Both my son and daughter suffer from Eczema and we did try giving them an oatmeal bath as an Eczema cure.
Eczema is a skin condition that, on my kids anyway, results in red rashes on the skin in the folds of their elbows, backs of knees and in the folds of their neck. I was looking for a cure for this problem as at this point we are putting on a steroidal cream on the eczema to get rid of it and it kind of burns when we are smoothing it in.
I have found one cure online and it is thanks to about.com. The Oatmeal Bath is supposed to help to get rid of these sores and tonight I tried it out with my son. I will have to post again over the next couple of days to let you know if this works to get rid of the eczema at least temporarily. Here are the instructions for creating a Oatmeal Bath.
Eczema Cure – Oatmeal Bath
To try this eczema cure and to make an oatmeal bath, which is more like an oatmeal soup I found, you’ll need a blender, food processor or coffee grinder and 1 cup of oatmeal. You can use instant oatmeal (unflavored), quick oats or slow cooking oats- all work equally as well. For babies, you’ll only need about 1/3 cup per bath.
Blend or process the oats on the highest setting until you have a very fine, consistent powder. To test the colloid property of the oats, stir 1 tablespoon oats into a glass of warm water. If the oats readily absorb the water and give it a milky look and a silky feel, you’ve blended long enough.
http://youtu.be/Z2VqagxhvVU
Giving an Eczema Cure Oatmeal bath
Sprinkle the oats into your luxury corner bath tub of running water and stir the water with your hand several times to ensure even distribution. Feel along the bottom of the tub for clumps and break up any you find.
Take care assisting your child into the tub as the oats will make the tub even more slippery than usual. Allow your child to soak in the tub for 15-20 minutes and pat dry with a soft towel rather than rubbing.
You can use this bath once or twice a day or more frequently as your doctor advises.
Common uses for Oatmeal Baths:
- Chicken pox
- Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac
- Dry skin
- Insect bites
- Eczema
- Diaper rash
- Anal itching (often from pinworms)
- Windburn
- Sunburn
- Shingles
When I did this oatmeal bath for the kids I found that they were a little nervous getting in as it looked milkyish. After they got in it was fine though and in fact it did help their eczema. Try it out and let us all know what you find. There are other baths as well besides an oatmeal bath and I will try my best to post more of them.
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i just wanted to share that my son has eczema.. i LOVE LOVE LOVE the cream “cerave” it has been a life saver! at first we used it morning noon and night.. after under control we are now able to just do a good lotioning up right before bed… unless we have problem areas to tend to. but with this cream and keeping allergies out of diet he has had perfectly clar skin!
Try putting the oatmeal in the foot of an old pair of tights. Tie it off and let the bath tap water run through it, releasing the enzymes. Wring it out, but don’t throw it away. When you get out of the oatmeal bath, you can then just gently rub the oat parcel over affected areas of skin. Works really well and totally natural.
Eczema is the worst! Personally I switched my shower soap from dove to St Ives oatmeal and shea butter. In addition I started applying vaseline total moisture conditioning 2x a day everywhere in addition to cortizone10 on already affected areas. It took a few weeks but my skin is so much better!
I am 13 and I suffer from eczema. My eczema is the dry skin type, rather than the rash. I recently heard kids were making fun of me because of it. This is the most hurtful thing ever, especially because it was the guy I like talking about me.
im so sorry about that.i understand how you feel. it sucks having eczema when youre a girl. you cant wear shorts/skirts cause of it. ive learned that having a positive outlook in life, constant hydration through oatmeal soaps,oils,and lotions, and drinking plenty of water helps. don’t feel bad, your wounds will heal soon 🙂 remember to take a lot of vitamins,especially vitamin E and omega-3. have a great day 🙂
p.s
if a guy makes fun of you and cant accept you for who you are, dont bother. he isnt worth it.
I am also thirteen and have eczema. I have both the dry skin type and the rash. I totally understand what you mean. I always try to cover it up by wearing jackets, even in the summer. This only makes the eczema worse because sweat and heat causes the eczema to flare up. I try not to use the topical steroids on my skin because they aren’t very good for you and although they may work, I have found products that work just as good or even better. I use either Cetaphil or Cerave on my body 2-3 times a day. It works best if you use it right after the shower. When my eczema flares up very bad i use Aquaphor. I really hope this helps!:)
that used to happen to me too – i had eczema when i was a little girl and kids were always saying mean things. but the best thing is that i grew out of it by my mid-late teens. that will probably happen for you too!
Me too.I see how you feel i am eleven years old and my father has eczema to.His isnt as bad as mine is.My eczema makes me look at myself as a monster.I have red patches all over my face and my arms and neck.I cried every morning when i got ready for school its gotten so bad that my mother had to remove the mirror from my room.I was so pretty and popular when i was little.I didn’t have eczema on my face or neck.Only my arms.Everyone liked me.Now i have people talking about me behind my back calling me itchy scratchy and dalmation.I am so sick and tired of being the outsider.I wish i had one real friend who understood how i feel.It seems as if my mom does everything to make it better but god wants me to suffer.I lost my faith.I just wish it would go away life is too short to deal with this.Im eleven years old and i want to die when i hear itchy or dalmation at school.Somebody help!
All of your suggestions were very helpful to me, so I want to thank all of you.
I told my Wife to stop throwing away her old pantyhose, that I would use them up..
haha
But I did finally have to go to a Dermatologist to get the stuff on my legs under control. She gave me a prescription for an ointment called Triamcinolone 0.1% which knocked it WAY back to bearable in a couple of days. She did say not to use it constantly. and use it two weeks at a time and then lay off it for a week.
Again thanks for the advice I found here.
TXSFRED
Baths can help, and are a much better option than steroids for quick relief. Personally, I would die without my Nioxin Scalp Therapy Step 1 Conditioner – I apply it to the affected areas as well as my scalp. I wouldn’t expect anything topical to make it go away though… Omega-3s and Sea Buckthorn (Omega-7) definitely eliminated eczema for me for a while, although now it’s recurring and I’m looking into a more comprehensive diet-based option (mostly anti-inflammatory foods).
I was do is take the cheap brand of aveno oatmeal bath and add 1/2 cup of water. This makes a cream out of it. Spread it on the affected areas. Wash off after 10 minutes with warm water. Apply a non-alergenic lotion after words. You will be amazed at the results. You must do it at the first sign of the rash and it should be gone by the next day.
Hi, I’ve read all your posts and have to say that an actual oatmeal bath is the one thing I didn’t try on my 1 yr old.
We’ve tried the Aveeno Oatmeal bath/ Oatmeal bath oil in lukewarm water. Pat dry and then slather in vaseline dressing him head to toe in cotton jammies.
He also has Hydrocortisone .5%, Fudicin and Hydroval. Depending on the stage of his outbreak, I use one cream or the other.
This seemed to work, but since winter has kicked in the ezcema has as well. There is one patch that will not go anywhere no matter what I do. Its on the inside joint of his elbow. Last night, he was picking at it until it bled. I had to disinfect, apply polysporin and cover for 24 hrs. Tonight, after the bath I applied Fudicin, slathered on the vaseline and gave him Benadryl (because I felt at this point I had no option)
Honestly, I’m at my wits end. There has to be something else out there that can help him! If anyone has any other suggestions, other than the oatmeal baths, vaseline wraps, and the creams I have mentioned, I would really appreciate it.
try 100% Virgin coconut oil. Rub all over the body after an oatmeal bath. Also give 1 teaspoon of cod liver oil twice a day.
Hiya, I rcently read that anything petroleum based (vaseline, E45) can irritate excema in some people so I stopped using E45 and switched to Lush Dream Cream which is plant based instead and my excema has got much much better! When I told my doctor about this he said that lots of people find this (why he told me to use E45 then I don’t know!?) Hope This Helps
I have three children. Two of them have had terrible issues with eczema. At times, my son had terrible eczema on his feet that would weep and ooze so bad that he couldn’t remove his socks. We would have to soak his feet until the socks would come off. Borage oil cured his eczema. It is high in GLA. He evidently had a fatty acid deficiency. Borage oil did not deliver the same results for my daughter. That just proves there is no one-size-fits-all cure. My daughter has responded better to a gluten free diet. I recommend trying borage oil. You can apply it topically and take it internally. We tried it topically for my son, first. It seemed to instantly soothe his skin. When he showed improvement, we started giving it to him orally, as well. We just pierced a capsule to spread it on his skin and then squeezed the remainder into his mouth (or you can mix it with applesauce). It has no flavor. He now just takes the capsule daily. If he stops taking it, his eczema returns. I hope this helps you. I understand the desperation of a mother with children with eczema.
I don’t currently have eczema but did have it very bad as a child. I remember cutting the legs off my pants during the summer to give my knees some relief. I also had it on my hands and forearms. I’m not susceptible to poison ivy and use the oatmeal bath treatment. Here’s what I cut from a post I did a while back on it. For me it’s easier to use an old sock for the oatmeal instead of a stocking:
http://slatehill.blogspot.com/2010/01/photo-from-httpwww.html
“When the rash was bad, I’d take a soothing semi-warm oatmeal bath. It’s easy to prepare at home and pre-packaged, expensive oatmeal bath powder isn’t necessary. Cook 1/2 cup of non-instant, regular oatmeal for the normal amount of cooking time, along with 4 cups of water total. Pour the water and cooked oatmeal into a strainer that is sitting on top of a big bowl. Save the liquid.
This next part can be a hair on the messy side, but when I started using a flour scoop it did get easier. Take an old tube sock (one with loose elastic is easier) and scoop the strained oatmeal into the sock. I found it a bit less messier to fold down the sock leg about an 1-1/2” from the top before starting. That way if the scooper touched the sock, any oatmeal that stuck would be inside of the sock when I folded it back up. The less oatmeal in your bathtub the better.
When done fold the top back up and tie a knot at the top. Pour the reserved liquid into your bath water and put the sock in as well. You can skip doing the sock and just use the liquid if it’s too big of a pain.
It’s fun to squeeze the water-logged sock right over the rash and let the goo ooze over the irritated skin. If you’re used to hot baths, try to avoid the temptation. I’ve found that when I have poison ivy (or chiggers), really hot water hurts and irritates the skin (even though I’ve read it recommended to bathe in hot water). I just make the water warm enough so that I’m comfortable and not the least bit cold. “
I have a 3month old, though i thought he might get eczema sooner or later since his dad has it I still tried to keep him on reg products to not make him sensitive.It worked for a while,but he recently started getting it. So i have changed all products to free everything pretty much.I did do the Aveeno therapy with oatmeal Ive noticed that it does relief untill the next day, but does always come back today i bought 100% oatmeal and added neutragena sesame oil…his skin was very soft after him bath. i hope it works a little better
Hi!!!
My son has atopic excema. He is on methathrexate which is very strong. He takes it once a week, 12 hours apart. I feel extremely sorry for him. Do your’ll think it is curable. He is 15 years old.
I believe medication will making him sterile.
All this has an effect on me drastically.
Any cure pleas assist
Hi! All creams and medications used for eczema aremeant to relieve the itchiness and discomfort temporarily. I believe, you need to get rid of the cause , not the symptoms. Detoxification/ Internal cleansing is a great solution to get rid of all bodily discomforts, after all, it is the body that cures itself. Boosting the immune system enables the body to fight off diseases. Try DXN Ganoderma and spirulina products. Have a great day!
I HAVE BEEN USING THIS WITH MY ONE YEAR OLD HE HAD A BAD OUT BREAK .. IT WAS ALL OVER HIM WELL EXCEPT FOR HIS HANDS AND FACE SO WITH THE COMBO OF CHANGING LAUNDRY SOAP,BATH SOAP WE ARE DOING GREAT!!!! I WANTED TO SHARE BECAUSE I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO CATCH UP WITH…….I USED THE ALL DYE FREE HYPO ALLERGENIC LAUNDRY SOAP, OATMEAL BATH WITH LUKE WARM WATER EVERY OTHER DAY(I DO NOT USE ANY SOAP ON HIM THAT DAY) PAT DRY. PHARMACIST SUGGESTED 0.5 HYDROCORTISONE CREAM (FOR THE BABIES)TO THE BAD SPOTS THEN THE EUCERIN LOTION ALL OVER…THEN GET FULLY DRESSED TO MAKE SURE THE MOISTURE STAYS IN I THINK IT IS BEST TO DO IT BEFORE BED THAT WAY THE AREA IS CALM AND THEY DONT ITCH ALL NIGHT…. ALSO USE THE EUCERIN A COUPLE TIMES A DAY MY SONS SKIN CLEARED UP IN TWO DAYS I COULDNT BELEAVE IT IAM SO THANKFUL BECAUSE THE CREAM THE DOC GAVE ME HAD BAD SIDE EFFECTS THAT I DIDNT WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE WITH I REALLY HOPE THIS HELPS A FRUSTRATED PARENT!!!
I ALSO SUGGEST GETTING A DYE FREE, FRAGRANCE FREE BATH SOAP FOR REG DAY BATHS…I ALSO PUT BABY OIL IN HIS REGULAR BATH WATER……I HAVE FOUND IF YOU DONT STAY WITH THE ROUTINE IT WILL KEEP COMING BACK SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP DOING IT UUUGGGHH………ITS A PAIN
Our daughter had terrible eczema. Oatmeal baths just dried her skin out worse. It really takes experimenting to find the right “cocktail” for your child. I used to cry because she was in so much agony from it. After visiting numerous doctors and consulting with dermatologists we found the BEST routine. I didn’t realize it, but most eczema stems from allergies. We had her tested and she is extremely allergic to cats. We noticed her skin would worsen around anyone who had even come into contact with one. She has now been eczema free for 1 1/2 years. She is now 4. This is what wotked for us:
Allegra 2xday (this is what made the BIGGEST difference) you can by it otc at walmart
ALL free and clear for all her clothes, bedding, towels, etc
The BEST CREAM EVER is VaniCream (buy it on drugstore.com)
The BEST WASH EVER is Mustela Stelatopia for dry and eczema prone skin
We also switched to a brand of shampoo and conditioner called Free and Clear (drugstore.com)
She only wears 100% cotton clothes. I would have killed for this information when she was 3 months old so whe would not have had to suffer for years. I hope it helps someone. Like I said, the Allegra made the biggest difference! It took about 2 weeks to notice and then it was gone almost overnight!! We also give her fish oil gummies every day and that has helped her skin to heal wonderfully!
i just had my baby girl 3 months ago, after couple weeks she start braking out really bad we thought its just a rush but then we found out it was eczema, they told us to switch out formula, and they gave us bunch of cremes that dont work, im gonna try the oatmeal bath to c if it works
i suffer from Eczema and what i do is just take as much vitamins A, C and E supplements plus some topical corticosteroid to remedy the itch.
Yep, we use the steroid cream on the kids as well and it helps really quickly. Actually my kids Eczema has gotten a lot better ofver the last couple years. Maybe they grew out of it?
I would suggest that you wash it off after the bath. Oatmeal drying on the skin could cause further irritation, to say nothing of it being gritty. I find these baths work pretty well, too. I’ve never needed to use them more than once a day during an outbreak, and my eczema can get pretty bad without it.
so, do you not wash it off after the bath? like shower yourself/ the children down or anything? just pat dry?
This topic is quite trendy on the Internet at the moment. What do you pay the most attention to when choosing what to write ?
I am also dealing with eczema… I’ve had it for a few months already. I can’t find anything that will help. And I was wondering, because I’ve never tried this before, how effectively it works. Like how long does it prevent the itching daily, or how long it takes for this eczema clears. And will I need to continue doing this after it clears. If you are unable to answer this it is okay. I was just wondering.
What a great idea. I put the kids a couple of times in the tub with blended oatmeal and it was kind of like making soup out of them, really messy. I will have to try this with my wifes old stockings next time.
This would also be good for anything that you want to have run in the tub I would suspect
ThereEczema
There is an easier way of this bath system your talking about, I have been doing this for years. Once you get the Eczema under control you only need to this once a week to keep it in check. Get an old pair of tights and put some oatmeal in the toe section (The size of a tennis ball) and dangle it under the hot water tap when turned on. You tie it onto the tap with the leg end of the tights. Untill you get the Eczema under control do as often as neccary ! however you maynot need 2 baths a day as this softens the skin very well.