Excema - How do I permanently get rid of it?

Ok, so my little boy has pretty red, bumpy, dry skin. I have tried aveeno bath wash/lotions, aquaphor body wash/lotion, vaseline, etc etc.
The only thing to rid of it is hydrocortisone. I didnt realize HC was BAD (pass the bad mommy award over here) so I used it for a week straight all over. It made his skin look SO HEALTHY! Now that I know its not so great for him, Ive been using aquaphor again and vaseline, giving 3 rub downs a day of one or the other. Well the bad skin is back again and it really itches him
What else can I do for him!?! I feel horrible.

 

I use Eucerin Cream, not the lotion, but the Cream. It works well on my dd. I also use it on my eczema and have seen an improvement.

 

Who told you hydrocortisone was bad? Our doctor told us to use it (sparingly though) up to three times a day for the eczema. It didn't quite do it for us though, so now we use a different steroid cream he prescribed. I can't think of the name of it right now though.

 

My doctor also told me to use it three times a day and if after a few days it didnt go away to give her a call.
So I didnt think anything of it and was lathering him up, and my mom who's a nurse, said she always learned to never put it on the head and face (which is where I was putting it)....so then I got paranoid and went online and it seems like everything I see says to use it for spot treatments only. And here I am basically bathing him in it. Now Im paranoid. IT sucks, because it works so well and makes his skin SO nice.
I plan on calling tomorrow to get the scoop...wonder if she will prescribe something.

 

My son had excema when he was a baby. As he grew older it just disappeared. He has never had any issues since. Hope the same happens for you b/c it's a pain in the butt.

 

I slather one of my girls in it, she's covered in eczema. You are not supposed to put it on their hands because their hands go in their mouths and thats not good but other than that its the best thing for eczema.

 

First, don't feel like a bad mommy -you've done what you could to try and resolve the problem. My little girl had/has exzema too and I've gone from putting lotions all over her making her brake out even more, to doing nothing which is what a lot of people said "oh they'll grow out of it" (which doing nothing, did nothing), and finally have found that just a simple lotion Lubriderm works best for her twice a day. Each case is different. My point is, your trying your best and you'll find something that works for your baby. Definitely see what your Pedi says - I felt so stupid when I tried all these fancy things and my their doctor said, just try a simple lotion, such as Lubriderm and or Eucerin. Some kids do grow out of it and some get flare ups around this time of year even when they're older. It will get better.

 

DS has it real bad too. He's on Nutramigen which has helped but not gotten rid of it completely. I bought some stuff at Walmart over the weekend. It says 2 and under consult a doctor, but I asked the pharmacist and he said once or twice a day is fine. It has anti itch stuff too, says 24 hour relief. Over by the bandaids and such theres a bunch of excema creams. We've tried Aveno, and the doc perscribed Vanicream. Neither did much, but this new stuff seems to help ALOT. Before I got it I used a very small amount of hydrocortisone at night to stop the itch. He would wake up in the AM and have blood on his sheets/clothes and a million nasty scratches on his head/face, no matter how short I cut his nails. Hope you find something soon!!

 

My guy is almost 1 and still has it really bad but not like before because we try to keep it under control.

This is what we do
-bath ONLY as needed (once a week) and do not leave them in the water for a long time.
-DO NOT use any harsh chemically soaps like Johnson & Johnson stuff. Use either Aquaphor cleanser or California Baby stuff to bathe.
-use Aquaphor like it's going out of style. We seriously rub this stuff on him like morning noon and night! When we get lazy and forget, that is when it starts getting bad.
-The detergent you are using may be too harsh for the baby. We use Dreft but I barely use any. Our DR tells us not to use anything.
-Make sure the nails are always trimmed because when they start scratching, it gets worse and it can get infected then you have a REAL mess on your hands.

Eczema really stinks, especailly when it's really bad. Believe me, I know! I did take him to a dermatologist and he prescibed a creme that really worked well to get rid of it but it comes back. I found a homeopathis Dr that I think I am going to take him to for this as well as to get him checked for allergies (he's allergic to eggs). UGH

 

Ditto on the eucerin cream.
Could your baby be allergic to something? My DS was allergic to Nylon.. As soon as we got his carseat covered his excema went away in 1 day! GL!!

ETA: We also use budereoux butt bath. Very mild soap made for children with sensitive skin. Works like a charm. And i would wonld bath them when nessary..

 

My son's eczema got OUT OF CONTROL and everything his ped and I tried wasn't working. He finally sent us to an allergist last week and he put my son on different stuff and oh my gosh, he looks like a totally different kid! It's incredible. It seriously is just about gone. This is what we did:

-we bathed him for 20 min. twice a day using only an unscented Dove bath bar... Dove really helps moisturize the skin and letting him play in the bath (using lukewarm water) also helped moisturize his skin. We learned that the Johnson's baby wash was only making it worse.

-As soon as we got him out of the tub we only pat dried him and the allergist prescribed a steroid cream for his main body parts and hydrocortisone for his face and creases. Before he was completely dry out of his bath we put the lotions on to lock in the moisture. The parts that werent affected by the eczema we used Aquaphor.

-He was on a prednisone for four days. The allergist also prescribed Singulair before bedtime to control the itching and he was on Zyrtec twice a day.

After months of the never ending battle he is FINALLY just about clear. He is sleeping all night again and he is no longer digging at his skin. We are so thankful to his allergist. Now that it's pretty much gone we are just maintaining with baths twice a week (still using Dove) and using the Aquaphor immediatly after his bath. He is off the Zyrtec and we just use the Singulair at night. He is also on Nutramigen and that has helped a ton too.

I don't know if this is much help, but I totally understand. A miserable kid makes for a miserable mommy! Good luck with it!

 

Wow, thanks for your help everyone. I talked to my doctor's nurse today and she said the doctor okay'ed everyday use for the hydrocortisone...so I dont know what to think. My mom (as a nurse) said youd have to use it everyday like 3 times a day for 2 months to see thinning of the skin. So hopefully I can just use it as needed and try some of your other ideas!

Thanks again

 

We use the Aveeno intense night relief lotion (not a baby product), and it's the best non-prescription thing for our daughter who has it. Sometimes we have to use the steroid cream, but this stuff keeps it in check most of the time. We use baby Aquaphor wash, and that has helped.

I hope you get it all under control again soon.

 

Dove soap and lots of aquafor over here. Excema seems like it's something you manage not cure. The key though is not to let it get out of control for comfort and infection reasons. My 8 year old suffered with it from 3 months on and then basically out grew, but we had to manage it and using hydrocortizone to prevent infection was part of her plan. My boys are similar, but not as bad.

Good luck---the winter will make it worse unfortunately.

Lisa