Dear fellow netters, one of our nurses has a 5 mo. old with severe eczema.  He had eczema starting at about 2 1/2 - 3 mo. of life.  Was breastfed exclusively before eczema started.  Mom supplements on Lactofree while she is at work - says not enough time to pump.  These 12 hr. shifts are killers!!She has eliminated dairy and doesn't eat eggs or nuts.  Her main food vice is chocolate (one of my favorite food groups, ha!).  I have encouraged her to try eliminating the chocolate to see if that is a problem for her baby.  She thought that the lactofree formula would be better for him than Isomil - that maybe soy was a problem for him as well.  Of course, I have counseled her about how to pump while at work - call me to care for her patients when she needs to go pump if necessary.  I told her about the Hands Free Pumping Kit so that she can snack and pump at the same time - saves a lot of time!! I told her how important it is for her to try to get baby back onto exclusive breastfeeding for his allergic state if for no other reason.  She has also started baby Oatmeal and one or two veggies with him now.  I am advising exlusive breastmilk and process of elimination in her diet to see what we can do about his eczema - he stays awake a lot and cries and scratches - especially at night.  If he sleeps with her, he gets very warm and scratches worse.  She was on the verge of tears for her whole 12 hour shift .  She has seen a dermatologist who tells her that nothing in her diet could cause eczema for her baby, and that because it is hereditary, there is no cure - only topical prescription ointments (that have cost her hundreds of dollars) will partially control the symptoms.  She is not willing to go on the Caveman diet (turkey, rice, lamb and a veggie) - it is very restricting, and she is already stressed.  If the elimination of chocolate doesn't help, does anyone have any other ideas?  Diet related or natural topicals that would be less costly, etc.  Please help!! I have seen that if our nurses have a bad experience with breastfeeding - even if the situation would have been present without breastfeeding - they are not very supportive of our NICU moms. This can sometimes spell disaster for a vulnerable, stressed out NICU mom's breastfeeding progress, which is on shaky ground many times anyway.  Thanks for any ideas you can share with me - I'm all ears!!
Dani Hudspeth BSN, RN IBCLC
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