my 7 wk old girl has what i believe to be seborrheic dermititus. i came to this conclusion after seeing a rash on her face (cheeks/nose/ears) for 2 wks now. i initially thought allergy to formula (which my older son had) & switched to soy formula - no change. ped said change the laundry soap. i did, and still - no change. so i looked it up online, read descriptions & saw pics - i am convinced this is what she has. it said to put a hydrocotisone cream on her face. the only problem is, all of those creams say "do not use" on children under 2. my mom, who is a nurse said it's because the cortisone is a type of steroid....so i've been just using zinc, but that doesn't seem to be helping either. now, it looks like she has wind burn all over her face. has anyone had this condition w/their kids? did you use cortisone? did it help?
Are you sure it's not just baby acne? Seborrheic Dermatitus looks like a really severe rash, not just a rash. Has you Ped. seen it yet? I'd hold off on the Cortisone until the Ped. has seen it and made a firm diagnosis. That said, my son is just getting over baby acne and when I had asked my Ped. about it she said to leave it alone but if it got really bad she would advise us to use 1% cortisone very sparingly. Before you do it one your own, I tried physiobebe by Mustela and it seems to be working (though it could be a coincidence) it's sort of expensive though. I've also heard good things about Cetaphil, which is cheaper and easier to find. Good luck!
Our son had baby acne pretty bad and our doctor prescribed 1% hydrocortisone on his face, but said the gel would be better, not the cream. She said because it was on his face, she wanted the lesser percentage and the gel as it would be less likely to get into his mouth or nose at all. It cleared him right up, but I'd get confirmation from your doctor before putting something like that on it.
Hi Kelly,
My son had eczema rather than seborrehea but the pediatric dermatologist we saw told us to use "Vanicream" on him when he came out of the shower (No baths because they sit in the soap...) and was still moist. It did wonders for him and now I use it too. You can find it at the pharmacy. You have to ask for it at the desk because it's actually a compounding cream to put medicines into. It is, however, NOT a prescription drug. I'm not certain it will help your daughter's situation but it's worth a try. It won't hurt her and it might help.. If nothing else, you'll be able to use it on your poor dried out Mama of a Little One Hands. It'll be FAR better than any cream you'll get at "Bath and Body Works" (and I LOVE them!).
Best of luck.
Marcia
I'm a Registered Medical Assistant who, before I became a stay at home mom, worked at a Dermatology office for almost 10 years as a nurse. I've seen sooooo much of this it's crazy. Cortisone cream is safe to use, however, you only want to use it for about 2 weeks at a time and give your baby's skin a break in between. The cortisone cream can over time thin the skin and make the skin more apt to infections and more red skin in the end. Usually only use it 2 weeks on 2 weeks off and so forth. I as a mom with the same problems with my son, don't like to use it. I like to use vasaline directly after showering and hypoallergenic lotions. Yes changing your laundry soap is good, but not effective if you are still using dryer sheets or fabric softener, or perfumes in your own clothes. Remember what you wear your baby touches too, as well as blankets etc.... The same goes for your hand soaps, shampoos, nail polish, makeup, and I could go on and on. All these harsh elements can make your baby's condition worse as well. I have changed all my soaps, shampoos nail polish, etc.. to less harsh items (Dove soaps, shampoos, lotions like cetaphil, or dove) All the items I use for me and my babies now are Arbonne items that I love and have had no problems with my son since, they are all natural and have no harsh chemicals or perfumes. If you are going to change those things around you can't just start changing them unless you re-wash and start fresh with everthing in your home that could make it all worse. It's a long long process, but always well worth it in the end. Over time I have gradually started bringing back some of my favorite soaps and things, and have found that only some of those things caused problems with my son, you can over time still use the things you love, it just takes patience. Good luck and if you have any other questions please ask.
Hi Kelly,
Soy is also a major allergen for children. Any chance you could still nurse? It's better for baby all around. After all, we didn't evolve suckling cow's milk or soybeans! If you can't get lactation going at this point, try a hypoallergenic hydrolyzed formula. There's also a possibility that your daughter is allergic to an inhaled/environmental allergen, such as animal dander, pollen, dustmites, etc., but that's pretty rare at 7 weeks. Those allergies don't usually arise until about 2 or so, but there are always exceptions! Since you son had a food allergy, there's a good chance that your daughter has a genetic predisposition to allergy (this is called atopy). Are either you or your husband allergic or have asthma? That would increase the likelihood of your daughter being allergic considerably.
I wouldn't use hydrocortisone on an infant. With extended use, it can cause break down of the skin. Also, the steroid is more likely to be absorbed through the skin.
Many babies go through a period of baby acne or have various other rashes. Often these have a hormonal basis that will even itself out over time. (This is especially true of boys, who actually go through a type of infant puberty between 1 and 4 months.) If the rash isn't infected, cracked, peeling, etc. and/or if your daughter doesn't seem to be bothered by it, I would just do some watchful waiting to see if it clears up on its own. If not, ask your pediatrician about seeing a dermatologist rather than self-diagnosing. (There's a reason those folks went through a dozen years of med school, internship and residency! ;-) )
BTW, seborrheic dermatitus in infants usually begins as severe cradle cap and clears up on its own, usually by or before the 3rd birthday.
My son has rashes on his face and when I took him for his check up the doctor prescribed 2.5% hydrocortizone and it did help. At first he suggested just using Cetaphil lotion but when that didn't help that's when he prescribe the hydrocortizone. You can get 1% over the counter so it's worth a try. If you are really hesitant with giving steriod based you can also try "California Baby Calendula cream". That seems to help too. It really depends on the baby. Unfortunately you can only find the cream either online or at a Whole Food store. Hope this helps.
I would bring her back to the doc and ask him about what condition you believe your daughter has. She is WAY too young to be messing around with stuff. You know what I mean?
Kelly,
Children under 2, especially newborns, absorb things topically and digestively very differently than older children and adults. VERY small amounts of substances can be toxic to infants, especially newborns. I would not put anything on my child other than lotion, rash cream and baby wash without consulting my pediatrician. I strongly suggest you take your daughter back in and speak with your pediatrician before you do anything.
I know it's tough to look it, but it may just need time to clear up on it's own. I'm not sure which soap you switched to, but you may want to try an all natural laundry soap, like seventh generation or trader joe's.
Good luck!
Tiffany
my son has severe eczema (sp?)and the only thing that helps him his hydrocortisone. I talked to his doctor and he said he didn't like that, and gave me Elidel and that did nothing, plus has these potentially awful side effects as well. So he said to use the hydrocortisone when necessary...I have to use it now about once a week and he is good. He is almost two, but it took us a good year to figure out what was wrong with his skin and find something that worked. Good luck!
I was using cortisone on my son for what we thought was ezcema but after I found out that it is a steroid and that it can change the color of their pigment I stopped using immediately. I use aquaphor for babies and that has helped...he not longer has anything. I also has a girl (they are 20 week old twins) that drools excessively and since she has been rolling over to sleep on her belly she has been chapping her face (she drools a ton). I use it on her face as well, once in the morning and once at night. It has been working wonderfully and best of all it is just a vaseline type lotion...not medicines involved.
Hope this helps.
DO NOT GIVE THE OVER THE COUNTER CORTISONE TO YOUR 7 WEEK OLD!!!
It's too strong a concentration and can thin her skin. My baby also had it at a young age, but here's the thing...you need to go see a baby dermatologist. That's what we did. Turns out it she also had eczema which is common in infants and that they eventually grow out of. My baby was suffering from all of the itching which is why we ended up at the dermatologist. It also turned out that she had some food allergies as well that came through to her in my breast milk and then later on when she started on solids.
She prescribed a milder cortisone cream (you need a written prescription for it) and we only used it for short periods of time under her advicement. Her name is Dr. Mavis Billips and she has offices in Long Beach and West Hollywood at Cedars Medical Center. (877) 451-7546 The allergist that we went to is Dr. Robert Eitches, also at Cedars Medical Center.
Also, from past experience I wouldn't try and self diagnose your child over the internet. There are a lot of things that look like one thing but turn out being something else.
Hope all of this helps and that your baby's skin gets better. I know how it is to see your baby suffering. Be well. much peace and light
Hi kelly, A friend of mine at church had what sounds like the same thing you are describing, her cheeks were so red, they looked severely wind burned or chapped, this was when she was young like your baby, she grew out of it, but in the mean time ask your baby's doctor about tea tree Oil, this stuff is amazing. It's all natural so it should be ok for your baby, you can buy it at a health food store, we get ours at henry's.
hope this helps. julie L.
HI,
First talk with your pediatrician... however, my daughter has that and he recommended the hydrocortizone 1% cream. Ultimately, you don't want her skin to crack and then get a bacterial infection. My ped. also recommended switching soap, so I use the generic cetaphil wash on her skin. Hope that helps.
i am a mom of four, and my second son had this. It goes away after a few months. We took him to his pediatrician, concerned about the rash on our beautiful newborn's face. The doctor was completely unconcerned, said it was very common. He suggested T-gel shampoo, and other than that, he told us to leave it alone and not to try to treat it on our own. He said it would eventually go away. And it did. :0)
I too had that with my youngest son. I took him to a number of dermatologists. They all agreed that it was okay to put on some cortisone cream, however it was a prescribed one. I had to use it sparingly but it made all the difference in the world. It cleared up the rash AND he was just so much more comfortable. Good luck!
Denise
A friend's daughter had this. It looked kind of awful and bright red, but the pediatrician said to just leave it alone- and that it would go away. Sure enough, one day around six months, it was gone.
Sonya
My husband and my step-daughter both have excema and use a steroidal cream on their skin. My step-daughter was very young when I first met her and the rule for issues like that seems to be - work it [rub it] into the skin until it is absorbed so that it cannot possibly be transferred elsewhere such as the mouth, eyes, etc... If she has what you believe it to be, it should clear up progressively over a period of probably a week. Each day a little bit better. If not, go back to the dr. Good luck and God Bless You!
I don't know if it's the same thing, but my children had ecxema as babies - it sounds like the same thing. I did the following and it made a big difference:
1) use soap sparingly
2) dress them in 100% cotton
3) put plenty of lotion on them right after a bath - use a lotion specifically for ecxema
4) use cleaning products without dyes or perfumes
Good luck!
I am a mother of four, 2 girls and 2 boys. One of my daughters and both of my sons have eczema, my boys are worse off than my daughter, and my youngest son is 3 months old now and I use cortizone ointment/creme on his face, arms, legs, tummy and back when it was severely red, and itchy. Once it started to look better, I used Eucerin lotion at least 3 times a day all of their bodies. I also started using Dove body wash on all my kids. For my daughter it's been 100% better, and she's one. My older son had food allergies until about 2 years old, he could not have any dairy or wheat products, I also switched his formual from Enfamil Lipil to Enfamil Soy, then finally settling with Nutramigen, which is very, very expensive, and smells so bad, but what a difference it made with helping his skin clear up. My baby boy who is 3 months has had Seborrheic Dermatitis since he was about 2 weeks old, and it caused scaling and redness all over his head, I used Selsun Blue once everyday for a week, then once a week after that, it has cleared up his head so much, but my doctor said the scaling could last as long as up to 12 months, but it has helped tremendously with the itchiness, and especially the scaling. I can definitely say that using Dove and Eucerin religiously has helped to keep my kids skin looking soft and smooth, personally using the cortizone only helped to relieve my kids' itchy skin, and then applying the Eucerin lotion kept the redness away. If I even missed one day, there would be red and dry patches all over their body. Good luck and I hope his helps.
Full-Time working mother of 2 beautiful girls and 2 handsome boys