The best cream for my son’s eczema: Ode to Vanicream
My son has eczema. And not just “oh a little dry skin and I’ll call it eczema”. His skin made me cry it was so bad. When he was a baby, my doctor told me it was the worst case she’d ever seen. We had tried every organic lotion and oil known to man, as well as most over the counter creams. Nothing helped his red, cracked, itchy skin.
And our referral to the dermatologist ended with prescriptions for steroid cream and antihistamine medicine. These are just bandaids on a gaping wound. I didn’t want to give my son something that wasn’t going to heal him, and only block some symptoms. So, I never filled these prescriptions, but took her advice to try plain ol’ Vaseline, especially on damp skin to “seal in the moisture”. This did help immensely, and was the best product we’d tried. Who knew that my mom and grandma were right? Petroleum jelly, say what you will about its “un-naturalness”, but it saved my baby’s face and legs, for a while. His skin didn’t look or feel smooth, but it was no longer cracking and it was a lot less itchy. I was annoyed when it stopped being as effective, because using it had taken a toll on his clothes, sheets, my clothes, due to the greasy nature of Vaseline; this stuff does not soak in, it just sits there.
Well, I dumped the Vaseline, and tried a few more over the counters: CeraVe, Aveeno, Aquaphor, Eucerin, Egyptian Magic, Tate’s Miracle Conditioner, coconut oil, calendula oil, etc, you name it. I have tried at least 20+ different remedies. We were using Eucerin for a while (also a petroleum based cream), but then my son’s gluten allergy was diagnosed…. and in about all the lotions you see at a pharmacy are that evil “wheat product”. That’s why his skin is red every time after I apply. Doh.
Another trip to the dermatologist, with more lies that I used the creams and drugs they prescribed, claiming some relief, but not long term (which I knew would be the case even if I had used them). And she suggested (Ah, angels singing!) Vanicream. I ordered it, reluctantly. Another $15 down the drain. Amazon carries it; pharmacies do not. And I can proudly say that, after one month of using it on my son’s scaly, red, cracked, itchy legs, he is not red and he is even smooth! This is a miracle. Not only does it work, but it is a nice consistency, soaks in, a nice thick cream that lathers on him after his baths and before bed. He does not itch at it. And in his sweet two year old voice says, “soothing,” as I moisturize him up. Â (I have to add, too, that the SUN has probably assisted Vanicream’s miracle-ness, but no other lotion has helped him, even with all the sun in the world.)
I hope and pray that its effects won’t wear off. I hope this is all we will ever need. I have even begun using it and am happy with the results in my face and body. This is a wonderful, hidden secret, and every mom whose child has skin ailments must try it! I hope you get the same results as we did.
$11 for a wonderful cream, free of dyes, fragrance, masking fragrance, lanolin, parabens, and formaldehyde (16 oz). Â Well worth it.
I am going to order this right away, I have tried so many things and I’m dreading the trip to the derm wherein they tell me to use steroid creams. That is simply not an option, it’s too harsh and I have known of people that have gone through multiple steroid creams only to be left with third degree burns on their skin. Thanks for the information!
I’m so glad I could help!! It really is a miracle cream — I use it now on my face and body and I haven’t had any acne since I started!
I am going to give this a try as well. Allergy Canada carries it. We are on the same boat as you did. Tried everything under the sun and always defaults back to Aquaphor ointment; however, it does not make her skin smooth. Her skin is covered with scabs and I cannot take it any more. Hope this make a miracle.
Sook, how did this work for you? I’d love to hear!!
Thank you for sharing your story. My four month old has, what I think, is eczema head to toe. It’s so distressful to him that he’s having a difficult time sleeping and nursing. :( We have his normal four month pediatrician visit on Monday and I know that she will want to prescribe steroid cream as well. Although I am a nurse, I consider myself “crunchy” and tend to lean towards less invasive trials. Another nurse (who has a daughter with eczema) recommended this cream to me today. I’ve never heard of it so I was googling and your story came up. I’ll give it a shot. We’ve tried Aquaphor, Vaseline, and Coconut Oil so far. Thanks again!
Tara
I’m so glad that our story helped you, Tara! Please let me know if you have any more questions!! We also realized that he is allergic to gluten, so you could try the common allergies of dairy, gluten, soy, next, this is so so hard mama!!!!
Wow! This is great! My daughter is now 7, we’ve tried everything from Crisco, Virgin olive oil, aquaphor, petroleum, organic lotions, cetaphil, none of these ever worked! although I use cetaphil all these years for her but still her eczema is still as bad as it sounds. I will definitely buy this cream and I’m still hoping that it will help my daughter’s skin gets better even just stops her from getting itchy all the time. Do you still use that cream still since its been about 2 years? Thanks again for this article!
Thanks Jen, I really hopes this helps your girl!!! We are still using this, but didn’t need to as much in the summer months because of exposure to the sun. Now that the cold is coming back, he is getting more splotches. We also found out he was allergic to gluten, so eliminating that really helped. I also made an herbal salve, which I’ve been trying on him, and I will post that recipe and process soon!! Thanks for visiting!!
I can’t tell you how much reading this blog post rang true for me and my son’s story. My son developed his eczema at 2 months old and still suffers from it at 2 years old. I’ve tried so many lotions and creams (aquaphor, vaseline, aveeno, mustela, cerave, cetaphil, exoderm, different types of eucerin, hydrolatum, triple cream, and the list goes on)…some at very hight dollar amounts. I used the steroid creams, but like you, I too felt it was just a bandiad, and I just don’t want to subject my poor son’s skin to it anymore. I feel like the doctors don’t believe me when I tell them their various suggestions are not working on him and I’m tired of them throwing steroids at the problem. I also sometimes feel that they act like I’m not doing anything for him when I have tried so many things (including the bleach baths). I have found the eucerin ezema relief to so far be the one that works for him; however, he still has bad patches on his hands, wrists, and behind his knees. I have just recently heard about vanicream (not through a doctor) and in doing research on it, I stumbled upon your post. It appears you are still using the vanicream and it is still working for your son. I will be purchasing some today! Thank you for sharing!
Michelle, yes, Vanicream is still amazing!!! We also use the Vanicream ointment and sunscreen and soap and shampoo and conditioner. Our allergist recommends them all and we could not be more pleased. I sincerely think it will make all the difference. However, I also really believe that some eczema is diet-attributed, so I hope you can see if your boy is allergic to anything!! All the best <3
Thank you so much! Our dermatologist and allergist recommended CeraVe wash, but I’ll try the Vanicream wash. He seems to have no issues with this cream…yay! Back in July he had a reaction to peanuts, so we found a great pediatric allergist who also specializes in pediatric eczema. He’s allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and dogs (and of course, we have a dog). The allergist also recommended us to start giving him Vitamin D supplements. He still has some trouble spots, but since we’ve made some changes, I have noted an improvement.
Hi Michelle – My son (4) has also been battling eczema since birth and recently has gotten really bad. We too did allergy tests and found he’s allergic to our cat and dog (who passed away 9months ago but i’m sure dander is still in house). The steriods work great then it just comes back really back a few days after I use them. Have you tried anything else? I’ll get the Vitamin D and just ordered vanicream. I’ve been using aquafor, vaseline, cerave body wash etc etc. Now it’s winter and his skin is super dry, red, itchy… we also bought an airfilter. I’m trying to keep my senior cat!! But he’s in so much itchy pain…
I just want to say thank you very much for sharing this wonderful information, I have been searching for a cure for my dermatitis eczema for a while but everything I found did not work.
I am so glad I found this! I have been searching for some kind of long lasting eczema relief for my son since he was two months old :( I bet I have been through the same 20+ remedies you have and even up until yesterday have been trying a more natural approach with coconut oil. We were seen by a dermatologist today who (of course) handed out harsh steroid creams like they are candy and it breaks my heart that doctors seem to feel that there are no other treatments for this condition other than destroying our children’s skin!! I will be purchasing this product today because of your post and all of the other wonderful mommies on this page who are going through the same struggles that I am. I, like Michelle, have been made to feel as though I am not doing nothing for my son’s skin when that could not be farther from the truth!! So maybe Vanicream could be the answer I have been searching for. Here’s to hoping for the best!! Thank you for sharing!!
I hope it will give him, and you, some relief, Chelsea!! You may also want to try the Vanicream ointment, which we also love!! Blessings.
I tried everything to remove a couple of stubborn, sandpaper-rough patches of eczema on my three year old’s leg — it had been there for months and months. Thanks to your post, I ordered the Vanicream on Amazon. THE PATCHES ARE GONE! Didn’t take long, either. Truly miraculous, and a nice all around cream. Thanks for sharing this!!! Who knew?!
Thank YOU so much for sharing!!! I’m so glad to hear that it helped your precious girl!! We still swear by it — we now just use on legs and face after showers because his skin improves lots in the sun and summertime — but we go through a lot more of it in the winter! I use it on my own skin too ;) Their sunscreen is also a great product. Thanks so much for sharing :) :)
My daughter had struggled with eczema since she was a baby. She scratches so bad at her skin. We have used steroid creams, dermatologists and the usual triamcinolone. I decided to go the natural route and use the Made from Earth Pure Aloe Skin Treatment. This product has worked wonders and we only had it a few days.
With the Made from Earth Aloe Treatment, I saw saw results super fast and its not toxic like the steroid creams the dermatologist gave us which did not work!