let down by GP over baby's eczema

[soontobeamum1982]

Argh i'm so fed up and upset. We have a family history of asthma/eczema/allergies on both sides so have been looking for it. Until now DD (6 months) has had eczema very mildly, and controlled by moisturising etc. Now we've started weaning it's kicked off badly - all over her face, swollen eyes, worst under the chin where skin in now peeling. And this has come from nowhere in under 2 weeks. Been to the GP twice and they just say keep going with Cetraben. Meanwhile it's getting worse, she's not sleeping or feeding properly as so irritated, she's refusing all solids (not that she was that interested from the off).
Took her to out of hours last night as her face was terrible and she also had a rash spread all over her. They gave some piriton but otherwise unfussed and said no point in allergy referral. Why not?
I'm going back to my GP tomorrow ready for another fight, but at this point I'm thinking of paying for a private allergy consultation as I really want to get to the bottom of it before it becomes so widespread it takes years to get rid of.
I'm not over reacting - DH has lived with terrible eczema all his life, has been hospitalised with it in the past, has to take the same immune suppressants that organ transplant patients take daily in order to keep it under control (and has to have his blood tests every month to check they're not wrecking his kidneys). Meanwhile I have food allergies and am terrified about weaning - daren't introduce egg or anything.
Why the hell won't they help? I've paid tax all my life (and lots of it) and now we need support I'm looked at like a panickly first time mum.
Gah.
Does anyone who has had a similar experience have advice? Any miracle cures? I'm 99 per cent sure it's CMPA at this point!

[FuckingHateRain]

YANBU
So you haven't tried removing milk?

[DayKay]

My dd gets terrible eczema behind her ears. It can be horrible - seeping at times. I decided to cut out dairy and miraculously, it cleared up.

[theEagleIsLost]

Kept a food diary - it helped with one of mine. They ended up with bad eczema starting next day whenever carrots were given her. By three she was absolutely fine eating them.

It didn’t help with DS who started with eczema before weaning and then later after a nasty cold developed asthma. What help DS was finding a cream that worked - HV and GP were not very helpful with that but we hit upon Aveeno which works most of time.

Though triggers for him are washing powders - have to use on Persil bio, fabrics have to seek out cottons and thing we could do nothing about two weeks early spring. Tree pollen seems to have been the cause but a move across the country has made a huge difference there.

You need to find the triggers which is bloody hard IME.

[NormaNameChange]

I've had exczema all my life, similar to your husband. I cant use Certraben or E45 or Diprobase as all three exacerbate the rash making it more sore, red and itchy. I would consider looking at the moisturiser in the immediate term and then keep a food diary in relation to the possible CMPA to share with your GP. Other easy things like oatmeal baths etc Im sure you already know. Good Luck!

[RibenaMonsoon]

I wouldn't rule out a food allergy but the experience I've had with DS and eczema with GP has been horrific. My advice is to insist on being referred to a dermatologist. Best thing I ever did! DH has psoriasis and there was definitely something more severe there than GP was diagnosing dispute me pointing family history out.

[theEagleIsLost]

Friend has a baby allergic to diary - she was bf and fact she was having dairy was enough to cause reactions she found HV was route to referral when the GP didn't want to know.

Diary wasn't a trigger for my children - but it is a common one.

[Ructation]

I have one very allergic child, and her symptoms during weaning were similar to the ones you're describing.

A child like this often does really struggle during that weaning stage, but it doesn't necessarily mean they're allergic to the foods you're introducing - their skin can be reacting to all the new foods being smeared on them, and their system can be reacting to all the new foods. DD had awful infected eczema during the weaning state, but she actually wasn't allergic to any of the foods we were introducing.

It did help to get Fucidin from the GP, and to use ointments rather than creams on her face. We had to try several to find one that didn't make her eczema worse (Doublebase was awful).

We did weaning very very slowly. She didn't really start solids till 9 months.

In your situation I would cut out cow's milk. Wean very slowly. Once you're through the weaning stage I'd keep a very detailed food diary and keep requesting an allergy consultation if she's still reacting. With the food diary you'll have evidence of what you think it may be.

Keep going at the GP - I took DD in three times before someone actually recognised the eczema was infected and really needed treating.

It is very stressful - I really feel for you.

[theEagleIsLost]

E45 or Diprobase were prescribed and made DS much worse -apparently it wasn’t a uncommon reaction when I read around that how we hit upon Aveeno – which doesn’t work for everyone- we then a huge battle trying to get it on perscription.

[GlitterRollerSkate]

www.boots.com/childs-farm-baby-moisturiser-250ml-10215533?cm_mmc=bmm--Google+Boots+PLAs--BAU-_-C=PLA+-+Offers_Baby+Event&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIje7o9eyv2QIVZr7tCh1jzwCYEAQYASABEgKLGfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Try the stuff above if suitable. My hands got really bad and nothing the doctor prescribed helped. This stuff made them better.

[Bambamber]

Have you tried eliminating dairy to see if there's any improvement? Can take a good few weeks for a noticeable difference. If your'e breastfeeding you would need to also go dairy free, if formula you'll need specific formulas.

We had no problems weaning, kept a food diary and kept a close eye on her. Introduced high risk allergens one at a time spaced a few days apart. She did react to a couple of other foods which we was able to identify from keeping the food diary

[Notevilstepmother]

I’m a big fan of childs Farm toiletries and moisturiser. It’s worth a try.
www.childsfarm.com/
It doesn’t have any nasty stuff in. I use it myself even though it’s for children.

[QueenOfGaviscon]

Sounds like my DDs reaction to the deadly nightshade family. She was also CMPA but has grown out of it

[UnicornRainbowColours]

Can you afford to go private? My previous Nanny charge suffered from eczema as a baby and they ended up going private as the gps were so useless.

[Notevilstepmother]

Oooo 20%off in boot at the moment. runs off to grab a bargain

[Situp]

I have psorasis having had eczema as baby and echo the PP suggesting getting into a dermatologist. My GP was lovely but would just prescribe more and more steroids but the dermatologist had me on a whole regime immediately which saw an almost instant improvement.

[Grilledaubergines]

W44 is the devil’s eczema cream. I know of no one who has used it with success. And I’m yet to see a GP who has a good enough understanding of eczema.

I use sea salt in the bath which is very soothing but unfortunately other than that it’s a cocktail of medication and creams.

[Grilledaubergines]

Ok so W44 should have read E45!

[BluebellTheDonkey]

In my experience GPs do not care about ezcema unfortunately. We had to go private after years of DS suffering. I truly understand how frustrating it is and how much of an impact severe ezcema has on quality of life. DSs severe eczema was completely treatable. We just needed to see the right person with the right knowledge. If you are anywhere near London and can get to see Dr Helen Cox, she is the business. Top consultant in the NHS but also available privately in Harley Street.
She gave us a detailed regime to follow with specific creams to use in a specific order and his eczema cleared up. Such a relief after suffering so badly.
Good luck OP

[topcat2014]

Like the OP's DH, I too am on immunosuppresants (methotrexate now, previously azothiaprine, cyclosporine).

Co-incidentally I am not eating as much milk, through not having cereals for breakfast, for other reasons.

Skin is improving.

I am not in the least bit a 'woo' person, but it could be dairy? Tricky with a small baby though.

Keep on with the GP, and push for referals etc. In my experience it just gets slowly worse unless properly kept in check.

good luck!

[Emily7708]

If you’re 99% sure it’s CMPA then why are you still giving it to your DC? You don’t need a doctor’s permission to cut out dairy. Look at the elimination diet, one of the first things to try removing is dairy.

[Emily7708]

Remove milk but don’t replace with soy products, try coconut milk first. Plus if you can, pay privately for decent food intolerance testing.

[IggyAce]

Both my DCs have ecezma my DDs was made worst by Yoghurts as a baby. She appears to have out grown this but still gets ecezma in her arm joint.
DSs is triggered by tomatoes and he still goes blotchy and then skin reacts over the next few days. While he hasn't had any allergy tests I say he has a tomato allergy and we avoid them and anything containing tomatoes.
Oilatum and Aveeno along with hydrocortisone work for both of mine but we have had a lot of lotions and potions over the years.
DS was even allergic to sun cream I used to be able to get ultrasun on prescription but couldn't last year so tried him on calypso last summer and he was fine.

[GlitterBurps]

I really feel for you OP, my DS1 had awful excema as a baby, but luckily just on his back and one arm. Cetraben was useless, we tried a few things from gp and then in desperation tried Oilatum cream which cleared it up. As pp’s have said keep a food diary and try and get a dermatologist referral. Good luck.

[LeaderoftheAteam]

Remove dairy

[ForgivenessIsDivine]

Lots of eczema is food related it not always detectable by skin prick or IgE blood tests.

It is likely she has been reacting to something before weaning. Did she have any antibiotics?

I would go for simple toiletries and cleaning products, introduce probiitics, put only cotton clothing next to her skin and introduce food very very slowly.

There is no magic solution. DS reacted to peanuts, sesame, anything with petroleum in it, tomatoes, red meat, berries, dairy, gluten, soya, msg, yeast, sugar. We got there in the end with probiitics, fatty acids, vitamin a, c and d drops and a lot of trial and error. Everyone on this thread will have a different story and road to health. You will find yours!!