Need quick advice please on eczema, thanks

[ifaistos]

I've posted before about ds's eczema. He's 5mo and got weepy patch on his cheek. He's just woken up and has been scratching, he's got blood all over his cheek and bits are very raw looking. Just wondering what do I do right now, do I disinfect, wash, dab dry and leave open, or cover?

I'm not sure I would disinfect - it will sting like mad. I would just leave it open and cut his fingernails even shorter or get those vests with mittens sewn-in to stop him scratching.

I agree with jamais. Horrible for you and ds. :(

Something like these or these

Leave open for tonight but tomorrow take him to the GP, weepy eczema means it's infected and will need antibiotic cream.

Got a bit of a fright when I saw his cheek full of blood, but it's just little oozing pinpricks. I've filed his nails as much as I can and I'm getting those bodysuits that cover the hands, thanks for the links.

get these: www.scratchsleeves.co.uk/

They are 2 layers, so the layers move over each other as the little one scratches, and the outer layer is silk, so its smooth on their skin.
The best £10 i have EVER spent.

My little one rubbed so hard that when wearing normal mits/fold-over body suit things she rubbed her skin off (I haven't looked at the other links properly, so these may be similar to scratch sleeves).
I love the scratch mitts so much, they have literally changed changed my life (via her sleeping habits)

Sold. I'm ordering some of those.

Thanks for the replies. I've got the scratchsleeves - thanks estya for the link. They're working really well. ds isn't scratching, it's brilliant.

We cleared up the flare up with cortisone cream and antibiotics. As soon as we started the cream, it cleared up within a couple of days. But a couple of days after stopping the cream, the red pimples, then raw patches and yellow crust are back.
Is this just a continuous cycle of cortisone, a couple of days without, more cortisone, etc.? Have others managed to keep the skin clear of eczema for long periods without cortisone?

It may be that you are stopping the cortisone cream too soon. The eczema nurse my dd sees speaks of the hidden healing time when you should continue to use the cream for up to a week after the skin looks better. But I would go back to your gp and check as the timescales may be different with babies.

Wash it with some boiled salt water for tonight in case it is infected. That will kick off the healing until you get some antibiotic cream.

You are using a good emollient twice a day to stop the eczema recurring aren't you? That's really important.

It could be that his saliva is causing it - my DD1 had that problem as a baby. Vaseline or 50/50 cream worked as a good barrier cream to prevent it but nothing is 100% effective against constant dribble!

We did the cortisone for 5 days, following gp's instructions. I'm using emollient at least 2 times a day as well.

I'll do salt water too. Mine always used to clear up when I swam in the sea.

It could be the dribble as it's on the cheek where dribble and milk run down when he feeds. But it's only on one cheek, the other is clear.

Sometimes we do everything we can and it still persists. It sounds like you're doing everything right. May try putting a little bit of emollient on before you feed him?

I hope it clears up soon because the hydrocortisone isn't good for the thin skin on faces.

I know there's some advice when you use hydrocortisone about either ointment or cream being better. The eczema nurse told me about it when DD1 was younger but I can never remember which one you're supposed to use. Perhaps someone on here knows and you can check you've got the right one.

My dd suffered horribly with eczema from birth to age 8, worse in the summer. According to my chinese MIL, beef and seafood are known causes of skin complaints, so we kept these to a minimum and things really improved. Also noticed a major improvement when we had a water softener fitted. 5 years on she still has dry skin but no full on eczema. Last flare up happened on holiday last year after eating lobster, so maybe MIL was right!

I was never keen on hydrocortisone creams, but sometimes you don't have a choice. Emolients I found good were Dermol 500, Oilatum bath oil. You sound like you are doing all you can, keep going it will get better x

Wow thats interesting about beef and seafood, didn't know that. I have suffered with eczema all my life and am constantly looking for the trigger and cutting my diet. I do eat alot of red meat so will try and cut that out. Thanks

Ifaistos i use the cortisone when i have a flare up then constantly use moisturiser in-between, when it gets better i cut the steroid and just do moisturiser.

Hope this helps

Hm. I'd tried cutting out dairy, but not beef and seafood. I will give that a go, thanks.

Just wanted to update to say that we've managed to get rid of the latest flare up and keep things under control, thanks to your advice.

estya - the scratchsleeves are a complete godsend. In fact I need to order some more.

The salt water, using unrefined sea salt and boiled water, has been really effective. It's cleared up oozy patches in a day. I'm really surprised. I was worried about it being painful - I tried it on my own eczema and found it stung, but ds doesn't complain or seem too bothered.

And barrier cream before feeding has helped too.

Does anyone know if there is a problem with using salt water regularly? I asked my doctor and he said I shouldn't but couldn't really give a reason. I used to swim in the sea every day to get rid of my eczema, and this doesn't seem that different. But it's been so effective I'm wondering why it isn't suggested more often. Maybe there's something I'm not aware of?