Heeeelp. Raging ezcma, permanent candles and asthma appeared in last 2 weeks since we moved into rental house

[Wills]

DD2 looks awful. From no ezcma, no snot, clear skin, clear breathing she's now covered head to toe in ezcma and ... snot (sorry if tmi). Her skin is patchy and her breathing is getting raspy. There are carpets all over the house. I've implemented a routine of hovering the house once a day (I'm getting knackered) with our Miele cat and dog hoover but she's still getting worse. Would cleaning the carpets make a significant difference. I can't get rid of them because its a rental house - besides the house is enormous (bigger than we're buying) and it would bankrupt us.

We're going back to the ENT in Kings Cross but not until May 11th because she's always had allergic tendencies but I'm not sure where else to turn at this point.

my ds has ezcma and we find that it will just appear for no reason. but if you have just moved then it might be an idea to get the carpets washed just to make sure it not that, thats is not the cause. best of luck

do you have pets? If not it may be there is pet dander in the carpets. However it may be that they were cleaned before you moved in and it is the chemical residue from cleaning that is the problem so its hard to know what to suggest. Air the house whenever the temperature is high enough to allow it and put her on probiotics because they boost the immune system. Make sure the air stays moist with a humidifier/ kettle boiled in her bedroom. I'm about to loook at air conditioning units for us - if I find anything worth buying/ renting I'll post about it.

get a steam cleaner - it doesn't use chemicals to clean the carpet.

it's possible the carpet wasn't cleaned between tenants.

When I moved from a dg carpeted house to a non carpeted house with no double galzing dd's excema has really improved so YES try to clean the carpets or something. Also have you dg? If so open a lot

when u move 2 your new house, get laminate flooring throughout. as for the rented house the only thing u can do is get it professionally cleaned.

We planned to have all the carpets removed and hard flooring put in. We did just the same to the last house. its been really shocking to see how fast the allergic rhenitus came back. Hate carpet! Hate carpet! Hate carpet! When we found the house to buy my dh asked whether we could keep the carpets for a while. He's already decided that we'll have to rent for a while longer whilst all the carpets are removed and new flooring put in.

found this guide to how to make your house allergy proof. www.allergyuk.org/ah_house.html
Site also includes recommended products - you may want to consider buying/ renting an air filter, there's a long list so I'm going to work through looking at prices.

Fab tatt. Off to look now. Am really shocked by how fast she's gone downhill.

When we were last at the allergy clinic they suggested a course of antihistamine. I hate giving her drugs and previously by taking down her curtains and putting a blind in instead it worked but she didn't have a carpet at that point.

Hi,
My daughter has had eczema since she was a baby. She is now 10.
All I can say is that diet does help. Try pure foods and foods without colourings. I am certain that this helped her (we were part of an article a couple of years back for the Daily Mail).

Also: I have found that THE BODY SHOPS HEMP CREAM has been a saviour for sore skin. It goes on without any irritation.

There is also a Swiss formula of Tea Tree Cream (cannot for the life of me think of the name today). This has also proved to be better than any steriod cream.

Years of steriod creams have caused thinning/fading of her skin.

Hope this helps.

Depending on her age - I would recommend an antihistamine daily while she is in this house. it's actually better for her than her suffering like this - as it could set off all sorts of other allergies by having her on allergy red alert all the time.

I hate the crap in syrups, so just give half a zyrtec tablet crushed up in a little cold fruit puree or a spoonful of jam.

Wendb69 - am desperately hoping not to resort to steriod cream, must admit

Bobby... Yes I was wondering that. I'm loathe to put her onto a long course but do accept that its far better than her being in constant allergy attack status. Interesting point about the syrups. Will look into that. Had not occured to me that piriton would come in syrup - but obvious really. many thanks

Long course of a small amount is fine, you can gradually get it down once it's under control. I would far rather give Zyrtec than use steroid cream.

haven't found many useful reviews of the air purifiers available here but if there is anywhere nearby you can rent one I'd be tempted to try whatever they have. People say (on mumsnet and on review sites) that bionnaire helps with allergies but can be noisy. Most have several settings so you can go for lower ones overnight. There are also ones with a ceramic core that claim to be silent and expensive ones with lower db ratings. We have piriton syrup because its easier than tablets to get down when the throat is swelling, its definitely available. Hadn't thought of the additives but we have zirton tablets for hay fever, they work more slowly but for longer.

Changing diet really makes a big difference, strengthens the immune system so they cope better with inhaled allergens. Easier said than done though.

Too right on easier said than done. dd2 at the moment watches dd1 like a hawk. If dd1 wont eat it dd2 wont eat it. dd1 is a blooming fussy eater!

tell me about it. When your partner is a faddy eater there's not much chance of getting your kids to eat healthily! I've managed to improve his diet a bit but he's still an overgorwn child about food (and other things ).

I would have a go at cleaning the carpets without any carpet shampoo - you'll be able to tell by the colour of the water if they've been shampooed already or not. Just warm water will get a lot up - I don't know if it kills dog mites etc though, so we always use a carpet shampoo designed for homes with dogs in.

The ones for hire in B&Q and Sainsburys are usually good. Could you take the carpet out of just her bedroom?

Wills - I would definitely give anti-histamine at this point. No long-term affects, afaik, and it can be very effective.
Get Zyrtec or Neo-Clarityn on prescription.