Eczema (9 mo) - referral to dermatologist - what to expect?

[verygreenlawn]

Hi ds3 (nearly 9m) has been referred to see a dermatologist next week - David Atherton at Gt Ormond St? Eczema has just got to the point - cracking, dry patches, bleeding, weeping and now blistering - where the GP has said there's so much going on with his skin he needs to see an expert.

Just wondering what to expect - I was thinking I'd just list all the various medications we've tried, diet (my diet as he is still breastfed?), that kind of thing - I guess much of this will be in the referral letter anyway?

Also GP has suggested ds3 needs oral steroids - I didn't like the sound of this and so will wait till we see dr next week - again, any experience?

Any advice appreciated - thanks.

[nurse29]

Hello
I am a nurse and work in a dermatology outpatient clinic. The Dr you see will want to know if there is any family history as well as any medications your child is on, diet is important, also any products you use on the childs skin including washing powder etc.

I know oral steroids sound scary, but they are wonderful at relieving the symptoms and making someone more comfortable! It tends to be a short controlled style of treatment and your child may well have creams and emoliants prescribed as well!

Be reassured that Gt Ormond Street is a good hospital, my own baby son is under treatment there for something else and they are wonderful and your gp is right to ask an expert as they will hopefully be able to control the eczema much better than the gp! Also many children tend to grow out of eczema, so try not to worry!

Hope that is helpful!

Louisa

[verygreenlawn]

Thanks Louisa, you're right it is a bit scary - but in fairness the GP has done a great job at recognising he needs specialist help, and he was happy to suggest I talk to the consultant about the oral steroids. I get mild eczema so I can only imagine how badly ds3 must itch and be in pain .... thanks so much for the advice.

[Sheilsie]

My 8 month old saw the dermatologists at Yorkhill Childrens Hospital in Glasgow last month. Unlike you, I had to really push for a referral. It was on my 6th visit to the GP, having been on Fucibet cream twice, that they finally gave in and then it took months fo the appointment to come through. Anyway, the hospital was absolutely brilliant. We were there almost three hours and they were very thorough. We ended up with a prescription for 8 different things, including various steroid creams (apparantely what the GP was prescribing wouldn't even touch Anna's eczema),oral antibiotics (they took swabs and later changed the type of antibiotic we're using), a much better emollient that I'd tried before, and some suits to wear at night. They also did skin prick tests which revealed that she is possibly allergic to egg (we already know about the cows milk allergy). At the start of the appointment we had to fill in a form about what treatments we'd previously had etc. Now if I've got problems I get to phone the hospital as we're under their care. It makes me so much happier about Anna's care going forward. I hope that you have as positive an experience. Good luck!

[verygreenlawn]

Thanks so much Sheilsie, it's great isn't it when you feel someone is taking it all seriously?

Saw the specialist this week and we really felt he knew so much about ds3's skin. He said the bad news is, it's very bad, but the good news is that he thinks it will respond to the right treatment (same as with you - he said it was so inflamed all the emollients in the world wouldn't make any difference). So we've come away with a treatment plan and for the first time in ages I feel quite optimistic.

Hope your dd feels better soon.