Allergies & Eczema. Various experiences.

Allergies and eczema

Hello to all. I was wondering if anyone could recommend soaps and body cream for my baby who gets eczema on a regular basis. I really don't know "what" he's allergic to (if anything) since he still only nurses,
and I've tried different brands of body creams, soaps and detergent for his clothes and so far it hasn't made a significant difference.
Any advice is most welcome.
Thanks ! A

I dont know what to suggest to put on bb's skin, but have you eliminated all dairy from your diet? Thats the n° 1 most common culprit.
A lot of mothers on this forum have had problems with dairy. It doesn't last long in general, but some mothers have to even check packages for hidden dairy. One bb had blood in her diaper because her mother had put milk in her cornflakes in the middle of the night when there was nothing else to eat. She said that a specialist told her later that goat milk (in whatever form) is just as bad as cow.
I know one mother for whom soja gave a worse reaction than cow or mare's milk.
You may already know all this, but maybe not. There must be stuff in "files" on allergies. If you cant download them, then ask me which file you need, and I'll send it to you in private.
Love C

Hello A,
 My boys never had eczema, so i'm only proposing things that have worked on others:
Alep soap for the body, and why not handwashing the clothes ?
Also have you tried "noix de lavage" in your washing machine?
http://www.noix-de-lavage.com/
this is not a reference website, but it just in case you don't know what they are!
 
I've got this little book called: Thérapies naturelles, Maladies d'enfants
they propose homeopathie for specific symptoms, and about eczema they propose according to what type of eczema.
They also say that for soothing any type of eczema we can use calendula talc. They even say we can apply a milk compress, though they don't say what kind of milk, but I suppose mother's milk would be the best .
Well right now I can't do much noise in the house, but if you're interested I can scan the page of this book that concerns eczema, and send it to you! CT
One of my friends use ; KLORANE Gel moussant surgras avec creme nutritive for washing her baby and SAINT - GERVAIS Ecaeane cold cream thermal visage & corps after bathing. You can buy them in the regular pharmacy.
She uses it for her daughter since her skin does not tolerate regular baby soaps.
Dexeryl is often prescribed but it did not work either for her or my daughter. it does not contain enough oil. it has too much waterlily.

I usually wash my daughter with no soap but just with hot shower everyday and use KLORANE occasionally. Then I put Hamalis water and Vaseline. when she has red hips I use Mitosyl which was also recommended by my friend.

I also like to mention that my daughter has reaction against foods which I eat.
If I eat chocolate, bread(wheat), cow milk products, and certain nuts, she gets red around her mouth and hips after nursing. There are some foods less strong like bananas which I can eat and breastfeed but if she eats it her face turns red.
MJ

Hi !
 You can still detect what your baby is allergic to even if he's only bf
He must react to something in his environment or even something you eat.
My third son, now 3, had massive eczema and even asthma attacks due to food allergies when he was still 100% bf. I took him to an allergo and he was detected allergic ++ to wheat, dairy products, etc.
I quit completely eating, drinking (a radical diet going as far as traces and I even banned bread in the house because wheat is volatile...) these things and his eczema disapeared completely ! Every time there is a laspse in my vigilance, he gets it back along with asthma.
The allergo prescribed cortisone on a daily basis.... I did it for a few months. Then choose to become more radical with my own diet and to stop completely the cortisone. I was concerned with what cortisone would do in the long run to my son. An extremely strict diet worked better. I now only use the cortisone when he gets an asthma attack (he also developped allergies to pollen...)
 
As for creams two creams have helped (but never expect a cream to cure anything) :
- cicalfate and Dexeryl. MT
Ha I'm forgetting soemthing : when you deal with allergies you must beware of all creams that contain food. A lot of them do as strange as it may seem. Nuts, some exotic butters etc.
 
With an allergic child one must also beware of exotic foods and components - those human being in this part of the world have not gotten used to yet : kiwi, bananas, tomatoes, etc.
 MT

My boy doesn't have allergies or eczema but I have battled with it for most of my life (stress related and not allergies so they say).  Nothing cures it but I finally made up my own "beauty oil" that relieves the itch and calms the flare ups.  I don't know if you can use it on a baby but my "recipe" is:
in a clean, VERY clean bottle, add whichever of the following you have on hand:
• Rose oil
• Geranium oil
• Gardenia oil
• coconut oil (not coprah but coconut)
• Bourrache
• Germe de blé (not good for allergic babies)
• Carrot
• Jojoba
• Argan
• Monoi (but only because I like the smell)
Most of the above have skin regenerating properties which is why I use them and then I cut everything with a neutral base
• match the amount with the same amount of sesame (or any other neutral oil - sesame might not be too good for an allergic baby)
Codina is a good source for oils.  They are pretty expensive and when you start to buy a lot, the price is steep.  I mix it all up and put it in smaller bottles for little gifts or share expenses with girlfriends.  The mixture comes out a yellow colour that is very, umm, evocative so a non transparent bottle is better.  It's better for the oils anyway.  I use the stuff on my flare ups but also as a general beauty oil.  It comes out to much less than the Nuxe or other brands you can buy and is the only thing that has ever worked on my patches.
Hope this helps and hang in there!
LL

Thanks C. I hadn't thought of looking at the files on allergies, I downloaded them but can't seem to open them. I think I was eager to get into contact with other parents.
Yes I've heard of the problems with dairy products and I try to cut down on them. However I'm a vegetarian and don't eat any meat or fish, only eggs and dairy products. If I totally eliminate them from my diet I'm not sure it would be balanced enough. But I will do more research on that and see what I can do.
A.

Thanks to everyone !
Several of you mention to look out for the foods I eat, of course I've heard of that before and will try to do so, especially the dairy products. I don't know if I'll manage to eliminate them totally since I'm vegetarian but I'll try to change my diet drastically.
I had never thought of the fact that some creams do contain food products also. I heard about the noix de lavage a few days ago at work and will look into those too.
Luckily R's eczema isn't too bad and the doctor has never prescribed cortisone for him, yet ... But I know it bugs him since I get it too, and it sometimes drives me crazy, mine is really stress related though. Best to all of you,
A

re: the eczema,
I, luckily, so far, haven't encountered it, but i HAVE used my breastmilk for treating baby acne, dry patches and eye redness. i learned this from my doula. she said to hand express a bit into a cup, then suction it
into an empty mini-dose of one of those "eau physiologique" thingies (in other words, empty it of the "eau" and suck in your milk). it's slow-acting but then suddenly does the trick. she even recommended it when his nose was stuffed and it did clear him up after 2 doses.
just a thought. we are so lucky to have our medecine cabinet right at hand, eh??
AM

Wow ! What a marvelous idea ! I think I'll try that right away. Gosh,our milk is good for EVERYTHING ! Thanks so much!
A

You can by empty “embouts” I think they’re called, at the pharmacy. AN.

I suffer from excema and although I avoid harsh chemicals, etc., the thing that works best for me is sunshine and seawater (i.e. swimming in the ocean).  But now I'm going to try putting some of my milk on the spots to see if that clears things up!  Thanks. ME

Your message was very interesting to me M.  R, now 1 yr old, has had an asthma attack a month since Nov.  The last one, a few weeks ago, was quite serious – she was in intensive care for 24 hours and we spent a week in the hospital.  They did some preliminary allergy tests but we do not have the results yet.  I am waiting for them before we go to an allergo, but maybe I shouldn’t wait?  R has a treatment of inhaled ventolin and cortisone on a daily basis for the next three months.  My doctor, Dr LM-L said that inhaled cortisone has minimal side effects because it is such a minute quantity.

I must admit I have “tried” that strict diet (no dairy, no wheat) several times unsuccessfully, I also suffer from asthma and allergies.  I guess I haven’t been truly convinced of the negative effects.  I am also put off by the expensive replacement products – am open to suggestions (I am allergic to soy).

Did you see an allergo in Paris?  I am looking for recommendations.  I would also like to read more about all this if anyone has any suggestions.
AN

Sticking to a diet is extremely difficult.
I found that the first few months were the most difficult and that it actually was psychologically easier to do it at 100% than partially. Because if you do it partially you still have the taste for it. It's basically like trying to quit smoking still having two fags a day.
At first I was very depressed - especially since T was allergic to precisley what constituted 90% of my diet ! I just hated all replacements I could come up with.
I also lost a lot of weight which by then it was pretty bad because I'd lost a lot already because of prolongued bf.
But I basically forgot about other food. The amazing improvement in T's skin and condition was also such a reward. I felt very proud and that gave me the energy to have ready comebacks to people who told me I was taking the whole thing too far.
In fact T who, like your child had already been several times in intensive care etc...  (that played a major part in my determination too : “never again” was my motto. And I was trying to do it not only for him, but for myself too because as you know seeing our chidren suffer is such a trauma for us mothers) did not have a single asthma attack for a whole year. He started again when he developed an allergy to pollen. That alas, I cannot control !
 
You're right though about the alternative product's impressive budget. It does costs a fortune. Especially alternative bread (typically 4/5 euros for 5 slices !).
I'm afraid I do not have many suggestions to reduce the price. You can find different products on the site : valpiforme.fr
 
All this conversation makes me think that March the 1st is T's birthday. I'll have to bake a very appetizing cake with :
- egg erzatz
- 100% vegetable margarine (there is only one trademark which does that. All the other contain butter or some form or other of mik)
- rice flour
 
It's just for show because T never wants to eat it !
 
Good luck AN. Allergies are a major pain in the neck. Maybe you'll be lucky and they'll disapear. I did not get that lucky with T but that seems to be quite a frequent situation.
 
MN

What about making your own? Flat breads usings all sorts of alternative grains or flours ...
AL had a good recipe for pancakes...

I'm afraid I do not have many suggestions to reduce the price. You can find different products on the site : valpiforme.fr

R : my husband buys olive-based margarine from the bio shops..
There's also palm oil as an alternative in cooking..
RB.