My baby girl and eczema
Sep 18 '00
I have a beautiful, healthy, happy baby girl. When she started developing a skin problem around her feet and ankles, I took her straight to the doctor. She had redness, flaky, dry, scabby skin around her ankles and on the tops of her feet. She would sit and rub her little legs and feet on the carpet until they would bleed. She would have open sores! The tops of her feet were red and felt tough and dry. It was awful!
The pediatrician suggested that this was a food allergy. Erin was @4-5 months old when I started noticing a problem. She was breastfed, then formula fed with lacto-free formulas. I avoided all foods on the allergy list, and was very careful about making note of what she ate. I battled this problem for 2 months. I would bathe the baby in oatmeal baths, moisturize the area, keep socks on her, and put anti-itch creams on the areas that seemed to be bothering her.
The problem started to occur elsewhere on her body. The knees and the crooks of her arms, and her chest. I started double rinsing all my laundry, using dye-free, fragrance-free detergents. I washed her clothes seperately. I continued bathing her in the oatmeal and putting gobs of moisturizer on her. Yet, she would still rub her legs on the floor until they bled. The problem was getting worse instead of better.
I finally took her to the dermatologist. She took one glance at the baby's red flaky swollen ankles and feet and said "Eczema". How in the world did she get that? And more importantly, what do I do about it?! Well. The list of things to do was short and the things NOT to do was long. No perfumes or dyes in her body wash or moisturizer. No bubble bath, no oatmeal bath, no lotion, no anti-itch cream, no dyes or fragrances in the detergent, no perfume, no fabric softener, no carpet fragrance on the carpeting, no nylon socks, limited exposure to sun and chlorine, and there was more but I think you get the idea.
I was given a list of things I could use on her. Cetaphil wash (liquid or bar soap), and Aquaphor moisturizer for the dry areas, plus Hydrocortisone cream for when it gets irritated. As I am sitting here typing this, she is sitting next to me, dragging her leg across the floor-scratching.
I go through a ritual several times a day. Wash and pat dry. Hydrogen peroxide on cotton balls for red, open sores. Hydrocortisone crean, moisturizer, cover with socks to prevent scratching. The problem is that this is not working. I am lucky that the problem seems to be on her legs. It could be on her face- which would be awful- she is such a beautiful girl with huge bright sky-blue eyes. I fight this battle every day with Eczema- something she might or might not outgrow.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
ronikaye
|
|
Member: Roni Kaye
Location: Canada
Reviews written: 65
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
I am a 38 year old wife and mother of 3.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.