PJ we had the same problem anf=d eventually got referred to a pediatrician. Pls be Very careful with the steriod creams. They thin the skin and cause something called striation if used to excess. My hiusband suffered very badly from exzma in his youth, and his skin now takes a very long time to heal and looks scaly in patches (he's lovely really). The tips from the pd were as follows:-
Baths - try for at least 2 baths a day, and make sure they are in the water for at least 10 minutes. This loosens the patches of exczma & allows the creams etc to penetrate beneath them. Also, try a moisturiser in the bath, but NO soap. We use emulsiderm, which seems to do the trick but you may need to try a few before you get the right one.
Moisturise - this seems to be the key here. We had to completley cover our daughter 3 times a day (yuk), and we still do it morning & night. Use an ointment instead of a cream if the exczma is bad, it is much better. We use diprobase - gooky but good. Again, you may need to try put a few. Try to avoid the ones with lanolin, this can cause allergies.
Hydrocortisone creams (1% I think) are ok for long term use, and don't cause thinning of the skin. Most usefule when the exczma is under control as you can use it as soon as you spot a flare up.
Steriod creams should not be used for longer than 7 days at a time, and there should be 14 days in between each usage. We now use Fucidin H, but have only had to use it twice this year, and each time is cleared up the problem in about 3 days (in conjunction with all the above).
Allergies - our daughter was tested for common allergies, and was found to be very allergic to house dust, and mildly allergic to dairy products. The dairy is easier to get rid of than the dust! Try to avoid hairy cuddly toys. Anything that cannot go in the washing-machine should go overnight into the frezzer (in a plastic bag) every 2 weeks).
Soap - avoid all soap and soap products wherever possible. Don't use fabric conditioner. We use diprobase cream instead of soap in the bath when she is esp. dirty. We do use dove soap for handwashing, and she seems to be able to tolerate that.
We were also prescribed Vallergan for night time. This is a combined anti-histamine & sedative ad is just wonderful. Stopped all the scratching at night & we had our first nights sleep for years. We did have to stop ourselves using it when the exczma had died down though, as the promise of unbroken nights were v. seductive (see 'doping your children').
You should be able to find out a lot of this information from the exczma society or via the 'net. We found that our daughters exczma was controllable, but it did take hard work and at least 6 - 8 months efore we really understood what we were doing, when to use which creams etc. She now has flare ups which generally don't last longer than a week, and when they start we get very strict about the regime again.
Other things - swimming - a lot of kids are allergic to the chlorine, although apparently some kids get better with it, just one to watch.
sorry this is a long one but its quite an involved subject.
Oh, cotton clothes are a must. Kids stuff are good also.