Things that have improved my sons eczema
There are a few things that we have done along the way that have
helped my 2 1/2 year old son with his eczema. Like everyone else,
we have tried everything.
As far as his diet goes…what really seems to help is we took him
off of cows milk and put him on Enriched Rice Milk…he really
enjoys the vanilla flavor. We also stopped giving him diary cheese
and instead give him soy cheese which he also enjoys very much. As
far as snacks and such go, we have tried to get gluten free items.
There are so many gluten free products out there. We get the gluten
free cookies and also many rice products (rice chips and cereals).
Gluten and diary are not completely removed from his diet, there are
times when he will have pizza or mac and cheese…but we have taken
the frequency of those items way down. I really see a big
improvement.
As far as his skin treatment…we often do wet wraps. Usually, I
take an outfit/pajamas that covers his whole body and wet it down.
I also wet down 2 pairs of socks to put over his hands and feet.
Before putting the warm wet pajamas on him, I coat his body in
either Aquaphor or Vasoline. Vasoline is much more cost effective
and pretty much gives the same results. If he has some bad areas,
we put 1% hydrocortisone on the bad spots before applying the
vasoline/aquaphor. Then put a pair of dry socks over both his hands
and feet and a nice pair of warm pajamas over the top of the wet
pajamas. Sometimes we need to use two dry layers to prevent him
from getting too cold.
We usually do this before bed and let him sleep like that through
the night. The nights that we do the wet wraps, he often sleeps
better than usual. You can also give them some sort of itching
medicene to help out as well.
My son got really bad about two months ago. I did the wet wraps on
him constantly for about two days…rewetting the pajamas at every
diaper change and applying even more vasoline/aquaphor. Since then,
he as been so much better than he has ever been. And really for the
first time in his life, he can wear short sleeved shirts with no
gloves. He is a different child!
Sorry this is so long…but as you know…a lot goes into taking
care of a child with eczema. I hope this can help give a few
ideas. Also, just for reference, if you need to put gloves on your
child while the sleep, we found a really good way to cover them so
they can’t get them off (as easily…they almost always find a
way!). We bought some cotton panty hose (2T-3T) and cut a whole in
the crotch of the panty hose. You can then put one arm in, pull in
over their head and then put the other arm in. This has really
helped during some of his really bad itching spells. It at least
prevents the tearing of the skin. It is also very helpful to give
baths pretty much everyday…at least every other day. In the past,
our doctor had said to avoid frequent baths. But now, we let him
play in the tub for 15 to 20 minutes and then use a mild soap on him
right before he gets out so he is not sitting in the soapy water the
whole time. We make sure to put his vasoline/aquaphor on him within
a few minutes…it really helps.
Again, sorry this is so long…just hoping to help!!! I look
forward to hearing your comments!
Jessica
April 13th, 2006 at 7:29 am
My son is 2 years old and we do pretty much exactly the same thing
you do. My son is allergic to milk protein so he also drinks rice
milk. I also really have to watch what I give him by reading all
ingredients in everything. Milk can be found in numerous things we
wouldn’t even think of. For example it is in some hot dogs. I notice
if he accidently gets some for of milk protein (ie:whey, caesin and
many others, I found lists on the internet.) His skin will react. I
also wanted to tell you what we did to stop his night itching. We
also will do wet pj’s if his skin is bad, for now it is looking
great. I do put on 2 pair of pj’s still though, just in case. On the
outer pair of pj’s they are long sleeve and footed. What I did was
take soft cotton socks (actually nice thin ones from the girls
dept.) and I sewed them on to the end of the pj’s, this way he can’t
take the socks off.
Also I agree with the baths. My son gets one everynight and if we
skip any his skin will be irritated. It’s much better if it is
everynight and at least 15 minutes.
I’m glad you are finding relief.
Karena
April 13th, 2006 at 4:12 pm
I just wanted to share a couple of tips that I’ve picked up over the years about
laundry.
1. Frontloading washers rinse more of the detergent out of clothing than
upright washers. (They also use less water.)
2. Allergies to fabric softeners, including dryer sheets are fairly common.
The chemicals in these can be triggers for eczema, even if you don’t have an
allergy.
Rob
April 14th, 2006 at 3:29 am
Yes! I found that Bounce Fabric Softner was a MAJOR culprit of my
eczema, especially on my legs and behind my knees. Once I stopped
using Bounce and started using ‘free and clear’, my nighttime
scratching in my sleep began to get better and I now no longer wake
up bleeding. If you currently use Bounce, try switching to anything
else labeled ‘free and clear’ for awhile and see if you experience
any improvements.
-Kristen
April 14th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
oR JUST DON’T USE FABRIC SOFTENER AT ALL. THEY ARE
FILLED WITH CHEMICALS WE DON’T NEED.
NIKKI
April 14th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
I was recently told to use magnets in my dryer to soften my clothes instead
of fabric softener. Magnets are also supposed to clean your
clothes…haven’t tried that one yet tho.
Kat
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