4 Month Old Son Is Tearing His Face Off

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He has Eczema they say. I have not heard of this before but I looked it up and it shows up in many infants. He is itchy and bumps keep popping up. We put socks on his hands but he still keeps clawing at his face night and day now the whole thing is scabby. His doctor put him through antibiotics and a few different creams that didn't help much and then refered us to a dermatoligist, but we couldn't get an appointment until Febuary. Meanwhile he is bloody and scabby and will not stop clawing his poor little, ripped up baby face. This has been going on for a month now. He is clearly miserable. What can we do? Please, if you have any ideas at all I would love to hear them.

My first ecxema flare-up occurred about an hour after I was born. My parents could never afford an allergist or dermatologist. It wasn't until I was on my own that I found out that I was allergic to dust mites, mold and mildew, tobacco, and pet dander. Guess what?

My dad's house had forced-air central heating from the 1940s - the kind that had no air filters. The basement walls were always damp, with patches of mold and mildew year-round. My parents smoked a pack or two a day, each. My siblings had pets - cats, dogs, hamsters, gerbils, and squirrels.

Recommendations from the Mayo Clinic:

There's a prescription topical corticosteroid called Derma-Smoothe/FS that has always worked well on my daughter's eczema. I recall she was a baby the first time it was prescribed, but I don't remember exactly how old she was. Online it says it can be used for 3 months and older. You might ask your pediatrician about it if it hasn't been tried yet.

Fnord, Thank you for your response.
I quit smoking when the first kid was born (year and a half ago) but I have been using a nicotine vaporizer device.
I don't use any soap on him (just warm water). I will look for unscented glycerin soap.
We do heat our house with a wood fire, I can't do much about that. There is a catalytic combustor on it.
I do use cotton clothes and very mild detergent (my wife has very sensitive skin). His head is the worse part. My brother sugested that sunlight may be part of it. And, yes we have a cat.
I think that I will make a clean room and try to keep him in it for a few days. I can't afford to rip out the carpet but I could cover it with large blankets and wash those often. I will do anything I can for the little guy at this point.
Thank you again for your time. You have given me some new things to think about.

What fnord said, no particules of dust, no animals, no detergent residu, no parfumes, no softener, use vinegar when rinse, rigidly cleaning, also of the carpet, covering the carpet seems not a good idea, airing often living and sleeping room, also I found natural tar or oath baths works best for washing!

First of all, stop bathing him. I'm serious. My youngest had (And still has) eczema as an infant so I never bathed her unless she had a poo blowout, which was rare. You know what happens if you don't bathe a baby? Nothing. They're fine. aside from poo blow outs, they don't really get dirty. I just made sure to let her get some air (aka be naked) once a day and she was fine. Aside from rarely/never bathing her (even now at 5 during the winter I only give her 2 baths a week, I'd do less if I could for her skin, but at 5 kids DO get stinky) I would also just coat her in aquaphor. Just neck/face to toe and then put on some of those one piece pajama things to seal it all in there. Helped so much.

If you love your baby, you will find a way.

Also I think that jumping straight to ripping out your carpet and getting rid of the cat is a little extreme. I'd take smaller measures one at a time. Start with moisturizing the kid 3x per day and getting rid of your "Vape" and go from there. If that doesn't do it, I'd tackle the wood furnace, mold and/or the cat next.

He could be allergic to the sun. My SIL is and has to carry an epi pen with her. She just went to Hawaii and ended up using two of them there.

It might be a good idea to get baby clothes with hand covers, he'll still try to scratch but it probably would not do as much damage. I think either my sister or my brother was having a clawing issue so they had those. It's not a total solution but might help till that dermatologist appointment.

Fnord hit on an important point that correlates well with what my sisters and I saw with our children. If you breastfeed, think of what you take into your body. If you use formula, try changing to a different brand or type. Food sensitivities (including nicotine if you bf) are known to cause eczema flare ups.

Whew! I have been cleaning everything for the past few days. I pretty much moved out everything not being used. The rooms are bare and have been vacuumed in eight directions (parellels perpendiculars and diagonals). There are only a couple chairs and his crib left upstairs where he sleeps. I am thinking of getting an air purifier.

I don't think I can just get rid of my cat. He has been a good friend to me for over ten years now. I doubt anybody would take him and I don't think I have it in me to take him out and shoot him. It would have to be the very last resort. Maybe I will try to wash him and keep him out of some rooms.

CWA
Interesting point on bathing because my wife used to get all itchy after she would shower. It has not been a problem since we moved into the woods and now use a well. I use the bath as part of his bedtime routine to try to get him to sleep (getting him to sleep is another problem I am having). I will try.

Thank you Sweetleaf
We do use baby mittens on his hands and when they get all bloody, I just put baby socks on his hands. He just thrashes around so much and grinds away at his face, even with those on. I need a baby size straight jacket or one of those lampshade things they put on pets with stitches.

Breastfeeding, yes. There is no talking to my wife. She is very combative. She argues with the doctor, anyone who talks to her, and especially me. We do not talk to each other very well. I would have to suggest the opposite to get her to do something because no matter how sound the advice may be, if I say it to her, she will fight it.

I think that I can give up the vape. I already gave up alcohol, cigarettes, pot, sex, money, freedom, and selfishness. What the heck do I want to hang on to anything else for. My life has already ended. I am living only for these kids now.

Thank you to everyone for your time and thoughts. I kills me to see him like this. He looks like he was in a fire or something. Somebody in town gave me some homemade colloidal silver to put on his skin. Does anyone know anything about this stuff? I am hesitant to try it because he gave it to me in an old jar stuffed inside an old sock. These mountain folks are charactors but there is some wisdom in them.

I have heard of colloidal silver--it is supposed to be good stuff. I would try some on my own skin first if i were you. Then if you have no problems with it, a very small area on your baby--maybe neck or back of head--away from eyes and mucous membranes. If it helps, why not? Sounds like you are pretty desperate. I have also heard of coconut oil (you can find it at the grocery store) as a topical eczema treatment. I have not tried it myself but it would be mild and nontoxic. I'd keep it away from eyes though.

Our family has lots of allergies and not a lot of extra $$ to allergy proof our home. No smoking, no furry indoor pets--that stuff is free. (For my part, even if you are attached to the cat, i'd get rid of it. We have animals but they are outdoor animals, and fish/salamander aquariums that so far have not caused allergy issues.)

Mildest detergent you can find. I did not do the no-bathing thing, but i washed my kids with water only, except for really yucky poop blowouts. Then just a tiny bit of a mild soap like the glycerin that was suggested. We have well water so no chlorine issues. If you have chlorinated water, could you get a cheap brita water filter or portable kind for backpacking to filter all his water?

I ripped out all the bedroom carpets and painted the floors with regular indoor latex paint. Not extremely expensive, not terribly much work. Had to make sure there were no nails/tacks sticking out. Sand any splintery areas. The paint also helps with splinters. It does get scuffed easily, but a scuffed floor is better than dusty allergy-making carpets in my book. Only rugs i have are small throw ones that can go in the wash. Also allergy proof mattress covers--$20 to $40-ish depending on size of mattress.

Those are some things that have helped us. Hope you can find something that works--poor little guy.

I would avoid the silver if it was my choice. First, it has been tested every way from Tuesday and has never been proven to be effective. And, it has side effects - some serious. Human bodies generally don't like metals above the level of specific ones that we need to function correctly. Including permanent skin discoloration, organ damage and...allergic reactions & increased immune/autoimmune responses.

Having kids really does take over your life for the first few years; you are building something incredibly complex - a self-sufficient, productive, happy person (someday). It can be discouraging and exhausting and frustrating the first few years but once those early years are gone it gets so much easier and enjoyable. Especially with any sort of special needs kid. Hang in there.

I don't know a lot about colloidal silver except we have used it back when we had bunnies (years ago). It helped with ear infections for them. Looks like there is a big difference in the assessment of the safety and health benefits of colloidal silver between the mainstream FDA approved sources; and sources suggesting natural remedies that may be helpful for some, but haven't been FDA approved. Here are some thing i found when i googled "colloidal silver." Note the difference in the Mayo clinic and Wikipedia links (they say it's not known to be helpful and could be harmful)...

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifes ... q-20058061

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_uses_of_silver

...and the following link which makes it sound like the best forgotten discovery since sliced bread. The truth is often somewhere in between. If I were you, I would google it and read the information. Then talk to the person who gave you the stuff and ask them about their experience with it. Your baby is really young too--do they know how small he is? Some things are safe for older children or adults but not for small babies.

http://all-natural.com/natural-remedies ... discovery/

I am not on board with going totally all-natural in lieu of medical treatment--our family does go to a mainstream medical dr when needed...but i have had some success with natural remedies for various things too. If you google some of my natural stuff that i keep in my medicine cabinet, the FDA would say it is useless. But the reason we use it is because we have had success and no bad effects from it. With anything, FDA approved or not, you have to do your research and weigh the risks vs. the benefits. Caution is best...but it doesn't sound like the FDA approved treatments are working so well either.