If your baby was seen by a dermatologist or pediatrician, you were more than likely prescribed topical steroids, and/or topical antibiotics, and/or a skin barrier cream (strong moisturizer) to help treat and clear the eczema. They may even recommend or prescribe non-drowsy oral antihistamines for the itching especially if its bad at night.
If you have made the informed decision to use the topical steroids from the dermatologist or pediatrician, it will be crucial to use these creams as directed, complete the course of the steroids and taper off the steroids appropriately (according to the doctor’s direction).
When the skin is clear before the prescribed amount of time of treatment, a good rule of thumb is to wait 3 more days to stop the steroids. If the treatment is stopped too early, regardless if the skin looks clear, there may be eczema and inflammation under the skin and may return very quickly.
It is equally important to record the treatment and results to inform the doctor of what is working and what is not. Heres an example of our Treatment Preferences sheet. This can be used for record keeping and to bring it to the next doctor’s appointment. At the end of the article I share the link for the option to download a template.
I used steroids to treat my son’s severe eczema, as prescribed and as directed by his dermatologist. As a natural-minded mom, with the best intentions I was very hesitate and reluctant at first with the use of steroids, but it lead to unnecessary discomfort and many sleepless nights for baby and I.
In this blog article What We Learned about Treating Baby Eczema with Topical Steroids I share our personal story and experience with the use of topical steroids for my son’s severe eczema and how we manage to keep his skin clear now with natural methods.
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