Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Dry skin on a Newborn

My little one is 3 months now. She still has really bed cradle cap and her skin is super dry. She gets cracks by her ears that bleed and all she does is scratch, scratch, scratch! I am at a loss. I have tried many different things. Cetaphil lotion, sensitive skin soap, humidifier, aquaphor, I know this one sounds funny but gerber breast feeding stick, and bag balm. Nothings seems to be helping. Does anyone have some magic things that might help? I am willing to try just about anything. Especially if it will stop the itching! My poor baby doesn't need any more scratches!

11 comments:

Jilly Bean said...
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Jilly Bean said...

You may want to have her checked for Eczema. I developed it when I was her age behind my ears.

The Schacher Family said...

Can they give her medicine for it?

Jilly Bean said...

Absolutely! When I was younger there were only steriod creme's available, but now there's Elidel that's non-steroid but works great! The doctor will have other options too. I've had it for so long that only the really strong stuff works for me, but she shouldn't need anything strong.

Other things I've found that work for my eczema (I'm 28 and still have it).
-Dove (The bar version not the body wash)
-Vanicream - lotion avaiable from pharmacist. It's very mild and has been my FAVORITE for over a year, you may have to order it, but it doesn't require a prescription - get the kind with a pump, it will last longer that way.
-Cerave - it's a cleanser similar to cetaphil (I never could use cetaphil, it would make me break out). It's harder to find, but I could typically find it at Walgreens or Rite Aid in their face soap section.

Claire said...

I was going to suggest Vanicream also! It worked wonders on my hives and eczema. They also make a soap that is extremely mild and works well with their lotion. Its free of scent and dyes so it won't irritate her skin and it will hopefully help.

Another thing that my allergist told me was to bathe in the coolest water I could without being cold. Hot water dries out skin. Also, bathe her only as often as necessary to keep her from stinking. Excess bathing of children can be very taxing to their skin.

Poor Katelyn!! I'm so sad for her. I agree with getting her in to see a doctor or allergist. They might be able to give her a presciption to help clear things up.

Stephanie said...

My daughter had only very mild ecyzema, so maybe this won't be helpful, but Baby Aveeno works wonders for her. You've probably tried it, but I thought I'd mention it just in case! And I second doing very minimal and quick baths. Good luck!

Linz said...

You can see the word eczema right on some of those baby Aveeno products. They have worked well for me.

Vaseline has worked great or my little one's chapped faces. I would glob it on before each nap and bedtime.

The Schacher Family said...

Aveeno bothers my skin really bad because I have really severe eczema so I am scared to try it on Katelyn. Thanks Jill for some ideas. I am going to try some for myself. We already use the dove sensitive skin bar soap. I tried the squeeze kind and noticed it bugs us but the bar kind doesn't. Since Claire and Jill both suggest
vanicream I think I will try that. Also thanks for the tips on the bath. I tend to make her baths and Cedric's really warm which might be why they both get really irritated skin after a bath.

Jilly Bean said...

Because you have eczema, your daughter is likely to have it as well. I know I inherited my eczema from my dad (my other siblings don't have it though). Good luck!

Julianne said...

Good luck with the excema! I don't have any good advice there, but I do for the cradle cap. I used to put baby oil on it before my kids bath, and then kind of brush it out and then wash it. It certainly made it look a whole lot better!! You can even put it on about 1/2 hour before and let it sit if you remember that far in advance.

Liz said...

One thing that my mom taught me to help with the cradle cap...be sure to rinse her head well after a bath with clean water (not water that has been in the tub with her.) The baby oil can help to soften it up and then use a toothbrush or something of the like to work off the current cradle cap (I know it sounds horrible, but it is better to get the current stuff off...) Good luck.