v. dry baby skin (not sure where to post)

[lmh2402]

hi there

i'm not sure where to post this. thought maybe the diaper section could be a good start.

my son has very, very dry patches on his arms and legs

the doctor said we should get him good & greasy

i've tried burts bees buttermilk lotion, california baby's calendula cream as well as their calming everyday lotion

but the dry patches persist

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

[twowhat?]

burt's bees lotion does NOTHING for eczema in my experience! We use CeraVe cream (available at Walgreens). Get the cream, NOT the lotion. Vanicream is another dermatologist-recommended cream for eczema. Others have had good luck with Aquaphor.

[amldaley]

We use Aveeno moisturizing cream (navy blue cap) and mix it with vitamin E oil in the palm of my hands before applying generously.

You can get Vit E oil at most health stores and in the health & beauty section of upscale groceries like Whole Foods. A little goes a long way!!!

We also have Cetaphil, which works OK.

[DrSally]

Cerave and vanicream were also recommended to my by our derm.

[LMPC]

We used unpetroleum by Alba. Love it! Got it at WF!

[SnuggleBuggles]

How often are you bathing him? If you bathe too often, especially in cool, dry weather, it can be really drying. Bathing strips the skin of it's natural oils. In the winter my boys only get 2 baths a week otherwise their skin is terrible. I promise, they don't look dirty. :) Little babies especially just don't need baths more than 3 times/ week unless something really messy happens.

Beth

[MmeSunny]

How often are you bathing him? If you bathe too often, especially in cool, dry weather, it can be really drying. Bathing strips the skin of it's natural oils. In the winter my boys only get 2 baths a week otherwise their skin is terrible. I promise, they don't look dirty. :) Little babies especially just don't need baths more than 3 times/ week unless something really messy happens.

Beth

:yeahthat: We also love the Eucerin cream in the tub, not bottle. Rec'd by our derm for DD ecxema.

[twowhat?]

How often are you bathing him? If you bathe too often, especially in cool, dry weather, it can be really drying. Bathing strips the skin of it's natural oils. In the winter my boys only get 2 baths a week otherwise their skin is terrible. I promise, they don't look dirty. :) Little babies especially just don't need baths more than 3 times/ week unless something really messy happens.

Beth

That's interesting...our ped told us that bathing helps the skin absorb moisture, as long as the bath isn't too long, the water is warm, not hot, and as long as we lock that moisture in right away by slathering on the cream immediately after the bath. He recommended bathing briefly (15 minutes) once per day, pat gently dry with a towel (no rubbing) and making sure the cream goes on within 2 minutes of them leaving the water. For us it really made a big difference.

[SnuggleBuggles]

That's interesting...our ped told us that bathing helps the skin absorb moisture, as long as the bath isn't too long, the water is warm, not hot, and as long as we lock that moisture in right away by slathering on the cream immediately after the bath. He recommended bathing briefly (15 minutes) once per day, pat gently dry with a towel (no rubbing) and making sure the cream goes on within 2 minutes of them leaving the water. For us it really made a big difference.

Yep, tried that but it really is no where near as effective as fewer baths. And much simpler. :)

Our peds have always advised against bathing the kids too often, just in general not wrt dry skin.

Beth

[lmh2402]

many thanks, ladies

we bathe him every day

mostly b/c he loves his bath

it's one of my favorite times of day with him b/c he just kicks and splashes and has so much fun

but maybe we'll have to cut back...

[SnuggleBuggles]

My ds loves bath time too...maybe even more b/c it is a rare treat. :) I really would experiment with fewer baths and see what happens. There have been lots of bath threads and I promise you wouldn't be weird at all if you only did 2-3 baths (or fewer) per week. There are a lot of us on here that seem to do that with our kids.

Beth

[cestkaren]

We use Aquaphor.

[lchang25000]

We use Aquaphor.

:yeahthat: We bath DS every night, but only use the CA baby shampoo/body wash every 2-3 days. DS LOVES his bathtime!

[PAfirsttimemom]

We've used Cetaphil as an all-over moisturizer when needed and Aquaphor (which is thicker, more like petroleum jelly) on the really dry patches. Fragrance-free is always best if a kid has sensitive skin or eczema. I also recommend Dove moisturizing bars (again, fragrance-free, sensitive skin variety) for bathing. We usually stick to every other day for baths.

[larig]

we use stelatopia milky bath oil (http://www.mustelausa.com/stelatopia_bath_oil.html) for bathing instead of soap. I'm not thrilled with any shampoo particularly, but have been using dr. bronner's baby lately, just a little. For lotion we keep coming back to aquaphor. It has almost eliminated any on his face. We use it for prevention. Apply it about 3 times a day. We bath him about 1 time a week. Any more than that seems to irritate his skin.

[GracieCat]

Do you all use reg Aquaphor or Baby Aquaphor? Is it okay to use on his face and scalp?

[ahrimie]

We use hydrocortisone cream and aquaphor. It usually does the trick within a day or two.

[PAfirsttimemom]

We use regular Aquaphor. I believe both baby and regular products contain the same ingredients. The "baby" on the package is just for marketing purposes. I use it on my DS's face all the time. I also know people who have used it on the scalp.

[maestramommy]

My baby's been getting dry patches on her legs. I've started using Aquaphor. It's my big gun for dry skin. But you can try Vaseline first since it's a lot cheaper.

[DrSally]

Do you all use reg Aquaphor or Baby Aquaphor? Is it okay to use on his face and scalp?

They're both the same, just different packaging. I use it everywhere, it's very mild.

[lchang25000]

They're both the same, just different packaging. I use it everywhere, it's very mild.

:yeahthat: I lube up DS's entire body and a bit to his face after bathtime.

[Swimfreak78]

Acquaphor for diaper ointment/really dry patches

Aveeno moistruzing body wash -- we do a bath every other day and then put lotion on after.