Well, after being in and out of the doctors for the past month and a half they have finally figured out what the rash is on Bruce's skin. He has eczema. Something he will hopefully grow out of. But as for right now we have to be very careful not to do things that could irritate him. And I should add this is a relief from the other diagnosis' we got: chicken pox, viral infection, staph infection and a yeast rash. (Phew, it's been a hard month.)
I can no longer give him a nightly bath :( He should only be bathed 3 times a week in luke warm water (this differs with other eczema babies, sometimes baths help them, but for Bruce it irritates him.) J&J products also irritate his skin so if anyone wants the giant J&J body wash and lotion bottle I have let me know. I found Aquaphor and Cetaphil are gentle enough for him so we use those. I am a little bummed about the limited baths, he crawls everywhere and I hate putting him to bed "dirty."
This has also added another chore during diaper changes. We put Nystatin cream on his diaper area, Hydrocoritsone ointment all over the irritated parts of his skin, mainly arms, legs, belly and back, and Aquaphor cream on his cheeks and forehead. After only one day of doing this we have seen a huge improvement. Which makes me feel confident about the eczema diagnosis. The good news is we only need to do this for a week. After we get the eczema under control, I hope to find a lotion that will help with skin maintenance. So far, Cetaphil lotion and J&J lotion do not do the trick. I need something thicker, I think I will say hi to some of my skin care friends and try and get a discount on California Baby. The days of me getting free skin care products are over ;( But maybe when my job starts up I will have free access again (I hope!)
We also have to pay closer attention to his clothes. We just bought him four new shirts that are made out of organic cotton, so I hope this helps. I've always washed his clothes in fragrance free detergent so I think this helps and the Dr. said continue to do this and of course I never use dryer sheets on his items.
Anyway if you have noticed in the recent pictures I posted the extra redness on his cheeks and rash on his arms and legs this is why. But I'm glad we finally found out what's wrong. Poor B has been really itchy most of his baby life and hopefully he won't feel that way anymore.
4 comments:
Poor Bruce! And poor Melissa (and perhaps Kiel) for having to do all the work to keep his skin healthy and irritation free. But thank goodness its not chickenpox or something.
Oh I was going to say that Organic cotton would be great but I am glad you're doctor said it!! We use organic baby sheets in Sydney's crib. Poor little Brucey. And what a relief its not the other diagnosis.
Gabe and all of his siblings and even our nephews and nieces on his side all had eczema when they were little and grew out of it by the time they were 2.
Oh I hope it goes away by two! I'm getting organic sheets as well. He rubs his face in his sheets all the time and I think it irritates his cheeks. Your mom is also making me laundry detergent, baby soap and lotion for eczema while she is at your Aunt Kristin's. So hopefully that helps. Anything can cause a flare up - weather, diet and mainly surfactant that's in most things we put on our skin. So if I only have to deal with this for two years that would be nice!
Baby Daniel has it too...better now that he is older but it flares up from time to time and most of the time when it does I have no idea why since I never change anything. I keep him very moisturized though all the time, aveno lotions have worked well for him. I hope my little guy grows out of it soon too! Daniel will be 3 in April and I have seen improvement.
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