how quickly should steroids work on (baby) eczema?/ alternative therapies

[mrsbumbledosem]

My nearly 6 month DD has moderately severe eczema and even though we have been treating with cortesone 1 % for nearly 2 months it's not really clearing it. It may be keeping it under control but on the other had I have been using it for beyond the 2 weeks. We have seen the specialist nurse who was, TBH, not particularly enlightening. She recommended Eumovate which is another steroid but again, even though some say Emovate seems to work immediately on her it doesn't seem to make ANY difference (though I have only used it for 24 hours so far)

I don't really know where to go with this. The GP doesn't seem to know and the eczema clinic didn't give me much help either. I feel really upset as not only does she look awful she seems really subdued and often puts her head down as if she is struggling and of course the itching fits are really stressful...

She is due to have allergy testing but at this point I feel like stopping everything and maybe trying a naturapath or chinese doctor.

Any suggestions? Should I give up dairy? She is EBF with occasional vegatables and fruit. She sneezes a lot too!

Shineon, did you use it on his face as well? I have specifically been told to only use once and they reluctantly said I could use on face only for 5 days. I am a bit scared to go against the 'experts'. Not sure though, no one seems very helpful, except mumsnet.

Mrsbumble, thats also what they said to me, apply sparingly twice a day as it thins the skin?

Yet as it stands, I dont think it's enough. Either that or she's immune. Fifi Steroids do thin skin I believe but with very prolonged use. My sister used them topically throughout childhood with no ill effects

hiya my DD terrible eczema too from 12 weeks, hydrocortisone 1% cleared temporarilly then it reappeared immediately until I excluded all dairy Inc all animal milk and eggs that made a difference within about 10 days give it a go it's worth it. She's now 8 months and it is more under control w dairy free diet and use of epaderm ointment which has been magic for her so worth trying (along w everything else under the sun, I know)

She was allergy tested last week and confirmed dairy/ wheat allergies. This despite fact that I was advised not to change my diet when she was ebf. Mumsnetters were the best support for me in the early days

Good luck xxx

Oh and we so had loads of stress about use of steroid on face. The '5 day' rule is all very well but not ok if your child is suffering. I tried not applying and she ended up needing far more steroid to subsequently clear it AND anyibiotics for the infection she got :(. Use them try not to stress about it. Loads of people have been in same boat on here and got through it without illl effects.

Sorry for typos - from phone.

Although I was very unhappy about putting Emuvate steroid cream on my baby, I do second what others have said about not being afraid to use it. When your baby is really suffering with infected eczema, it's best to clear it up as quickly as possible (I still have grim memories of sleeping fitfully with my hands over DS's hands to stop him tearing his face to pieces in his sleep )

If the eczema is related to food allergies, then avoiding the relevant allergens will soon treat the cause and therefore alleviate the symptoms fairly quickly. If it isn't, then clearing the existing eczema up quickly is still a good idea while you identify the 'triggers'.

I also agree very wholeheartedly with Angeoxford has said - mumsnet was my lifeline when I felt the health professionals weren't listening to me.

Good luck!!!

Shineon, she has a few bits like that - that have been there for 2 months. Obv that's a lot less than your son's patch but I can see how this particular patch just won't go until I do something a bit more drastic. I also feel that I need to trust my instincts on this one and be patient and have faith that it will go eventually

And in the meantime, greenbananas I have nought to lose by trying a dairy free diet for a bit. God know's I could do with eating a lot less lardy stuff anyway.

Ange, thanks for your useful post, I am glad your DD has got it under control. Do you have allergies in your family other than DD?

Yes Shiny, DD had it from around a week/two weeks, it gradually got worse and worse until it covered her whole body. Our GP just kept prescribing creams for the multiple infections she got and hydrocortisone 1%. She was also very sick too, normally bringing back up the guts of every feed.

Thankfully we met that consultant when she was admitted to hospital for yet another virus and failure to thrive.

She's fab now though, completely caught up developmentally and with weight, keeps down all of her milk and is hardly sick anymore. The worse

Your instincts count for a lot. I hope you sort out your DD mrsbumbledosem. Good luck!

My dd has only very mild eczema but I suffered with it through most of my childhood up until about 3 years ago. For some reason it has calmed down for the time being (thank god).

I would agree that a short sharp shock of steroid cream is the best solution, rather than a small amount every day for a longer period of time which thins the skin much more. My hands used to be the most badly affected with the repercussion now that my hands look like a 60 year olds due to continual steroid use on them.

If the body is affected (especially joints like elbows, knees and the creases at the other side of them which can get very hot and itchy), have you ever been prescribed zinc bandages for your dd? They are a bit like a tubi grip where the inside is coated with a zinc cream and they can really help with cooling down - quite messy though! Each bandage comes in a sterile sealed package. It's worth asking the doc about them anyway, I'm not sure if they give them to chidren as the first time I had them was in my 20's.

My advice is moisturise your dd as much as possible but try a few different ones and really monitor your dd after applying. Some of them can actually make you feel much more itchy and hot and aggravate the condition - something a 6 month old won't be able to tell you. 2 prime culprits of that for me were aqueous cream and diprobase.

The moisturiser I am using at the moment is fantastic - again I'm not sure about suitability for babies as it does contain aha's but it is really working for me - isn't something specifically for eczema. It's called "eucerin plus intensive repair lotion". Seriously I have had really bad eczema requiring hospital treatment for most of my life (off and on) but it has never been as under control as it is currently. This may be completely unrelated as it is very hard to tell with eczema which can be cyclical.

Incidentally, I was breastfed and it made no difference - the eczema I had during the period I was being breastfed was the worst of my childhood!

Hope some of this helps x

Daffa I'm glad your DD is so much better now after all you've been through.

Poppy- your advice is really useful. You have a unique perspective given your own personal battle. Weirdly,at the moment her eczema is not on her back of joints. The nurse called it discoid eczema. It's on arms legs back neck and face. I think at the moment itching is limited as she is only a baby and not quite co ordinated but zinc bandages and wax wraps may come in useful at a later date. Thank you.

It's interesting so many of you advocate the short sharp treatment of steroids. First of all my GP told me to put cream on after the emollient which seemed and is spurious.

Completely agree with you mrsbumbledosem, any doctor or chemist we have had contact with has said to apply the stronger cream/ointment first, else it is diluted.

Also before DD was diagnosed at all, we were told to look at the usuals - washing detergent, wipes, clothing materials, perfume/products that we were using and products that we were using on her.

We knew from DS (had very mild eczema) that just cutting out such things had worked and therefore had already tried it, but may be worth looking into for you?

Oh, thank you too

We were told by our dermatology nurses to apply eumovate for a full week and in a thin layer which leaves a sheen on the skin - i.e. not to rub it in -, advice from our GP about topical steroids was to use it much more sparingly, the hospital specialists told us to apply more steroid, once a day but for several days.

Having spoken to another eczema nurse I'm now doing eumovate for a week, twice a day if I feel this is nec. Having spoken to someone else about her experience with eczema clinics they told her to wash everything at 60, Hoover everyday(eek) not contaminate pots of cream with fingers, rub cream in direction of hair growth. Her face does look better but her arms, where she rubs are still so swollen and red raw. But I'm glad her face looks better.

Hi all - m first post (so here goes)

My LO had eczema all over forehead and ears at 8 weeks, i was going spare as it looked so awful and sore - poor thing. HV gave me a sample of Doublebase Cream and it has worked a treat applied a couple of times a day. Eczema was really crusty and 'thick' but it has completely cleared within a matter of 4 days. Cant praise it enough!