It used to be that people recommended that babies, especially babies with dry skin and eczema, bathe only 2 or 3 times a week.
Ben's doctors have mentioned this, but now, it seems like a lot of people are recommending a daily bath followed by the application of a moisturizing lotion or Vaseline.
So, we have been giving Ben the daily Vaseline baths, and it seems to have helped with his flareups, but this morning when Ben woke up, his skin seemed pretty dry.
We've been bringing Vanicream upstairs with us--in case we need to apply it during the night.
Overall, our new routine seems to be helping, but we are thinking of changing it up a bit. The website Keep Kids Healthy.com suggests that if your child's skin can't tolerate a daily bath, then you should bathe him every other day. So, we may give that a shot.
Also, the Exederm shipment came yesterday. I don't want to overwhelm Ben's skin by trying new lotions all at once. So, we just tried the shampoo last night.
On the plus side, Ben has stopped scratching his head most of the time since we stopped using Mustela. Also, that one inflammed area of cradle cap that he was constantly scratching at is now gone.
The allergist said that this would be frustrating at time and a lot of trial and error. Even though there is still that one spot on Ben's face that we can't get to clear up, and I'm not sure if the Zyrtec is working, I feel like we are making good progress.
I called the baby doctor's office about that spot on his face that keeps getting reaggrevated by drool, and he suggested trying a lotion with a fragrance. I'm definitely not doing that. Also, he doesn't know the allergy test results yet or anything. We've talked to the allergy doctor a lot lately but not so much Ben's regular doctor.
At one point, he recommended applying Johnson's 4 or 5 times a day. That definitely did not work. Now, he recommends trying Disney's Gentle Naturals. We tried that for cradle cap a few months ago, and it seemed to help, but then a few months ago, we tried it again, and it only seemed to make his red skin more red. I don't have the heart to try it again. If we do try anything new, we will definitely patch test on a completely non-irritated area. I never realized the importance of patch-testing.
Also, the allergist recommended trying new lotions one on one leg and one on the other to see what helps and what doesn't. I think we're going to get this figured out. . .
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Jason Tandon
3 years ago
Do you guys have a hydrometer? It will tell you the humidity of the room(s) and can help you gage whether you should run a humidifier. This might also help his skin moisture level. I got one and watch it like a hawk. My ENT said to keep the house levels in the 50s and I also bought a HEPA filter so keep out the pollen and for me cat hair, or to keep it low. Our filters are small and can fit on a bookshelf and work in a bedroom nicely. They might be worth a shot in addition to a lotion right after a bath or when you notice the dry skin.
ReplyDeleteThis is the link to the ones we got (we got 2):
http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-HHT-011-Compact-Purifier-Permanent/dp/B000N9CPQK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1270908004&sr=8-1
It might also help everyone in the house feel better.
LAW,
ReplyDeleteWe bought a cheap hydrometer. But it's upstairs in Ben's room. None of the humidifiers that we have have been able to really increase the humidity significantly. We run one in his room at night and bought two others for other parts of the house. But that's a good idea. Thanks!