Dry as a Bone

Let me start by saying I am in NO way complaining about living up North again. For everything I hated about living in Mississippi, I am truly grateful to have moved back home.

However, it is DAMN DRY here. And mama needs some moisture for her nasal passages and skin. And so does my daughter, who, not surprising to me, has developed a wicked case of eczema.

She's always had spots here and there, but up here, HOLY COW. It's all over the place -- her skin is scaly, her butt cheeks are dry and red, and while it doesn't itch her, it sure bothers me enough to make me itch.

I've got this Eucerin/1% HC cream mixture going on, and it's actually working very well, and I've done my fair share of online reading (pat them dry, lukewarm baths, cream on within 3 minutes of drying), but man, this stuff is STUBBORN.

I realize it might be food related, however, she's never had anything like this until we've moved here - the cold, cat hair infested in-laws.

So, other than moisturize her every 14 minutes and pray for rain, what else can I do? Anyone have any great remedies, herbal tricks, special prayers to the skin Gods? Heck. I'll even do a crazy dance if need be!

*Note: I've actually gotten the bad spots to go away, but I'd like some suggestions on how to keep it AWAY!

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Did you buy tickets yet? PLEASE go visit and spread the word. Seriously, there's an iPod shuffle, diaper bags, handmade everything, Robeez. The list goes on!

Comments

[Kim]

I had wickedly dry nasal passages when preggers over the winter (I live in Northern Delaware, so similar weather as Philly).
I used the breathe-right nasal strips and a humidifier. Even though we have a humidifier on our central air/heat, I still put a stand alone room humidifier in each of my childrens' rooms and mine. It seems to help a lot.
Both of my kiddos have dry, eczema prone skin in the winter, so I cream the heck out of them with the baby eczema cream I found at the drugstore. I don't remember what it's called. It comes in a green box/tube & is made by Orajel; it's very greasy and I hate it on my hands -- but it seems to work. I use it on them EVERY day.
Also, bathing them too frequently can cause dryness. My little munchkins (8 months and 2 years) only get a bath twice a week in the winter. Sometimes I even stretch it a little longer.

[Marcy Sheiner]

Aloe vera. Pure, unadulterated aloe vera gel without anything else in it. If possible, slather it on and cover with soft cotton (I realize this may not be possible with a baby). Before bed, put it on hands and put on gloves; or on feet with socks. Within a week the eczema should be gone.

Another remedy, if you're near it, is the ocean.

[Laurie]

What is harder than chasing a toddler straight out of the bath to lather her with oil or cream? Every time you manage to get some oil on her she gets slipperier and slipperier. Put some oil in the bathwater with her. It's a sure bet you'll get some coverage that way. Good luck with that. And I second Weleda products.

[Jennifer]

Bath and Body Works sell soapless soap that works well for my friends little girl. Also, showers are better than baths. Good luck,

[Theresa]

When my daughter was born she had really sensative skin. We took her to the dermatologist and she suggested a cream and body wash called Cetaphil. They sell it at walmart and it seemed to work well for her. It is in a white bottle with a green label. We bought it at Wal-mart but you might have to ask where it is located. I remember having a rough time with that. And we had to use a detergent free laundry soap?

[Susanne]

Seconding the olive oil...

Both my son and I have very dry skin, especially in the winter. It helps to use olive oil instead of lotion, and recently my doctor said not to use any soap for bathing but only water with a little olive oil in it. She said he would be clean nonetheless. You'll have a child that smells like salad, but better than having these spots and cracking scaly skin.

[Christina]

Yeah, slathering her up in cream is probably your best bet. Make sure it is cream and not lotion - lotion can actually be drying.

Also, to help your nasal passages, get a humidifier. It's a must for us, and it actually helps keep Cordy's rough scaly skin under control along with the moisturizers. Plus you won't shock her from walking across a carpeted floor.

[Jennifer O.]

Mine had some eczema when she was about 1 and it wouldn't go away for several months. Our problem was just the opposite of Eryn. My baby had been on Soy products because we thought there was a problem w/milk. Well there was this article I read about how a lack of bacteria in the digestive tracts of babies using soy products was possibly causing eczema, so I asked my doctor and she said it's possible; try her on regular milk. So I did and her skin problems cleared up within days. It was Amazing! She was fine on regular milk and we have had no problems since. They also said people who needed to have their kids on soy could add something called a probiotic(?) and that might help. I would check with your doctor though.

[JenniferB]

My kids deal with this too, and we do several things to minimize the outbreaks and stubborn itchies. I use only fragrance free, dye free detergents, dove soap or baby bath/wash works well, nothing with frangrances/dyes are allowed on their clothings or bedding, towels, etc. It has helped tremendously, along with the lotioning morning and night. Now we have much less of an issue with this than we did before. Good luck!

[Eryn]

My daughter had nasty excema for years, turns out it was a milk allergy. Someone suggested switching her to soy and she cleared up instantly and has never had a spot since, except when I leave her with people who give her milk or huge amounts of dairy(because they don't believe she's "really" allergic, thanks mom). She can eat about 2 slices of cheese a day with no issues, but any more than that and she will break out. Dairy is an extremely common cause, but alot of people refuse to admit that milk isn't perfect and won't even try taking it out for a few weeks to see.
Other causes- do they use different soap to wash her clothes in than you used to? Fabric softner sheets? Have pets she isn't accustomed to? Maybe they hang her underwear too close to the stove? Skin issues are so hard to pinpoint, but with trial and error you can usually figure something out.

[Much More Than A Mom]

I agree with Janet re: California Baby. Also, nothing with any chemical nasties in it - especially petroleum or mineral oils. I love straight olive oil on the butt right out of the bath. It's greasier than grapeseed and other oils but for the really dry kids it soaks in quickly. A natural diaper cream (Weleda or something like that) works wonders as well. Oh, or Tenderflake lard when it's really bad. Kind of gross, but no chemicals and it works. At least she doesn't have to eat it.

[Janet a.k.a Wonder Mom]

Californiababy.com

Go. Now. Get the calming cream, the aloe vera cream, the calendua cream and/or the Diaper Area wash.

You will never be the same again!

[Reba]

My family has the weirdest skin and it seems like all of us has some thing different. One thing that maybe help is getting a water softener. It could be that the in-laws have hard water. That is really hard on the skin.

[Reba]

My family has the weirdest skin and it seems like all of us has some thing different. One thing that maybe help is getting a water softener. It could be that the in-laws have hard water. That is really hard on the skin.