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My baby's face is so dry and cracked she literally is scraping the skin off and cutting her nails doesn't help. I have tried cocoa butter, vaseline lotion for intense dryness, vitamin E creme, plain vit. E oil and NOTHING helps. Please, does anyone know what I can use?????
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Addy had REALLY dry skin for about her first 6 months. I used Aquaphor baby soap in the bath - it's really mild and doesn't irritate. THEN while her skin was still wet in the tup I would use Eucerin lotion (not the stuff in the tub) rubbing it in until her face was sort of sticky and white. Then I would pat it dry with a towel and put the Aquaphor ointment all over it. It's super greasy (watch your clothes). I did this routine before bed so everything could soak in overnight and it helped tons.
You might also want to look at your laundry detergent, fabric softner etc. Switch to stuff without fragrance and souble rinse her little clothes.
Addy is almost 10 months now and things are MUCH better.
Let me know how it goes.
Martha
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You might try some hydrocortizone cream on the really bad spots so she'll stop rubbing so much. Also with the lotions another to consider is Cetaphil and apply whatever lotion you use after every other diaper change to keep the skin moister than usual. An AA lady I spoke with this weekend says to make sure the lotion has oil in it. She said Cocoa Butter is great overall though.
Janet
I'm a big believer in shea butter...not always a 'pure concentration'.....but a mixture of a creme formula (lotions seem to be too 'light' in coverage).
But, for the face, have you used Vaseline (or just petroleum jelly)......AT NIGHT only?
You might want to try a thin layer at night....and I say that, because during the day, it may be too easy for your baby to accidently smear it in the eyes. KWIM?
It sounds as if your baby's cheeks need to be...what I'd call, 'sealed' from the weather or whatever is causing the dryness. (The comment about checking the laundry soap, dryer sheets, etc....is an excellent one too.)
But, we've used Vaseline for the most severely chapped and dry hands, lips and face. It seems to work every time (and this hasn't always been on our AA babies either).
Best of luck to you....
Sincerely,
Linny
I always use laundry soap with no prefume or dyes and her soap is an natural baby soap from our co-op. I tend to stay away from vaseline petroleum due to its derivative. I have been using hydrocortisone which is helping. My ped. was going to give me elidel but it has been removed from the market and she said anything with steroids would cause discoloration to her skin. Thanks for all the help. The cocoa butter oil seemed to dry it out more. I may just take her to a dermatologist and see what they say to do.
Tracey, I would try pure olive oil, straight from the bottle. I, too, avoid vaseline or any mineral/petroleum product on my children's skin/or hair. We treated my dd's spots of eczema with olive oil (3 years ago as a babe); worked like a charm. We use 1/2 Cetaphil and 1/2 Hydrocortisone for my ds's eczema, which is very bad. I tried everything else first, including cocoa butter, shea butter, California Baby with calendula oil and chamomile, Eucerin and Aquaphor (which is horribly offensive and occludes), both recommended by the dermatologist. We finally had to use HC. Our pediatrician and dermatologist was adament though, no HC at all on the face; discoloration and skin thinning is likely. Luckily he does not have it on his face too much. We just use Cetaphil there.
Good luck. It is hard to determine a cause (sometimes there is not one). We use only gentle, non perfumed products in our house and on our clothes); we wear no perfumes, powders, etc. We switched our son from cow to soy formula; it made little difference. Wishing you lots of luck.
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Corn Huskers lotion works wonders.. it can be bought over the counter at walgreens and I beleive CVS also carries it.
My son gets chapped hands to the point of bleeding and the pharmacist recommended it years ago. It is absolutely incredible.. and has no scent, isnt greasy and takes away the itch...
Good Luck and let us know what you end up going with..
Yvonne
Like Red, I've used olive oil for DD's dry skin and eczema. I don't dry her off at all after her daily bath - I apply the oil, then a generous layer of Cetaphil cream and then Vaseline to seal it all in. I repeat the Cetaphil and Vaseline at EVERY diaper change. The key is to apply moisturizers on damp skin. Make sure her baths are tepid, not too hot. Also, consider a humidifier in baby's room to keep the humidity up. I run Makena's humidifier every night, all night.
Until she was old enough to take them off, I kept socks on Makena's hands at night and during much of the day to keep her from scratching herself. However, she would end up rubbing off the stuff I applied to her face so her face would require more frequent touch-ups. If scratching and itching at night is bad, also try giving some Benadryl (ask your doctor about dosage).
Also, consider applying a super thin coat of Chapstik to her cheeks after you've applied moisturizer. This might be a better option than Vaseline.
Good luck!
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I totally agree with Linny. Shea Butter is best. I have no idea where you live, but there is a store in Long Beach, California called "Shades of Afrika". They import pure shea butter from Ghana and it's wonderful. The woman who owns the store is great and may be able to ship to you. I'm sure you can call information for the number.
Good Luck!
My experience with lanolin (Lansinoh brand for nursing moms) is that it can fix just about anything, but I also wanted to say that she might benefit from more fat in her diet....We aren't vegans, but are vegetarians and I found essential fatty acid supplements had a positive effect on my dds' very dry skin. They never had cow's milk and when they were younger it was really hard to get them to consume enough fat. There are lots of vegan EFA supplements now, too. Good luck!
Another idea is make sure she is not beinge exposed to wool in any form, cashmere, angora etcetera can irritate the skin.Also avoid lotions that have water and perfumes in it as the main ingredient. Umm a dermatologist can help. She may need special lotion and make sure baby's stress levels are not higher cuz stress can cause eczema flareups.
I use shea butter mixed with apricot kernel oil. There is an online soap store: [url="http://www.thesage.com"]www.thesage.com[/url]. I just buy the shea butter and the apricot kernel oil, and blend them together with hand electric mixer and then put it in containers. My son started getting excema and this took it away! I have used this on both my kids and they never dry out!
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rastachris
Like Red, I've used olive oil for DD's dry skin and eczema. Also, consider applying a super thin coat of Chapstik to her cheeks after you've applied moisturizer. This might be a better option than Vaseline. Good luck!