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Dry skin

More help needed please! When James got his cold he got a kind of rash - very bumpy skin over tummy, thighs and hv thought it was viral infection at first but then the next week decided it was heat rash as it was more prominant in hot spots. Now however he has got really bumpy cheeks and chin and they look dry to me...I was putting aqeous cream on but its doing nothing, I dont want to use baby stuff as its fragranced and I think it could be exzema? I have no idea but any ideas ladies? xx

Replies

  • hey,

    aqueous cream is usually recommended first off (its cheap lol) e45 is recommended also but lots of babies have a reaction to the lanolin in that.

    Double base and diprobase work in alot of babies.

    Megan had dry skin on her cheeks sounds like how you are describing and my gp and hv kept saying leave it alone and i did (against my own judgement) and it got worse then they said e45 or leave it! In the end i went with the advice i would give and thats to try someting called 'epaderm' it really made a difference to Megans skin - it might not work for James but its developed my dermatolgists and doesnt have as strong ingrdients (camt think of the word i want lol) as alot of them. Oilatum is another one people like - sometimes its just trial and error.

    It could be eczema but what you described is quite common in babies (espec after something like a cold) and often by the time they get to 3 or 4 months it clears itself with less flare ups - i would try and get some epaderm (my gp wouldnt prescribe this but i bought a wee tub over the counter in the pharmacy for ??6).

    i hope it improvs soon...

    Lx

    [Modified by: Lauz41 on September 18, 2010 08:54 PM]

  • Thats great hon, thank you. I dont want to leave it as it is becomming worse and I dont want it to be sore or itchy. xx
  • Phoebe had something very similar on her face and I used diprobase and it cleared right up an she hasn't had a breakout since I was told it was baby achne
  • Oilatum is good and if its not eczma then grape seed oil is good. xx
  • I dont know what it is...it is just dry in some areas and red and dry in others. There are so many options I dont know what to choose now! x
  • Sounds very similar to what Riley had last week. Doc perscribed us oilatum for the bath and recormended to bath him only every few days not everyday as this also dries there skin, we also were told to use aqueous cream every nappy change while its dry and red and he also had a antiboitic cream to put on the really red spots. It cleared up in a few days so just using oilatum in the bath and aqueous cream twice a day. XX
  • its really quite common in alot of babies but usually clears up (although i wouldnt leave it) but like i said its trial and error - i think epaderm works really well when its dry (i was scared Megans was going to crack with the heat) and within a day or 2 noticed the difference...maybe se hwat your hv suggests?

    Lx
  • I just went to two chemists and they wouldnt give me anything except sudacrem or E45 which I have tried. Grrrr, will have to make a doctors appt. I am trying a lavender salve that is all natural at the mo and I forgot I had it in a box of goodies someone bought me, he smella lovely! xx
  • thats rubbish - the chemists have to give you something....you dont need prescriptions for aquesous cream, epaderm (as i found out when gp wouldnt prescribe it for me) oilatum or double base you can buy all of those. Diprobase i think you need a prescription for (we have a 'minor ailments' servince in Scotland and you dont need a prescription for it as you can get it on that)

    sudacream often aggrevates things unless really needed and as i said with the e45 lots of babies (megan included) react to the lanolin in it) it sounds similar to what Megan had as her skin was more dry and red mainly on her cheeks....if its just dry pathces of skin skin (not spotty?) you could also try vaseline...

    the lavender thing although natural ingredients could poss make it worse (hopefully not) just cause of the lavender....good luck hopefully it'll clear up soon.

    Most Hvs can prescribe so can you not go to a baby clinic or ask for a visit as i have found gps often a bit hopeless and just say 'e45' as they dont see it as much as hvs...the chemists have to give you things that you can buy over the counter though even if they dont recommend their use and its your right, your baby and your decision hence why theydont need to be prescribed...

    Shame you dont stay near me i have just about every cream (and some) mentioned on here you could have lol

    Lx
  • I will ask the nurse tomorrow when he has his jabs then as I am not happy. Both of the pharmacists I saw were useless and one said baby oil which I think would be a terrible thing to try on the face. Grrr. The lavendar thing is doing nothing at all...just smells good lol. xx
  • how did you get on?

    is his skin looking any better?

    Lx
  • The nurse said she didnt know enough about it to advise so I saw a hv and she said to just leave it and she didnt think it was bad enough to prescribe anything. She said to use baby oil too...I havent yet but actually it does seem a bit better - not red anymore just dry. I will see how it goes and just go to GP if it doesnt clear up soon. Thanks for asking xx
  • no probs but if it stays dry dont leave it....my hv advised me to leave it and i did even though i disagreed (figured they were the professional while im not at work now and am the same as any other first time mum) and it got a bit better then worse and looked so dry like it would crack and she had really red cheeks and they still said to leave it! I went against what they said and bought epaderm and felt so guilty when it improved striaght away (so dont think it was coincidence) i should have went with what i thought all along! When i told her i had just bought epaderm she said 'oh you sound like you know what you are talking about' they know my job but once again i had to point it out to them and she was like 'oh yeah, well right then. yeah that should help' so deffo get something if it doesnt improve as sometimes leaving it isnt always the best thing...

    as for baby oil that isnt recommended at all even when babies have soft skin and no skin probs as it is perfumed although marketed as being 'baby friendly' so while most people use it (i've never used it for Megan and prob wont even when she is older) i see lots of flare ups that improve when mums stop using it so we arent meant to recommend it as its branded as well same way we cant recommend particular formula types etc (sorry ranting now but it does my head in when people are given advice they really shouldnt be)

    i would say if your hv didnt prescribe anything then the doc might not either as they usually refer back to hvs to see what they recommend! I hope it clears up now and is just 'one of those things' as lots of babies get dry skin...if it stays dry though get some sort of moisturiser on it (like epaderm or the double base or something a hold of them but i woukd say not e45 and not baby oil!)

    soz for the long post!

    Lx

    [Modified by: Lauz41 on September 22, 2010 05:54 PM]

  • Grrr I thought that about baby oil, its so strong smelling I thought it would be a bad thing. The pharmacist that first recommended it and the hv both disagreed with me though. People are so annoying. It seems to be clearing up with the lavender salve on it but if it doesnt I will try some more chemists to see if they will give me epaderm because the others wouldnt! x
  • its such a pain...im just saying epaderm as it worked for us and its one i usually recommend and in alot of cases helps - it acts as an emoliient if skin dry and can be applied straight on go or in the bath (its really thick) they wont be recommending anything as its on his face and you have to be wary of that my gp (beofe i changed when i wanted the prescription for epaderm) actually asked me why i was so desperate to put things on her face?! Like i was doing it just for the sake of it then said i had the problem with it and not her and that i should just 'leave her alone' lets say i wasnt impressed as it was really warm and her skin was drying out and i didnt want it to crack argh - gps arent always teh most experienced with babies and sometimes hvs just tell you whatever...

    its always a risk if you apply something to the face (or anywhere on the body) that they could have a reaction to it (e45 made Megan worse) left which is why your better to avoid it if you can. If its red or a bit spotty in most cases it will clear up if left over the course of a week or so but if its dry skin then it can just build up and build up and the skin has no moisture hence it can look dry and sore. The problem i had with Megans was with how it looked but because it looked sore rather than because it looked unsighly like the doctor implied (it didnt look bad as such just really dry)

    like i said sometimes it can just be trial and error and i wouldnt like to recommend epaderm r anything else and it made his skin worse its just that i think thats one of the better ones to try (personally) if the lavender thing isnt irritating it further then maybe that wll hopefully help. If its just dry and not spotty vaseline is another thing you could try as again it doesnt really hav emuch in it.

    Sorry i got carrie away on a rant again lol!

    If you decide on one to try just tell the chemists you want to buy it and thats it! Really hope it clears on its own though and if it seems to be clearing thats good.
    Lx

    P.s You can buy epaderm online (its not something to be wary of e.g like buying pills as would quite clearly be epaderm..its just better if you can get a prescription) i paid ??6 for a small tub in the chemsit.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epaderm-Emollient-500g/dp/B001PMQ3O4
  • could you try aveeno? its very natural and available along with regular moisturisers.my friend was prescribed it for her little boy and it looked so nice that i bought the hand cream and its ace. I would also say a definite no to baby oil!!
  • Thanks Lauz, I completely agree with your rant, its almost like they actually dont care what I put on my babies skin so long as I stop bothering them, and one chemist implied I was overreacting because it didnt look bad - but it doesnt unless you see it close in the light or feel it and its all bumpy and feels terrible - but she wouldnt feel it even though I kept asking her too! grrr. It does however seem much much better now but his whole tummy tops of legs and face are still dry so I will keep slapping on moisturiser and hopefully it will keep getting better. Thanks Jellytots, I will read up on that one too xx
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