4 Month Old Son Is Tearing His Face Off

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With the suggestion to get rid of the cat, I think other commenters are not truly appreciating the strength of the emotional bond that can develop between a beloved pet and their human. It can be just as strong as the bond between parent and child. To get an idea of what the OP is probably feeling about the prospect of getting rid of the cat, imagine telling a parent to get rid of their one child for the safety of their sibling. (I know some parents who have actually made a choice like that, and it is heartwrenching.) Not every pet-human bond is that strong, but it can be, and from the OP's reaction I'm guessing it's somewhere in that vicinity for them.

So, hopefully you can find another option. Some thoughts:

a) getting rid of rugs will definitely reduce exposure to cat dander, as cat hair collects in rugs

b) the cat should not be allowed in the baby's room, so that one room at least can be completely dander-free

c) maybe you could get your cat groomed regularly? Especially if the cat is long-haired, since long-haired cats do better with grooming anyway. You could even get your cat's fur shaved short, to lessen the dander

e) giving your cat baths, especially when the weather is changing (cats tend to shed at this time). The cat will almost certainly hate having a bath, but if it works, it's worth it.

f) if all else fails, you may need to separate cat and baby in different parts of the house, or set up an outdoor home for the cat in your yard and have them be outdoor-only. If you have to resort to this, visit your cat frequently, but wear an apron or something and wash your hands after each visit.

And of course, try other potential triggers before worrying about the cat. The cat might not be a trigger for the baby's eczema at all - each person with asthma/allergies/eczema has their own triggers, and what may be a big problem for one person has no effect on another person.

Thank you. I can not explain how much this creature means to me. He is a very close friend who has been with me long before I met my wife. Aside from acting silly whenever I am deeply depressed, he is an excellent mouser with over ten confirmed kills and assisted me with a wood rat in the house.
I can not let him roam outside because the mountain lions, wolves, eagles, or bears would eat him. We live deep in the Mountains.

I stopped the nightly baths for the baby and started washing the cat every day. The cat still has claws so I won't try to put him in water. I brush him out and then wipe him down with a wet washcloth. I switched to a dust-free litter that costs twice as much but it does what they say it does. I still do not want to try the silver on the baby so we have been just using a baby moisturising cream on his skin and a humidifier in the room he sleeps in. His face and head are looking a little better but today I noticed his legs are flaring up again and he wants to scratch. I think all the cleaning is helping. My wife does not want to have bare floors so I have dedicated a cleaning day every week. She also bought an air purifier today so we will see if that helps. I have not completely given up the vape but if I feel the need, I take it outside, keeping in mind what fnord posted about smoke staying with you. I can let go of it when I find the correct angle.

I am hoping that the dermatologist will be able to determine the exact cause of these eczema flare ups in, uh, February. I still can't believe we have to wait that long with an infant looking the way this one does. His cheeks are all scab from his nose to his ears and the rest of his head is almost as bad. We have to wash his bedding every day from all the ooze. I stay awake as long as I can, holding his arms down while he screams in agony. I feel like I am torturing him by not letting him scratch. It is all I can do at night but I have to sleep eventually.

Thank you again to all who have taken the time to help me with this problem. Sorry that I have not addressed each comment but I have the 18 month old kid climbing all over me and it is very difficult to concentrate these days. Over all, what I am getting from the advice here is like,
"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" -Benjamin Franklin

observation//
watering down equals pooring in emotions,
used as to get away with half of the needed efforts
since you can make it a outdoor cat, but you'll put a (selfish) emotional barrier to justify not doing that
and you're wife "does not want bare floors", doesn't count anyway near baby's health concerns
anyway having kids is adapting your house for at least the next ten years to their needs and growth

//don't take this personal, everyone does it, one way or another, taking the long way around!

-traven
I value your perspective.
Thank you.

Not only smoke but cat dander and dust can stay on you, so you need to think about what is on you but there's little point washing it off unless your baby is sensitive.

Pediatricians sometimes respond to return visits and calls, might it be worth going back there?

Also sometimes you might be able to get in sooner to a specialist by calling every week to remind them you're worried about your child and do they have a cancelation, ask them to please call you if they get a cancellation.

I would be calling the dr's office back. Do they understand the severity of the problem? Or maybe the pediatrician's office could call in a prescription for something stronger. I have found that with our dr's office, i need to keep after them til i get answers at times. If you don't call back, they figure it must have improved...or they have a lot of patients and the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

He has been into the pediatrician four times now in the last six weeks for the same problem. Our doc is a bit green, only a few years out of college. I don't really know what was said because my wife takes baby into town while I wrangle the 1.7 year old. I am not the only one that my wife has trouble communicating with.
However, it is a good suggestion. I should try to get a hold of the dermatologist and try to clearly explain the situation.
Thank you.

Maybe you mentioned the repeated dr visits earlier and i missed it--if so, sorry. If your wife has trouble communicating, maybe you going along would be helpful even if you had to take the toddler with. When my kids were little, i dreaded taking more than one of them to the dr at the same time. But i probably would in this case, if you are not sure your wife is communicating well.

One other idea occurred to me too...What about an allergist? We have dealt with mild eczema over the years but nothing like you are describing here. But my kids have multiple food and environmental allergies and it was helpful to have the input of an allergist. With allergy testing, we could pinpoint specific allergies since they tested for a bunch of the common ones. Maybe the allergist at least could see the baby sooner than the dermatologist. I am 99.9% sure the allergist we deal with would not make an issue like this wait several months, even for a new pt.

I'm not sure how this ties in to autism but this is clearly not something behavioral in an infant. They are eating, sleeping and pooping machines with immature nervous, digestive and immune systems. I haven't read any of your post history so I have to assume that either you or your wife is on the spectrum then and are new to the idea of caring for a child. You have a lot of reading and counseling to do then, IMO. The hospital should have at least given you a crash course of what to expect. If the pediatrician is "green" then I'd be looking to get a second opinion too.

My personal pet peeve is the over prescription of antibiotics - especially in an infant so young when the bacteria in their intestinal tracts is forming. Let me ask this: does your child have thrush? If you're not sure, look it up. Basically, it an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.

Clearly the issue here is that you child has an allergy. Some of the issues have been addressed which I agree with.

The cat should not be allowed near the baby for any reason. We had a cat during our child's infancies too. It was our "practice baby" and to this day it's still an attention whore. The fact is though that even house cats are semi wild animals. Giving it baths is a bit extreme though. If anything, that's going to dry out the cat's skin and cause MORE dander. Keep it away from the baby. That's Parenting 101.

If your wife is breastfeeding then you have to look at what she is putting into her body. The idea that there is some sort of extra amount of immunity with regards to mother's milk is garbage if she is smoking, consuming alcohol or taking medication. If your wife hasn't altered her intake then the you have to assume that your baby is also taking it on with the mother's milk.

As for the allergy to sunlight, whoever told you that is relaying an extreme case. Without exposure to sunlight, the body will not produce vitamin D which is essential for calcium absorption. Let me ask another question: was jaundice ever an issue? How about bowel movements? Has there been anything of of the norm?

In the meantime, you should definitely trim the baby's nails - gently. Clearly the child is having some sort of allergic reaction. Treating any infection is necessary but you should primarily be looking to eliminate the root cause and that there is something he/she is allergic to. You've already taken some good steps - and also some pretty extreme ones. Don't just take our advice though, do your own homework. WebMD is a good place to start.

Please be cautious about interrupting nursing. I knew a couple people who did that because "baby was allergic". The problem got MUCH worse. There isn't any reason to interrupt nursing unless there is a known specific concern about a specific agent she is exposed to and very few things would be worth interrupting nursing. I have heard of parents reporting negative reactions to every possible formula.

I am confused what the concern about nursing is, though.

I have heard of babies doing better if their mothers avoided nuts, or milk products, or cabbage onions broccoli family, etc. if your wife is concerned about the impact of her diet, or you are, la leche league has some very helpful advice.

I also will repeat that cat dander, smoke residue, etc remain in your clothing and body if you do not shower and change clothes.

I also think doing anything radical without knowing the cause of the problem isn't best. And if it were me I would be calling around to a regional children's hospital too and have an appointment more than one place and keep asking about cancellations because it sounds like you need someone to help resolve this right away.

Anachron, I am so sorry to hear that you're going through this! It's horrible seeing your baby in pain. I hope he finds some relief shortly.

Sadly, lots of pediatrician a don't take this seriously because it's not life threatening. Plenty of people in my family have problems with allergies/eczema. Unfortunately, asthma can sometimes round out the trifecta, so please do keep an eye on that. That would be much more serious, of course.

The good thing is that most babies will outgrow this. The bad is that, often, no real answer as to the specific allergen is found. Or if it is, it's sometimes one that's very difficult to avoid. Just do the best you can. That's the best parenting advice I can give. There's no way to be perfect and omniscient. I would remove the potential irritants one by one from my home and give him a little time afterwards to see if he improves. That way, you might better be able to identify which exact one it was. You could also get him allergy tested, but there are so many false positives in those that the answer you get back might be that he needs to live in an oxygenated bubble! But, it is an option.

So, fix the things you can, don't blame yourself for not being able to fix the things you can't (the cat), and let's hope that his immune system continues to get stronger and stronger and that a year from now, the picture is vastly different. Good luck!

I am Aspien. My wife tested lower than I but is also on the spectrum. The realization of this has occured in the last year." thrush1
THrəSH/Submit
noun
a small or medium-sized songbird, typically having a brown back, spotted breast, and loud song."Yes, he did have jaundice in the beginning. I forgot what they did about. Nothing else unusual that I know of. The breakout started when my wife tried to scrub the crusty stuff off his head with an old brush.Yes, we do that but they are still very sharp no matter how short. He won't hold still long enough to use a file.Thank you. I really am going crazy with cleaning and trying to fix this. Your kind words and suggestions mean much to me.I have no say in what my wife eats. She and I both quit drinking when she got pregnant with the first kid over two years ago. Niether of us smoke. The talk earlier was about a nicotine vaporizer device that I used to quit smoking. I do not use it around the baby but some people still think it could be a problem. I thought that was what a dermatoligist did. Sheesh, there is so much that I just do not understand. Thank you. I need to do some more research.


The boy looks a bit better today. I still do not wash him and I have been running a humidifier and an air purifier 24 hours a day for three days now. I vaccuum and clean for an hour every morning before anyone gets up. The cat has been banned from the babys sleep room and also the "Fun Zone" (fenced-in play room). Also, I have taken away all clothes that are not 100% cotton for both the baby and myself. I have not spoken with my wife much. I need to get the dermatologist information.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and suggestions. Sometimes finding the correct direction is the most difficult part.

Go there with him and say that it is an emergency. Doctors are obliged to help in emergency cases. You could also go to a hospital with a pediatric ward.

LOL! Thrush is the term for a yeast infection in the baby's mouth. From what you've shared it's probably not an issue.

For the moment dust and cat hair are the most likely suspects.

So a hypoallergic bedding for the baby and the carpet is a priority. If you are afraid because of the landlord, prevent him, show him photos of your baby s skin. If you think that he will be unmoved, remove the carpet anyway and make at least photos of your baby and keep them.

Few textiles in the baby room and elsewhere, and regular cleaning is very important. You can hardly remove the dust or cat hair from a sofa, curtain or cushion.

It does not make much sense to wait for a diagnosis. Often it is more than one allergen, and it takes time to find out, and then the allergens are changing. So be prepared that this might be a longer journey with a lot of experimentation. As to relief the symptoms the main treatment consists in 2 things:

1. to treat the inflammation (drugs: usually cortisone helps quickly, an anti-inflammatory diet: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0, ... 1,00.html; removing possible allergens: most often mite feces, pet hair)

2. to make the skin heal quicker and avoid dryness (special creams)

Urea, sea salt/stay at the seaside, some sun seem to help a lot of sufferers.

You will normally also be asked to keep a journal where you write down the changes you make, the food he gets (incl. for the moment what your wife eats), how the skin looks like, and the general health of your baby (feces, illnesses).

There is a good chance that things will get much better soon. But you have to go and see doctors who are familiar with the problem quickly (allergists, dermatologists, children hospitals, another pediatrician). You need prescriptions for 1. and better also for 2.

Last edited by Evam on 03 Jan 2016, 8:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

A dermatologist is a dr who specializes in skin. Skin problems, etc. An allergist is a dr who specializes in allergies. Sometimes the two fields overlap but the allergist will be looking at getting to the root of the allergy vs. treating the skin issue only. It's also possible that one may refer you to the other depending on what their findings are.