eczema in baby
Dear all,
I have just discovered your site while searching for cure for my baby. She is
4.5 months old only, but
is suffering from eczema over almost whole of her body. I know she feel very
itchy and try to scratch
her body or face, but since we disallowed it, she cries very often. I want to
find a natrual cure for her
since I know that steroid is not a long term solution.
Can anyone direct me to the right natural medicines which I can use since she is
only a baby?
Thanks very much,
Jasmine
March 3rd, 2005 at 1:25 pm
Click here to read replies to your question:
March 3rd, 2005 at 7:37 pm
You should look at what your baby eats. If she is still breast fed it may mean
looking at your diet. If she if formula fed you may want to change formulas.
When my son was 4 months old I was no longer able to nurse him and he didn’t
react well to formulas so we put him on goats milk. This was very successful
for us. Goat’s milk is more like human milk than cows milk. Of course check
with your doctor befroe you make any changes but my doctor approved of this. (
Joe is now 15 very healthy and athletic - no signs of allergy or skin problems.)
Dawn
March 4th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
hello jasmine,
sorry to hear that your baby is suffering. i agree
with the woman who said to look at what she’s eating.
i’m interested to know if you’re breatfeeding. i am
pregnant currently, and i have eczema. i am hoping
that my baby doesn’t get it too. mine started when i
was 5.
do you have allergies that you’re aware of?
what is your livin situation? do you use detergents
for the babies sheets and towels that are from the
healthfood store and very gentle or are you using a
commercial brand?
what about her clothing and anything else that touches
her skin? how is it cleaned and what materials are
they made of? perhaps trying 100% undyed organic
cotton. i know for myself anything with polyester
makes me itch and turn red.
what soaps are you using?
do you have pets?
how often do you dust and vacuum?
perhaps she needs a dust cover on her mattress and on
your mattress — they make allergy covers for mattress
and pillows that block the dust mites — the excrement
from the mites is the real problem. beds and pillows
are breading grounds for mites.
www.allergycontrol.com.
do you drink lots of water?
perhaps a ionizer in her room would help — negative
ions are wonderful and help knock out particals in the
air (mold, dust, etc). you know that nice feeling in
the air after a storm? it’s because the air is full of
negative ions.
also my acpuncturist recently recommended that I get
one of those indoor fountains to add moisture to the
air — heaters and air conditioners are very drying. I
just got one last week, can’t tell yet if it’s
beneficial.
that’s a start, sounds like a lot and it is but then
again things could be worse. please write back. i’m
very interested in hearing about your situation.
cold packs or cold water helps the itching go away –
but i have no experience using them on babies, only
myself.
sincerely,
shannon
March 4th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Dear Dawn and all,
Thank you very much for your good and kind advices. I have started to use goat
milk and apply an
organic oil: Baby Palm. It seems better for the last 4 days. I have also used
Neem soap (have you
heard of it) for bath. The swelling parts starts to flatten and dry up. I do not
know whether it is due to
healing, there are scalings on the old eczema area and Christy(my baby’s name)
will scratch her face,
ears and legs very hard whenever she finds a chance.
I will also order the Borage dry skin therapy and oatmeal bath as recommended by
Aunty. But since I
live in Hong Kong, It may be quite costly to deliver. I wonder if there is any
shop you know in Hong
Kong which I can check for these organic products. The one I have just learnt
does not have Oatmeal
bath.
Besides, Chrity has very severe Craddle cap problem. Her head is so dried up and
there are terrible
flares from her scalp. We use olive oil to soak before bath and apply
Camelia(?spelling) oil on her
head, but it only helps a little bit. Please advise if there is better way to
help. Is it sign of deficiency in
Vitamin A? We let her drink a lot of carrot juice but do not know which oil to
add because I
remembered Vitamin A is soluble in oil only.
I really want to help Christy recover because I can’t bear to watch her
suffering. When I read all your
emails, I am almost in tears as you have offered much hope for me.
Thank you very much,
Jasmine
March 4th, 2005 at 10:45 pm
Dear all,
I have given my baby Flaxseed oil, evening primerose oil and black currend seed
oil(as recommended
by the "green shop" in Hong Kong to take(1 tablet a day) yesterday, but there
are some redness in her
skin later last evening. As I am not sure if I should give her these supplements
and I do not know
whether it is related to these oils, I have stopped them from today. Please
advise if you have any
recommendation.
Thanks a lot!
Jasmine
March 5th, 2005 at 5:25 am
Dear sisley(shannon),
I hope to answer your questions as follows:
I have not breastfeed my baby and I do not have allergy myself. My
husband has nose allergy, but not serious. Actually before my baby
has eczema, we have never heard or learnt about this situation.
Therefore I have been using all "normal" products,e.g, Johnnson’s
bath, household detergents, even synthetic clothings for baby!
I feel so glad to discover this website last week and I am so excited
to find the hope here after 2 months battling with her condition. I
have now also bought natural detergent, washing powder and dish
washer. I am about to buy 100% undyed organic cotton clothings for
baby, but just feared that I have gone too far now, cos they are
really expensive staff. So I still use normal 100% cotton and threw
away all synthetic clothes. I am regretful that the towel we used for
baby are so coarse after washing in baby washing powder(because we
did not use softener). But I have not found the organic cotton towels
yet in Hong Kong.
We are so busy with the baby that we only sweep floor everyday and
change our bedsheet weekly. We seldom vacuum the house and now maybe
we should. Products on dust proof mattress etc are very expensive and
I still hesitate to try it. I hope when I change to goat milk powder,
it will be better for my baby without changing these.
Unfortunately we have a dog at home. I will be sorry if she is the
cause because we have kept her for over 10 years already before baby
arrives.
I have not heard of ionizer and I may be seen as extremist at home if
I start to purchase all these. Already my husband is cautioning me
not to get overheated on these.
I have posted other questions in my earlier replies.
Sincerely,
Jasmine
March 5th, 2005 at 6:16 pm
hi Jasmine,
I’m glad to hear that the goat’s milk seems successful.
A few more hints: Baking soda is cheap and can be used to clean lots of things
- including your baby! make sure you put just a little in her bath water at
first. Unless a baby is dirty (nasty bottom for example) you don’t need to wash
them with mcuh soap. Especially for someone with eczema use lukewarm water
alone is often sufficient. Apply creams or oil immediately afterwards,while
skin is still almost damp. Olive oil is good. The less different items Christy
injestes right now the better, Wait until she’s ove two before yo give her
eggs, strawberries or peanuts. There may be other items those are just the ones
I remember. Carpet can harbor lots of bad stuff tile or wood floors are
healthier, but if you are stuck with carpet then jsut try to keep it cllean.
Again with fabrics very hot water and baking soda can do wonders!
Back to soaps sodium laural sulfates are used in a lot of soap and if you can
avoid them please do. Laundry detergent is an other cause of eczema - one I’ve
had lots of problems with. I have been very lucky with ALL Free and Clear but I
don’t know if you can get it in Hong Kong. Arm and Hammer washing soda is also
supposed to be good.
A and D ointment is found in the baby ailse in the US I have used it as an
adult and it has helped add vitamins back in the skin. Some sun exposre is also
good for your baby. Not enough for a sun tan but the sun helps the skin
manufacture vitamin D.
For oatmeal bath - regular oatmeal you would eat works. To keep it from being
messy tie some oatmeal up in a nylon stocking and add to the bath water.
I am allergic to carrots so giving a baby carrot juice scares me. I would use
the oatmeal and A and D ointment on her scalp.
Try to keep things simple and natural. Although eczema can be expensive many
thing work by doing cheaper things. Living in a city I know can be hard with
air pollution.
Enjoy your baby. Love her! That’s the best medicine!
Dawn
March 6th, 2005 at 5:31 am
Calendula oil is also soothing.
March 6th, 2005 at 8:05 am
Dear Dawn,
Thanks very much for your practical advices. They are more economical when
compared to specialists
products. Sometimes it is ironical to think that the most primary products
should demand highest
price. However maybe that is the price we need to pay for living in modern city
life.
I have tried to find the baking soda, washing powder your mentioned in Hong
Kong, but I think it is
not easy. Thank you for your good advice on olive oil too. My baby’s scalp
looks better now since we
applied olive oil for about 4 times in a day(I wonder if it is excessive, but
she seems to enjoy the
massage by closing her eyes!)
I will also try to find the A&D ointment in HK drug store, I guess it is called
Fougera Vitamin A&D
Ointment Emollient, right?
My home use wood floorings and I have taken down all curtains to keep it simple.
Do you
recommend we also try anti-dust mite bedding materials or just buy allergic
proof cotton materials?
Thanks very much for your encouragement and good tips.
Best regards,
Jasmine
March 6th, 2005 at 2:16 pm
Hi Jasmine,
If you search on make your own cleaning products you can probably come up with
some good ideas. Simple is best - and simple works!! Rice vinegar may be
better than other vinegars because the process to make it doesn’t use as many
other chemicals.
You can seal Christy’s mattress in a plastic bag and use cotton bedding. I
wouldn’t buy expensive bedding unless it really is a last resort.
Yes the A&D ointment is the one you are thinking of.
How is Christy? Is she sitting up yet? Laughing? I love that age they are so
cuddly and sweet. Keep us posted on her progress.
Dawn
Thanks very much for your practical advices. They are more economical when
compared to specialists
products. Sometimes it is ironical to think that the most primary products
should demand highest
price. However maybe that is the price we need to pay for living in modern city
life.
I have tried to find the baking soda, washing powder your mentioned in Hong
Kong, but I think it is
not easy. Thank you for your good advice on olive oil too. My baby’s scalp
looks better now since we
applied olive oil for about 4 times in a day(I wonder if it is excessive, but
she seems to enjoy the
massage by closing her eyes!)
I will also try to find the A&D ointment in HK drug store, I guess it is called
Fougera Vitamin A&D
Ointment Emollient, right?
My home use wood floorings and I have taken down all curtains to keep it simple.
Do you
recommend we also try anti-dust mite bedding materials or just buy allergic
proof cotton materials?
Thanks very much for your encouragement and good tips.
Best regards,
Jasmine
March 7th, 2005 at 4:04 am
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for your sharing. I cannot buy the A&D ointment in Hong Kong and I am
asking my friend to
deliver to me from the States. I think the plastic bag is a good idea, but there
will be problem to find
such a big plastic bag without softer material to avoid too much noise.
Christy is very cute now and she can sit for a short while already. She is 5
months now and we have
started to give her porridge.
Thanks a lot.
Jasmine