Hi, y'all--
        The eczema posts have been centered on allergens in the mom's
diet--important but not the whole picture.
        Our 2nd daughter (now 19) had *hideous* eczema--weeping sores all
over her.   It began after I introduced solids to her diet, at about 8
months.  But didn't go away when I stopped giving them :-(.  The
dermatologist we went to told me at the first visit, "You've been
exclusively breastfeeding her up till now."  My jaw hit the floor and I
asked how she knew--she said b/c I would have been in with her months ago
if I hadn't been bf!
        Someone said that turning on the furnace cranked up the eczema,
and that's so, so true.  I still resist turning the heat on!  ("C'mon,
let's have a fire instead!")
        Crissy was never in contact with water during winter or any other
time when her skin was really awful.  To wash her,  we used a product
called cetaphill--rub it on, towel it off (lots of fun after the sandbox,
I can tell you!).  The consistency was a lot like shampoo--but no suds!
Then *liberal* applications of a urea cream.   Many times a day.   Water
is drying to the skin, and avoiding it--while a *pain*--made *such* a
difference in her skin we were willing to do so.  We still had dry
patches but no open, weeping sores.  The lotion must have felt good b/c
she'd bring it to me to put on her!
        The Cetaphill is lipid free, and even when it was humid and she
*did* get to be in water, we *never* used soap on her.
        Driving home from coastal Washington state one year, we crossed
the mountains into the dry air--and it didn't take an hour and the poor
child was scratching madly.
        Our eighth child--now 8--also has eczema--pretty mild--especially
around his mouth.  We use Lansinoh and have had good results.  It
"clings" to the skin better than a cream to protect it from his tongue
licking his lips!
Karen Zeretzke
Baton Rouge, Louisiana