Mumsnet Talk

My 15 mo daughter has got quite a lot of excema at the moment. She has got a large patch on the side of her face near her eye and it has become infected. She has an immune deficiency and the doctor has now given her oral antibiotics.

He hasn't really told me how I should be treating the excema though and it is weeping and bleeding. Do I put any cream or anything on - I can't use the hydrocortisone at the moment. Should I cover it up, to stop dd scratching it?

Any advice would be great. TIA.

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We use Dermol 600 in the bath, it keeps their skin really clean, it's anti-bac so really helps stop infections coming/getting worse. On prescription from the Dr. HTH.

Oilatum in the bath and aqueous cream afterwards, and also as a washing aid works for us. And ban biological washing powders, and fabric conditioners. We use hydrocortisone when there is a flare up, but don't use it on the face without the docs say so.
If it helps any I had *awful* eczema as a child, weeping, bleeding , the works, and I grew out of it. And the moisturisers used now are a *huge* improvement on the treatment I had.
HTH

Agree with all the things already recommended - also try oatmeal in a stocking in the bath. Aqueous is good I find. You can use chickweed cream or pawpaw ointment from your pharmacy or health food store - natural and worth a try.

And yes, change your washing powder and don't use shampoo on her. Soap-free PH balanced in the bath... HTH

Thanks for your suggestions. At the moment I use emulsiderm in the bath and then aqueous cream. I had been using hydrocortisone on the bad patches but obviously I don't want to do this long term, especially on her face.

I use non bio powder and pure conditioner and I have tried putting gloves on her but she just gets them off.

I did have some antibacterial cream for it but this had hydorcortisone in as well so I've had to stop using that.

Is it really alright to continue to moisturise it when it is infected, I'm scared I will spread the infection around?

I have suffered from Psoriasis all my life, which, in itself is a form of Excema and find that keep it in the fresh air and sun (not that we are going to have much in the next few months) help alot. I've got a friend whose son has been hospitalised a few times with it (he's 9) I'll ask her what tips she has and I'll let u know later. I personally would not moisturize the infected bits, but let it breathe and keep very clean but on the other patches have you tried putting the cream on using a Q-tip, that way it's easier to target smaller areas.

Hi, I developed eczema on my hands after my first baby was born 4 years ago. I didn't like using the cortisone cream all the time but nothing seemed to work until I discovered SK Cream. It did not work overnight but after a few daysI noticed an improvement. I have not used cortisone cream since. I moisturise regularly with E45 cream and use SK Cream when I get an 'attack'. My 16 week old baby now has eczema in patches over most of his body. I treat him in the same way as I do myself but have not noticed much improvement yet although it hasn't worsened.

We use a bath called Balneum Hermal plus which is definitely available in large Tescos and probably UK pharmacists too. In addition we have a preparation called Dermed for her scalp (dd's cradle cap often breaks out)and use an Almond Oil-based cream on dry patches(not for the nut allergic) and creams called Dr Beckmanns/APP and Triderm (an antifungal too)on red patches which may not be readily available, or perhaps known under another name, in UK.

I don't understand why you cannot use the Hydocortisone cream at the moment as I thought we were advised to use it on broken patches - was this not right ?

Apparently here in CH there is a cream due to be licensed which acts like cortisone but without the side effects. I am not sure whether this is also true of UK although I thought I saw mention of something sounding similar in a recent Practical Parenting or Mother and Baby(why can you never find these things when you need them ?!!).

hope this helps ,I hadn't realised we had accumulated such a number of creams until I wrote this but we find it is very much a case of trial and error.

Lizs

Lizs - I had been told by my doctor not to apply hydrocortisone cream in the same area for more than a week as it can thin the skin. I also read that topical steroids should not be used on broken or infected skin.

Hebe - what is SK cream?

I've been told to soak the crusts on her excema with saline solution and gauze as the bacteria forms underneath the crust. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon and it will start to heal. It looks really sore at the moment.

I have a 3.2 yr ds and we've put Allergenics from the health food shop on it. His was weeping from all his scratting and it practically cleared up within a week. Its got no steroids in it, fantastic stuff. Someone else I know swears by Junior E45 cream with a drop of pure lavender oil in it. HTH.

Hi AngieL

SK Cream is a totally natural product (and organic I think). It is not any one of the ingredients in it that do the trick but rather the specific combination of all of them. It is available from this Website: www.HealingProduct.co.uk. The lady who runs this business is very helpful so you could drop her an e-mail and ask her advice. If you decide to give it a try do let me know if it works for your daughter. Is her face healing yet?

Thanks for that Hebe. I think I will definitely try some of the more natural creams and hopefully will find one that works.

Unfortunately, her face doesn't look any better. She is such a pretty little thing and at the moment she just looks horrible. She has got more and more red patches coming on her face and I'm worried that the infection is going to spread. I would have thought that the antibiotics would have started working now, but there doesn't seem to have been much improvement.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I'll let you know what our miracle cure is.

Hi Angiel
My little boy had bad excema too. His started at about 12 weeks. Anyway I tried all the creams etc but it didn't really work. I was then advised to go to a homiepathic doctor. We had a consultation with him and he prescribed sulphate tablets. They were fantastic and my ds has been excema free for over 2 years now. They took a little while to work but when they did work what a difference in his skin. I know how terrible I use to feel for my little boy as it looked so itchy and soare so as you can imagine I was so happy when the sulphate tablets worked.

You can maybe give this a try as it certainly worked for us.

Good luck
Regards
Lorna

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It's not going to well actually, but thanks for asking.

My dd has been back to the doctors today and is on her second course of antibiotics to try and clear up the infection. She now has excema over most of her face but so far the infection hasn't spread too much. The doctor took a swab and hopefully this will help him prescribe something that will work.

He also gave me some different things to try - Oilatum Plus for bath and Aveeno cream, hopefully these might make a difference.

Thanks for the phone number of the excema society, I might give them a ring to see what they think. It is difficult to know how big a role the immune deficiency is playing this or whether it is just a bad flare up.

I hope things improve. We found oilatum very good in the bath....but it is hell on rubber bath mats! It is all a case of trying lots of things until you find what works for your Dd. Good luck!

DS2 had excema like patches (I'd not call it "proper" excema though). Oilatum made it much worse and the best thing was some left over Kamillosan cream I put on in desperation.

Hope you find the right solution for your DD soon.

AngieL,
I am sorry I do not know anything about immune deficiency, but does that rule out the option that the excema could be due to a food allergy?

Hiya, sorry I've not read all the other messages so apologies if someone has already suggested this.
We use Allergenics cream - I bought it after reading an article in the Guardian about effective non-steroidal (sp!) creams. It's very good - you can get it from Boots.

AngieL, I really feel for you as my 18 month old ds has been covered in eczema since he was born. We have only got it under control in the last month or so after being on steroids on a daily basis for about 11 months.

I would definately agree with Podmog, in that no two eczema sufferers are the same and what works for others may not be helpful for your daughter. After spending a fortune on creams, alternative practitioners, and everything and anything that people suggested to us we have found that the "Elenas collection" range at "elenascollection.com" has worked wonders. It's very expensive but for us it has been worth it. Once his skin began to improve it was clear that the emollients and bath oils that we were getting on prescription were just aggrevating his skin so I would watch out for that.

Other things that have made a difference for us are diet, even though the dermatologists kept insisting that it shouldn't.

We also took him for spa treatment in France which I think was the real turning point, but that was just because his eczema was so bad and not responding.

The eczema society is really helpful, as was my health visitor, who was one of the wonderful ones. They see lots of children with eczema and mine always asks the mums what they've been using so she can pass tips onto others.

Hope things start getting better soon.

There was a feature all about this on Radio 4 yesterday - they were talking about steroids and how everyone avoids them (for usual reasons) but that actually if used spareingly under medical supervision they can work wonders (you probably know all this). They had Fiona Phillips on, the GMTV presenter - she was saying that her 8 month old suffers terribly and she tried everything, all the creams, reflexology, chinese medicine etc etc eventually she was refered to a dematologist peadeatrician (spelling!) and he gave them this steroid cream - she said she was reluctant to use it but after much discussion with the consultant they gave it a go - she said it was a miracle and gave him total relief from the scrathing. She was very well informed and seemed to know all about the possible risks etc but overall she said it has made her baby so much happier and that obivously she only uses it when absolutely necessary. why not ask the doctor for more information.

Thanks again for your suggestions. To be honest the patches she has got on her arms and legs etc aren't that bad although she has got a lot more than she used to have.

It's the infection on her face that is causing all the problems. She has had 2 lots of antibiotics now and they just haven't worked. I'm waiting for the Doctor to ring now to decide what will happen next. Dd can't stop scratching at it though and the infection has spread from the side of her face and goes right across her eyebrows as well now.

The doctor has said that putting steroids on an open wound will just prolong the healing, at the moment I can't put anything on it at all.

CER - We're supposed to be going to France in May on holiday and I'm trying to get the passport photos taken. I don't want to take them like this though as the photo is going to be around for a while. If things continue like this perhaps you could tell me where you took your ds.

DS1 had severe eczema for a while following eczema herpeticum. It would probably be worth asking about fucidin-h. This contains an antibiotic and 0.1% hydrocortisone. It helped (together with the correct oral antibiotic) to bring the infection under control. Once the infection is clear you can do usual things like wetwrap (even the head!! although Ive only ever done body and limbs!) and find an emollient that suits. Different people seem to prefer different ones. We use diprobase, or dermol if the skin is getting infected. if his skin is pretty good I use hemp oil, or just aqueous cream.

We've already tried the Fucidin H and unfortunately it hasn't worked, which is why we've moved on to oral antibiotics. I'm assuming this is because of the immune deficiency and dd is having trouble fighting the infection.

What is eczema herpeticum? Out of interest how to you spell excema/eczema?

It is E.C.Z.E.M.A! AngieL, my ds was similar to your dd, in that his face got really infected, and he would not stop scratching. It really wore me down to the bone with worry We ended up putting splints on his arms at night to stop him scratching (under the recommendation of the gp, and because he couldn't roll at that point). We also were prescribed Dimotane, which is an anti-histamine, and this reduced the itching. In fact, it was when we started giving ds this that we turned a corner. It broke the itch/scratch/eczema cycle, and his face looked better within a couple of weeks. We then used Hydrocortisone 0.5% ointment to get rid of the eczema, and keep it under control. He still has the ointment every so often, when his face shows signs of dryness/redness, and this helps keep it away.

eczema herpeticum is when eczema becomes infected with the herpes virus. It looks quite like chickenpox although the blisters are in a kind of pit (IYSWIM)- described as "pittiform" See this picture here . Children can have a localised outbreak, although in ds1's case it covered his whole body except his feet. His face became totally infected- people used to scream when they saw him (literally) or they'd ask how he had been scalded. The good news is it cleared up totally without a single scar. Eczema herpeticum is usually only seen in young children (ds1 was 11 months) as once children have encountered the herpes virus they should buid up immunity and thne not get eczema herpeticum- the problem arises if the first time they meet it it is via broken skin. It's taken quite seriously as it can lead to blood poisoning and death! Ds1 was treated with oral acyclovir, athough if he'd been at all ill (rather than just itchy) he would have been given it by iv.

To be honest the resulting bacterial infection -especially on his face- was more of a pain. The dermatology department eventually got the right oral antibiotic and then it went. I'd recommend giving your child some sort of acidophillus- ds1 ended up with three courses of antibiotics before they got the right one and I wish wish wish I'd given him acidophellus or some other gut bacteria. You can get powder to add to food/drinks from health food shops- or just give loads of live yoghurt etc.

angiel- something else- has your daughters face been swabbed so they can get the correct antibiotic? We were invited back as a case study for student doctors and the consualtant was really emphasising the importance of culturing to find the correct anitbiotic (actually my GP had already tried but the path lab managed to mess up the sample). It was only after the dermatology department got the reuslts of the swab back that they were able to give the correct antibiotic- then the infection went very quickly and we were just left with the eczema to clear up (sorted out by wet wrapping eventually).

The 2 piccies here look more like ds1's case of e herpeticum- you can see the kind of pit in the skin. Most GP's have never heard of it so if you ever suspected your child had it it would be worth asking them outright "could this be e herpeticum?" I think that's the advice the national eczema society gives.

I finally came across the article to which I referred below - Practical Parenting Nov 2002.p159. Ointment called Protopic claimed to reduce inflammation by suppressing immune system. Implies it is only suitable for children over two, doesn't cause skin thinning but costs more than other treatments so may be used only if other treatments have n't worked.

May be worth enquiring about although wonder about its suitability especially in Angie L's case. Perhaps someone here has already used it.

hth

LizS

The spa we went to was near Montpellier. It's got its own website at www.avenehydrotherapycenter.com. From talking to other people there I think there are quite a few similar places around France as it's well recognised there as helping eczema and other skin conditions and the French even get their treatment paid for on the French health service!

The only thing is that it's not the kind of thing you can do for a couple of days. They like you to book in for 3 weeks but say 2 is ok as you need this long to benefit from the treatment. But it is a fantastic place to go on holiday if you've got a child with eczema as the treatment only takes an hour or two and you have the rest of the day to enjoy yourself. You also don't have to worry about problems with managing the eczema, or it getting worse or infected whilst you're away as you see a dermatologist everyday.

I'm sure someone has already mentioned this. DD has severe excema. For prevention, we use Aveeno - heavy moisturizing cream - not sure what it's called exactly. If I haven't been diligent, and she gets patches, then we use 15 hydrocortisone - patches disappear within 1 or 2 days.

protopic is used a lot in the States- trials have been very successful. Worth enquiring about if eczema is severe and long lasting.

Jim Jams - That must have been terrible for your ds, I'm glad that he didn't have any scarring. Looking at the pictures, I'm pretty sure my dd hasn't got that. I was going to try and take a picture and link to it but haven't had the chance yet.

The doctor did a swab on Tuesday but the results aren't back yet. He did ring earlier though and he wants me to take her back in tomorrow. He is going to get one of his partners to have a look to see if they have got any suggestions, and then put her on another antibiotic which I have completely forgotten the name of.

Thanks again for all your suggestions, I really do appreciate it.

Click here to see a picture of dd sore bit. Not a very good pic unfortunately. If anyone has got any better ideas on treating it, now they’ve seen it, I’d be grateful.

ooh does look sore. Think you're ok on the e herpeticum though- there's no pit really (I remember the consultant getting very excited about the pits on ds1's legs :-) ). No idea really- maybe lots of emollient (I actually found vaseline- or 50:50 a really gloopy vaseline good) and covered at night to stop scratching in sleep? I think skin conditions are notoriously difficult. I was lucky in that my GP realised that he was out of his depth and hot ds1 an emergency appointment with the dermatologist- maybe check to see if there's a drop in clinic? If not good luck with getitng the results of the swab. And with all those antibiotics just get lots of probiotic into her- that's the one thing I wish I'd done- if I could change one thing in my life it would be that (honestly :-) )

Hi JimJams - I have bought loads of probiotic yoghurts for dd and luckily she loves them. Sorry if I sound a bit dense, but what is the importance of probiotics and how are they going to help?

Anyway went back to the Doctors this morning and he now thinks there may be a fungal infection there as well - ringworm. Which is strange because a pharmacist said it was a fungal infection a couple of weeks ago. They have now given me a cream that is supposed to be a cure all - Trimovate. Anyone got any experience of this? It contains a steroid and I'm a bit nervous of using it but the main thing I suppose is to try and get it under control.

I had a multi anti-biotic/antifungal/steroid cream to treat my eczema when I was a child. Not the same one as you mentioned, but the theory is the same. The steroid damps down the immune response, which calms down the eczema, and the other two prevent/treat oppertunist infections. I used it a lot as a child, and my skin is fine now. Thankfully I grew out of it. Dd and Ds both have eczema, and we have now foung the treatment regime that works for them. Very occasionally we have to use a steroid cream to dampen down a flare up, but 98% of the time we keep things under contol just using emollients. They just were not used when I was a kid. I hope things improve asap for your dd.

angiel- if it was a fungal infection it would explain why it was being so stubborn. good to try the new cream.

The probiotic is just to replace the freindly bacteria that the antibiotics destroy. Obviously antibiotcs are needed at times but if you have cycle after cycle of one's that aren't even working (as has happened in both our kiddies cases) the gut bacteria can take a bit of a battering. DS1 has all sorts of problems to do with his gut now which date back to that time so I just wish I'd done it differently then :-(

Hi Katierocket - do you remember what the Radio 4 programme about eczema and steroid creams was called? I missed it and would like to try to listen to it.

Hi CER - I have tried looking up 'elenascollection.com' on the WEB but could not find it - can you help?

Hebe, sorry my mistake. It is www.elenascollection.co.uk".

AngieL Hope things are improving with the Trimovate. It always makes me feel anxious putting steroid on, and I'm no huge fan of them despite ds being on them for so long, but I think that if you've tried other things and you feel like your dd is suffering with the itchiness etc. it's definately worth it.

If it's any reassurance to you I've had loads of dermatologists tell me that a mild steroid won't cause any long term problems - because I keep asking them about it!

Hi CER

Thanks for asking about dd. Amazingly the trimovate has worked wonders and her face is much much better than it was, all the rawness has gone and it has stopped weeping. The aveeno cream which I am using on her arms and legs has also worked miracles and her skins feels and looks pretty good now.

We've finished the cephalexin now and she's back on the low dose antibiotics so hopefully things will calm down for a while.

my daughter is 15 months old and developed awful eczema at around 3 months...anyway to cut a very long story short we eventually saw Dr Atherton at Great Ormond Street who is a paediatrician specialising in skin disorders and he recommended wet wrapping. we havent looked back since. We put them on her for about a week every bed time and the eczema disappeared; after that it was every 3 days, then once weekly. Now we no longer use the bandages at all but just use a bit of the steroind cream perhaps once weekly on the odd little patch she has. She is a different child.Wet wraps ARE a hassle to begin with but you quickly get the hang of it and they are so effective it's a miracle. So we are glad we took that path. We tried every cream avery homeopathic remedy under the sun, we cut out dairy in favour of soya etc, you name it we did it !!!!! all to no avail. All I can say is the wet wrapping worked and it's all available on prescription, so go for it.

AngieL, that's great news about your daughter. You must be so relieved - and you can get those passport photos done now!

I'm really glad that wet wrapping worked for you donnie because for us it was the low point in the treatment of ds's eczema. So it's good to hear that some people do have a positive experience with it.

We wet wrapped for two months when he was about 6 months old with him screaming through the whole process every day. Didn't make a blind bit of difference as he was allergic to the base of the steroid ointment and the emollients we were putting on the rest of the time, as well as all his dietary allergies which weren't being addressed.

Like I said before, I really feel that everyone's eczema is so different that what works for one person won't make a blind bit of difference to the next person. That's why it's so good to have mumsnet to get as many suggestions as possible!

Donnie, we also saw David atherton and he remains my hero. We had already tried wet wraps to no avail. DS developed a fungal infection which thrived under the damp bandages. When we saw David Atherton he put ds onto protopic. We jumped the 6 month waiting lsit by paying to see the Dr privately and this meant we had to apy for the protpic - £80 a small tube and we were prescribed 12 tubes! It is a miracle ointment for children where everything else has failed and should be avaialble on the NHS. It is in some areas and having come to the end of our original prescription we are trying to get our local gp to prescribe it - without much success so far. On the fungal infectio we used Canesten H (the H refers to the hydrocortisone content) and it worked well. We also tried Chinese medicine, restricted diets etc but for us the protopic was the only thing that worked. Every case is different and it is trial and error. Good luck to everyone with this problem. Ds now has his eczema quite well controlled but there are stil flare-ups which we have learnt to live with. One thing that helps the scratching at night is mild sedatives - piriton is an antihistamine and causes drowsiness, there is also phenergan and vallergan. They help an itchy child to sleep and cut down on the itching. We have piriton on prescription but you can buy it over the counter.

Forgot to add - it wasnt only the protopic that helped. Dr A also prescribed a high dose of oral steroids and it took a year to wean ds off of them. Most doctors are reluctant to prescribe oral steroids as there are possible severe side-effects. We were willing to take the risk because our son was fading fast and had absolutely no quality of life. This medicine is only availabe to very bad cases (one doctor said ds was the worst case she had ever seen). We also moved to Spain for a year to give him time to heal - sun and salty water work wonders.

donnie- I'm a huge fan of wet wrapping as well. Even without steroid (we had propaderm initially) just for relief. It is very important though that there is no infection when wet wrapping otherwise it makes verything worse. It made such a big difference - and ds1's skin was lovely when it came out of the banadges each morning.....

Have you tried Elenas nature collection? Atotally natural alternative to steroids, specialising in babies and young children withan 80-90% success rate! www.elenascollection.co.uk

My daughter has eczema - she is odd in that she can be completely clear for ages and then has enormous flare ups - 85% in one episode. We went to a fabulous consultant derm at Great Ormond Street, who put her on protopic, the new non-steroidal treatment. It is licensed for children in a weak strength (0.03%), he gave it to her in the non-licensed, adult strength (0.1%) which worked like a dream. His tips:
Emollient cream are only any good if they follow bathing, to trap in the water. Bathe once or twice a day in really tepid water with emollient oil in it, no soaps or shampoos. Use aqueous cream as soap, but get it out of the pot with a spoon as by using your fingers you may be putting infection in the aqueous cream tub and reinfecting later. Use emollient cream after a morning bath, and hydrocortisone or protopic with NO emollient after the evening bath. Putting the hydrocort etc on over or under emollient dilutes the effect of the drug.
Don't use E45 or Oilatum, which makes more children worse than it does better.
Shampoo their hair after a bath, over the bath - rinsing shampoo in the bath water they are sitting in disperses the emollient.
Keep them in cotton clothes, no fabric conditioners, non-bio fabrics.
When you need to use hydrocort etc, put it on fairly lavishly. He said it was much better to knock the eczema on the head and then manage the skin with emollients etc and no hydrocort, than it was to put little bits of hydrocort on all the time and never really get the ezcema under control.

He made perfect sense, and since we really whacked her with all of the creams etc that he said, she has never had a serious recurrence. We are back down to one bath a day, are a bit lax about washing her hair in the bath, and haven't used any hydrocort or protopic on her for months.

ps our consultant was john harper. and we use cetomacragol (sp?) as a bath and cream emollient, seems to be fine.

David Atherton rocks !!!! I am really happy to hear people's good news stories as only us parents who have really been through the hell of a child with bad eczema can really know what it's like. We were also prescribed propaderm by Dr Athertpn, but I am very interested in protopic. Last year before we had been to Gt O street I did lots of internet research when it had just been approved but I don't think it was actually available here yet. I am really happy that it has worked for some of you.

Protopic (tacrolimus) is now licensed here for children over 2 y/o. We were prescribed the adult strength for Ben and have used it with no ill effects to date. www.talkeczema.com has more info. Protopic is wondeful, the only problem is that, due to the cost, the NHS is reluctant to prescribe it.

It is expensive, but actually my GP in n Wilts says he will prescribe it (haven't taken him up on that yet as I still have stocks). And if not, although it is £80 a tube or something, it is so effective that we have only used one or two in the last year, a very small price to pay considering the difference in her quality of life!

WILTSHIRELASS - I have just read your posting of 13/4 which was really helpful and informative - I am using Oilatum as prescribed by my GP on my ds and am applying hydrocortisone cream on top of this which, according to your consultant is not effective at all! Is the product you recommend available over the counter? Is this what you would use instead of Oilatum or E45 cream? (I also use that, which you do not recommend either). Thank you so much for this useful info.

Just a quick question. Does eczema get worse if you are ill? My dd has got a horrible cold and temperature and her eczema has got much worse, just when I thought I was getting it under control. Her face is a mess and she seems to have lots of little bumps under her skin as well - is this the eczema?

AngieL my dd was diagnosed with German measles at 6 wks but in the end it turned out to be eczema. Every time she even gets even a small slight temperature her eczema gets really bad and I am now used to getting the calpol and the E45 cream out at the same time.

Hope that helps

My dds skin definitely gets worse if she's ill/run down and tired. She too gets what we call sandpaper skin, kind of bumpy all over. It does ease fairly quickly once she's well/has some decent rest. HTH.

Yep, ds' skin gets bad when he is ill. At the moment the insides of his fingers are really cracked, swollen and bleeding. We are using fucidin H and antibiotics but ut is getting no better. Has anyone any ideas? Ds cant play properly or wahs his hands without them hurting

I have been reading all the messages about all the children with eczema- please take a look at Elenas Nature Collection - a natural range produced by a nurse who runs an 80-90% success rate with all her advice -samples are available for a £1.00- cheap at half the price! Our family life has totally changed since discovering it!
www.elenascollection.co.uk

I might have to check out the elena's collection stuff, because things have got much worse now.

I don't really know what to do and I don't think my doctor does either. My dd has got a chest infection now and the eczema on her face has gone totally mad, it is infected and weeping. She looks so awful, I can't really believe it. She has just started her 4th course of antibiotics, lets hope they might work.

My GP has written to our consultant at the hospital to get us an urgent appointment. It is so difficult for me to know what to concentrate on - is the eczema so bad because of her underlying immune problems or is it just bad eczema? Don't know what to do next.

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robinw, we have had allergy testing - RAST tests were done (blood tests) and allergies identified were milk, dairy, soya, wheat, chicken, eggs and nuts. A 6 month exclusion diet followed (nightmare) and made no difference whatsoever to ds' eczema. WE were then told by a paed that the tests were of no use at all and should never have been done! Now ds follows a diet including all the above but, 2 years later ds has been rushed to hospital twice for adrenaline following severe anaphalatic reactions to food. He is going to undergo more tests, this time skin prick ones. DOnt have much faith in allergy testing so far but I will let you know if these ones prove more use..

Hi Podmog - they have just started her on augmentin. Shes's had amoxicillin, cephalexin and then amoxicillin again (because of the chest infection). I really thought it had started to improve but as soon as she got a bad chest it flared up worse than ever.

I'm hoping that we will here back from the hospital fairly quickly but if not, I will certainly get on the phone and speed things up.

I'm finding it difficult putting the emollient on her face for a couple of reasons. One, she just wriggles so much I can barely keep hold of her and two, I just hate the way it feels, it just doesn't feel like skin anymore, it makes me cringe.

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Hi Robinw, we have been referred to allergy specialists nad they will decide whether or not to give ds an epipen. Th whole thing terrifies me, its one of the reasons I am hesitant about ds starting nursery.

Can I just ask, re nut allergy, I am allergic and want to get DD tested but is the only way to do this via the doctor? I mentioned it when she was born & they didn't seem very interested but no way will I risk giving her some to find out.
I did read something connecting it to eczema ointment, but can't remember details, I also have eczema but she doesn't...

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Eowyn, Some creams (perhaps Sudocream, not sure) did contain oils derived from peanuts and this is what is thought to have caused the allergy to nuts in so many children. IF you suspect a nut allegy do you avoid chocolate and biscuits? Ds eats lots of things with warning labels (may contain nut traces etc) but has had no reaction at all. My suspects are celery, pine nuts nad (specifically) cashews. We will see what the tests show.

RobinW, how would IgE levels be tested? Re the epipen, we were told it could do as much damage incorrectly administered as it could not to have one, that is why we have to wait until a specialist decides whether to prescribe one or not. I would like to have one to hand, I carry Piriton everywhere but am not convinced it would help in a very severe reaction.

I don't bother avoiding foods that have the "may contain traces of nuts" warning, as everything seems to nowadays. I only let dd eat things that I know I can eat, tho I don't know how bad my reaction could be as I'm always careful & have never been tested, just always known most nuts make my mouth & throat go strange & last time I accidentally ate one I was wheezing horribly for 2 hours.
Anyway, will speak to Dr, it was Christmas that was worrying as all the relatives who are normally so careful seemed compelled to put out plates of peanuts so I had to worry all day...

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thanks for the link, I agree, our GP may need a bit of retrainig. We are seeing a specialist in a couple of weeks so I shall investigate further, get my facts straight and insist on an epipen.

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I had a look at the anaphylaxis website yesterday, their product warnings are interesting, particularly as I had always wondered why I sometimes got a reaction to cadbury's chocolate (not bad enough to put me off).
They seem to be local to me so will try them if Dr no good.

interested in a natural alternative for eczema?
Email elena@elenascollection.co.uk and mention mumsnet and get a FREE sample and info pack.

Bunny2, my son tested positive for loads of stuff also. Knowing his previous reactions was what confirmed the couple of things to which he is actually allergic (peanuts and milk). Not to say that your food challenges weren't valid. Could you keep a constant food diary? (I ask that and know for a fact that I couldn't -- it'd have to be every ingredient of everything eaten.)

Eowyn, the allergy tests do bring up a lot of false positives, esp for a little baby. According to them, my son should die if he eats wheat. He's Mr Bread and is fine with it. There are about 10 other things that showed positive. The last time he even reacted to the control. He's fine, just has a bit of sensitive skin. (He's had RASTs too; same basic thing.)

Having said all that: epipens are good. You are not going to hurt your child by using one on them. Not using one when they need it is bad. As a previous allergist told me, "Overreact and he'll be fine. Underreact and he dies." I've underreacted before and it's bad (no, he didn't die, but I got to watch his O2sat level drop and drop and drop while the incompetent hospital got their act in gear). A friend of mine's son (ok linguistoorians, what's the correct punctuation there?) gave himself the epipen his first day "on his own". (He's 5.) No problem.. she had a slightly hyper child (it is adrenaline) and a sheepish trip to the ER where they assured her -- and this is the key -- better safe than sorry.

Anyway, anniethenannie here's a link for you . (Know you guys like it, but do a search with her name as author and see..)

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Just found this board - it's great!

Don't know if this is any help but I had really terrible eczema and had chinese herbal medicine about 10 years ago which cured me completely.

My daughter is 6 months old and is starting to get small patches of eczema, I have so far treated it by not bathing her every night but only 2 or 3 times a week and covering her in oilatum cream afterwards (I use Balneum Plus in the bath). If the skin is broken or she is really scratching badly I put a little 1% hydrocortisone on it.

Also, I swaddle her at night which means that she doesn't scratch herself raw during the night - I find if I don't swaddle her she will wake up covered in scratches.

If it gets really bad I am going to look into chinese herbs, though I don't think they would be suitable for babies, though I am not sure.

Sam

I'd be very wary of using Chinese herbal remedies - because they contain powerful compounds which are present in variable quantities. Also those who want to avoid steroid use should be aware that Chinese remedies may actually contain them (see Chinese herbal remedies may contain steroids - R A C Graham-Brown, J F Bourke, and G Bumphrey BMJ 1994; 308: 473)

HEBE - so sorry not to have replied to your message of 14/2, I've been away.
Cetomacrogol is not prescription - you can just get if from your chemist. Dead cheap too, about a fiver for a huge tub.
The bath emollient we use is called Diprobase,which also is available without prescription and also pretty cheap. If you swap to that you'll probably find a difference in her skin as well - a lot of people find Oilatum very drying (wierdly enough, considering it is meant to have the opposite effect!)

Good luck

HEBE - so sorry not to have replied to your message of 14/2, I've been away.
Cetomacrogol is not prescription - you can just get if from your chemist. Dead cheap too, about a fiver for a huge tub.
The bath emollient we use is called Diprobase,which also is available without prescription and also pretty cheap. If you swap to that you'll probably find a difference in her skin as well - a lot of people find Oilatum very drying (wierdly enough, considering it is meant to have the opposite effect!)

Good luck

SamboM We tried chinese herbal medicine when ds was 155 months. It didnt work for us but it worked very well for a friends son of the same age. If you are interested, there is a practitioner in South West London (Chiswick) who workes with referrals from Great Ormond St and has worked with David Atherton (eczema in children guru and my hero). I can give you her details.

Can anyone recommend a mattress cover for children with eczema? And has anyone found they make any difference? We are also thinking of getting rid of ds' duvet and replacing it with sheets and cotton blankets, has anyone tried this?

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Hi Pogmog, I was looking at the mattress covers today. They were around £15, on the internet I have seen them for £50. DO you know how they might differ? I want to buy the best ones and assume the more expensive ones are best, dh disagrees. Any ideas?

Whatever one you buy, make sure that you can machine wash and dry it. I made this mistake tha first time round, and had to hand scrub the thing after ds had been sick on it. Then the next day, when we were waiting for the cover to dry, he was sick on the mattress, which also had to be scrubbed. The washable ones are a bit more, but woth every penny of the extra.

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Have a look in La Redoute, they have a huge range of mattress covers (must be a big thing in France) and most of them seem to be washable at 95 degrees.

Have a look here:

http://www.redoute.co.uk/redouteuk/sBoutique/1,1170,,00.html

£27: <Waterproof, these mattress covers and protectors create an impenetrable barrier against dust mites and their allergens found in bedding, reducing the risks of allergies. The polyurethane coating guarantees maximum comfort : micro-breathable and totaly waterproof (protection against bacteria and unpleasant odours) Quick drying (10 minutes), Stretch polyester jersey with MICROSTOP treatment (anti-dust) mite, anti-bacterial and anti-mould). Machine washable at 60°>

They also do one with a zip which completely encloses the mattress, otherwise the same I think, £39.

Smallest size is bunk though - no cots.

There is also 15% off the full price if you order via the website and quote the order code:3093 for La Redoute.

Thanks for the recommendation - LA Redoute has a wide choice. Dh keeps bleating on about mattress covers being sweaty tro sleep on, has anyone tried any of the La Redoute covers and, if so, are they sweaty??

I wondered about that, bunny - polyurethane and polyester jersey does sound a bit squelchy - but it says "micro-breathable"???

Haven't tried these, but we have used both plain plastic, and coated nylon, waterproof sheets on our mattresses and I have always put a cotton blanket on top, under the bedsheet - of course that makes extra laundry when there's an accident but it does seem more comfortable - but when the cotton layer has been left off for some reason the kids don't notice. I think being younger, smaller and less sweaty in general than adults makes a difference!

I am currently trying the Elena collection on my daughter, who has severe eczema top to toe and we have previously tried everything. This is the first week of the routine and I have found that all her skin seems to be peeling off everyday...has anyone else had this type of reaction?

Ds has just had really bad nappy rash and I do find that his skin peels there as it heals with the cream.

When I started using Elena's collection on my ds his eczema got really red and inflamed and I almost stopped using it. I was just using it on one arm so that I could compare it's results to the cream I had on prescription (double base). I decided to persevere for a bit longer and after about 10 days the result was fantastic. His skin was a lot less red and much smoother than it had ever been before.

My dh was very sceptical, but when I asked people who didn't know which cream I was using on which arm to feel them and compare the two everyone said the arm with Elena's cream on was much softer. At that point we were still using moderate steroids all over, but after a couple of months we managed to cut them out completely after 11months of continuous use.



Elena's creams have been fantastic for us but I think it has worked in conjunction with ds's spa treatment and dietary changes. Don't know if it would have been so successful without these measures as well.

Like I have said before everyone's eczema is so individual and it may not be the right thing for your daughter but I would think that it is worth persevering for a bit longer. Perhaps you could cut down to using just on a part of her body so that you can compare the results with your normal cream?

HTH

I too have just started using elenas collection and have found my ds skin has peeled in some places. I have just ordered some more as it seems to be working, alot less itching, no head itching. I have slight patches on my face and have used the eureka cream today and the redness has gone so I am very pleased.

I am going to keep going as, although it has seemed to get worse before it getting better, I can now start seeing an improvement.

a very good place to find clothing, bedding etc is www.purecottoncomfort.co.uk ( or .com, can't remember which !). They are specially designed by eczema sufferers.

Thanks for your comments and I am definately going to keep going with this. We are also doing the dairy and egg free diet as well. We have an appt in 2 weeks time to see the consultant (a monthly thing!) and he now wants to perscribe cyclosprin(?)! something I really don't want to do. But I do think that Elenas creams have definately helped on the scalp as she had such a dry scalp and nothing was clearing it, but after using it 3 x so far it seems to have improved. We are also not waking up as much just 2 x in the night compared to 3-4 times she used to do. I was just concerned about the about of flaking on the skin as I have to hoover the bed every morning. When you have experienced this is the flaking coming of in large amounts?

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Donnie, we use cotton comfort sleepwear for ds and it is brilliant. He cannot pull up the legs to scratch and has a better night sleep.

SJL, our son is also in a poor way right now. I'm a bit weepy about it all today. When buying a new mattress last week, our salesman told us he was covered in eczema from head to toe last year and the only thing that worked was cyclospurin or whatever it is called. Hope it works for your daughter. Please let me know what happens. Good luck

AngieL - what has happened to your dd? Picked up this thread today as my 17 month old has just developed the 'sandpaper skin' that batey talked about along with patches behind her knees and in the crooks of her elbows. Was really touched by your story and how everyone has helped. I really hope she is better or that you have found some kind of working solution. Thinking of you.

Hello Cha

Well I'm still battling with it really. The infection seems to have cleared up now but she still has a lot of eczema on her face and body that is bleeding and looking very sore.

Because of my dd's immune deficiency, our GP has referred us back to the hospital, to see if they can offer any help. At the moment I am still using the Aveeno cream and some steroid cream called Vio Form.

It is such a shame that it is her face that is the most affected, someone asked me what was wrong with her the other day and several people just keep staring. I can feel the mums at the school taking a quick look when they get the chance.

I am also considering changing our bedding to some hypoallergenic stuff and found this site the other day.

http://www.westons.com/cgi/ss000247.pl

I feel like I'm floundering a bit really but other people have noticed an improvement so maybe I just can't see it.

Thanks for thinking of dd, I'm most grateful.

Hi all, ds does not have eczema but I do and swear by using South Africa Rooibos Tea (I think its sold in UK under RedBush Tea). Do yourselves a favour and check out www.Annique.com . It's all about the allergies (of which ezcema is one) and how to treat it. She has won several international awards because of her discovery. Hope you find this useful, good luck.

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Have just read CER's entry of a few days ago and am really encouraged to persevere with Elena's collection on ds - he got really upset after applying it yesterday and today which almost had me in tears too. Hopefully his eczema too will improve soon too.

We have been using Elanas Collection for just over a week now and I am really pleased with the results. It was a hard first few days but we have had a couple of itch free days and nights are getting better and better. All his normal itchy patches he hasnt touched and we have had no open patches for at least a week. I am happily telling others about it. Cant see us changing to anything else

Hi robinw, sorry about the link here it is and the whole story behind the tea and it's links with allergies and ezcema. Hope you find it useful. http://www.rooibos.com/

Hi robinw, sorry about the link here it is and the whole story behind the tea and it's links with allergies and ezcema. Hope you find it useful. http://www.rooibos.com/

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Debenhams do a range of anti-dustmite bedding, including duvets, pillows and mattress covers. The mattress covers are quilted and absolutely tot sticky sweaty ones like some we have tried.

As you know, I'm still struggling with my dds eczema at the moment. She has got several patches on the backs of her hands but I have noticed today that the palms of her hands seem funny. They don't seem to be dry but they do look shrivelled, like she has been in the bath too long. Do you think that this is the start of her hands becoming affected, or could it be something else? TIA

Glad you are persevering Luna. I often find that new ointments sting or burn my eczema a bit , especially if there's broken skin so maybe that's what upset your son. Resorted to using some eureka cream on my wrist on the middle of the night last night (don't usually use elenas stuff on myself as it is too expensive!) It burnt initially but the result has been amazing, no itching for almost 24hours and the skin is healing really quickly.

How is your dd Angiel? Have you had any luck finding out what is affecting the palms of her hands? Are you putting the emollients on all over, not just on the patches with eczema? Questions, questions - sorry!

Just read Joe1's message, I too have been using Elenas creams for nearly 2 weeks now and initially it helped, but we had lots and lots of flaking skin but that I am pleased to say has calmed down, but her legs, arms and hands are very very itchy and very red, I am using the Eureka cream on them at the moment to see, but sometimes it is so disheartening, but would be interested to know anybody elses reactions to her creams, as sometimes I think my DS eczema is too severe for this.... Also has anybody been able to get this on perscription?

SJL I have today been to the doctor and have got everything on prescription, so carrying on. We have seen a great improvement. Ds has a slight flare up at the moment but I think this is down to helping his dad do some decorating. I have about half an hour ago put on the Eureka cream and some more day cream and itching has stopped. Have you phoned Elena and asked them for advice?

joe1, yes I have called previously, but will call again shortly just to check that it is helping!
I went to the GP today and asked about getting this put on perscription but she said that they wouldn't be able to do it. But I didn't have my daughter with me and so I just spoke to her about it and I really would like to see some improvement before I push for it. How did you get it perscribed by your GP?

I just told him I was fed up of trying everything else, going back and forth to the hospital trying the same old thing over and over again and fed up of using steriod cream. He was really interested and is going to look at the website tonight. He was a locom, and an older doctor and was lovely, he just asked what I needed. No trouble at the chemist, will be able to pick it all up tomorrow. Why did your GP say she wouldnt do it?

joe1, she just said that we wouldn't perscribe it here. But I did not have my daughter with me at the time and so didn't really push it. But we are going to see the consultant next week and I really just want to see an improvement then I am definately going to push for it..as the NHS has already spent hundreds of pounds on treatment for my DS so far! But it is encouraging that you have got it on perscription, how long was it before you saw a big improvement on the eczema whilst using Elenas collection? As for us it has only been 2 weeks..so just need to play the waiting game I think

Lisalisa - sorry not to have replied sooner but I only just saw your message. The SK cream is used for flare ups. It comes in a small jar and only a small amount is applied to the affected area.

My knowledge of excema could be written on a postage stamp and still leave room for the Lord's prayer. However I caught the tail end of a feature on This Morning (today) where the good doc said a brand new and very effective non steroidal cream had just come out THIS WEEK and was available by presciption only. He was very positive about its efficacy.I did not catch its name .

SJL I suppose it has been about 2 weeks to see it really working, although we have had alot less itching for a good week or so. He still has a couple of patches that are abit stubborn, mainly around his ears and he is still itching his head sometimes, although I do think that some is still habit and will eventually all just disappear.

Been to the chemist today and all my creams etc should be there tomorrow.

I was really interested to see that so many of you are getting on well with Elena's Collection. I sent off for the free sample a couple of days ago but I'm doubtful there will be enough there, for me to get a good idea of whether it will work or not.

It is expensive isn't it? Whilst I don't mind spending the money if it will work, I can't really afford to make a costly mistake.

My dd is actually looking much better at the moment. I have been resisting the urge to put on the steroid cream and have been slapping on the Aveeno.

Does being outside etc have any affect on eczema? Dd has been playing outside most of this week and her skin is improving each day.

AngieL, I firmly beleive being outside is hugely beneficial. It is generally cooler and the air is fresher. Also the outside air is free of common triggers such as housedustmite. We have always spent alot of time outside - even in the rain and in the middle of the night we have carried ds round the garden to cool him down, it always helps.

I think the cream the dr on This Morning mentioned was called ELIDEL (prescription only). If anyone tries this can they report back please.

AngieL - I have been using Elena's collection on my son iso the hydrocortisone and do think he is improving. He had quite a sore nappy area (the first time since birth) and it cleared up in a couple of days after massaging the area with the bath and body oil. Like many others experience the skin did peel off very gently. HTH.

Someone asked how to get hold of cetomacragol and I was told from a chemist (I have not got any yet; the chemist I tried did not have it). I have noticed that it is one of the ingredients in DiproBase ointment, which I us iso soap for washing my hands and sometimes in ds bath.

I saw the bit about Elidel apparently it's non steroid and the first new cream on the market for years and Dr whatsit was raving about it.

Is it similar to tacrolimus?

My son got eczema at about 10 months when he started having small amounts of cows milk (he was breastfed until 12 months). As his cows milk consumption increased his eczema got worse. We used SK cream & Weleda calendua cream which helped but didn't eliminate the eczema. Since swapping the cows milk for goats milk (goats cheese, butter & yoghurt too), the eczema has all but disappeared. I switched him back temporarily to cows milk to see if it really was the cause and sure enough it came back. Apparently goats milk is much easier to digest. It's definitely the best thing we could have done, tackle the cause not the symptoms! I know it doesn't taste as good but my 13 month old doesn't seem to complain!

can someone please educate me on this wet wrapping for the eczema? i am currently using aqueos cream as soap and E45 afterwards it seems to be helping a tiny wee bit although my daughter's skin really is looking rough. she is scratching all the time. someone please help.

poopsy (what a name!), I would lay off the E45, my daughter always reacted badly to it. You need a very benign emollient. I can only recommend the one that I use (non-prescrip, v cheap from the chemist) called Cetomacrogol, I think I've mentioned it on here before. I'm sure there are others, but E45 is fairly well known to cause sensitivity in many exczema suffers. I'd say the same about Oilatum as well, in case you are using that...

Poopsy, I second that. E45 can be very irritating on sore skin. We wet wrapped ds for nearly a year. First a nurse came to our house to show us, there is also a video I think. We used mild steroid (hydrocortisone) with 50/50 (emulsyfying oitment and parafin combined, very runny and greasy) for the dry but not inflamed bits. My heart goes out to you, I found it exhausting. There is a website here http://www.wetwraps.co.uk/. Sorry, cant do a link right now.

Please feel free to ask any further questions. And good luck, I hope it helps.

wet wrapping- ask your HV to show you how to do it- or refer you to someone who can. We were shown in the hospital. You will need to get the tubifast bandages on prescription as they are very expensive (and although they are washed and reused they do tend to disintigrate). We wet wrapped DS1 for quite a few months and it really helped him. Their skin is so lovely and soft in the morning! We carried on wet wrapping just with emollient even after weaning of steroids- as it was very soothing.

DS1 doesn't really have much eczema anymore. Although I still tend to slap a bit of diprobase on him most nights after his bath.

Diprobase cream is brilliant, the only thing taht worked and canesten HC on the very inflamed bits like back of knees and elbows, under chiln where worse from dribbling etc. Cleared up in couple of days and stayed away

heya, i'm new to this board. both my kids have ezcema, dd1 is now 3 years old and dd2 is 9months old. the eldest ezcema is always getting out of control, even tho i spend at least 2 hours a day bathing her and applying creams, not including the night time applications as well. the babies ezcema is more or less under control but at the moment she doesnt scratch and thats when the problems start.

we cant use e45 as dd1 is allergic to lanolin, so right now we are using balneum bath additive, fucidin H (she is getting over an infection), dermol 500 lotion and diprobase. we're getting referred back to hertford to see the consultant as i want to wet wrap her at night to try and combat the night time itching.
i think the baby sleeps better than she does.

we have also used (wait for it)
eurcin
aquous cream
oilatum plus bath addictive
oilatum cream
eumavate
hydrocortisone 1%, .5% and .1%
diprobase ointment
fucibet
steroid tablets
(plus about 10 other treatments that had little or no effect)

Misdee - sorry to hear your story Ds was really bad at 6 months, but grew out of it. He still gets dry patches, which we treat with Unguentum Merck and 0.5% steroid ointment (in the more stubborn areas). It must be really hard for you, but you sound like you have the right attitude towards it. My ds was not as bad as your two, and I was near a nervous breakdown!

The scratching does the most damage doesn't it. I used to have to put ds' arms in splints at night, before he could roll, otherwise he used to have red raw cheeks.

Misdee, we have been through the same. Ds is now 3 and has a little eczema but it is very easy to control now (touch wood). It is so distressing and exhausting to care for a child with severe eczema. Have you been referred to Great Ormond St? We eventually were as wet-wrapping was doing no good and ds literally spent all day sitting on the floor and scratching. He was skinny, bald and unhappy, it was so heartbreaking. When we saw Dr Atherton at GOS he prescribed prednisolone oral steroids. They do have side effects so you have to weigh this up with the side effects of bad eczema. We gave ds the prednisolone and within 3 days his skin was improving. It took a year to wean him off the drug (if you do it too quickly the eczema can come back) but he has been off it now for 6 months and his eczema has not resurfaced apart from a few little patches that come and go. We are so glad we saw Dr Atherton, our local hospital seemed disinterested and useless in dealing with severe eczema.

Misdee, as I said, wet-wrapping ceased to help. It did provide some initial relief and made ds skin less itchy. I do know that it can really help some sufferers and the wrapping is enough to keep things under control. I hope it works for you, good luck.

we have used the steroid tablets for short courses before. (the little pink ones that dissolve), the longest she was on them was for a month, starting at 2 tablets weaning down to half, and it worked a treat. we had a good summer last year with only one infection and almost normal skin. this year i know its going to be bad as nothing is working at the moment, and hasnt been for months really.
i know wet wrapping might not work, but i'm willing to give anything a shot to try and get us all a good nights sleep.

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My son has suffered with moderate excema since he was about 3 months old, sometimes he's fine, sometimes his body is covered. We've tried various moisturers - E45, Unguentum Merck, Cetraben but have found the good old plain aqueous cream to be the best. We've also used different steroids - Fuciben, Hydrocortisone and another I can't remember the name of! We've tried bath oils which made it worse and coal tar soap which didn't help that much either. I am at my wits end with my GP who just keeps prescribing creams that help for a day or two and then it returns with a vengance, plus they don't seem to hand out much advice either. In fact, last time I went, he looked at my son for about 10 seconds before he prescribed something.

So-! As a last resort we have started taking ds to a Chinese Herbalist who says he should be able to 'cure' our son. We were incredibly skeptical to start with, my a friend of my sister's had a son who had chronic excema from head to foot. Basically she took him to be treated with Chinese medicine and within 3 months he was cured (and months later, still is), so I decided it was worth a try. We are still in the very early stages, my son has just been having tiny amounts to check for reactions, but today his dosage has been upped slightly so I'll let you know if it works for us! The downside is that is involves him having to drink a small amount of foul tasting liquid although it can be masked in squash/juice.

Finally, a word of warning - when using tubs of aqeous cream, I've been advised to use a clean spoon to get the amount of cream out for each application. If you dip your fingers in and apply it to the excema, and then dip your fingers straight back into the cream, the bacteria from the excema will multiply in the tub very easily (as it is water based) which renders it useless.

Susanb, we tried Chinese medicine, unfortunately it didnt work for ds but it worked brilliantly with a friends toddler. Good luck wiht it. One word of warning, Chinese medicine prescribed by unqualified or unscrupulous (sp?) can contain steroids and can damage the liver. We went to a practitioner who handles referrals from Great Ormond St so we were quite satisfied with her credentials but there are some charlatans out there.

Thank you all for your responses. We have tried various creams and my husband believes all the creams and ointments only work for a while before the body gets used to them and stops working. Also has anyone ever tried the camphor cream from Adcock Ingram, this worked for a while too. Our concern is to reduce the itching, it is causing a lot of damage to her skin.

To relieve the itching- wet wrap- it is incredibly soothing. You can just wet wrap with emollients (ie no steroids). They sleep all night without scratching. When ds1 was bad I used to wet wrap during the day sometimes as well.

bunny2 thanks for the advice.

The practitioner we've gone too was recommended and also is registered (I've checked!). I did spend a long time looking up the pros and cons before trying it but have to say that in one visit, the practitioner spent more time asking about my son's condition and checking him over than all of the time spent by my doctor over the last 3 years (and we are also paying a minimal amount for his treatment as the costs are subsidised).

I to a point remain skeptical but was at my wits end with my GP. Also, he has started my son on a very low dose of medicine to check for side effects and is very gradually increasing it.
Sorry to hear it didn't work for your son.

My dd (7 mo.) has mild excema. When I visited our paediatrician in the usa last month she said that if it got bad she recommended a new cream that she says has been working miracles for bad cases of excema in her patients. It's called Elidel and the active ingredient is 1% pimecrolimus. I don't know if it's available in the uk (perhaps with a different name), but it's worth trying to track it down. She was super enthusiastic about it and doesn't normally prescribe drugs willy nilly.

Somebody below recommended Kamillosan - I tried this recently for a small patch of eczema which had appeared on my ds' chin, and found it excellent. And he really liked the feel and smell of it too - he rubbed it in himself instead of the usual struggle we have applying cream.

For washing powder - Surcare was the best we found (available at Sainsburys).

Flaxseed oil in the diet is great for skin problems - buy it from your health food shop, keep it in the fridge, and mix into food when cooked (you can't use it for cooking with as this destroys the nutritional value).

Kamilosan used to contain peanut oil, I am notsure if it still does but worth checking out.

Pimecromilus is available here as is tacromilus, both quite similar I think. Unfortunately tacromilus is very hard to get as it is so expensive (£80 a tube). We have had it from GOSH on private prescription but have been told our local health authority (Dorset) have it blacklisted, I suspect due to the cost. Therefore we cannot get a prescription for it even thoug it has been prescribed in the past. I think pimecromilus may be the same case.

Email Elena- elena@elenascollection.co.uk for free samples they are giving them away free at the moment!

Is this thread of any help, too?:

Other subjects: Did you know it's best to bathe babies in water alone?

i don`t know if this is been suggested but try putting sea salt in the bath water,it`s worked wonders with my dd,also her ezcema always disappears when she`s been in the sea so worth a try

Sea salt is very cleansing so it can help mildly infected eczema. The salt also helps speed the healing process. we too have used it on ds with some success. However, if the skin is very broken and sore, salt water can sting badly so I would experiment with caution.

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My son who is 2 has not suffered from ecxema for very long but has been prescribed a hydrocortisone cream for a flare up on his bottom - when I read the motes it says not to cover with a nappy so presume that it should not be used on his bottom. We use diprobase as well but have not seen much improvement - any ideas for treating the bottom - it seems to be the arae that bothers him and he scratches a lot and ocassionally cuts his skin - we change him more regularly to avoid irritaion but would love to rid him from it!

Hi Hughsie

We had similar problems with our son - he gets really itchy at night under his nappy but he's dry during the day so thats not a problem. We've tried a load of creams, bath preparations, etc and we're now onto herbal medicine but its too early to say whether its working.

The best advice I can give is to let the air get to your son as often as possible, this will really help the healing process.

hughsie you can try this
1 tbspoon of milk
1 tbspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of olive oil
mix it together and rub it on affected area then let him wear cotton pants for a while until the mixture is absorb into the skin

Thank you - I'll give it a try!

Sorry if this has already been asked but the thread is so long I cant see it

Are there any foods/drinks that are prime culprits for ecxema? DH is now saying to cut out grapes (ds1 favourite) and juice and to avoid any clothes that are not 100% cotton - is this too extreme?

Hughsie, some say foods are the biggest culprit in causing eczema. One paediatrician put ds on a very restricted diet. After three months we saw another paed (same hospital) who said changing the diet wouldnt make any difference to his eczema at all! Go figure!! Eggs, dairy and wheat are all thought to be common culprits but the only way to find out is to try excluding certain foods under medical supervision. Some foods (often fruits) can cause immediate reaction on contact. Tomatoes can irritate the skin, as can citrus. With our son melon really makes his skin itchy and sore. Pity because he loves to eat it with his fingers. If the reaction on your sons skin is immediate and localised to where the grapes have touched the skin then I'd say it is probably a reaction to the acid in the fruit.
HTH and makes sense! It's a bit rambly cos I'm tired.

Hughsie, do you use normal laundry products? It might be worth trying sensitive skin products if you do. (I'm assuming he gets eczema in other places than under his nappy?)

You can get Surcare laundry liquid and fabric rinse from Tesco. Doesn't wash as well as the bio's but is much better for sensitive skin.

It is a good idea to use cotton where you can - it seems to be kinder.

Trying to isolate a food cause is almost impossible on your own - there are so many potential allergens. I didn't think grapes were a problem food - dairy, peanuts (and p butter), strawberries, citrus and spices are common ones. But if it is food it could be anything.

You could try Nelson's Calendula (homeopathic, from Boots) on his bottom, or Sudocrem, or aqueous cream which a lot of people use on eczema (but it can cause a reaction itself.) And let him have time without a nappy when you can.

susanb - I just read this in your message below:

<Finally, a word of warning - when using tubs of aqeous cream, I've been advised to use a clean spoon to get the amount of cream out for each application. If you dip your fingers in and apply it to the excema, and then dip your fingers straight back into the cream, the bacteria from the excema will multiply in the tub very easily (as it is water based) which renders it useless>

We have never been given this advice but it makes perfect sense - I'll chuck out the cream we already have, get some fresh and try to keep it clean!

I'm not sure grapes have come into contact with his skin - I thought it may be to do with eating them or dh did anyway. I'm reluctant to exclude as he loves them and has done for ages even prior to ecxema. realise it will be hard to isolate causes alone.

Use non bio and comfort pure in washing.

Will try sudocrem on his bottom tomorrow

He had a nasty bout of shingles which resulted in hospitalisation in March and the excema seems to have been worse since then - he is on Zovirax medicine at the moment as we were worried about a reoccurence due to a spot bay his eye - this has since faded but the excema flare up could be due to him been run down because of this I suppose.

I really appreciate the advice - thank you

Hughsie, do try Surcare - non-bio and Comfort Pure still have perfume in as well as other possibly dodgy stuff!

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There was an article in the Times last week - (I think it was last week anyway) it mentioned that pro-biotic stuff, like yakult and such like has really good results on childhood excema (Sorry spelt wrongly!!)- you can but yogurts that are probiotic I think - and I think you have to get the kids to eat them - my partner thought it meant you had to rub it on the poor kids when I pointed it out to him - mind you this is the man that didn't know that you used both breasts when you were breast feeding and thought game (as in pheasant etc.) was the name of an actual animal - he is not a complete wally though - he somehow got a degree and plays around with everyone else's money all day - just glad he did not become a doctor or a vet!!!

Sorry, not read all messages but see someone mentions Sudacrem - has any one used this on the face? It says on the pack it is for infections ezcema etc but not sure. My daughter (8month) has had a red rash on her face on and off for a few months and nothing seems to help, had 7 different creams from HV.

Hi all,
i have started wetwrapping now. it seems to be helping a bit although my girl still manages to scratch through. i am also using diprobase, i noticed that she has since shed off a lot of old skin and her bed is not so messy in the mornings. her skin is getting softer now although still gets dry too fast. i have been using piriton for a while now frankly i don't think its effective anymore. is there anything else that can help with the itching? i also intend to try the salt in the bath water as has been suggested and will do so cautiously.

Poopsy, get a prescription for Vallergen or Vallergen Forte (sp?). This is a different but IMO more effective sedative than Piriton. Phenergan (sp???) is available over the counter and is also very sedating so helps with those itchy night times. Good luck withthe wraps.

Bunny2
thanks for the advice i need it so.i will keep you posted.

hiya

dd1 ezcema is still out of control. we are on out 3rd tube of fuciden h (which i'm not happy about), 3rd tub of aqueous cream, 2nd bottle of oilatum, 2nd bottle of dermol 500, and have also aquired a pot of emulsifying ointment at our doctors appointment yesterday, all this in the last 3/4 weeks.
add to that the fact dd1 also had an allergic reaction to an insect bite yesterday near her eye and she looks like she has 10 rounds with frank bruno, and is dosed up on piriton to bring the swelling down, u could say i'm getting stressed. i just want her referred back to the consultant quickly. i think i should just make weekly appointments at the surgery for now, seems a lot easier than getting her seen at emergency appointments every week.

argh!!!
sarah.

Hi everyone

Sorry to hear that so many of your little ones are still plagued by eczema. When I first started this thread by dd looked awful, she had eczema all over her face that was infected and she looked like she had been in some kind of accident.

I'm glad to say that it has now near enough all disappeared. I'm not sure what really made the difference but I stopped using the hydrocortisone and just used aveeno as an emollient. Our consultant at the hospital recommended that we saw a dietician as he suspected that allergies probably played a part. He told us to avoid dairy, egg and dark fish. When we saw the dietician she suggested we try a milk and lactose free diet and it seems to have worked for us.

I was also giving my daughter probiotic yoghurts etc as she was taking lots of antibiotics due to an immune deficiency. Unfortunately you can't get probiotic soya yoghurts, but there is a probiotic juice drink called Proviva. I can't seem to find it anywhere, anyone got any suggestions.

Hope your little ones find some relief soon.

got a letter today, saying they have recieved dd1 referral at hertford hospital to see the specialist and should hear soon. whoop!!

Angiel, have you searched on the internet for PRoviva? You should be able to find a list of stockists.

Hello everyone

am now proud mum to josh aged 8 1/2 weeks. He is good at sleeping through the night - generally from around 7pm to 7am waking once for a feed. He has been doing this since i have put him in his own room with a blackout blind!

the only problem i have is trying to get him to have a nap in the day - some days he doesnt sleep at all. I have tried to taking him for walks which sometimes works or putting the hairdryer on (which he will sleep for about 10 mins to). If i put him in his cot he just crys and i dont think it fair to leave him for more than 5 mins, he gets very irritable.

but everyday it is different - some days he will sleep for 2-3 hours in the day. should i be trying to get him into a routine of certain naptimes??

please help if anyone has had the same problem
sarah

sorry i meant to start a new conversation!!!!

angiel - ya baba wont sleep during the day cos he had enough sleep between 7pm -7am (which is alot) as my baba is now 11 wks and she sleeps for 9 hrs and then have 2 hours nap in the afternoon and then on and off (baba's only needs 16 hrs sleep of that age). Once my baba slept for 12 hrs and it was a bad mistake as she was wide awake all that day and wouldnt go asleep until 4am the following morning - it took me 3 weeks to get back into that rountine and it kills me

sorry not angiel this is for joshsmum

Don't know if this will help but recently I visited Arran Aromatics. They make lovely smellies and toiletries. They have also just started a line in Baby stuff. Anyway whilst in their factory shop they had various letters on display from thankful, happy customers and one was from a lady saying how their baby barrier cream cleared up her child's exzema within a day. It may work for some but not others but thought it was worth mentioning. Their web site is here

Hi,

I'm the proud mum to a 4 month old girl, I have just recently started to wean from solely breast feeding to bottle (in preparation for going back to work .

She is still waking during the night to feed (sometimes only 2/3 hours after her last feed). I feel this is just to comfort suck more than to feed, any suggestion for getting into a routine and ending my disturbed nights sleep

Hello,

My 5 month old son has eczema, mainly on his face(which is quite bad) but a little over his body. I have tried aqueous cream, diprobase and oilatum but none of it seems to work.

I have used a little Hydrocortisone which was prescribed to me when i was pregnant and it works but am worried to use it because he is so young and because it can cause the skin to thin and can affect the pigmentation. Has any one else used it on the face and on a young baby?

Please has anyone any suggestions on what to do or use and what are the common triggers. I am so stressed about it and it is getting me down. My doctor and HV have not been that helpful.

Am breast feeding, could it be something am eating or using?

Thanks

hello, my son has had it for 6yrs i have found balneum bath oil and epaderm are fantasic both from your gp. also as summer coming (wishful thinking) you can ask your gp for suncream my gp prescribes Roc total block and have had no problems. my son was allergic to diprobase and aquaeous cream useless. hydrocortosone is fine to use sparingly when skin is red and hot to touch. good luck x

Hi, i am 29, not quite 30 yet, i have had ECZEMA, for 29 years now, i have been hospitalised twice, i have tried reflexology, hypnotherapy, diet experts, allergy experts, chinese herbal remidies, immune suprressants (an extreme treatment), all the steroids, emolients and bath oils i have gotton my hands on, and over the years my skin has gone from fantastic to really bad and then fantastic again, i never really know why it gets better or worse, i know that nothing i ever use works for a long period of time, so i flit between creams and avoid different foods if ive been eating too much of any one thing, this seems to keep things under control, the biggest thing that sets mine off is stress, and who doesn't get stressed!!

Having had years of experience, when my son was born, and also had eczema i thought i had all the answers, no, i was wrong, after months of using all the same treatments and technics, and nothing working we tried other alternatives, only to find he has some allergies, DUSTMITES, cats, nuts etc... The dustmite bed covers, removal of all carpets in the house and anti-dustmite powder has made a significant improvement, so all i can say is you need to be open minded, if a cream works (what ever is in it) go with it!!

My sons skin now is manageable, and thankfully is 80% better than mine was at his age (4), and because we keep it under control he knows little about it and for the time-being is carefree.

On the positive side of things my second son (13m) has the most beautiful skin, of which i am very jealous.

The main ingredient in our skin management program, (doesn't that sound posh) is Doublebase Emolient, Love, Care and Attention.

Good luck to all those trying everything, Eczema is a very clever condition, but we can do it!!!

To WARI, Hydrocortisone is a steroid, but like most things they need to be used for a period of time before they work, you need to be consistent, but use just a little each time, once under control just use the emolients instead.

When feeding my son, i found that his face was triggered by the friction of feeding, so i would put vaseline on his cheek before i fed him.

You could stop using perfumes or perfumed creams deodrants etc, for a while this may not be helping!!!!

hi, am new user to this.
could you please tell me what cream i should use on my 3 month old boys face for excema? also my husband has severe excema from head to toe. it has turned his skin black, could you tell me if his skin will ever return to its normal colour.

i have been using sudocream for more years than i can remember,its a great alternative to hydrocortisone and can be used on the face,it also works on acne for anybody with teenagers

sudocrem?
hmmm in that case its prpbably not true eczema they have got.
Sudocrem is not a "alternative" to hydrocortisone.
The treatment of eczeam is a multi approach one.
keep your boys skin care soap free. you can get oliatum or hydromol (emmollients) for the bath. Get these on prescription as they are extortionate over the counter.
Use an emmolient as often as you can, I use epaderm I have heard other mnetters swear by aveno (sp??) these contains no steroids but give continuous moisturisation.
If needs bee ask your gp to prescribe a mild steriod. you can buy 0.5% hydorcortisone from the chemsit (H45) but as your wee one is so young I should think it best a dr cast an eye on his skin if you feel it warrents that.
eczeam will be irritated by aqueous cream and I actually found that sudocrem made the chaps skin worse. puls you dont want him to be smearing that in his eyes.

HTH

it is true eczaema ds is 17 years old and has had since baby.i was actually put on to sudocream by health visitor when i questioned the constant use of steroid creams.it is used to reduce the inflamation in the skin and we have found using it has cut our use of betnovate in half.but you also need a good emollient when the inflamation has gone,we use diprobase but it doesnt suit everyone and glycerine soap to wash with.

hi, haven't read whole thread but i had dreadful excema for the first time when pg with dd1 but only on my feet. in the end used aveeno which is oat based. also had baths with oats tied in a muslin cloth. it helped the itching. Hydracortisone also was good.

dd2 has a bit of excema or dry skin. its not in the creases but her skin is rough all over at 16months. i was prescribed oilatum and aqueous cream but i noticed someone said that doesnt work, why is that? her mild excema cleared up but i think as much because we stopped using soap as anything else. it's coming back now, poss hotter weather and sweat???

aqueos cream worksforsome people you just have to find an emollient that is right for your child. if rash comes back in hot weather check it is not heat rash, made ds worse by plastering om cream
and stopping the skin brathing

thanks yeah i will. it was doc who said it was excema but i thoght that was only in the creases. however it seems dryer than heat rash usually is.

my ds has at various times had excema all over his body. i have finally found awashing powder that does not irritate his skin and only use the pure fabric conditioner, which seems to help.i just find that you have to act at the first signs and dont let things get too bad.

aqueous cream in recent studies has been proven to irritate rather than treat eczema

havent seen that report but we dont use it as i find diprobase better. does it contain lanolin? my ds cant use e45 cream or anything with lanolin in as it irritates his skin

havent seen that report but we dont use it as i find diprobase better. does it contain lanolin? my ds cant use e45 cream or anything with lanolin in as it irritates his skin

Apologies I havent been able to read all the messages her but my dd is also 15 months and started to get little patches of excema about 6/7 months ago, I changed her bath products to Halos and Horns which contains no SLS's which is known to irritate skin (its the stuff that makes bubble bath and body wash foam up!) and started using aqeous cream, all this didnt really help. A friend of mine is allergic to cows milk cause it gives her excema so i tried dd on Goats milk (luckily she didnt notice the change at all!), i stopped yoghurts and used vegetable spread rather than butter etc, 3 weeks into this new system and her skin as soft as when she was newborn. I hope this helps you.

This might be stating the obvious, but try to limit bath times to every second day - read an article about a woman whose little girl had very bad eczema and so she only had a bath once a week - clearly there was some washcloth washing, but no bathing. Her little girls's skin cleared up in a matter of weeks - my DS used to get these really bad rough patches, and after reading the article I cut baths down to every second day - I use oilatum in the bath and as a cream - have had no problems at all since the new bath regime -

I haven't read all of this thread, mainly because it is so long and eczema no longer affects me (touch wood) - I apologise for being a bit long winded. I had eczema from the age of around 12 until I was about 35. I was covered in it from head to foot and was a real scabby louse. I have some awful pictures of my graduation from uni which I am so embarrassed about.

Anyway, when I was about 30 I joined the eczema Society who are truly brilliant. You get all sorts of advice about how to combat eczema and deal with itchy children, you also get a magazine every couple of months to tell you about the latest research. They recommended using Evening Primrose Oil because there was some research that eczema could have something to do with the metabolism of fats in the body (this is some years ago now). After my second baby I was prescribed evening primrose oil and I took large doses for around 3 months reducing gradually to just one a day. My eczema totally disappeared - and I had serious eczema that was all over me. It was like liberation - the first time ever that I didn't have to soak my bra off at the end of the day (it used to stick to me).

I just thought I would share this with you. I still don't have any eczema - just a tiny patch on one finger. I would really, really recommend the eczema society for anyone battling with this terrible complaint. (I haven't found a cure for the asthma though!!)

Also, there used to be a Danish/Swedish woman called Elena or something who produced creams for babies with eczema. I had some of this and it really was very good - recommend it - didn't get rid of my eczema, but I believe some young children responded very well to it.

My nearly 3 year old daughter gets bad excema triggered by the sun. Someone told me that one of the expensive suncreams - either clarins or clinique is really effective. Has anyone tried either??