ECZEMA TERROR

[sagarika]

Dear mums, I am a new member plus a new mum. My 4 months old bb is suffering from very bad eczema. Particularly his face and head. Keeps scratching night and day. Its getting worse now. The skin on his face is now broken and weeping. Been to the doctors so many times, have used oilatum, hydromol, steroids, and now antibiotic (fusidic acid), nothings working. I am so frustrated. Can anyone advice. GP wont refer me to a an allergy/eczema specialist becoz this condition is so common!! bb is exclusively breast fed. is there somehting in the food that I am eating?? Cant bear to see him suffer so much. What do I do????

See how complicated! doublebase was awful for us... Good luck.

HELP!! I am a new member plus a new mum. My 3 month old son is suffering from very bad eczema. He keeps scratching day and night. The skin on his face and body is now broken and weeping. I have been to the doctors so many times, have used oilatum, hydromol, steroids, and now antibiotic (fusidic acid), nothing works! I am so frustrated. Can anyone advise of any other products to use? My GP wont refer me to a dermatologist because this condition is so common. I have been recommended Dermalex for Children, has anyone else used this product? Does it work?

Don't know anything about Dermalex but, regarding GP reluctance to refer, the NICE Guidance on atopic eczema in children lists among indications for referral: eczema not responding to management, eczema on face not responding to management and sleep disturbance. p29 of linked pdf. Might help to persuade your GP to refer.

Demand that referral, it is your child's right! Don't be fobbed off, wave the NICE guidelines at the GP if necessary and threaten to complain to the PCT. When my DS finally got referred to a dermatologist, it changed his life (and ours).

While eczema is a common condition it is not common in young babies exclusively breast fed (DD was one of those). Agree with everyone who's said you have every right to push for a referral. Your description sounds like a severe case and it is not responding to what the GP is trying - this is exactly what specialists are for. So sorry you're struggling to get the right help. It is hard to feel like you have to push if GP is not open - as well as what's been suggested already (different doctor, waving NICE guidelines about) is there someone else
who could come with you to the appointment or even take your LO so you don't have to feel the sole responsibility of pushing to get help? I've found that a good way forward sometimes. Good luck and hope you both get some relief soon.

Hi Sagarika
I hope you had any luck by now?
My little daughter has had ezcema since she was two weeks old, and we had the same issues with our GP. When we finally got her referred to the allergy clinic (at four months, then waiting another three months for the appointment) it turned out that she had both an egg and dairy allergy. I am still angry about this - I basically sat in my GPs office refusing to leave until I got the referral. He kept telling me that eczema would be "non-specific", and there was no point looking for triggers - well they showed up very clearly on the prick test!!.
At that time her immunesystem was so sensitized that she seemed allergic to everything and her skin was horrific; we were referred to a dietitian and she was put on Neocate, a special formula for children with dairy allergies - she was breastfed, but despite me cutting out egg and dairy and all sorts of other foods she reacted after every feed with swollen lips and hives and scratch attacs. The only foods she could eat initially without reactions were classic low allergen foods - lamb, butternut squash, potatoes, plain white rice and so forth. But all but the two main allergies, egg and dairy, disappeared over the following two or three months.
She was more or less fine then until this summer (at 18 months) when the eczema came back very badly and she was diagnosed with an allergy to the bacteria on her skin - impossible to avoid. But after a bit of research I stopped using detergent for our washing but instead made our own soap based laundry cleaner (Olive soap, borax substitute and washing soda). Soap is chemically different from detergent - we used liquid non bio products before, but they are all still detergents. This has made a massive difference to her skin, and the eczema I had on my hands for years also disappeared, so defenitely worth trying if nothing else works!!