Nothing works for my child’s eczema.

[Whatevah]

7yo DC with eczema. They also have a sever nut allergy and I suspect may have asthma too.
We did see a specialist about 2years ago who said Milton baths, slather on the hydrocortisone and emollient spray. That worked for a while.
But like with every thing it seems to stop working.
We have tried every single cream there is. Some make it worse, others work for a few days and then it’s back to square one.
We went back to the hydrocortisone ointment and emollient spray twice a day a week ago. Was fab for a few days now it’s stopped working again. Skin is literally like sandpaper.
Anyone have a miracle cure?!

Obviously I don't know if you've tried it, but some people have a lot of luck with oatmeal baths.

Tried cutting milk out of their diet?

There isn't a "cure" - it's a physiological thing - an oversensitivity to histamines, basically. Those of us itchy scritchy people with this complex of hyperactive immune systems are missing something others have - but it can be dealt with.

I had bad eczema until my late teens, and then it faded and the asthma took over (I'd always had asthma actually, just undiagnosed). I get hayfever still, and take an antihistamine every night (helps me to sleep). That keeps my immune system a bit damped down to "normal" people's levels!

You have to keep using the cortisone creams, and change the type regularly. But your DC will never be completely free of the flaky itchy skin for quite a while. Avoid long baths, overheating, wool next to the skin.

The long term advantage is that I have very good fine skin. I never had teenage acne, and have very few wrinkles now (late middle age). But I can remember as a child being driven crazy by the itchy flaky skin all up my arms, over my face, and behind my knees. And sometimes through my hair on my scalp.

Have you tried childs farm products. I found it fantastic for my sons skin, they do bubble bath as well as shampoo and creams. I found it was the thing to irritate his skin the least and stopped the itchiness. We have found it much better than other stuff for our little boy

www.amazon.co.uk/Childs-Farm-bedtime-bubbles-tangerine/dp/B071WJMXGH/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=childs+farm&sprefix=child&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1586780480&sr=8-7 this is one we mostly use but found all of them good. It's available at most supermarkets

Have you tried Colloidal Silver? It comes in cream gel or spray and seems to work well for some people

For my son, it is a low dairy diet (no milk or cheese, but he's now ok with dairy in cooked items) we use Averno child emollient twice a day, and no more than 2 baths a week, using the smallest amount of child's farm bubble bath I can get away with. Oh and ecover laundry detergent with an extra rinse after.
It still flares up if he gets too hot, has the wrong type of clothes, or is coming down with something...

Is that Milton the sterilising duff in his bath? Have you tried stopping that for a couple of weeks?

Has he ever been to an allergy clinic or been patch tested?

My allergens cane out as dust mite, nickel, dairy and guar gum. Needless to say, I cook virtually everything from scratch

Hi OP,

I suffered from eczema very badly as a child and still suffer from flare ups now. All of the prescribed stuff (and I went though a lot) didn't work for me. The only things that do work on my skin is Eumovate hydrocortisone cream which you can get over the counter, and Lanisoh nipple cream. Random, I know, but there you go.

Everyone who has eczema has different remedies as everyone's skin is so different, but if the doctors aren't proving much help and you're struggling with what to try next, that's what works for me so may be worth a go. Hope it improves x

Who treats the eczema? Do you see a dermatologist?

Things that helped our dd - changing washing powder, double rising all her clothes, sheets and towels. Stopped using Hydromol cream turns out she was allergic), stopped using anything with perfumes in - soap, shampoo, bo spray, conditioners, air fresheners et al.

My DD had terrible exzema which would bleed and was soooo sore and itchy. We tried everything but with no success. On a whim my DH bought this cream at a stall at a food fair. I was very sceptical especially as it's expensive, but it completely solved the problem. It's truly amazing stuff.

What specialist did you see? A dermatologist or a paediatric allergist?

You need the second - I took DD to see Adam Fox (we are in London) and we've done really well with her eczema- only a tiny bit on her hands now. We went back last year as her original regime wasn't working as well and it was changed and been fab (for reference we use Elocon ointment). You absolutely do need some type of medical steroid cream and emollients. Don't be fobbed off by GPs- they're usually not specialists on eczema and actually don't always have up to date info (or a full understanding of how it impacts your life).

Do not, under any circumstances, introduce a restricted diet (eg no dairy) until you've seen a specialist. BTW people will ALWAYS tell you to stop dairy. It's misinformation.

Good luck.

Try anything with Kawakawa in it. It's a native New Zealand plant. Has helped so many people I know with eczema, including my daughter. I make my own ointment from leaves but there is one company I know who sell a balm online, Frankie Apothecary. I've never tried it but hear great things.

Child’s farm or Lush’s dream cream.

Lush's Dream Cream worked for a bit for us, as did Aveeno but needed to top up with hydrocortisone cream to make it work which I hated using too much. And with both Dream Cream and Aveeeno they just stopped working whereas the Eternal Skincare stuff has continued working, even in Winter when her skin is always much worse.

I swear by child's farm and aveeno.

I use these products in the bath too and can only use Fairy non bio for washing.

Certain foods aggravate my DD's eczema, such as strawberries and carrots. Too much sugar (sweets) and foods with artificial colouring too.

Could you keep a food diary?

Try Exe Skin's Ultra Exe. The only thing that's ever worked for me and it's all natural.

Google Protopic. It was a miracle for me when I had eczema all over my face.

Same with my dd, we rotate creams a lot because they always stop working after a while. Have you played around with washing powder? One thing that I’ve found does improve both my kids skin is taking a daily vitamin D3 supplement. It has to be D3, not just D. There’s been some research on it. I use Vitabiotics childrens vitamins. I find there a definite improvement if they take it daily.

So may replies, thank you all!
I am currently cleaning out all the kitchen cupboards so just having a quick peep.
It was a dermatologist we saw two years ago.
He is known to the allergy people as he is severely allergic to nuts, and has had to use his epipen.
Im a nurse so know not to cut things out of his diet, but he difeinitely is intolerant to diary. He has vomited/had diarrhoea occasionally after eating ice cream/milk. We just dont give it to him often.
Have recently bought Ecover washing liquid and I'm going to do all his things separately. He cant have most detergents or any softeners. We don't really use any soaps/bubble bath stuff on him anyway.
I think I'll ask for another referral to dermatologist/allergy people. Probably a massive wait, but best to see them.
Something is bothering him.
I'll have a look at all the cream stuff later, but we have tried childs farm and aveeno. The Aveeno drove him mad!

If he's intolerant to dairy, he could have non-ige CMPA. I would try cutting out all dairy from his diet completely for at least 2 weeks and see if his skin improves

It really helped my DS to decrease how many baths and showers he had, giving his skin a chance to recover inbetween as they always really dried it out.

Hope you manage to find something OP, it's so horrible for them.

Have you tried coconut oil being rubbed onto the eczema?