Well at around 2 weeks my son broke out with bad baby acne and it got better but his face was still red and bumpy just not like it was before. We took him to his 2 month check up and found out he has eczema. We thought he hadn't gotten over his baby acne. The doctor gave us some samples of the cream Eledel which is new for eczema. Well we put on just 2 apllications and the eczema has started clearing up immediately! His face started looking great but one major problem occured. My baby rubs his face and eyes all the time. We believe he got some eledel in his eyes because the rims of his eyes got all puffy and red and when we saw him rubbing them we immediately realized the medicine was irritating them. We called the doctor and the nurse said not to put anymore on him. Now what do we do does he have to just live with this eczema for now?
Here is what we did. We gave baths as INfrequently as possible. When he did get a bath, we used Aveeno colloidal oatmeal. We used lotion that had no perfumes. Getting them out of the bath and putting the lotion on before they dry is a wonderful way to lock in moisture. For the face, I only use Vaseline and only put a thin layer on. I also put mittens on his hands to keep him from scratching when he was tiny. My son is 21 months now. HTH
the ped. told me my 5 month old has eczema when he was 3 months old. he prescribed elidel, after two applications, his face began to noticably clear up beautifully. now you can't even tell. i only use it when he has a flare-up.
you really have to make sure it doesn't get in their eyes. they're also not supposed to be in the sun for long periods of time either. also make sure it's rubbed in really well, since babies tend to flail their arms about and rub their face, etc.
my son's ped also said that when bathing, just make it as quick as possible since water will dry baby skin. he also prescribed a nizoral 2% shampoo/wash for him. since warmer weather is coming, there will be more moisture in the air, which should help with the eczema, but in the winter the air gets drier so he'll have more 'break-outs'.
if i were in your situation, i would wait until his eyes cleared up from the aggravation of getting it in his eyes. i would then use it again, and just make sure i didn't get it in his eyes, it's hard for me to do it since his breaks out on his face really bad and near his eyes. and make sure it's rubbed in really well.
the ped told me that it's ok to put it on their hands too, if that's a problem spot, just make sure it's rubbed in good.
he also suggested putting vaseline on top of the elidel as a protective coating to avoid him getting any in his eyes.
I found that the Gerber moisturizing stick worked great on my son's face. Now, at 13 months..he hardly gets flare ups. Also...I bathe him twice sometimes 3 times a week. He doesn't play outside or get sweaty so there really isn't the need to bath him everyday or even every other day. Just my opinion though. Good luck!
Boy i do get concerned about all this. Ok my sory - i have 4 children, my second had slight eczema, i knew nothing he had some cream didnt do much. My third child from 6 weeks had the WORST eczema i had ever seen, especially on his face, it was so bad i wouldnt even take him out, it was so bad i wouldnt even take him out as everyone stared. In the end (when there talking about wet wrappng him) i thought to myself, well this is obviously coming from within, so i started looking at what he was eating & number one was of course dairy. So stopped dairy & within 2 days (also with some evening primrose oil rubbed on his tummy) the whole lot was gone! My doctor & health visitor could not believe it, but to me it was common sense. Of course 7 years down the line it is the major cause of eczema, just try & put eczema dairy into google.
thanks for all your replies. I have heard about eczema being linked to a milk allergy. Does that apply if I was nursing when he first got it? I just put him on enfamil lactose free (milk based formula) so can that cause problems even without the lactose?
hmmm. ... that's a tough one, dern if you do dern if you don't. Maybe if you wait until he's sleeping really well and try putting it on then, unless he's one to rub his eyes while he's sleeping of course. If that doesn't work I would try vaseline like someone else had mentioned.
I apologize for making this post because it really has nothing to do with aiding with eczema, but I can at the very least say that it's a good thing that your baby was diagnosed correctly.
My chemistry teacher's youngest daughter, when she was a few months old, liked to put her fingers in her mouth and she got these bumps all over her fingers and her pediatrician suggested they were filled with pus and that they should be lanced. They did so, but only blood came out. Shortly after, her mother went online and researched her daughter's symptoms and found out her daughter had eczema. One day's application of Elidel (I believe is what she used) got rid of the bumps.
Makes you cringe yes? I know I did when my teacher told me they actually lanced her baby daughter's poor fingers! Ouch! X(
But good luck to you nonetheless with your son and I hope all turns out well for you both. Smooth sailing,
baby has eczema 
does he have to just live with this eczema for now?
Good luck!
