Dealing with Eczema is something new to us as a family. I have dry sensitive skin but nothing like Hugo has and that’s due to his CMPA. This is one symptom to CMPA that will be featured in another blog post soon.
You won’t believe the reactions he has had to different soaps when bathing and the only way to know what works with your baby is trial and error. It wasn’t until Hugo was six months old and when his allergy was tamed, we started to add soap to his baths. Before the age of six months he would just have warm water as the eczema was so bad and he was so young we use to leave it.
Please note to new mums: TAKE PHOTOS! Take photos of your baby’s eczema in different stages as I wish this was something I did, to monitor how bad it can react to different products.
Unfortunately, Baby Johnson’s for us is a big NO NO! However good the ‘bedtime bath’ smells it’s the biggest reactor to Hugo’s skin, the eczema patches would be raging red.
Dove sensitive skin, another one that smells beautiful but again Hugo’s skin would react.
AVEENO Baby has been a godsend! I wouldn’t have normally picked this off the shelf but it was gifted to me in my baby shower hamper and thank god it was as it’s the only one Hugo doesn’t react to!
I used this as ‘bubble bath’ as well as to wash his hair and body, we also had to reduce the number of baths he has. He used to have one every day where now we do alternate days. We couldn’t stop the baths altogether as it would ruin his routine and he loves them!
Again, you need to try different creams after bath time but the only ones which work for Hugo are Aveeno Baby Daily Care and Cetraben (we use Cetraben daily after his baths).
Be careful with thick ointments as we were prescribed one from a doctor and it made him worse! I know every baby is different and different things work for different people but just wanted to share what’s worked for Hugo.
My 5 top tips for dealing with eczema :
- Trial different soaps & washing detergent we use Aveeno Baby Daily Care and Persil non bio
- Reduced the amount of baths
- Don’t over moisturise and again trial different ones Cetraben is the best for Hugo
- Try and keep the skin cool as in hot weather eczema flares up and we just try to keep him cool – it can also flare up more when they have a temperature!
- Try not to let them crawl around bare legged as we have carpet, it flared Hugo’s eczema up more (wear joggers, shorts, leggings on affected areas – obviously if it’s boiling hot you can’t really help it)
I’m not a doctor so if you are concerned about your baby, please talk to them or your health visitor.
