My sister in Chicago has a 2 year old son named Von that is only 1 month older than my Willow. Strangely, both of our children share a peanut allergy when none of their siblings do. In addition to his peanut allergy, Von has excema. A bad case of it. Over the summer it was painful to watch him scratch until he had open wounds and nothing could be done to stop him. It was awful. However, his condition has cleared up for the most part and he is eating better and is so much happier. I asked my sister if she would share what finally worked for him. She kindly agreed- and here it is! Thank you Elizabeth!
I have struggled with my son’s eczema basically since he was born. He is now a little over two and after many different specialist doctor visits, opinions and recommendations, I have finally found what works for him. I hope this proves to be helpful to those who need it.
First of all, our magic answer came from a pediatric dermatologist who was trained under the nation’s top three at Children’s Memorial Chicago. The combination of medicines/creams that work for us first stem from managing the itching with hydroxyzine at night (it is a prescription liquid). Not only does it make my son, Von, comfortable through the night, but his all day itching has subsided.
We also use Fluticasone twice a day on his skin. The skin should be blotted dry after baths and the ointment (more moisturizing than cream) is applied. We must wait at least 30 minutes to apply OTC ointments for the fluticasone to be effective. There is another cream for his face and fortunately he does not need that.
During the day I have found certain creams/ointments to be excellent. I even went through them with the pediatric dermatologist and she looked up each of the ingredients and gave a “GREAT” to them all. The first was a series of products called Exederm. Their line has received the seal of approval from the National Eczema Association and they were incredibly moisturizing and comfortable/soothing for my son. The other is a cream called Soothe & Cool.
Some other beneficial information I received was that we are to bathe Von only every couple of days since that is so drying. I told the doctor that I was using the Exederm oil in the bath and she said that is a good way to counteract the dryness. Also, for open wounds and bathing, use a 1/3 cup of bleach in the bath. It sounds awful, but it kills the staph infection on the skin and helps it heal. Bleach baths are only to be done once a week. Thankfully, we have not had to give one for months now!
Finally, OTC products that were recommended and always easy to find, California Baby (just buy the one that has no fragrance) and of course the age old Aquaphor, although some people swear by Cerave. We also found that Triple Paste, which we have always thought is THE BEST medicated ointment for diaper rash, did help his excema on really bad areas.
As my doctor said, there is no cure for eczema, it is something that must be managed so that the child/person can live without discomfort. I think we have found this for Von, and I hope you can too!
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Elizabeth Pruett lives in Chicago with her 3 children and husband. She is an interior designer extraordinaire (her sister is writing this) and an amazing, loving older sister and a fabulous mom ( I send my kids to Pruett boot camp every summer).