Argh! Eczema help please.

[prolificwillybreeder]

Long story short:
DS1 Recently diagnosed with eczema which she thought was infected so gave us:
Hydrocortisone cream
Oilartum (sp) bath stuff
Doublebase

Now, I thought I cracked it applying them all and it got better, well much improved. I stopped the steroid cream after 7 days like the packet said and now it flared up again. It's spreading like wildfire too. Help!
I don't know what to do :(
He has a cows milk protein allergy but can tolerate milk in food. I am cutting that out too. All food homemade so can replace etc. I have same allergy

Would oat bath help? DP is gluten intolerant so I worry maybe he has it too. Oats might be bad? He has oats and wheat and seems ok.
Tried aveeno before I went to the doc and it didn't help.

I can't seem to control it and bring the flare up down. Why is it spreading?
Yes I am in a state, I'm calming down. And yes he is my PFB!

I've only ever used Weleda baby on him before so this exzema has come from no where at 14 months and I haven't changed anything.

Thanks for reading

Hi again!

Soya is a problem for our DD too so yoghurts and cheeses are very difficult. You can buy 'wot no dairy' yoghurt substitutes made by redwood which are made from pea protein. Redwood also do a non dairy non soya cheese. I get both from goodness direct online.

Hi chocomum! Will check that website out!
The doctor I saw clearly is a twunt.
Wasn't at all concerned ds1 is having no dairy nor was bothered I asked for support with his diet and finding replacements.
Said if I was really bothered I could give him custard.
He actually said custard.

Gave me some diprobase for DS1 when I told him the doublebase wasn't enough. He didn't even ask to look at the exzema I had to ask him if he needed to.

I am utterly fuming!

Well done for restraining yourself and nor giving the GP a good slap like I would have!

Custard???!!! Completely insane! Maybe try you health visitor, they can refer you to a dietician too.

Diprobase and doublebase have barely any difference in how effective they are so that's pointless. You poor thing.

If it's any help you can buy epaderm over the counter and then maybe see another GP to get it on prescription and get sone steroids too. Good luck.

Thank you. I'll speak to the health visitor.
How he is still standing I'm not sure! If I didn't have DS2 in the carrier I would have gone for him!
I was so angry. I mean custard. Why oh why? It's just barmy.
I'll call HV now, didn't think of them.
Great thinking. Thanks for all your advice and support. Really appreciate it :)

You're very welcome! I just hope it helps. Our first prescription of epaderm was given by our HV so it may help to see them for more things than one. And maybe tonget a recommendation for a new GP too!

Um, is that custard containing eggs and milk presumably? Barking.

I think some of the HVs have specialist training in eczema, or as Choca says maybe get a second GP opinion. I get on very well with my GP but ds3's eczema was his blind spot. One day I happened to see another GP in the same surgery over something else and he was horrified by ds3's eczema. By that stage it was improving because we'd already seen a consultant.

Anyway, you're right to feel cross but use that energy to get it sorted and under control!

After trying all the lotions and potions etc from the gp and over the counter i turned to mumsnet who suggested goats milk, yoghurt and cheese to replace cows milk etc after 48 hours my ds, about 15 months at the time, excema had all but cleared up, after about 6 months i slowly introduced cows milk again and hes had no problems except one wee patch on his arm when he is run down, he is 6 and a half now!

The best advice we were given (by our eczema specialist) was to use the steroid cream until the eczema TOTALLY disappears and then for about 3 days after that as the eczema lies beneath the surface so if you don't keep going it will keep flaring up. We had been following the advice on the packet before and never properly cleared it. Once they are totally clear of the eczema it is much less likely to flare up. I find it really hard to clear my ds's eczema on his chin as he dribbles constantly and when he has a flare up it only gets bad on his chin. His chest doesn't flare up anymore as we have got on top of that bit.

We were also told that you should apply steroid first and then emollient/moisturising type cream. Don't be too worried about using too much steroid cream. Our specialist squeezed the steroid cream on her finger, from the tip of her finger to her knuckle and said that was how much to use on his chest (his eczema was almost down to his tummy button). He was 8 months at the time. We were really surprised at how much we needed to use.

Hope you manage to get on top of it.

the thing that's screaming out at me is rebound eczema. if you suddenly stop steroids you often get rebound eczema which is harder to clear than normal. we saw a specialist nurse with ds who was fab, and explained the steroid ladder to us. You basically start off using lower doses of steroid and then if that doesn't work try stronger and stronger - when it disappears you then come back down the ladder moving to weaker 'roids and less often 'til you can wean off to no ill effects.

For us that meant using 2.5% hydrocortisone twice a day in a bad flare, then moving to 1% as started improving, once totally gone using 1% once a day, then 1% every other day, then either stopping or if it was a bad flare up using 0.5% to keep at bay.

It made me really sad to realise that ds's worst flare up was caused by us using the steroids for 7 days then suddenly stopping, as our GPs said to only use for 7 days regardless of what's happening.

There's another fab emollient called dermamist which is a spray containing coconut oil which is fab for nappy changes or other times you need to cream them up but cba to get the gloopy out and rub it all over

Thank you all so so much for this, well nothing short of bloody brilliant advice!
The HV who has lots of experience of excema is arranging to come and see us next week hopefully.
It seems, fingers crossed to be getting there. On his tummy. Now to work on his back.
He has conjunctivitis and the antibiotic eye drops are really drying the skin under his eyes. What on earth should I put on that sensitive area of skin? We currently have a choice of:
Doublebase
Diprobase-pump
Diprobase-oinkment

What should I use on the face? A tricky one I always thought.

Thanks again everyone, I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate your help!

I'm really glad your HV is coming round next week. Hopefully she is more helpful.

I'd recommend the ointment because the drops will wash away the diprobase cream or doublebase and still leave the skin sore.

Definitely agree with the advise in continuing steroid for 3 days after pathless have cleared and stepping down steroids, although our nurse told us we could also do this by using steroids for 2 weeks every day, then 2 weeks alternate days and then stopping or every 3 days if necessary.

Hi
I went through loads of different creams/ lotions/ bath emoillant etc and would keep it under control but the flare ups kept coming back - i then looked into changing clothing and opted for Bamboo and Organic Cotton clothing. It made such a difference as it didnt irritate the skin and kept it cool. I would recommend trying can make a real difference :)