Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Poor Girl


...
Excuse the crazy photo. Stephan took it on his phone with almost no light...and then I played with it...probably too much.

Poor Sophia has had a rough go of things lately. Since she was three months old she has had a rotten case of eczema. We've tried to get to the bottom of the cause, but as the list gets shorter and shorter we are beginning to think it might just be the dry winter weather.  Now if only we could do something about that...besides move. As winter has worn on, the rashes have gotten larger and itchier. Sophia is coordinated enough to rub and scratch which has led to lots of sores. Despite my best efforts at keeping those sores clean and to a minimum, a staph infection set in.* Yesterday, I noticed a rash on her arm that didn't look like the eczema I've become familiar with. Over the course of the morning it turned into a multitude of tiny blisters that began to spread rapidly onto her hand, legs, and some on her face. I called the doctor, but Sophia couldn't be worked in until today. In the meantime we treated the infection with Betadine and Neosporin which at least put an end to the rampant spreading. That stuff was seriously spreading like wildfire. Hopefully, the prescription antibacterial ointment that we got today will put an end to it.  So far the infection is not accompanied by fever or streaking.  I'm praying it stays that way so we can hopefully avoid oral antibiotics.
Sophia has been a trooper through this whole ordeal.  Despite restless nights and severe itching, she is still the smiliest, happiest baby I've ever seen.  She laughs and grins all day, and even when she can't sleep at night, she still grins at us. She's been blessed with an exceptionally positive attitude. I hope she hangs on to that. It's a wonderful gift.
Thankfully, there is a bright spot in all of this. It had me back on the computer researching eczema. In previous searches I had forgotten about the Ask Dr. Sears site. This time I finally remembered. There is a really good, comprehensive list of eczema treatments here. Some are things we had not tried, so we were pleased to find a few more ideas. There is also some solid information on impetigo (the infection that Sophia has) here

*My apologies in advance for what might be the longest footnote ever. I just want to encourage other mamas to go with your gut (and research) when it comes to helping your children to heal. This go round I failed. When Sophia went in for her 4 month well baby appointment, her doctor told us that if the eczema worsened we should use hydrocortisone cream. I was extremely hesitant to use it. But, a few days before the infection set in, I went against my better judgment and put it on her legs and arms in an effort to alleviate her pain, so she could sleep. I also didn't do any research on hydrocortisone before putting it on her.  What I didn't know might very well be what caused her problems. Hydrocortisone is a steroid which works by suppressing the immune system. I can't help but think that this is what allowed the staph infection to set up shop. I know that eczema is prone to infection, but the fact that it came on the heels of hydrocortisone use and was the very worst in the places that I applied it to (the arms and legs) makes me very suspicious. Anyway, this is not intended to be a rant on hydrocortisone.  I know many people have a lot of success with it when their children have eczema flare ups. I just think it's best to stick with your instincts, and when you need a little extra confidence in those instincts do a little research to back them up. You might just find that you have reason to hesitate.

So, have any of y'all had any eczema struggles?  If so, what did you find most effective.

9 comments:

  1. Poor little one... my sister had empatigo, i forget what my mum used on it... ill ask her, i know it was natural...well we'll be praying for Miss sophia!

    feel better soon sweet girl!

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  2. sweet little lady. sorry for all of this mama. :(

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  3. Manuka honey (at least 30+) cured me of the 'leprosy'! At least that's how bad it looked. I remember not being able to move an arm without feeling pain and the hydrocortisone did not stop it recurring. I have deep suspicions the manuka honey may have worked (within a week and I've never ever suffered again) because although I had a propensity to eczema since childhood it seemed to blow out after having my second kid. i.e. hormone related? I realise Sophia is too young to eat honey but possibly worth at least having under your hat somewhere in the future???

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  4. OMG, that poor little baby. The dude had baby eczema. Thankfully it never got that bad. Ugh. I hope she's doing better!

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  5. Oh and oatmeal baths and aveeno colloidal oatmeal lotion helped. : )

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  6. Poor little baby and poor mama! I'll be praying for her little infection and I'll try to look up stuff about eczema. A long time ago I had learned about how to treat it naturally but don't remember now....

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  7. So I'm part of this forum where women share how to treat things naturally and one lady said that she uses Florasone Cream (you have to order it) on her daughter...it is homeopathic and helps with the itching. Most of the women said that eczema is caused a lot by of course perfumes and stuff like that in fabric and in lotions and soaps, winter dryness...but in breastfeeding babies by the mom's diet. I guess a lot of eczema comes from a food allergy....so I'm not sure if you drink milk or eat a lot of wheat or soy but sometimes that contributes to eczema in babies.

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  8. You might try colloidal silver on her sores. We used that on my husband's surgery incisions and the healing time vs. neosporin was very dramatic.

    Glad she is still smiley. What a sweetheart!

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  9. okay I GOT mum's recipe/remedy (its worked on more than one poor baba with the same problem(i'm pasting her answer, i had her email it to me!)

    "Its called Balnetar it is a coal tar body wash, however instead of using the directions as prescribed the pediatrician and dermatologist told me to use an empty bottle and put 1oz Balnetar to 10oz water.
    Dab all over baby's body and lay the babe on an old blanket or towel let the skin air dry. it is a staining wash but the Childs skin will recover by next day. Save the Balnetar water solution and use next time it appears.
    You can purchase Balnetar at a pharmacy I had to ask the pharmacist at the grocery store for it because it was an item over $ 20 but even if it is over $ 30 it is worth it because it lasted more than a year. More importantly it really worked Hannah had alligator skin and now it's like a baby's bottom "

    ....
    I hope it can help your cutie too!
    (hannah is my little sister)

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