Eczema Troubles

Advisory: this post is not sponsored by Neosporin, ha!  Although--if there are any Neosporin representatives out there willing to pay me for this wonderful advertising, I'll gladly accept! 

Okay, sweet Mavs has suffered from eczema since he was about 8 months old.  At the time I didn't know what it was, so I took a picture of this spot on his shoulder (there is also some spots going down his back).  When it grew to be the size of a half-dollar, and so perfectly round I was afraid it was ringworm or something.  A trip to the pediatrician we took.

Sort of off-topic story: Our pedi office waiting room is split into 2 sections, with the reception desk in the middle.  One side is the "well" side, and the other "sick".  That was the first time we had to sit on the "sick" side since we didn't know if it was contagious or not.  Sort of weird how you can feel all of the "well" patrons glare over to the "sick" creatures...ha!

Nothing against the doctor we saw (Mav's pedi wasn't in office that day), but she was so sure that it was a skin fungus like ringworm and not eczema (which completely freaked me out, eew!).  We were prescribed an anti-fungal cream...and nothing changed.  I am definitely not a doctor and can't imagine the pressure and responsibility of diagnosing ailments, so I was never upset about it.  Just wanted to make sure that next time we would see Mav's doc for sure.

In the meantime, Mav decided to bust his head open and take a trip to the ER.  The ER doc that fixed him up also said it was a fungus.

As soon as our regular doc glanced at it she said, "Yep. That's eczema." I proceeded to tell her that two other doctors had told us otherwise.  To which she kindly, but firmly smiled, "It's eczema."

Which, in the grand scheme of life is no big deal at all--just annoying.  Lots of babies get it and it goes away.  Our doc told us that Mav's will probably never fully go away since it's most likely genetic (Robbie has it pretty bad), and it will be an endless battle since there is no "cure"...just finding what helps soothe it.

This picture is when the patch on his face first appeared, and this is May 2011.  Thus the beginning of the epic battle, ha! 
What makes this patch so darn difficult to treat is that,
a) Mav drools a lot still (when does that stop?!), and
b) He scratches it ALL the time--even in his sleep.  His poor bedsheets always get ruined from it bleeding during the night.  We've tried bandaging it, but he picks at it anyways.

We've tried just about everything.  Prescription ointments. All the products at the store.  All the home remedies I could Google (even straight olive oil, ha!).  At the most it would sort of clear up for a day, and then go right back to its awful red, scaley, and often bleeding state.

The other day we saw a commercial for a new eczema skin care product from Neosporin.  Robbie and I turned and looked at each other excitedly after the commercial (dorks, right?) and went out the next day to buy it.  (The Neosporin Ad execs are loving this, I'm sure)

So I decided to do a fun "before and after" photo shoot.  Mostly because we were on vacation and I was excited to have some time on my hands, ha!  This was taken on 2/22 and his poor chin is bleeding.  He also gets flare-ups under his eyes/eyelids (specifically his right eye in this photo), but I'm too afraid to use anything there.

He also has some bad patches on his thumb, hands, wrists, and behind his knees.  This was also taken on 2/22.

We bought the trial size pack (with nifty coupons enclosed), but all 3 tubes are sold seperately as bigger quantities as well.  First is the body wash.  It says you can use it daily, but we don't give Mav a bath everyday because it's rough on his skin...maybe we could now?  It also says to not use a washcloth, just your hands.  I think it lathers quite well, and it has a very light almost sunscreen (but not really) smell...but it smells good.

Next is the moisturizing cream, and it is use as needed.  I typically don't use this all over, just on his rough patches.  I apply it first thing in the morning, as needed during the day, and bedtime (especially after bath). This is the good stuff.  Very moisturizing.  I can already tell I'm going to buy the bigger tube. :)

Lastly, the smallest tube is the anti-itch cream.  It says to not use it as frequently, it's for really big flare-ups.  I had to use it yesterday when Mav kept scratching his wrist.  As far as I can tell, it works great.  He stopped itching it, ha!

Honestly I was quite skeptic.  After trying a bazillion things, I didn't think this would work either.

This is after 3 days (2/26), and I used the same lighting. 
The packaging promises results after 3 days.  Whad'ya think?

I'm pretty excited!  I think we may have found what works for Mav!  His finger especially looks SO much better, and all the little spots on his hands, wrists, and knees are just about gone.  I know it will take a lot of patience with his face since it's in such a hard spot.  But there's hope that we can ease his itchies!

Let's hope that continual use will make it improve. :)