If you read this post, then you know I've been running some experiments over at this house. I'm happy to say that EXPERIMENT #3: What is Causing the Flesh-Colored Bumps on Banner's Skin? has been resolved. After 2 months of having no idea what to do in order to treat these bumps, I finally decided to take Banner to the dermatologist. Since most doctors are not really skilled in this very specific area, I decided not to take the advice of my pediatrician who told me to wait until Banner was 6 months before doing anything about the "rash." Well, given that the symptoms developed around 2 months old, I decided another 2 months was NOT in the plans for my baby boy who may or may not be experiencing discomfort from them, nor was I going to put myself through the agony of not knowing what to do to help him. (Side note: the pediatrician had asked us if Banner was bothered by the rash. I told him I didn't think so because he didn't scratch or cry about it. Later, when we asked the doctor if Banner's ear-rubbing could be indicative of an ear infection, he said Banner was too young to localize pain. Hmmm.... so how was I supposed to know if his skin hurt or itched him? It was when the back arching started that I decided enough was enough!) So, I played the "Mommy card" and grabbed the reins on this decision. I told Sam I was calling the dermatologist the next day and there was nothing he could do to stop me. His response: Okay!
I think we are both glad I made this decision, too. See, the bumps had not only taken over his entire body, minus his diaper area (which is important to note), but they had become red. His face had gotten to be so dry, and he looked chapped on his cheeks. I kept thinking it was just heat rash since it got worse after the Race for the Cure heat and exhaustion. I treated him as if it were heat rash - and I did the worst thing I could have given his future diagnosis - and I withheld moisturizing lotions. If it had been heat rash, locking in the heat with moisturizers only aggravates it, so I did not give him any lotion for a couple days. I also wanted to see if he was allergic to the lotion since I rarely put lotion on his bottom, which - again - was the only place he did not have these bumps. Since I put diaper rash cream on him pretty regularly to avoid diaper rash, I figured that was keeping these bumps away from this sensitive area.
When the condition didn't clear with all my interventions - changing soaps, changing lotions, withholding lotion, changing detergent, etc. - I finally threw in my white lab coat to get a real, expert opinion. Thank God I did! Turns out this kiddo has eczema, a condition that not only needs moisturizing, but it also needs a prescription from time to time. The dermatologist asked lots of questions about what we have done, tried, noticed, etc. The fact that it is not in his diaper area also clued her in that this is eczema since that area is always warm and protected well with special cream.
She advised us to do the following to clear up the eczema:
-bathe him daily with soap (we had been skipping soap every other night but bathing daily, so this was easy to do)
-use Aquaphor baby wash/shampoo
-after bath, use the prescription medicine on the rash-y areas, including his face, back of the ears, neck, etc.
-after the medicine, apply Cetaphil CREAM (not lotion, as we had been doing before stopping)
Within two days, we saw a major improvement, and almost a week later, we are not using half as much medicine as we did on that first night (she said to stop using it on the areas that clear once they were, in fact, cleared up). Banner has slept better (most nights) since his skin has cleared. He was always kiss-able to me, but now he's extra delicious, with that baby soft skin he had a couple months ago! We've also been treating some pretty icky cradle cap with mineral oil and a soft toothbrush to comb out flakes. . . another recommendation by this gentle savior of a dermatologist. We'll go back to her in a week to check in, and I'm going to be so happy to report that his skin is so much better! Now, if only we could solve the other two continuing experiments!
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yay, good job mama! glad you trusted your instincts! E had really bad cradle cap and eczema as well (they're related - the cradle cap should go away once the eczema does!), and the prescription meds were our savior. however, E's would come back whenever we stopped, and we were told not to use the rx for more than 2 weeks in a row (take a 1 week break before starting up again - otherwise, it will thin the skin). What ultimately banished both the eczema and the cradle cap was my cutting wheat out of my diet. Turns out (among lots of other things), E is also sensitive to wheat (and possibly all glutens, so i'm entirely gf, just in case). Gluten is a pretty common trigger for eczema, so you might want to keep that in mind when you start solids. I hope it's not the case for Banner, since there's SO much E can't eat =( but if it does turn out to be an issue, feel free to reach out for food suggestions - we've found a ton of stuff E can safely have!
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