Updated April 7th, 2016

R. has Eczema. It’s been something we have been dealing with since he was around two months old. When he first started showing symptoms of it, I didn’t know what it was. I feel like a fool now. I should have known. There are a lot of things I did in those early days that didn’t help his skin and I feel guilty about the discomfort he was in. We do our best now to make sure his skin doesn’t get bad like it was before and that he’s the happiest baby he can be! I had hard time finding credible information on products and procedures to help his skin. I’ve complied a list of what I do for him, and products we use. I am always adding to the list also. I like to see if something will work better for him.

Every baby is different but hopefully this can give you some insight into things to try that may work for you.

Clothing:

Cotton only

Tags removed

Washed in unscented/gentle detergent

Rinsed twice

Hung to dry or put in dryer with no sheet

Loose fitting

Environment

Vacuum everyday

Robot vacuum to help also

Mop every other day – vinegar or light detergent used

Humidifier set to 40%

Cat in the house (try to keep her shaved/washed)

Rabbit in the house

Older home, lots of dust, lots of carpet -not much I can do about this part

Bedding changed weekly, including mattress protector

Limit hot/cold extremes

Diaper changes

Kirkland nonscented diapers

Kirkland nonsceneted wipes

Blot to clean when possible

Blot dry with cotton

Apply moisturizer to peri area & dry spots on baby (face, neck, tummy, back etc.)

Morning Routine

Wake up around 0600 – 0700

Get breakfast ready (fruit, veg, protein, carb)

Wash face using just water and hands

Wash hands, peri area with luke warm water & face cloth

Blot areas dry

Apply liberal amounts of moisturizer to entire face & body

“Dry out” baby for 30 mins – 1hr with no clothes

Get dressed & play, then nap time

Night Routine

Bath every night

10 minutes in lukewarm water

Washing with soap ~3-4 days or when needed

Just using hands for majority of cleaning

Blot dry with cotton towel

Immediately apply moisturizer liberally

Immediately dress in cotton PJ

Sleeps in cotton sleep-sack

Sleeps on cotton sheet (in my bed or his)

~1x night apply moisturizer to neck & face

~1x night diaper change

Feeds ~3x night

Check out my charts, the very bad ones are where he was covered in itchy spots in less than 12 hours.

Steroid Lotion

Great – Exederm Hydrocortisone ($26.79/100ml)

SPF

Good – Aveeno Avtive Naturals SPF 45, It’s the only one I’ve tried so far and seemed to work well

Moisturizers

Great Good Poor Very bad (>12hrs) Galaxal Base ($4.88/100g) Eucerine Aquaphor ($4.75/100g) Eucerine “Eczema line” ($2.26/100g) Vanicream lite ($3.66/100ml) Mustella Stelatopia lotion ($12.50/100ml) Aveeno Regular ($3.97/100ml) Sween 24 ($11.78/100g) Exederm Cream ($11.50/100ml) Coconut oil – Not practical to apply Cetaphil Restoraderm (sample only) PG Baby lotion Weleda White Mallow ($10.75/100ml) Sween regular lotion ($5.50/100g) Avene Xeracalm ($11.00 / 100mls8, Vanicream CREAM ($5.12/100mls)

Cleansers

Great Good Poor Very bad (>12 hrs) Cetaphil Regular ($3.19/100ml) Cetaphil Restoraderm (Sample only) PG Baby soap (all) Weleda Baby Calendula Shampoo & Body Wash ($8.40/100ml) Vanicream Free and Clear (sample only)

If money were no limit right now I would use the Avene Xeracalm or the Exederm products. They are both beautiful lotions, and works well on R’s skin. Budget constraints have us using Vanicream and Vanicream lite.

Are there any products that you have found work? Let me know.