Nov 30, 2012  •  In Aerin, Baby

Aerin’s Eczema Treatments (Part Deux)

Aerin was only 4 months old when I first wrote about her eczema. We had been hoping that she would grow out of the condition by 6 months old, or even 1 year old, but that has not been the case. 🙁

However, we have tried new products and changed her skin routine somewhat, so I wanted to write an update for reference purposes and in hopes that it may benefit others suffering from the same condition.

I want to stay clear of prescription medication as much as possible, so we’ve gone from 2.5% hydrocortisone cream to 1%, which can be found on the shelves of drugstores. We still use this to make the half-hydrocortisone-half-vaseline mix which we apply on her flare-ups, but only when it looks especially red and/or itchy.

We also gradually stopped using the EpiCeram® because once again, I didn’t want Aerin to become too dependent on prescription meds.

A couple of months ago, I read about Mustela’s Stelatopia line, which is formulated for eczema-prone skin. I read up on the products and saw that it was getting awesome reviews, so I decided to splurge on the Stelatopia Moisturizing Cream and the Stelatopia Cream Cleanser.

As much I had hoped the Stelatopia cream and cleanser would be the answer to Aerin’s dry skin, they unfortunately were not for us. Don’t get me wrong — they did not irritate or exacerbate her eczema. And others have had great success with these products, so maybe they’ll work for you.

However, I personally found them to be no better than the cheaper Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream or the Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Cream Wash, both of which were mentioned in my last eczema post.

So for now, we’re sticking with the Aveeno cleanser. (We haven’t been using the oatmeal bath since we transitioned Aerin from her baby tub, but it’s another product I wholeheartedly recommend!)

As for a moisturizer, I’ve found a new product that has been THE best over-the-counter baby eczema cream…at least for us. Enter the BabyGanics Bye Bye Dry Eczema Care Cream.

I’ve been a huge fan of the BabyGanics Stain Remover ever since we brought Claire home from the hospital, so I wasn’t afraid to try this cortisone and steroid-free lotion. Available in 3oz and 8oz sizes, this moisturizer has earned rave reviews. Unlike other creams which eventually evaporates and/or sinks into the skin, this cream seems to leave a soft barrier on the skin which keeps it from drying out.

In fact, I would recommend this cream to anyone suffering suffering from dry skin, not just babies with eczema. I know that it’s done wonders for my hands in this cold weather!

Lastly, I’d like to share with you our favorite diaper cream. We had been using Desitin on both Claire and Aerin since day one, but it didn’t work all the time on Aerin’s sensitive skin. So when I heard about the Earth Mama Angel Baby Angel Baby Bottom Balm, I knew I had to give it a try.

This isn’t as much of a cream as it is a salve. Natural, organic, and vegan-free, I’ve heard that the Bottom Balm works especially well with cloth diapers, and it’s also working just fine with this Pampers family. Whenever Aerin’s bottom looked in the least bit red, I rubbed this over the area and the rash was almost always gone by the next diaper change. After a while, I started to use it for all diaper changes as a safeguard from diaper rashes.

So there it is — our new, updated list of eczema treatments for our 1-year-old daughter. I really hope that Aerin’s skin will improve as she grows older…I now have great sympathy for anyone with eczema — kids and adults alike — I can’t imagine going through life with such dry, itchy skin!

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16 Responses to “Aerin’s Eczema Treatments (Part Deux)”

  1. Donna says:

    This sounds odd but my husband actually treated me with a Chinese herbal formula when I had an eczema outbreak and it’s practically gone. It tasted disgusting but it worked. We actually use the boudreaux’s butt paste for C which seems to work out well.

  2. Lori says:

    I think I commented on your original post about eczema and recommended Babyganics since it worked on my son, but I recently found out that their line is not all baby safe and natural as it claims. I’ve stopped using their entire line even though it was just their cleaning products that were in this press release.

    http://www.ewg.org/release/cleaning-products-marketed-safe-babies-contain-known-human-carcinogen

  3. christine says:

    Does Aerin have a food allergy that might be causing her flare up? My son has eczema flare ups from red berries and my daughter has it for milk products.

    I don’t use diaper rash creams because I usually put Aquaphor (which I guess could be considered a diaper rash cream?) on Sophie’s bottom. This is an excellent moisture barrier and has kept the diaper rash at bay. It’s easy to clean off and doesn’t leave a long standing scent on your fingers. It’s also great for eczema patches!

  4. Melody says:

    I have had eczema since I was about 4 years old… My mother do this day doesn’t know what happen because I had perfect skin till I was 4 years old. I have flashes of bad times when I was little. My mother use to love to put my in dresses but I liked pants because dresses would allow the back of my knees worst. I remember in high school that it was the worst, my skin was super dry all the time and it was hard. Also I was terrible, I didn’t like the feel of the lotion that the doctors gave me, it was kind of sticky feeling so I didn’t use it.

    When I went away to college, my skin got better, I was told it would get better with age and I started using more just over the counter lotions like aveeno. I must say after college it got a ton better, I definitely don’t have it as bad as when I was in middle or high school but I still get flare ups now and then especially with the weather change.

    Now that I have my own son, all he gets for lotion and hyigene care are Aveeno products, I don’t know if he has senstive skin like me but it’s what mommy uses so he uses it too.

  5. Liz says:

    We use the Babyganics Bye Bye Dry as well– not sure if our baby officially has eczema but it definitely helps her dry skin

  6. ruth says:

    Have you tried cerave cream? My son has a mild case of eczema and his pediatrician recommended it. It helped clear his skin along with using non-fragrance washes (all free and clear, california baby sensitive baby wash) and we cut the tags off his clothes.

    • No, I haven’t heard of Cerave…I’ll def have to check it out! As for non-fragrance products and clothing her in only 100% cotton clothes (with the tags off), we’ve been doing that since she developed her eczema.

      • ruth says:

        You can find cera ve cream at most walmarts and targets. They offer the best prices. Also the cream version is the best for body eczema. Oh and I just met a p.a. in derm and she recommended cerave for my face too. I have dry patches lately… its supposed to have ceramides which is important for healthy skin. She said that cerave is pretty much the only product line that has it that costs under 200. But, I have not researched that statement… hope aerins skin gets better. I feel her I had eczema for half my life too…

  7. Emily says:

    I second the vote for Cerave (available OTC at CVS etc). My 25 month old daughter has suffered from really terrible eczema on the backs of her knees and inside of her elbows since about 6 mos old. It has been so bad, and we used aquaphor, as ped recommended, daily, calif baby eczema cream, earth mama angel baby lotion, babyganics (not the one you showed – one that is more like Vaseline) all to no avail. I had had enough, so we brought her to a pediatric allergist who gave her the whole slate of tests (NO allergies!) but recommended a mild steroid (prescription) for bad flare ups and Cerave for daily use (2x a day). I worry a lot about the chemicals in everything and was not happy to see that Cerave has parabens and phenoxythenol (sp?) but I couldn’t stand to see her scratching at it and nothing else had worked, so we tried. Voila! In 2-3 days it was gone!! In the months since then, we’ve had to use the steroid cream a handful of times at the most, and the Cerave really does the job. I just wish they’d take out those nasty parabens. Maybe after the winter I could cut down and start using it every other day and use something more kid friendly on alternating days and see how that goes (or try the baby ganics that you recommend!).

  8. You can also try Yu-Be cream if you need something stronger.

    I find that cream smells a little, but the smell is the camphor which soothes my skin… I use it liberally on my body and I haven’t had a dry spot since with my eczema

  9. Jess says:

    I have four kids, and all of them have terrible eczema. As do I. Mine is so bad that my eyelids swell and bleed from my scratching them in the middle of the night.

    So I’ve tried everything. EVERYTHING. And, best thing ever that now works for all of us is pure, raw, shea butter. It’s thick, and not greasy, and it comes from a shea nut and it’s amazing. Not too expensive, lasts a long time, and works amazingly well.

    Anyway. I get ours from this place. Their quality is the best I’ve found.
    http://outofafricashea.com/products/organic/osb1.html

  10. Lindsey says:

    I’ve been meaning to comment on this since you posted it…

    My daughter is 20 months, and last month I finally had her see a dermatologist so we could get her eczema under control (she gets flare ups most often on her flexors–ankles, knees, elbows, neck). We had been using Cerave, because it had been recommended to us by another pediatrician who has eczema herself and a mild steroid cream…but I hate using steroids!

    The dermatologist did prescribe a different steroidal cream and then she recommended we try Mimyx, which she said is like a much stronger version of Cerave, and it’s also a prescription (and not the cheapest…I think we had a $12 co-pay for a tube which lasted only 1 month). BUT the Mimyx has worked even better than the Cerave. I have been very pleased so far. We have a follow up with the dermatologist next month, so we will see what she says then.

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