My 4 year old daughter is being driven insane with the itching from her chronic eczema. She seems to be going through a particularly bad flare-up. I know this is not a medical website, but we have taken her to multiple doctors who just prescribe different corticosoid cream that don't seem to be solving the problem. I've been scouring the internet tonight for safe, at home remedies I might try. I've read about salt baths, baths with bleach in it (yikes!), bath with baking soda, moisturizing with olive oil after bath, applying lemon juice to affected areas which acts like a natural bleach/antiseptic, other creams I've never heard of.... My mind is spinning and haven't tried anything yet, but I need to try things fast as tonight was a nightmare and I feel so bad for my daughter. I was almost in tears alongside her because she is so frustrated and sick of all the itching. It's just terrible!
I'm not looking for a miracle cure, but apparently everyone reacts different to different remedies and I'm just looking for ideas. If you have helped a child who suffered from eczema I would so appreciate any suggestions. I want to start with conservative natural treatments first and go from there.
Please help me and my daughter find her relief!
Thanks, Janna
My son had horrible eczema as a baby. He still has flareups, especially in cold weather. He is 3 1/2 yrs old. The first thing to do to TREAT ezcema is to keep the skin hydrated. Our son's dermatologist, and pediatrician, recommended to only bathe in cetaphyl. We all switched to cetaphyl, and that seemed to help, but have since switched to Dove sensitive skin unscented. This is something that is recommended in acute care facilities, INSTEAD of cetaphil. It seemed even the cetaphyl caused itching, esp on the back of the legs. After bathing with dove (I use the liquid and even wash his hair in it, it seemed even the aveeno shampoo was causing him to itch his head), I coat his skin in aquaphor. The stuff is like vaseline, but it keeps the skin hydrated. This seems to work really well in keeping his skin from getting dry and flaring up.
You have to be really careful not to use too much hydrocortisone. It thins the skin, and with too much use can eventually discolor it.
For my son, while we never had him tested, we are pretty sure his was due to food allergies. In order to test an infant it required blood draws. I was in no hurry to have anyone stick him with needles, so we decided to just try to treat the symptoms first. Whatever it was, he seemed to grow out of the worst of the flareups. His face would get so bad that he would scratch it raw and bloody. I understand it is very painful. He ended up getting a infection on his skin as well, so we were putting a moisturizer on him, AND antibiotic lotion, AND a very strong hydrocortizone cream, but finally got it under control. Sometime eczema is caused by external stuff, but very often it is caused by something they are eating. Did the allergist test for food allergies? If not, you can start by eliminating things in the diet. Then reintroducing them.
I am sure you have already gone to all dye free, perfume free soaps, shampoos, detergents, fabric softeners, etc. We even had to go so far as to buy organic sheets and pillow cases for my son, which we then wash in dye free, perfume free detergents (and NOT organic, because unfortunately the ones of those I have found are rarely dye free and perfume free). Even the pesticides used to grow cotton to make sheets, and the dyes used to color them can cause skin flareups.
Hopefully this helps. Good luck to you!
