Sophie has suffered from eczema since around the time of her first birthday. At first I thought the dry patches on her wrists and cheeks were just irritation from the juice of the satsumas she had been eating at the time. I started using some baby moisturising cream on the dry areas although it didn’t seem to make much of difference. I wasn’t too concerned at the time though – Jessica had had a bout of very dry skin during the winter after her first birthday too and it had disappeared in the spring and never returned.
As the weeks went on though, it became clear that Sophie’s dry skin was worse than Jessica’s had been. We tried various products aimed at easing dry skin – paraffin-based bath products, emollients, moisturisers – a whole host of products that had been recommended by friends and family or the health visitor but none seemed very effective and a few of the products even made it worse.
The most recent cream that we’ve tried is Dermalex Repair skin treatment cream for eczema in babies and children. Since we started using it, Sophie’s skin has improved considerably and whilst she still gets the occasional red, dry patches on her cheeks and arms (mostly after mealtimes when she has been smearing food everywhere!), these occur much less frequently than they have done previously.
Dermalex Repair is a cream aimed at treating mild to moderate atopic dermatitis and eczema in babies (over 8 weeks) and children. According to the information leaflet, it does not contain corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors, artificial colouring, perfumes or parabens. It’s available in Boots (where we bought it) or Lloyds pharmacy at £11.99 for 30g or £24.99 for 100g although you may be able to get it on prescription if needed.
The other product that we switched to that also seems to have made a real difference is WaterWipes wet wipes. These are chemical free wet wipes, endorsed by Allergy UK, containing 99.9% water and 0.1% citrus grandis seed extract. I have found these to be considerably less irritating to Sophie’s skin than any other brand of wipe I have tried and the difference has been quite noticeable on the few occasions I have had to use other wipes (even the hypoallergenic, fragrance free ones). They are a little more expensive than the other wipes we have previously used, costing around £2.49 a packet, although we now buy them through subscribe and save on Amazon at £18.99 for a box of nine.
Disclaimer: This post is not written in collaboration with any of the brands mentioned or to provide medical advice – I am purely sharing my experience on what products have worked for us with easing eczema. If you require medical advice with regards to eczema treatment then you should contact your pharmacist, GP or another healthcare professional.
I’m suffering this week, might just look into them! #Tried&tested
These sound like wonderful products. I’m glad they seem to be working x
These sound really good and great that they are working 🙂
I do like the water wipes and it’s great to find something that works. Boo gets really dry skin on her upper arms that we have to treat with creams and it was amazing once we found the right one how quickly it got better.
These look great products, I had the same problem when my children were small and resorted to using old fashioned cotton wool and water x
It’s always interesting to hear other people’s eczema tales – seems like some of us need to try so many creams before we find the magic one for us! I haven’t heard of this one before.
#TriedTested
What a helpful post Louise. Judah has eczema but he is ok with Huggies pure and I literally don’t put ANYTHING else on his skin. He reacts when he sees my Mum and she is wearing perfume or still washing with the powder I’ve asked her to switch but other than our recent sunscreen drama he’s doing great with it He looked like he was scarring about a year ago and it really upset me, but after my Mum stopped coming everyday (she was helping me with the babies) it has gone away. I’m sure this post will help many Mums out there xxx #sharewithme
Some fabulous tips here. I love the water wipes. I use them quite a bit for L. We haven’t had any issues with eczema yet but will keep this cream in mind if we ever are faced with the situation. I’m glad it’s helping. #sharewithme
This is a really interesting read and I’m really glad it worked for you. My other half has eczema so I know it can be a real struggle to find the right things to suit and when you have a little one it becomes so much more important doesn’t it?
My toddler has developed eczema over the last few months on the insides of her elbows and under her neck and she has red patches on her skin. We tried loads of bath products/ creams and we are still yet to find a one that works. My oldest had it really badly and was on steroid creams from the GP but thankfully as she got older she grew out of it xx #sharewithme
What an improvement. We are using aveeno creme. #sharewithme
What a really great, useful post. I tried an adult dermalex a few years ago for mine but I couldn’t tolerate it flared my skin up, but I’d be happy to try the kids version as it sounds very gentle especially with my sensitive skin. The before and after pictures speak for themselves! #TiredTested
What a great product I will have to try it out on B has he has eczema all over his body from when he was a baby and still comes out in it. Thought he would grow out of it but he is almost four years old now no signs of it leaving. Great review. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. #sharewithme