Impetigo a go-go. Tips to prevent this recurring?

[ecomum]

My 5 month old DS developed eczema at 2 months. It recently became infected, with impetigo blisters across his whole body. It cleared up intially with antibiotics but now its back with a vengeance. Am hoping a longer course of antibiotics will clear it up - but does anyone have any other tips for preventing recurring outbreaks?

He is purely breastfed, and I've cut out dairy and wheat from my diet for over a month now but this has made little difference. I'm also trying to increase my intake of essential fatty acids and probiotics. I bathe him every day in oilatum, put HC on the sore bits and smother him in diprobase.

Any help much appreciated

[Smashingpumpkin]

Sorry can't help but much sympathy for you will happily bump xx

[marz]

Have you contacted the National Eczema Society? They can send you leaflets that go into a bit fo detail about this sort of thing....don't have the no to hand but they are online too I think.

Tips...
diprobase cream or ointment? Ointment should not be used on infected skin. If skin is very dry then cream is not as useful as ointment. There are other bath oils that can be tried, there is also cream with anti fungals etc that you can get. Also, whatever cream you use, if it comes in a tub you should use a spatula/spoon to get it out, or you risk re-infecting skin.
I did find a longer course worked, I think (not definite) that I had a 2 week course, it did give me a break stress wise to not be dealing with it and it gave the skin a chance to really heal up too. I then took probiotics and gave dd a course too for a month afterwards.
I did try elimination of foods, although it did nto work for me. Have you tried citrus fruits, tomatoes, washing powder (use non-bio) all cotton clothing?
Sorry if all that was too obvious....just hoping that some of it may be of use. If you want more advice....feel free to contact me.
Good luck...I feel for you. I have been there!

Are you actually taking a course of probiotics? Babies can take it too....

[ecomum]

Thanks for your messages smashing pumpkin and marz.

Marz - How do you get put on a course of probiotics? Is this something a GP can do or do you have to get this privately?

The diprobase is in a pump dispenser - so no risk of re-infection there. Have also cut out tomatoes citrus fruits, nuts and use non bio and cotton clothing.

The antibiotics are now helping, but have also heard from a friend that you can get an antibacterial cream to put inside their nose (as this is where the culprit bacteria live) - so will ask GP for this if it flares up again.

[marz]

The probiotics...I don't think you can get on NHS, I went to health food shop.(Holland and Barret are not particularly helpful, try and get to a little individual health food shop if possible! I can't remember the one I took but they are refridgerated, (I read somewhere that the non-refridgerated ones are not so good...) but the baby one is flavoured, can be mixed with liquid to give to them. It comes in powder and adult one is capsules. I think it was about 30-40 pounds for the 2 courses...a course is 28 days supply, which is what is recommended.
Hope that helps!
There is a really good book by Dr Atherton, someone lent me their copy and it was by far the most comprehensive source. However....it is discontinued, you may be able to get it from the library.He is currently writing another apparently. We actually saw him for both our dd's (private) and he was great...if that is an option for you. He practises privately from Great ormond st

[ecomum]

Hello again. After 4 bouts of impetigo it has finally cleared up. The last course of antibiotics may have done the trick, but I also think that my adding 1 drop of tea tree oil to his oilatum bath once or twice a week has really helped to keep the bacteria at bay.

I was prescribed oilatum plus but then discovered that this has TRICLOSAN in. I would advise mum's not to use anything antibacterial that contains this (e.g., hand washes) as it is toxic to aquatic life and bio accumulates (ie does not break down and gets passed on through food chain -see WWF website). It has even been found in breast milk!
Supermarkets - even ASDA - are now phasing this out, so why this is prescribed for children with sensitive skin is beyond me!!

Anyway rant over. For anyone else experiencing the same problem, I would recommend using tea tree instead as it is a natural antiseptic and has antibacterial properties. NB it is v. strong -just one tiny drop will do for the whole bath. It has also cleared up his cradlecap/dermatitis as it is also anti-fungal

[ChicPea]

Another emollient in a pump dispenser is Doublebase. It's oilier than Diprobase and great for washing with.