just curious about what you use that works pretty well. My eczema is the worst it's ever been in my entire life! Only problem is I'm pregnant so have to watch what I can do. Any suggestions would be great!

Bless your heart! I don't have eczema but my teen daughter does. Her's flairs up from the heat, scented products, latex (very allergic) & some foods. She has a cream that the dr prescribed for her. I can't remember the name but it works really well. You should see a dr about this if you already haven't. They can prescribe you something that won't harm the baby. I hope it clears up soon. Hang in there~

I used to have it more as a kid and haven't had any flare ups in a couple of years. All three of my kids had/have it. My boys have out grown it, but my daughter just has a really bad case that nothing seems to work on. We have been through a bunch of different prescription ones as well as OTC and they all work great for a week, then it flares right back up and does not respond anymore. She has a bad patches on the tops of her feet and one on her left ankle. Then she will have flare ups on her legs and butt. And she has it steady all year round. At this point, we just keep her lotioned up to keep the flare ups at a minimum and are crossing our fingers she will out grow it soon too.

There's a prescription lotion that my son gets called absorbase that's wonderful for dry skin. He doesn't have it as bad as some people but if he gets sick he often gets a rash.

I have it pretty badly. I'm also allergic to just about everything possible, so I have to be REALLY careful about what I use.

I've had Rx's for several things over the years that worked well - Elicon, Elidel, and I just got a new one that starts with a C (can't remember the name).

I'd suggest talking to a dermatologist about it.

I have really severe eczema! I never really showed any signs for it until I was pregnant. At that time, it got really bad but I thought it was just PUPPPS. The only way I was able to control it was by just running cold water over the itchy area. Lotions like Eucerin didn't help. After giving birth...it only got worse....

Actually, it wouldn't be fair to say that it's all because of eczema. I've been seeing SEVERAL different doctors and we're all trying to figure out what caused me to have such a severe reaction. Next month, I'll be doing a skin biopsy to find out if everything I've gone through was because of eczema...or something else...pemphigoid gestationis~

I've been dealing with this for 7 months now. I just went to see my dermatologist on Monday. This month, we'll be treating my hives as a result of eczema. Besides the medicine, she prescribed a topical lotion to use when it gets itchy.

Here are some other advice she gave:
1) When bathing, don't use soap on your arms, legs, or body. Just rinse off with water.
2) VASELINE: If you can handle the greasiness, use vaseline all over your body to moisturize your body.
3) Cetaphil: I wasn't able to handle Eucerin but Cetaphil worked great.
4) No hot baths...lukewarm is ok

You should consult your OBGYN & also ask for a referral to see a dermatologist. Your dermatologist will help you get through this!

Good luck!

My little one(7) sufers from severe eczema.

Like heystopthatnow said. DON'T USE SOAP.
No Hot baths.

We use Oilatum Plus in her bath water.

Some creams containing Aloe also works for her.

My 3 year old daughter has exzema/dermatitis and we use freederm on her.. It's the only thing she's used that really works!!

http://www.freederm.com

both me and my DD have exzema and we use to use elidel but there has been a study showing that it causes skin cancer after so much use. so we dont use that now we use a lotion that works great it is lubriderm sensitive skin therapy for sensitive dry skin and it has don wonders for us. my DD has it really bad on her legs to the point of bleeding and this lotion helps her remember there is no cure so the next best thing is to find something that works well and stick with it.

Thanks everyone! I've tried what seems like everything. Zillions of prescriptions, essential oils, all natural remedies..etc..I no longer use hot water, soap, fabric softener and all that other fun compfy stuff. The only thing I've found that does work really well on the dry skin is taking ground up oatmeal and adding a little milk (and a little honey if you want) then slathering it on and letting it sit about 10 min then lightly scrubbing and rinsing.
I've had eczema my whole life and the weird thing is that the only break I had was when I was pregnant last time (I have a 2 yr daughter) I was totally clear except for the non-stop hives I developed on my face. Then 2 weeks after I had her I broke out and it quickly went to the worst it's EVER been, spread all over my ENTIRE body and it hasn't cleared up for even one day. Now this pregnancy it seems to actually be getting worse. Go figure! Anyways, thanks again everyone and I hope you all find something that works!

I used to have it very bad and it seemed to bethe worst in the winter. I remember it being cold one night so I wore sweat pants to bed. Well apparently over night I got to scratching in my sleep and I woke up the next morning and my pants were stuck to my leg because I had scratched so much I broke the skin and it bled and dried up with my pants attached..YUCK I KNOW!!!

Mom took me to the dr. and he gave me a steroid cream that smelled like sulphur. It did ok but the one thing that ended up taking away completely was laying in the tanning bed. The dermatologist told my mom to get me a membership and I began laying in it when I was 13 and it was completely gone by 14 and I am now 30 and it has never came back. I know you can't lay in one being pregnant but you may want to give it a go once the baby is born.

Actually, tanning is what I do usually around Feb. when it gets really bad. It helps clear it up pretty good. I was just getting ready to get a membership again but was like...ummm, pretty sure I just got pregnant so I figured I'd wait a few weeks to be sure. Sure enough, we're having another girl!

Jennifer293- I was the same way when I was younger! I always broke out on the palms of my hands & fingers, and the bottoms of my feet and toes. I would go insane scratching! One time, I had a really bad break-out while I was in college and had to see a skin specialist who wasn't my regular dermatologist. He prescribed 3 things, and they all worked miracles for me. 1st, he gave me sleeping pills! Yep! He made me sleep soundly enough that I wouldn't scratch in my sleep so my wounds could begin to heal. Next, I took an anti-bacterial pill and antibiotic to fight the rampant infection, and finally, he gave me an ointment that is used to treat burn patients. It discolored my skin a little, but it helped so much with the itching that I really didn't care. It was a silver based compound, but I can't remember the name of it. Since then, I have only had a couple of bad break-outs, and I go tanning and step up the alertness level on everything that I am touching. Wear gloves when washing dishes, wear white socks (no dyes), wash my hands thoroughly after styling my hair, etc. Oh, and my Dad picked up some colloidal silver at the health food store that gave me some relief as well.
My heart sure goes out to those of you still suffering with this!!! I feel your pain, and frustration, and itching!!

my 4 year old son is covered. One day it will be going away and the next he's covered and some areas (like by his elbows) are cracked and bloody. I use Aveeno products only for him and no perfume no dyes laundry detergent. He now has a hydra cortizone (I don't spell well- sorry) and it works great...It's almost gone and in only 1 week!

I too have severe eczema on the bottom of my feet. I am strongly considering visiting a food allergist to see if it is an allergic reaction.

For me I must keep the area really hydrated to stop the itching. I use Aquaphor.

I've heard of some dermatologists doing light therapy to treat it. It might be cheaper to just go to the tanning salon!

My 4 year old son has eczema and his flairs up in the winter.
a couple of months ago i started using the baby line from arbonne and is has helped a lot .Their products are all pure and natural .if you want more info just pm me.

I used to have it TERRIBLY as a kid. I remember my mom spraying the backs of my legs with water and fanning them. That was the only thing that gave any kind of relief.

As for getting it to clear up, my doctor recommended a product (I've long since forgotten the name) that contained coal tar. Smelled HORRIBLE! but it cleared up my skin. In collage I used to get it all over my scalp every winter. No shampoo helped until I found T-sal (or something like that). It also contained coal tar, but not as strong as the goo I used to use on my skin (that stuff was literally like tar! Yucky but worked). I occasionally used it on other parts if I had a flair up.

I agree with other posters that you should consider seeing an allergist.

My 5 year old has this really, really bad. To the point that his bleeds a lot from him scratching it so much. This summer I sent hime to his grandparents house for a few weeks and my MIL started rubbing him down with clear Caladryl Lotion and by the time he came home his skin was softer and smoother than the day he was born. You want to use the clear so that you can't see it on the skin, otherwise you'll be walking around all pink and your clothes would get messy too. He had been on all kinds of perscriptions and none of them worked, but this did. It also helps with the icthing so that you don't scratch as much because it has something to reduce the itching.

My 7 yr old was just diagnosed wtih this. It has bothered him for a few years, but this year was really bad. Our family doc said that it goes along with the mild asthma he has and seems to only flare up badly when the farmers are pulling the beans and corn off of the fields around here, so she thinks there is definately an allergy thing happening here. She just recently gave my son an ointment for severe flare ups, but other than that we have been using Cetaphil. I hope you find something that works for you, I know what a pain it is to deal with!

this may be a bit late but i came across your post while searching for something else and had to write. my sister and i both suffer from eczema,. not sure how severe yours is, and i have found that shea butter works wonders, especially during the winter, and helps to keep my eczema at bay. i either use the shea body butter from the body shop (v expensive tho!) or, more recently, i've found a shea body butter from walmart, about $5 a tub. hope this helps some!

My daughter has had it all her life, between her fingers and her feet and toes. Worse in the winter when she has to wear shoes, the sun seems to help. We have spent a fortune on prescription salves, pills etc. We lived in Washington State for a few years and the pharmacist saw all of the prescription we were trying. He finally said two words "Bag Balm" what in the heck is bag balm? Used to soothe cows udders, comes in a big can over the counter, cheap too.. Helped more than anything we had tried. She still gets it and tries other things now but she still says bag balm gives her more relief than anything.

ShirleyW... Thanks for reminding me on that one!! We used it on our DD when she was a baby!! I totally forgot about it!!

How strange that I should come across this post just now! I've had eczema all my life and right now I am suffering my worst bout ever!
My right hand is swollen, scaly and bleeding/oozing.(Ugh!) Plus I never had it on my left hand and now I do.
My dermatologist told me to get someone else to do the housework (SURE!) and to lay off the stress!

I have a cake for this weekend and I have to pipe with cotton gloves on. I don't know how much piping my hand will tolerate. Yesterday I started using Lotrisone, which I have also used in the past. The most soothing cream I use is SBR Lipocream.

Anyway, I can see that I'm not alone! I hope that by now Cookinnut is better and everyone else, too.

Marie

I know this is an old thread but I came upon it while searching for the best from scratch recipe thread. My son (18 mo) has eczema and I have had it, but very minor. It can frequently be related to food sensitivities. When I eliminate wheat and dairy DS eczema gets much better and mine is pretty much gone.

There are some books out on food sensitivities, but you can do a 3 week elimination diet to see if you have allergies. The most common allergens are wheat, dairy, chocolate, peanuts, red wine . Eggs, yeast, and sugar can also be culprits (yeast and sugar related to chronic candidiasis). So all of this is bad news for bakers, but if it is really bad, it might be worth a try. Take it for what its worth and I hope for healing for all of you.