if you have been dealing with this for any length of time, you know not to use anything with fragrance in it , right down to laundry detergent, fabric softner, soap, lotions etc.
my dd has flair ups, but nothing as bad as your little one, we find an unscented oatmeal milk and honey soap made with goatsmilk, lard ( she finds palm to be drying), coconut, avocado, soybean, sunflower & castor to work for her. i superfat this at least 13%. ( this keeps the amount of coconut from being drying). honey and ground oats. soap is a wash off product so you really need something after too.
she uses an unscented gm lotion i make that is 50% shea butter and 50% emu oil after showering and then for the lesions if they are really bad a salve for spot treatment.
1 tsp each of hazelnut oil, jojoba, avocado and evening primrose.
1T each emu, shea butter
2 T cocoa butter
4 capsules vitamin e
she doesn't have any problem with the shea butter but some folks with excema might.
my brother had this bad as a child and i remember my mother only being able to use tide detergent, dial soap and a pine tar salve ( which stained everything it came in contact with ) on him.
from my understanding, all these things we do are only a maintance to keep it at bay. it is an internal issue, having to do with ones immune system. food allergies, and stress can trigger outbreaks. my dd is most affected by this during the winter months when she is fully clothed and hibernates inside. during the summer when she is in shorts and t-shirts and outside she has hardly any outbreaks at all. so her's may be more related to dry skin issues.
here's a good read:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art37851.asp