Case study: Eczema in new born baby

I first noticed the eczema after about six months. Other babies in my family probably developed it a bit sooner than she did, but around six months after her birth – in the summer – she had quite mild eczema, so to treat it I just put on some barrier cream or moisturiser.

But when her arms were covered up in the winter, I noticed that she was itching and quite stressed and uncomfortable with it.

I didn’t really do anything specific at this time – I certainly hadn’t spoken to any health professionals outside of the family. She’d had lots of health appointments though – and seen the midwife and health visitor too – but it wasn’t until the early months of the following year that I first spoke to a health professional specifically about it. That’s was when it was at its worst as she didn’t have a lot of sun and she was wearing long-sleeved clothes, meaning the eczema would usually flare in the crook of her elbow and the back of her knees.

My biggest concern when I did finally see the GP was that the eczema was making it difficult for her to sleep. It’s not nice to see your baby in distress, and I hoped there would be some sort of miraculous cure. In my opinion, I don’t think it was taken all that seriously; I felt they saw it as something that was more aesthetic, rather than something that was genuinely uncomfortable for the baby.

When you see it as just a little patch of skin, you think it’s silly to go to the GP, as there might be people who need the appointment more urgently. And it took quite a few appointments to get the right cream. Before I went to the GP I tried a cream from Lush, but that was too perfumed, and then after seeing the GP we still tried a few different emollients but found the Diprobase Cream worked for us.

It wasn’t an instant result. We had to stick with the treatment plan, but it did soothe instantly, which was important, and it does help to keep the eczema under control.

We’ve now got a nice little routine going. When I put her in the bath I put in some emollient in the bath with her, and then after every bath I moisturise her with the Diprobase Lotion. Over the summer I make sure her skin is exposed to sunlight – not too much though, as that brings with it its own problems – but we make sure she gets a decent amount of sunlight.

The good thing is, now we’re in the middle of winter and she’s covered up, the treatment is still working and keeping the eczema at bay quite nicely. If it does get worse, I’ll go to the GP and get the stronger prescription, but at the moment I’m really pleased with how the condition has been managed.

For more information on Diprobase click here