Our Eczema Battle

Eczema sucks. Big time.

It first reared it ugly head on Calvin's face when he was 3 months old. I didn't think much of it at first, just a couple small red spots here and there, no biggie...

I was wrong.

It got worse as the weeks went by, spreading over his forehead, behind his ears and down his cheeks. Spots started cropping up on his sides and back. Not to mention the crusty, flaky cradle-cap that came with it. It was getting inflamed and was obviously uncomfortable. He was having trouble napping. He would fight sleeping and rub his face, which hurt, so he'd cry and scratch, which made it hurt more. 

It was a vicious cycle.

I researched and researched and spent who knows how much money on every cream, lotion, baby wash and oil I could get my hands on. I tried Aquaphor, Aveeno baby eczema, Califonia Baby, Eucerin, Johnsons, Mustella, Coconut Oil, Baby Oil, Oatmeal baths and Vaseline. 

No luck.

I don't have a before picture because I couldn't bare to document what I felt was a huge failure on my part. My baby looked like Two-Face and I couldn't figure out how to help him.

This is our current regimen and it seems to be working. I am not a doctor and this is not a medical recommendation  This is merely what we do in our home.

Calvin gets a bath every other night. I put about 2 Tbls of Baking Soda in the water (aluminum free baking soda can be used if that's a concern). Some nights I make a paste with it and rub it on his head as soon as he's in the water and let it sit while I wash the rest of him with Exederm Baby wash and shampoo.

It's extremely gentle and the best product line I've found so far. It can be purchased Here

After drying thoroughly, I coat his body in Curel Itch Defense Lotion and the Exederm Baby Cream on his face. I add a drop or 2 of Grapefruit Seed Extract or GSE to the lotions before I put them on him. Do Not apply it straight to the skin.  If you've never heard of GSE, I HIGHLY suggest you check it out. (You can find it at health food stores or here: Grapefruit Seed Extract ) Our babysitter and her husband told me about it and I am very grateful.

For the first 3 nights of this, we put cortisone cream on his face before bed. You cannot use it for an extended period of time, and it doesn't address the cause, but it works well to calm down the rash so you can get it back under control.

Then to top it off we started putting mittens on him so he can't scratch his face at night.

The eczema is almost completely gone, he doesn't scream when you touch his face and the cradle cap is much improved. Still there, but we're working on it. The most important thing is that my kiddo is happy again.

Check out my update HERE! (2/10/14)

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