Which washing powder is best for eczema?

[Teapig]

DD is 9 months and has eczema plus at least three severe food allergies. She wakes each night scratching at her skin, it's terrible to see and so hard to stop her.
I use Persil non-bio washing tablets and have previously used Fairy non-bio washing tablets and no fabric softener. I wonder though if the night time itching is the result of the washing tablets irritating her skin. Is there anything I can use that is better for eczema skin?

[JugglingChaotically]

We use fairy non bio.
Put every wash on extra rinse and have a machine that measures the load (Miele) so we use minimum powder.
Thought we were over reacting till we went on holiday reaction outside area covered by pjs proved otherwise!
Baths in oilatum - lots - every time.
Good luck!

[surromummy]

Any use of detergents/soaps will irritate it, have you got her prescription stuff to bath in and wash with?

These might be worth a shot

[DrinkFeckArseGirls]

Method (pricey), surcare, ecover.

[wheretoyougonow]

We used fairy non bio. Very gentle and still smells lovely.

[DrinkFeckArseGirls]

Oh yrs, we do the extra rinse too. And use napisan.

[purrr]

Hi...teapig... well both my sons have eczema and also myself... poor little thing.

Fairy I have always used also since forever I have used something called Napisan..it kills all bacteria in your clothes.. u can find it in the baby section of any supermarket...

My LO always scratched at night your temperature rises at night and hence why LO scratches (I even do this myself at night).. I tried socks at night to stop the scratching. Also try Aveeno creams. Aveeno also do itch relief bath too you can buy this online... for outbreaks.

[mousmous]

ecover bio powder + extra rinse

tbh, there is not 'one answer' you have to find out what works for you.

some fare better with (perfume free) softener, as it makes the fibres less scratchy. have you tried giving the wash just a rinse+spin at the end?

[WLmum]

Dd2 had terrible eczema - we tried all the prescription stuff, including hospital only stuff. One day I stopped using all washing detergents - just white vinegar and a 60 degree programme. Her skin cleared up completely. I stayed off detergents for a couple of months. I now use persil but do an extra rinse for every wash, baths with balneum plus (has an anti itch) and aveeno cream. Touch wood her skin is 98./. Better - it was def the no detergents that broke the cycle. Good luck, it's heartbreaking isn't it.

[redcaryellowcar]

we use surcare liquid and an extra rinse; i always do sheets at 60deg to kill bacteria etc. we also turn pyjamas inside out as seams can irritate apparently and use only 100% cotton clothing.
a combination of dermol bath emollient and lotion used as soap substitute along side epaderm cream and ointment (applied every 2-3hrs when skin really bad) with tiny amount of eumovate ointment on v red bits once a day got ds' eczema under control!!

[Lollypop1983]

My LO is also 9mo, with bad eczema. I second the use of epiderm & oilatum. I also stopped bathing every night, and do it every other night. Doctor gave us a steroid cream to use for flare ups.

[PigletJohn]

DP cleared up when we got the water softener. It leaves fabrics softer, and you need less soap and detergent, and it rinses soap away better because it dissolves more.

[MPB]

My two had it as babies, I found Tesco non bio the best for them.

Mine don't suffer as much now, but get it if they stay at their Nan's as she uses bio. And just won't grasp that it irritates them!

[Cakeismymaster]

Also where the packaging tells you to use 2 tablets in the wash, just use 1. Two always seems like such a lot of powder unless it is a totally full load

[Teapig]

Thanks so much ladies. It is so horrible seeing her so desperate to scratch.

I guess the hard part is there isn't just one fix and it's a case or trial and error to find what works for the individual.

I do a rinse cycle after each wash and we have bath additives on prescription but still she gets the terrible urge to itch.

I'm going to give the Ecoballs a whirl as maybe dropping detergent will help.

Piglet, what is a water softener? I think we live in a hard water area so maybe that's part of it.

Flipping eczema is just so horrid!

[PigletJohn]

a water softener is a simple machine, costing some £hundreds, that absorbs calcium salts (dissolved limestone) from the water and replaces them with equivalent, very tiny, amounts of sodium bicarbonate (as used in baking powder and indigestion tablets).

At intervals, perhaps once a week depending on usage, the resin which absorbs the calcium becomes "full" and the machines washes it away by pumping a strong salt solution through it. It then rinses away the salt before turning the water flow through the machine back on so it delivers more softened water. The salt will cost you some pounds a month depending on amount of water used and its hardness. The more, the more. It automatically controls itself using a water meter, timer, and mechanically controlled valves.

There will never be any salt in the water it delivers to the taps, unless it is broken and needs repair.

People who have had one (including me) usually say they would not be without it.

If you drink two litres of softened water a day, then in a month you will have consumed about as much sodium as is contained in a teaspoonful of salt. About as much as in a few slices of bread or a generous dollup of ketchup.

[Tractorandtree]

Surcare powder is the only washing powder I've found that doesn't bring me out in a dreadful rash and make me itch all night long. Ecover I find awful and the big brand ones are hopeless. It is trial and error though - try each one for a couple of weeks as it will take the skin a while to settle down.

[Teapig]

Thanks tractor, I'll make a note of that as the trials and errors continue.

Thanks very much for the detailed explanation piglet, it certainly sounds worth the investment. If you don't mind me asking how did you figure out the water was the issue? I'm nervous of investing in one and finding that the water wasn't the issue.

[Teapig]

Thanks charley, I will look into it. We are in the South East so I do wonder whether it could be the water.

Then again she isn't too scratchy after a bath but itches like crazy in the middle of the night.

[Wuxiapian]

My eldest, 15, had quite severe eczema when he was small.

Pure soap "Lux" worked, but the hand-washing was a pain, so moved on to Surcare and that was fine, too.

[PigletJohn]

I can't be sure a softener will work for you.

however your skin will feel smoother, your hair will be soft and shiny, your towels will be softer, you will use only half the soap and detergents you used to. The first time you wash your hands in soft water they will feel slippery because the soap scum on your skin will be dissolving.

Your washing machine will foam up for the first week or so, as all the concealed old soap scum washes away from inside the drum, and from your clothes.

What's not to like?

[PigletJohn]

p.s.

if you have a man in the house who wet-shaves, he will shave closer. If the water-softener stops working, he will be the first to know because it will feel like he is using a blunt razor.

Your windows, mirrors, shower tray, taps, bath and WC pan will become free of scale and scum.