Baby eczema can be hard to get rid of, especially in the winter, but it’s possible to do! This winter eczema treatment for my baby has made his skin soft again!
When my baby was about 9 months old, he got what looked like a really bad rash all over his body, and he kept scratching at his skin. Just in time for Christmas. Yippee.
I went into a little bit of a panic mode, feeling like a bad mom and wondering what it could be. My husband and I had a few guesses, and we took action on all of them to try to figure out what was causing the rash on our sweet little boy.
We thought that maybe it was heat rash, so we made sure not to let him get too hot.
Then we thought it was an allergy to something he was eating, so we cut back on any foods we were introducing to him, especially foods that are considered common food allergens, like eggs.
We even changed his laundry detergent and we kept him away from our sheddy dog in case the dog hair was bothering him.
Some days it seemed like the rash was going away, so I thought that we were slowly honing in on the culprit. And I’d think, hallelujah! But then it would come back just as bad as before and we’d be right back where we started.
So our next thought was that it was eczema.
Sometimes my sister’s kids get dry skin, and her husband has eczema. I asked her for advice and she told us to try giving our baby daily baths. She also said that we should use Cetaphil cream a couple times throughout the day as a moisturizer.
But the cream alone didn’t seem to cut it, and the baths made it worse.
After a few weeks of all these trials and errors, we saw a pediatrician and asked for help.
I know, I know. We should have seen a doctor sooner (oh, the downsides of only having one car 🤦♀️). But the important thing to remember is that we went! Better late than never!
*This is a reminder to every mom that mom guilt is real and that you aren’t the only one who feels it. I feel it on the daily 😂 It’s part of true motherhood.
Okay, so the pediatrician confirmed that it indeed was eczema, we just needed a few more tips. He advised us to follow some simple steps, so we did.
Now his skin looks smooth and soft again! However, we still have to keep up with the routine every day, otherwise we see signs of eczema again. It’s definitely not just a do-the-routine-once kinda deal. It’s more like a do-this-routine-until-you-move-out-of-that-dry-state kinda deal.
This post is all about the 5 step winter eczema treatment for my baby.
The 5 Step Winter Eczema Treatment For My Baby
Products we use For Eczema
- Gentle baby soap
- Cetaphil Cream
- Aquaphor Baby
- Cetaphil Liquid Cleanser
- Washcloth
- Steroid cream
- Humidifier -optional
The Steps to Clear Up Eczema
1. Limit water baths to twice a week.
We found out, from the pediatrician, that the reason the baths were making his skin worse was because we have hard water at our house. Our baby’s skin is too delicate for hard water! Otherwise, daily baths would not bother him. Our pediatrician thought it best to either invest in a water softener or limit water baths. A water softener is very expensive, and we plan on moving soon, so we cut back on the fun bath time.
We use gentle baby soap and we make sure the water isn’t too hot or too cold. Then we keep baths to a limited time of 10-15 minutes, especially since we use hard water.
I have seen people buy an attachment to their shower head that filters the water, creating the effect of a water softener for a minimal price. You just need to replace the filter every few months to keep it working, but I’ve heard it gives good results and might be worth investing it for your little one.
2. Moisturize every single morning and night.
Using Cetaphil cream was a good option first recommended by my sister. And you need the cream! Not Cetaphil lotion! Creams are thicker. However, because the cream alone didn’t give us the results we were looking for, the doctor told us that we needed another heavier ointment to lock in the moisture from the Cetaphil cream. He recommended Aquaphor.
So, every morning and every night, I cover my baby in Cetaphil cream first, and then I cover him in Aquaphor! It’s very oily, but it’s a great combo 🤣
3. Moisturize after every water bath!
After we give our baby a water bath, we pat dry his skin so that he’s mostly dry, and then we moisturize his slightly damp skin. For the moisturizer, we use the same products that we apply in the morning. Once again, we cover our baby in Cetaphil cream, and then cover him in Aquaphor. The only difference is that he’s just had a bath and it’s nighttime 😛
Not everyone bathes their baby before bed, so potentially you could be moisturizing your baby three times a day if baths happen during daylight hours.
4. Dry bath when you don’t do a water bath.
The majority of the nights where our baby doesn’t get a water bath, we do what our pediatrician called a “dry bath”. For this, he recommended that we use Cetaphil Gentle Liquid Cleanser.
We take a soft washcloth, making sure it’s damp, not dripping wet. Next, we pump some of the cleanser onto the washcloth and apply it to our baby’s skin. Immediately after, we moisturize with… Yup! You guessed it! The same products we have been using. Cetaphil cream is applied after the cleanser, and then Aquaphor is applied last.
5. Steroid cream on large eczema spots.
In case we felt like we needed it, our pediatrician prescribed a steroid cream for any areas of dryness that were extra stubborn and not going away. He told us to avoid the face completely, and avoid applying the steroid cream on any areas where my baby had scratched through the surface of his skin. If applied to any open wound, it can burn!
So we steered clear from my baby’s neck, because my baby couldn’t keep his little sharp nails off himself! (cringe) But we did use it a few times in the beginning, and it worked really well. Once in a while we might need a small little layer on an area that is flaring up, but not often.
Bonus, yet optional: Humidifier
Our pediatrician mentioned that a humidifier could be useful. He didn’t think it would make a significant difference and it would definitely not be the single cure to eczema. However, he said that in addition to the main routine above, a humidifier would be the cherry on top. So, if you have a humidifier, maybe give it a go! We have not used one, and his skin still looks amazing, so it’s not necessary.
Let’s wrap this up.
Once we started to apply these steps daily, we noticed a significant difference in his skin within the week. Because his eczema was all over his body and not just in one general area, it took a few weeks to clear up. We started the routine around mid January and by the end of January, his skin looked a million times better.
His neck area was the most difficult to heal because of how much he would scratch it. I was never able to put any steroid cream on it to speed up the process. It seemed like every time his neck was almost healed enough for me to apply some, he would scratch again, and make himself bleed. So I kept it moisturized as much as possible with Cetaphil and Aquaphor, and I would also apply a thin layer of Neosporin when the scratches were fresh. I feel like these all worked really well!
This routine overall has immensely helped our baby’s skin!
Since we live in a very VERY dry environment and we are still in the winter months, we have continued this routine since our pediatrician recommended it. So what… it’s been about 5-6 weeks now of almost consistent use?
There have been a few days or nights here and there when we haven’t been able to stick to the routine due to schedule changes, etc, and we notice a difference in his skin within hours. It’s something that we have needed to be as consistent as possible with, otherwise we no longer see results. I am hoping that his eczema will improve as the weather improves, but until then, we will continue to moisturize twice a day, give water baths twice a week, and do dry baths for the remaining days.
If your baby has eczema, maybe one of these steps will help! Talk to a pediatrician to see if it’s right for your baby and their skin!
What tricks do you use to help clear up baby eczema?
This post was all about The Winter Eczema Treatment For My Baby.
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