made for psoriasis relief, but seemed to work for me. Ask your doctor before using this on a child though because the smell is very strong and bothers some people (it's not a perfume smell, it's actually the chemicals that are naturally in coal tar). Dove and Ivory (supposedly the most gentle soaps) both caused me to break out. I do use hand soaps when necessary in the bathroom or kitchen but they always make the dryness worse.

My symptoms are actually worse in the summer because it seems to be triggered by sweat. The minute I sweat, I also break out. In the winter I can get by with moisturizer, but I can't get much relief in the summer.

I also found that fish oil and evening primrose oil (this is actually used for PMS, but I found a nice side benefit) taken in pill form offered some relief. Some people also say to make sure you're getting enough zinc. Obviously, they're not an option for a very young child, but you may want to keep it in mind for later.

For our laundry, I switched to Seventh Generation (pricey but eco friendly) brand of detergent. No fabric softener. I add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the water with the detergent and 1 tablespoon vinegar to the rinse cycle. No dryer sheets.

You may want to try the Burt's Bees line of products or those made by California Baby.

I just had to come back and tell....

A lady at church told me to try Bag Balm, and after two days, the stuff on her face and scalp is all but gone. She still has some redness behind her knees, but that is showing some signs of improvement.

She is breastfed, so I don't have to worry about switching formula or anything like that. The doc did tell me that asthma is related to this, so we'll be watching.

Thanks again for all your input.