DD has dermatitis, any experience? (long post)

[mommy111]

DD developed this wierd itchy rash around her neck just where her shirt collar is and its persisted for nearly a week. Spoke to Dr's office where the nurse said doc didn't really need to see her, it sounded like eczema or a contact dermatitis and to use 1% hydrocortisone cream. This has me worried....do any of you moms have experience with this. My major concern is, is this likely to persist as she grows older, and is there a high likelihood that she will develop other allergic stuff like asthma? Do any of you have experience with this?
Also, as a by the by, can any of you mommies tell me where I could get high necked tees/undershirts so that I can keep her neck covered and keep her from scratching there? She's causing even more damage by scratcheing herself over the rash!
Thanks so much!
Ady

[cara1]

I would be very skeptical about treating my kid with a medicine for a rash that the doctor never saw. I can't imagine my pediatrician doing something like that. Before you start speculating on what will happen in the future, you should really get a diagnosis, ya know?

Also, are you sure you want Turtlnecks now? They might be even more irritating.

[nd93]

This could be totally off, but rashes can be weird so I thought I'd go ahead and mention it, you never know. Do you use dryer sheets? I had a friend who's kid had a rash, they did allergy testing, tried lotions/creams, nothing got rid of it. Someone told her to not use dryer sheets, and sure enough that's what did the trick. The bad part was I guess residue from dryer sheets builds up in your dryer, and fortunately my friend had just moved and bought a new washer/dryer so she was able to try an uncontaminated dryer, if you will. So try washing some clothes and air drying them if you do use dryer sheets and see if that helps. You never know. (I *think* because of the reside issue, even if you don't use dryer sheets on her clothes but use them for other things it can still cause problems).

[cbm]

Hi Ady,

You don't say how old your DD is. Could the rash be related to teething? Maybe she has been drooling a lot lately and it has ended on her neck. It is very common. If that is the case, wash her really well and then coat her with some vaseline to form a barrier against the drool.

I agree with the other pp, I think the doctor should see her before you try a cream on her. A diagnosis should be confirmed.

Turtlenecks will make it worse, in my opinion.

C.
DS 12/18/04

[mommy111]

THANK YOU all for saying what you did, despite the fact that I didn't mention this.....it just felt uncomfortable to me that the nurse was advising me to use a steroid ointment in DD (who is just over a year old) without her or the doctor having a look at the rash, despite the fact that I asked to see the ped. Then I figured I was just being whiny (having been to the peds a couple of times in the past with high fever/colds etc, that were scary to me but not to the peds office).
I guess they didn't want to see her because I called on a Friday...I've had this problem with my peds office before where they don't really welcome you coming in for urgent issues, but that's another story.
Anyhow, thinking about it its definitely not drool, it may be the bib and food though. We've been using dryer sheets for ever just for the crib sheets, but I will stop those, no big deal to let her sheets air dry and see if that helps.
Thanks for the suggestions!

[ilovetivo]

Air drying: can you use the dryer w/o the dryer sheets?

Does she have any other symptoms? "black" eyes/shiners, runny nose, itchy skin, bumps/rash anywhere else, cranky, sleep issues, poop changes etc?

Any new foods lately? It could be a food reaction/allergy. My dd has food allergies and that's one of her symptoms.

By chance have you used benadryl? I wonder if you had and it worked.

Do you dry her really well there after baths and washing up after eating? Could be from the wetness.

[mommy111]

We can use the dryer without the sheets, just figured air drying would be better since there would be no residue, and is not too hard for us.
No other symptoms, she does scratch her head a lot these past few weeks though there is no rash in her head. We had just started eggs a few weeks ago but I stopped them promptly when she got the rash a week ago and it still persists. Not used benadryl, I just got it from the pharmacy today.
The wetness part I think may be an issue, I know she spills water over herself when drinking and I'm sure the baby sitter doesn't change her every time she does. I had been thinking food/water/wet bib, but we've tried to be really careful the last week and she still has it. Although I still wonder about the baby sitter and drying....

[ilovetivo]

Hmmm...

It can really take a while for rashes to clear. Any new shampoo? Rinsing her head and body well? Maybe the cloth you use on her neck is too rough for her sensitive skin?

Oh, sometimes eczema persists even if you remove the culprit because of the itching. The continual scratching can make it last or get worse.

If it's still there, maybe you can insist the dr see's her. It could be viral. Oh or yeast/thrush. If it was me, I'd try would be the hydrocortizone 1st and see if it clears. If not, maybe benadryl. Even w/ benadryl it could come back as the med wears off.

Keep us posted if you figure it out. Post a pic of the rash if you want :)

[mommy111]

So I tried some calamine lotion on it to try to stop her itching, and I don't know if its just the color in the lotion, but she definitely looks better. This happened last week as well, got better then worse, so I'll keep a look out. If it flares up again, I'm definitely going to insist on seeing the doctor.
Thanks so much for the suggestions, I will keep asking for advice if this flares up again!

[ilovetivo]

Regarding the future, it all depends on what is causing it. Try not to worry now (easier said than done). DD had tiny eczema patches 2 times and an odd rash that changed every day on her face. Turns out she has food allergies. It doesnt' mean yours does. Just something to watch out for. I don't think asthma or other allergies are more likely. From my understanding of food allergies, I don't think my dd is more likely to have environmental allergies.

My recommendation, from my experiences, I'd write down anything you can remember about what she was eating, wearing, behaviors, sleep and poop patterns etc. As things happen again, keep writing them down w/ the date & circumstances. Take pics to document if you can. If by chance something bigger comes up or becomes more confusing the documentation will help figure it out. Had I done that before dd's diagnosis, things would have been much easier.

Another idea: maybe one of her shirts/bibs etc is scratchier than others and it irritated her next. Her itching just keeps the rash there.

[ilovetivo]

Another thought since you said it got better then worse. Do you breastfeed? Food proteins pass thru breast milk and can affect a food allergic child. ETA: If you nurse, it could be related to what you're eating, vs what she's eating new.

How old is she? Once it clears, try to do only 1 new thing at a time so you can see a direct result if it happens again. Ex: 1 new food for 3 days before the next one. No new foods while on a new medicine. No new lotions while doing anything else new etc.