How I Treated Eczema Flare-ups During Pregnancy
How do you treat an eczema flare up without using steroid cream? That was a question I had to ask myself several times during pregnancy as I faced some pretty wild eczema flare ups in unexpected places. Although I am not particularly reliant on steroid creams, and have been weaned off of them almost entirely in the last decade, I do still need a dab of cortisone here and there from time to time when I feel that deep, pulsating itch creeping up beneath my skin. That gets it under control, and then I follow up with some diet and lifestyle changes (more sleep, omitting fragrance, short term candida control diet, lukewarm showers, avoiding makeup, and other changes) to further stifle the flare up.
I didn’t bargain for my skin to suddenly undergo a brigade of furious eczema flares during my first and third trimesters. My OB advised me to avoid steroid cream during pregnancy as the one I use is not safe for baby. My personal eczema journey since birth has been heavily impacted by hormonal changes that are beyond my control. When I entered my late teens and early twenties, my skin went into remission for a very long time, to the point that I almost forgot I ever had eczema. It wasn’t until my late twenties that I once again started to experience flare ups. So when I noticed the early twinge of a facial eczema flare up at 10 weeks gestation, I started to panic. I knew that a big part of this was hormonal, which I had to make peace with. I jumped on a call with one of my doctors (an immune system expert) to discuss non-steroid options. I then virtually met with a nutritionist to discuss nutritional needs and beneficial diet changes.
I had to be patient while I worked on implementing their strategies. Eczema is not easily “fixed” overnight. My face, hands, and inner thighs were a disaster and the itching was so bad that I was waking up at night in pain and discomfort. My skin felt fiery and hot to the touch. It had been several years since I last experienced such a bad flare up. Much of the pain and discomfort of eczema is felt internally, deep in the skin. My skin is quite light, and my flare ups present as either pale or red, with very rough texture. Sometimes the patches look like bleach spots, and it tends to make my skin look more aged. We hear so much talk about the glowing pregnant woman, and I felt anything but!
Not only was I lying awake at night holding ice packs to my skin and practicing deep breathing exercises, I was lying awake worrying about whether my activated immune issues were impacting my baby. I found myself questioning whether an active eczema flare up during pregnancy meant my baby was more likely to have eczema himself, and whether my disrupted sleep would have an impact on his newly forming immune system. Ultimately I decided not to ask Google these questions because I was already doing everything in my power to get my eczema under control, and reading a bunch of no-doubt conflicting information about this topic was only going to add more stress.
During this flare up I began staying with my parents while my husband was out of town, and after spending a night there the flare became way worse. My mom and I had been down the eczema triggers road many times before, and we fell back into the old strategy easily. What has changed in the last week that may have been a trigger? We went through everything we could think of, from food to soaps to fragrance. Then we narrowed it down to fabric softener sheets that she used in the dryer to freshen up the bedding before I arrived, and on some of my laundry that week. I had forgotten to tell her that my skin had become too sensitive for Bounce laundry sheets, which we had used for years without issue. It was a lightbulb moment! My mom re-washed everything without using any softener and IMMEDIATELY my skin began to feel better and I was able to sleep through the night without any pain. My eczema was significantly more moderate and manageable throughout the rest of my first and second trimesters once the trigger had been identified, and I kept up with my nutrition and lifestyle adjustments.
In the third trimester my body became super sensitive once again, though this time just due to hormones and not any one specific trigger. I began noticing eczema patches where my inner thighs rub together when I walk. Wearing pants for more than a few hours was not comfortable, so I switched to comfy house dresses and nightgowns as often as possible. The area would flare up angrily, I would apply my favorite creams, and I would wake up to see the patches had turned to rough purple scars by the morning. Ice packs were very useful and soothing.
Preparing for Baby - Will he have eczema?
The nesting hormone is a fiercely powerful thing, and it led me to be extremely prepared for the potentiality of my son having eczema. I spent entire days scouring the internet, reading ingredients labels and reviews, and talking to other eczema and allergy moms about what worked best in their experience. I felt desperate to have a plan hashed out in the event that he inherited my “bad skin”. I landed on a truly wonderful assortment of products that were eczema friendly for both him and I, which you can find below.
Prior to the nesting hormones taking over my mind and body, I became fixated on the development of his gut microbiome in the womb. So much so that I booked an appointment with my immune specialist, and a nutritionist, to discuss how I could best seed his gut bacteria via my diet while he was still a fetus. I won’t go into the specifics here as it was personalized medical advice based on my body’s needs, but I will say that we did a blood panel, and looked at safe sources of probiotics for me to consume during pregnancy.
RECOMMENDED POST: MY FAVORITE ECZEMA CARE PRODUCTS
These are some of the products I bought while pregnant, to prepare for in case baby had eczema (and that were eczema-friendly for me!):
Cloth diapers that are not scented or fragranced, and made from natural materials that will be gentle on his skin (I will be using a diaper service. These services are very accessible and affordable in Toronto)
Compostable disposable diapers that are approved by dermatologists for babies with eczema (more on this in another post)
Hypoallergenic and allergen free mattress and hypoallergenic and allergen free waterproof liner
Pure cotton crib sheet and blanket
Baby shampoo, body wash, and lotion formulated for eczema prone baby skin and approved by dermatologists and national eczema associations for babies with eczema
Unscented, 99% water baby wipes that are approved by national eczema and allergy associations
100% pure cotton breast pads for milk leakage. My skin does not react well to plasticky textures, and that includes disposable breast pads which tend to contain some plastic. I bought two packs of cotton breast pads so that I can always have a fresh pair in rotation.
Unscented laundry detergent from The Unscented Co for all of baby’s washings
Eczema bar wash from Saje. I have been using this for over a year now and have found it especially calming and gentle on my extra-tender skin during pregnancy. I won’t be using it on baby, but it works wonders on me :)
How I Treated Post-Partum Eczema Flare-ups
As you know from my Food Allergies and Pregnancy post, I ended up needing penicillin during labour. Antibiotics always have been a massive trigger for my eczema flare ups, which is why prioritizing my gut health is top of mind in my eczema management plan. Despite all my good intentions to prevent the need for antibiotics, I tested positive for GBS (group B strep) which is present in 25% of women and can be very harmful to a newborn baby. The benefits of antibiotics out weighed the cons as I would rather suffer through eczema than risk my baby contracting the bacteria and developing preventable health issues. I was given penicillin via an IV at regular intervals while at the hospital, and in total I received 5 rounds of the drug. As you can imagine, my skin went haywire.
I developed contact dermatitis within a few hours of delivery. It covered the fingers of my left hand entirely, and my thumb and pointer finger of my right hand. I could barely make a fist, my skin was so swollen and tight. Any and every cream and ointment seemed to make it worse, even the ones that I had used regularly to treat past flare-ups and keep my skin in good shape. A bit of colostrum on the flare up helped in the first few days, but I didn’t want to eat up my baby’s supply for my experiment, and once it transitioned to milk the healing effect seemed to dissipate. In some cases it even made the eczema flare up more irritated.
Of course antibiotics were not entirely to blame, as hormones change and flux after having a baby. Just as they did during my pregnancy, my fluctuating hormones flexed their muscles and impacted my skin. I felt helpless as I knew that both antibiotics and hormones were triggers I would have to wait out. My system would normalize, eventually. Eczema management takes time.
I was cleared to use my light steroid cream, and it provided some relief whilst not clearing the patches entirely. I typically use my steroid cream sparingly, and see excellent results after one or two applications. In this case I found it merely stopped the pulsating, itching, and soreness, all of which were re-awakened every time my hands got wet from washing or showering.
I’m now 4 months postpartum and the flare up’s have gone down to a significantly more manageable level, but I still feel I’m on thin ice.
My baby only has very mild eczema - and I am in shock
Baby is nearly four months old as I write this post and I am in such great shock that he only has very mild eczema, and that the mild patches have been clearing up without incident. SHOCK. I was a baby with radical and persistent eczema patches from head to toe and I held on to so much fear that my son would face the same reality. The first time I saw a small patch of eczema in his inner arm area I nearly had an anxiety attack, but stopped myself because I didn’t want him to absorb that negative energy. Instead I let my anxiety quietly overtake me as I stood in the shower alone. I know that some level of eczema is normal for most babies, and he has never scratched at it or displayed any signs of physical discomfort, so for now I am looking forward with optimism.
What to read next:
The Most Unexpected Sources of Allergens I Found in Baby Products
The Best Investments I Made Towards Having an Empowered Pregnancy and Birth Experience
Dealing with GERD During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period
My Journey Through Pregnancy As An Adult With Anaphylactic Food Allergies
Dealing With Food Allergies, And Anxiety During Pregnancy And The Postpartum Period
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