Hi. Firstly apologies if this message has cropped up somewhere else...I wrote it, posted it and seem to have lost it!! Anyway - my DD is 17 mnths and has had eczema since 2mnths - arms and legs controlled with aqueous in her bath and diprobase ointment and cream. BUT the back of her neck is covered in eczema and we just can't get it under control. GP prescribed Efcortelan which works brilliantly and clears it up in 2-3 days. We can only use for 10 days once a month. Within 24 hours of stopping it, the eczema is back and within 2-3 days she has broken the skin and is bleeding. We find ourselves counting days till next cycle! We use Diprobase oint morning and evening and cream during the day but it doesn't seem to help. Should we be going back to GP? or using something else? WE are at a loss..any thoughts or help would be appreciated. Many thanks

ask for a referral to dermatology.

IME most GP's arent going to perscribe the best cream for the job (no idea why, just seems to be the way here).

dermatologist put dd1 on balneum for the bath, dermol500 for her skin applied throughout the day, and efcortelan for flare ups.

when you stopthe hydrocortisone, do you apply more creams throughout the day?

Go back to the GP. Often you are advised to go down to a milder cream for a few days before stopping the hydrocortisone.

Basically, doctors have an arsenal of creams at their disposal and they will suggest different routines until one seems to control the eczema.

You need to taper. It's essential when using steroids. Go from 1% to 0.5% then 0.5% every other day, then every third day etc.

Does your dd get warm and sweaty around her neck? Just wondering if heat combined with the creams is actually exacerbating that area?

It seems odd that 10 days usage doesn't nip it in the bud. With persistent/infected bouts gp has prescribed antibiotics before.

Definitely go back to your gp and explain since there are lots of different creams to try and it can take quite a while to find the magic one or even the two in combination.

I used to have 1.5%, 1%, 0.5% creams and would zap it for the first few days with the heavy stuff and then cut down. Then I found the combo of calmurid and eumovate which sorted out all outbreaks every time.

Thanks very much - will get her back to GP. First GP wouldn't even give me the steroid cream as there was no infection at the time (despite it being raw) - saw diff GP by chance and he prescribed as soon as he saw it...will be going back to him!!

Try baby shea from this place it is from maplesstreetorganics and it worked wonders with my kids, the oldest used to have eczema that itched and bleed so it was quite bad. You really have to look around because as misdee says gps don't always prescribe the best creams (sometimes they just don't know all of them), our gp prescribed a whole host of stuff that didn't work but this baby shea cleared it up quickly and both my kids are eczema free since and the cream is natural and organic with few ingredients so its definitely worth a go.

Agree with yurt. You must taper the use of the cream don't just go stop.

My 10 year old son had eczema from the age of 3 months. Fortunately not on his face but I am not one to mess about and used my private medical insurance to see Dr Atherton at Great Ormond Street. He has written a book on eczema and is world renowed for skin issues in children. His book is riverting reading for any parent who has had a child suffering from eczema and he even lists out the creams he would try and in what order. There are pictures which sound a bit gross but are very useful for parents. He suggested wet wraps overnight underneath a sleep suit (he says in his book that he was sceptical at first about their effectivness). We used them for about 4 months and as my son was so young they were very torable for him. They came off in the morning and the bandages were washed ready for the next evening. My son will always be prone to dry skin but there are worse things in life.

I would put the diprobase cream on as many times as you can per day to stop the skin drying out and ALWAYS put oil in the bath.

When my son's skin flared up once I went to a GP who by mistake ordered the strongest steriod cream. I used it for a day and then checked on the internet and found it wasnt authorised for use in children at all. When I went back to the GP he blamed the chemist for giving me the wrong cream!

Hey I found this article on the bounty website:

Popular creams 'could make childhood eczema worse'
01 May 2008

Popular creams
Some of the most popular over the counter creams contain chemicals that could aggravate symptoms of childhood eczema, it has been revealed.

According to the National Eczema Society, one fifth of British children of school age have eczema, one of the UK's most common allergies.

A survey conducted by Dr Michael Cork, a skin specialist at Sheffield Children's Hospital, found that 56% of children reacted badly to aqueous cream.

Experts recommend using skin care products that are fragrance, lanolin and preservative free and specially designed for people with eczema and dermatitis.