Mr. Sensitive, Update

We continue to battle with Gavin's sensitive skin, especially around his mouth.  Since he's working on cutting teeth, he's almost always mouthing items.  This leaves a wet area around his mouth, causing it to be red and chapped.  We continued with our regular regimen of lotion and prescription steroid ointment, but it wasn't getting better.  We tried Neosporin, different lotions, Vaseline, humidifier, etc. with no luck.  When Gavin started to be bothered by his skin, such as rubbing it on our shoulders, and it becoming very chapped we decided to make a trip to the doctor's office.

The doctor explained that it was his eczema, aggravated by his teething and possibly starting to become infected.  She gave us an antibiotic and suggested trying around with new lotions to find the best combination.  She anticipated that the antibiotic would start to show improvement within 4 days and to call if it didn't.  Current weight: 18 lbs 5oz.

5 days later: Gavin's skin started to look better, but then started to look bad again.  We called for another appointment.  This doctor thought that his skin wasn't infected and said we didn't need to continue with the antibiotic again.  He recommended using the steroid ointment twice a day until the area healed and applying Vaseline every 30-60 minutes since he's mouthing objects so frequently.  While we're tired of using steroids without great results, he explained that we need to clear the area first and then just maintain his good skin.  He also said we could call a local dermatologist and anticipates that Gavin will grow out of his sensitive skin.  He explained that Gavin has 3 factors working against him: Dry, cold air; Teething; Introduction of solids--all of which can cause eczema flare ups.  Current weight: 18lbs 15oz.   Out of curiosity, I also cut peanuts/nuts out of my diet.

We tried the pediatrician's recommendations.  We continued to antibiotic for a few more days, just in case.  Gavin's skin responded quickly to the new regimen and was beginning to look great.  The sporadic dry areas on the other parts of his body cleared quickly and his face was improving.  Unfortunately, the red spots returned again on his face again.  Although, he doesn't care for having his ointment or Vaseline on his face and usually tries to wipe it off.  We'll likely call the dermatologist soon and have Gavin's 6 month well baby check up at the end of the week and can discuss his skin yet again.