Splash
12-30-2005, 04:39 PM
Hey folks.
Charlie is five months old now, and since birth he has had these two spots on his face that are always 'there' but are occasionally oozing and raw, and occasionally just... there.
When he was about 2.5 months, the rash was all over his face, and he was diagnosed with eczema.
At 3 months, it was on his lower legs and upper arms. Still eczema. It was also REALLY oozing on his face and scalp and the ones on his legs were bleeding.
At 3.5 months it was showing up on his belly and back, and his face, neck, and scalp were horribly red and raw.
At four months, he saw a dermatologist for the first time. He was prescribed a bunch of creams that did nothing but get him addicted. The rash continued to get worse. Some days he is all over itchy and oozing, other days you can only see slight pink spots on his face, and some dry skin.
They've ruled out eczema, psoriasis, impetigo... they've RAST tested him. Yesterday they told us he was allergic to cats (we have three) but it turns out the tech read the results wrong (I am so angry about this... all day I was heartbroken about possibly losing my kitties, for nothing to be wrong with him!) and even IF something shows up, RAST testing in infants is pretty useless.
He's been on ellidel, on steroids, on moisturizers... we've eliminated high allergens from his diet (breast milk only so far), we super hot wash his diapers and rinse all detergent out of them. We don't use detergent at all on other things, just hot water. We don't use soap on his skin, only olive oil or the medicated stuff from the derm.
He has seen FOURTEEN dermatologists (three practices) and everyone is sure that it is SOME KIND of skin condition (not allergies) but since one rash looks like every other rash, they haven't been able to pin it down.
It comes and goes with NO obvious triggers. It gets worse when he cries and at night. It is not affected by the sun or the temperature. No amount of lotion seems to get rid or the dryness. No one in Jean's family has any allergies (except her sister to penicillin) and no one in the donor's immediate family (mother, father, grandparents, siblings, and other children) have any allergies. No one has ever had any skin conditions beyond simple childhood dry skin and eczema. He is not vaccinated and he is not circumcised (I'm giving any and all info, even if it's useless). We cosleep and he nurses quite often. He comfort nurses from me as well.
Jean's prenatal care was from a midwife and he was a planned home birth. He became an emergency c-section and was born at 11 1/2 pounds. He was on IV antibiotics for the first four days after his birth due to suspected GBS (we didn't want it... but we were not allowed to refuse it, and really, at that point it would not have taken much to scare us into them). He did not receive triple abx ointment in his eyes but he did get a Vit K shot.
We've done creams, antibiotics, steroids, lotions... we've put him to sleep in WET pajamas to super soak his skin and the slathered him with mineral oil the next morning.
He gets only breast milk. He is 100% cloth diapered (mostly cotton, but he does have some fleece and suedecloth, and we use a fleece liner at night for dryness.
We bathe him in warm (not hot) water and immediately lotion him up while his skin is still wet. We pat dry, no rubbing. He gets Aveeno on his face and scalp 5-6 times a day and all over his body about 3 times a day, and he gets Elta (massive heavy duty moisturizer) at night.
He's going to a hoo doo doctor today. I have no faith in this guy, he is (IMO) a total fruitcake. But, my partner's boss believes in him and REALLY wants Charlie to see him, and she is paying for all of it. However, if this guy WORKS... well, I'll have changed my opinion!
Does anyone have ANY ideas as to what it might be? I have great faith in (most) doctors but at this point the doctors are failing us, and him. We need to find something that is causing this... or at least something to soothe him.
Thanks for any advice you can give, and just making it through the entire post!
E
Charlie is five months old now, and since birth he has had these two spots on his face that are always 'there' but are occasionally oozing and raw, and occasionally just... there.
When he was about 2.5 months, the rash was all over his face, and he was diagnosed with eczema.
At 3 months, it was on his lower legs and upper arms. Still eczema. It was also REALLY oozing on his face and scalp and the ones on his legs were bleeding.
At 3.5 months it was showing up on his belly and back, and his face, neck, and scalp were horribly red and raw.
At four months, he saw a dermatologist for the first time. He was prescribed a bunch of creams that did nothing but get him addicted. The rash continued to get worse. Some days he is all over itchy and oozing, other days you can only see slight pink spots on his face, and some dry skin.
They've ruled out eczema, psoriasis, impetigo... they've RAST tested him. Yesterday they told us he was allergic to cats (we have three) but it turns out the tech read the results wrong (I am so angry about this... all day I was heartbroken about possibly losing my kitties, for nothing to be wrong with him!) and even IF something shows up, RAST testing in infants is pretty useless.
He's been on ellidel, on steroids, on moisturizers... we've eliminated high allergens from his diet (breast milk only so far), we super hot wash his diapers and rinse all detergent out of them. We don't use detergent at all on other things, just hot water. We don't use soap on his skin, only olive oil or the medicated stuff from the derm.
He has seen FOURTEEN dermatologists (three practices) and everyone is sure that it is SOME KIND of skin condition (not allergies) but since one rash looks like every other rash, they haven't been able to pin it down.
It comes and goes with NO obvious triggers. It gets worse when he cries and at night. It is not affected by the sun or the temperature. No amount of lotion seems to get rid or the dryness. No one in Jean's family has any allergies (except her sister to penicillin) and no one in the donor's immediate family (mother, father, grandparents, siblings, and other children) have any allergies. No one has ever had any skin conditions beyond simple childhood dry skin and eczema. He is not vaccinated and he is not circumcised (I'm giving any and all info, even if it's useless). We cosleep and he nurses quite often. He comfort nurses from me as well.
Jean's prenatal care was from a midwife and he was a planned home birth. He became an emergency c-section and was born at 11 1/2 pounds. He was on IV antibiotics for the first four days after his birth due to suspected GBS (we didn't want it... but we were not allowed to refuse it, and really, at that point it would not have taken much to scare us into them). He did not receive triple abx ointment in his eyes but he did get a Vit K shot.
We've done creams, antibiotics, steroids, lotions... we've put him to sleep in WET pajamas to super soak his skin and the slathered him with mineral oil the next morning.
He gets only breast milk. He is 100% cloth diapered (mostly cotton, but he does have some fleece and suedecloth, and we use a fleece liner at night for dryness.
We bathe him in warm (not hot) water and immediately lotion him up while his skin is still wet. We pat dry, no rubbing. He gets Aveeno on his face and scalp 5-6 times a day and all over his body about 3 times a day, and he gets Elta (massive heavy duty moisturizer) at night.
He's going to a hoo doo doctor today. I have no faith in this guy, he is (IMO) a total fruitcake. But, my partner's boss believes in him and REALLY wants Charlie to see him, and she is paying for all of it. However, if this guy WORKS... well, I'll have changed my opinion!
Does anyone have ANY ideas as to what it might be? I have great faith in (most) doctors but at this point the doctors are failing us, and him. We need to find something that is causing this... or at least something to soothe him.
Thanks for any advice you can give, and just making it through the entire post!
E