Managing Eczema - What Worked for Ryan

All right…let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. When Ryan’s eczema was at its peak, this is what worked for us:

1. Wearing clothing that breathes well – it’s easy to find baby clothes that are 100% cotton. No polyester, fleece, or wool. My struggle was finding socks without polyester – Ryan’s ankles were always covered in eczema! Overheating can be a trigger for eczema – so don’t overdress your little rashy one.

2. Sunlight – Ryan’s eczema was always better in the summer because we made sure he had about 15 minutes exposure to the sun every day. He loved lying in the backyard on a blanket with just a diaper on.

3. Moisturize – We bathed Ryan once or twice daily in a warm (not too warm – it depletes the skin of moisture) bath. As soon as we took Ryan out of the tub I would pat his skin down gently with a towel and put a light moisturizer on immediately. This helps to seal the moisture from the bath into the skin. Ryan’s skin was so dry that he could sit in the tub for 15 minutes and not get wrinkly toes! Our favourite moisturizer was the Aveeno Baby unscented lotion. Sometimes we used just plain old olive oil to keep his skin moist, as well. Here’s the trick - if your moisturizer is too thick (or if you apply too much), it might not allow the skin to keep cool. I found that overheating was a major trigger for Ryan’s flare-ups.

4. Food Triggers – Finding food triggers can be hard. My paediatrician told me that I would probably never clear up Ryan’s eczema just by omitting certain foods from his diet. Here are the some common pediatric food allergens – nuts, milk, soy, egg, wheat and citrus. Since I was breastfeeding Ryan I avoided milk and nuts. Well – except for the odd Reese’s peanut butter cup…nobody’s perfect.

5. Laundry Tips – We used Tide Free – it’s unscented and dye-free. I also added ¼ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle – someone suggested that it helped get rid of the extra detergent from the clothes. I have no idea if it helped…but it certainly didn’t hurt. For Ryan’s clothes we used no dryer sheets…shocking, literally.

6. Dust Mites – Some people’s skin can be sensitive to dust mites, so it’s a good idea to keep your baby’s room as clean as possible. This was my short-fall. How can you possibly keep the house immaculately clean if your baby is itchy and does not want to be put down!? We covered Ryan’s mattress with a plastic covering – I even duct-taped the zipper closed to make the cover air-tight. Vacuum regularly and keep your pets out of the baby’s room. Wash the baby’s bedding frequently in hot water.

7. Medication Regime – Set up a medication regime with your health care professional. This was our regime: A) When the skin was just dry and a little bit red we used a simple moisturizer. B) If the skin became cracked we used Fucidin (an antibiotic cream), and if this cracked area was exposed to dry, wintry weather we used a Vaseline-based antibiotic ointment as an extra barrier. C) When the skin became more ‘angry’ looking – red around the cracks and oozing just a bit we would use Fudicin – H (which had a small amount of hydrocortisone cream in it). I would use the hydrocortisone based creams for a max of 5 days – it causes thinning of the skin and is less effective if used for a prolonged period of time. We would also visit our nurse practitioner and paediatrician quite regularly. Sometimes you need a fresh set of eyes to assess the situation!

This is what helped for Ryan…luckily after he turned one his eczema became less of an issue. And that’s when the food allergies began…