I had posted a thread to the moms about the rash my daughter has had on her ankle for the past 2 weeks and have gotten some great suggestions as to lotions ect. Her doc put her on a 2.5 strength of hydrocortisone 2 times a day for 1 week and once a day for another week. It'll be a week this Tuesday that I've been using it on her. He said it could be a mild case of eczema or just something that she came in contact with that irritated her skin. There is a small area that is a bit red and bumpy and several red bumps around it and a few up her leg. It does not bother or itch her, no bleeding or oozing and is only on the one ankle; there are a few bumps on the other leg but nothing too bad. I've been putting vaseline over the medicine just to lock it in. I have not made any changes in laundry detergent and she wears cotton socks, bath water is warm, not hot and she does not sit in the tub too long. I've been told about using Eucerin along with other lotions, but in your opinion, is one better than the other? Her legs do seem a bit drier than the rest of her body, I've been using a lotion put out by Gental Naturals for eczema and that seems to keep her skin soft all day long. I sometimes get small areas on my hands that will break out, looks like small pimples, not too much of a bother, no idea what it is..never appears when I visit my dermatologist. I don't know weather to ask for another type of medicine after the hydrocotisone or just stick to a good lotion, could I please get your opinion? thank you!!

Hi mom, although it sounds like eczema and these can be difficult enough to diagnose when it is right in front of you - I just need to ask you if you have any pets?
Graham Ph.C.

Sorry I forgot to mention that, and no, we've never had any pets, and she is not around any on a daily bases either. My husband has allergies so for him, pets would not be a good idea to have.

Hi, it sounds like eczema. The little bumps may start to weep for a while, soaking them in burrows solution can help dry them out but the steroid cream is the staple of treatment. The weakest one that works is the best bet because it can thin the skin after a while, making it impossilbe to use until the skin rebounds back. So just use it when needed and just where it is needed. Little people tend to outgrow this but if there are famillial allergic tendancies then she might have picked up the "sensitive" gene.
Good luck, Graham Ph.C.

thank you for the reply, I've read how eczema can 'weep' but hers have yet to do that. I do believe the rash is not as inflamed as it was so the medicated cream hopefully is working. However, I still have my original question, when we are done with the steroid cream, is there a particular over the counter lotion (like Eucerin, etc) that is good to use? I know what may work for one person may not work for another but was wondering which you would recommend. thank you.

Hi again, if the eczema is due only to dry skin (like this time of year) the best thing is to keep the area hydrated with inert lotions or creams like glaxal base or put keri oil on after the bath. For general excema you may have these available in the U.S. but I'm not sure - we use alot of a product called "herbacin - kamille" unscented hand cream. It has silicone to protect and comomile with some other healing ingredients. You are right when you suggest that everyone seems to have there favorite product to use in this case. Basically you want something to hydrate the skin (water), something to protect without drying ( unless it is weeping) like silicone and not much else to aggravate the problem. Sometimes the addition of an anti-itch ingredient like hydrocortisone or a topical antihistamine might help.
Thanks , Graham Ph.C.