Both my boys have suffered with Eczema throughout their lives. This is something that we have had to manage as a family and they go through phases when it is worse than normal, but thankfully we mostly have it under control as a family. Yes I say as a family, as looking after their eczema is a family affair and has affected the whole household.
When Maxi was a baby we went though lots of product and sought out lots of advise to try and understand his eczema and learn what worked for him and us. Now at nine his eczema is pretty much under control and as long as we catch his flair ups early we manage it pretty well.
Tips for controlling eczema
Learn that steroid cream is not as scary as you might think. There is a lot of “noise” about them making skin thinner and being dangerous, however, modern steroids when used as prescribed work incredibly well. We found when we used them as instructed they worked well for us and shortened the flair up time considerably.
Find the right maintenance regime and stick to it. It took some time but we found out which products worked for us and which ones didn’t and we made sure that we stuck to them.
No SLS, SLA or Parabens. This was a big one for us. We found by removing products with these in the boys were less likely to flair up. Yes it means that we have to look at ingredients and that A LOT of cosmetics including bubble bath were out, but it has been worth it. More and more products are now paraben free, so this is getting easier to do. We even make sure shampoo is paraben free as when you rinse it goes on the skin. Love Boo products are a favorite of Maxi and MadDad who both adore the scent and the hair detangler is a hero product for my curly haired boy. Mini loves Childs Farm and the Quick Dip for after swimming is an essential in our swim bags now.
I also have a reaction to parabens, so dont use any products with it in and have been really enjoying Aromatherapy Associates and even better the boys can use it too.
Look for triggers. We kept a diary and soon realised what triggered Maxi’s breakouts. This included being generally unwell, central heating, parabens, certain washing powders, cold weather and wind and also lack of sleep!
Wearing natural and breathable clothing without seams that irritate was key for Maxi. He found lables and certain fabrics made his eczema worse. We discovered LovemySmalls.com who provide amazing vests and base layers made from merino wool that are lable free and Maxi wears his all the time. They have just got softer over time and yes you can really wear them for a whole week without them going smelly!
Moisturise. When you find a moisturiser that suits your child skin then use it often and generously. Especially after bathing and washing. We use Aveeno on prescription, lotion for most of the body and cream for the dryer patches. We also use Aveeno oil in the bath and do not use soap.
Disclosure: We have received some of these products as samples and some we have bought. The ones we received as samples and have blogged about have been repurchased and used!
My daughter is 3 years old and has eczema , we also have hers mostly under control I find that when she has been home from pre school for a week or more for half term ect and then goes back her skin flares up bad and we have to catch it quick. It isn’t her uniform as we have sorted that and isn’t tights as we don’t put her in them now I think it could be the heating. I also looked into the possibility of stress but she loves going and is happy there. I also thought id mention that when she does flare up we use camomile tea bags in her bath and she finds it very soothing. Thanks for your tips will be trying some out.
It sounds like you really have got it very well sorted! We have been lucky and have had only occasional minor patches of eczema to deal with. Having said that we try and use fairly ‘friendly’ products most of the time anyway because I much prefer reducing the number of chemicals we come into contact with. Juliex
Please do be careful with eczema and steroidal creams. My daughter was on steroidal creams for 7years and is now going through topical steroid withdraw. She currently has red skin syndrome from the use of steroid creams. Please research and look through http://www.itsan.org
Some people do in fact get steroid induced eczema so please be careful with your children and advising others. This is a nightmare to go through.
Aveeno Eczema Therapy has worked really well for my 2 year old
I have carried out research as eczema is something most have in my family including my extended family. A dermatologist once til me that people who have eczema or psoriasis should steer clear of lanolin/ linalool. These are in most shampoos conditioners soaps make ups etc, and can be difficult to avoid but avoiding this derivative of sheep’s wool fat helps big time. I have also found in many cases yeast affects eczema negatively, and in cases I purely the cause. I have cut out yeast myself and I no longer have any problems with eczema, a problem I’ve had since I was 6 years old and I am now 22, finally I’ve found this works, yeast cleanses can be bought in the health shop to kickstart this.
My son is now 12 and we have suffered through eczema and psoriasis since birth. Something you may want to try is all natural goat milk soap. It makes a huge difference and the only thing we use on his skin. I purchase mine from an organic website “pure n simple soap .com”. You may want to try it. It is absolutely wonderful. They also sell goat milk lotion which absorbs quickly without that greasy feeling.
I have used the Soothe regimen (steroid free) by Rodan+Fields on my children to help them. Thankfully, neither have terribly extreme cases, but Soothe is a multi-med therapy regimen created by dermatologists that helps them with their skin issues. *disclosure, I am a R+F consultant, but if the products can help people, it is worth sharing and perhaps you can find someone in your area to reach out to if you want to try it.
My daughter has/had really bad eczema. Last year was particularly bad. In July I atarted making my own laundry detergent (fels naptha, borax, washing soda) and now its under control. Last year her entire neck and arms were constantly covered in eczema. Now she has an occasional spot on her inner elbow that we manage easily. The only thing I changed was the laundry detergent. I had my friend try it on her kids with severe eczema as well and she got the same results.
My daughter gets eczema quite severely. What has worked for her is to eliminate dairy and to take an omega 3 supplement. The omega 3 helps treat the eczema from the inside out!
Melissa,
Can I have more information about the washing detergent that you use please? I’m not familiar with fels naphtha but would really like to try this out!
Thanks,
Melissa H
I acquired eczema about 7 years ago. It’s on my hands and feet. Dermatologist has me using cerva lotion. It has worked wonders. I use steroid cream on my fingernails. Only under my thumbs. Which is odd but the steroid cream has worked wonders. I recommend the cerva lotion.
As an eczema patient and GP I know that everyone with eczema responds differend to treatment and all have differrent triggers. To find which moistuizer and other treatment works for you can take years. Remember steroid creams and ointments also has perservative and binding agents, thus one type might not work but another wil. These days we also have immuunmodulators, primecrolimus and tacrolimus, which work very well for maintenance and help reduce steroid use. Best for your own journey with eczema
Your Commentsi have struggled with skin disease all my life. I finally, in my fifties and years of steroid creams, cortisone a, stinky shMpoos, embarrassing flakes, painful redness, found a line of cosmetics that works. Arbonne RE9 advNced skin care regimen with cleanser, toner and cream. It did not cure my disease but it did take care of all the symptoms on my face and scalp with their fC5 shampoo. It was a blessing except the cost is restrictive. Then the dermatologist prescribed Desonide for my face and neck and ears and betaderm for my scalp and both work great. From someone who has been to countless specialist and spent a lifetime of trying different products etc, I urge you to try my suggestions.
I don’t use any food or flower-based creams due to increasing evidence that kids with eczema can be sensitized to foods through the skin. Aveeno for example is oat based. Check out the research if Gideon Lack and others. Our derm rec’d Vanicream (ask pharmacist) w/o preservatives and aquaphor soap. California baby has a ton of flowery things in it so we stopped. Also earths best diapers/wipes are amazing, beating every other product, even honest baby & water wipes.
I have not dealt with eczema but, do to detoxing too fast, I am currently dealing with side effects of steroid creams and I beg to differ on the danger of them. After about 10 applications, I’m dealing with topical steroid withdrawal. As Tonya mentioned, it’s a nightmare. I feel so lucky that I discovered what the problems was before listening to my Dr again and applying more steroid cream. Please look into it to avoid further damage that steroids can do to you child. It’s just not worth it!