Excema, please help.

[JustBonnie]

I'm quite inexperienced with this condition. dd2 is 4 mths old and has had it since birth. It's not been too bad and I've been using Oilatum but over the last few days it's been getting worse. She's really itchy and scratches at every available opportunity. Her chest is really red and sore looking and she's actually cut her skin on her scalp with all the scratching. I've been using oats wrapped in a stocking for her bath water but have now got an appointment to see the doctor this evening to maybe try a different cream. We've used epaderm and oilatum so far. Does anyone have any recommendations for something that will actually work as it breaks my heart to see my little dd itching like this.
thank you.

Doublebase emollient.

Aveeno in the bath and aveena cream

Steroid cream from the doctor.

Open windows in the house when you can

Keep dust down.

Excemaclothing.com for pj's to stop her scratching.

contact the eczema society- well worth £20 subs

our dd has excema, her consultant at hosptital prescribed doublebase cream.its really good.you could ask to have that

gosh loads of good advice there. Thank you

Oh and i change her bed every 2-3 days. Eczema is hard work for you as well although it'll be worth it if you manage to control it.

Remember that different creams work for different people as well

Two votes for doublebase, I'll ask about that. Can you get Aveeno on prescription as hv told me you can't. I won't mind buying it if I knew it worked though!

sorry it's in list format though- I REALLY would advise you contact the eczema society though as they really are a lifeline when you're desperate

Get EVERYTHING on prescription

I'll do anything to help her. It looks so miserable for her. At least now I can go to the doctors feeling a bit more knowledgeable.

She sleeps in a grobag at night, is this a good idea? I will be contacting the eczema society as well, thanks again.

grobag is ok as it stops her getting at her skin BUT it could be making her too hot. Heat exacerbates my dd's eczema. keep the house cool and i found that double glazing and central heating made her worse

You poor darling, I do sympathise and double base IS nice, by the way. When I went to crying ds (similar age at the time) and found he'd made his head bleed with the scratching all I could think was that 'they' would take him away from me for being a bad mother! It is VERY horrible to watch but you are doing the right thing getting help and it WILL start to get better. Socks on hands up to elbow (so she can't easily pull them off) for night time? I forget how nasty it was then see a photo of this strange sock-handed child!

Yes, hard work, but keep going with treatment experimentation! We've found Unguentum M good (in the morning and post evening bath) as well as using steroid cream (prescribed by doctor/dermatologist) as necessary - don't be afraid of using it, so long as you feel well advised by a doctor/dermatologist who cares about your child's treatment. Oh, and make sure you keep nails as short as possible - we bite them off (she moves too much to make cutting a possibility!)

Just to add to Pixiefish's message, re: the grobag, our specialist said No to using a grobag, because overheating leads to sweat blocking the pores which exacerbates eczema (he was appalled when he found out we'd be swaddling her!) Go with a loose sheet instead.

i wouldn't use oilatum as it contains lanolin which can be an irritant-it definitely worsened ds's eczema.
something like emulsiderm is better.

well, got back from the doctors and he has prescribed aveeno. he said to try that for a couple of weeks. To be honest I've just put some on her and it feels better than the oilatum. Her skin is instantly soft but I'm not going to get too excited yet!

She will be wearing socks on her hands at night from now on as is too big for scratch mittens and her poor head looks so sore. Lio, you're right I do feel like a bad mum taking her out with all those scratches over her head.

Thank you so much for all your helpful advice. No doubt I'll be back for more

justbonnie-my ds used to look like i don't know what. His face was a right mess- scratched,weeping,bleeding yuk. and people do stare and say'whats the matter with his face' and it's horrible isn't it?
but as ds's doctor said' it's only because they're ignorant, anyone who knows anything can see he's a baby with eczema'.
chin up- it does get better i promise!

Dd's has really cleared up with the regime I've started using now. It does get better, it's just trial and error. I personally tried a couple of 'wonder' cures and found that they didn't work. Personally I don't believe that tere is a cure as such but you can control it and most kids will grow out of it.

I know what you mean about the stares though. Dd used to use the pram straps as weapons, anything she could lay her little face on to scratch in fact. How many nights I've had to change her sheets cos she's bled all over them. I really do empathise as it's horrid. Did the doc give you any aveeno for the bath btw- the water can be very drying- remember that it makes the bath really slippy though

was going to suggest aveeno too but different creams help different people you may have to try afew to see. Watch out for ones with peanut in, though, not wise to use them. Electric radiator in the bedroom so you can keep it a different temperature to the rest of the house and air the room whenever you can.

If you're breastfeeding add probiotics to your diet and if not consider switching to goats milk formula and adding a probiotic powder. Hope something helps.

I'm not breastfeeding and was wondering about the formula. Where would you get goats milk from? Is it available in the shops?

I have lots of different creams over the years (dd now 5 and has had since birth)
We see a dermatologist regulary and over the years have found a good programme, it really is about finding whats best for your dd.
I use aveeno bath and cream (only one that works, have tried about 6 or 7 others), mild steroid for the face when needed and a cream called Elidel (this has to be prescribed by consultant though) which is a new non steroid cream.
I use excema clothing when possible, failing that always use cotton. I have anti dustmite protectors on bedding, never have heating on in her bedroom etc.
Will also agree with others on here who advise to stay away of products which contain a large amount of Lanolin.

What did the DR say when you had your appt?

I think the anti dust mite bedding was a good idea. more money spent on them the better, large boots the chemist do a good one.

I would also be very careful about foods that you give, as ezcema before the age of three months is a sign of the potential to have food allergies.

Classic signs of food allergy in infants ( esp breast fed )are,
as well as ezcema, poor sleep pattern, slow to poor weight gain.

You can apply moisturisers as often as you can.
people with ezcema cant hold much water in skin to regular applications help.
dont warm nightware before putting on child.
rub creams in direction of hair growth .
not to hot a bath, lots of heat= itchy.

hope this helps.

I could do with a bit more advice re food. She's a large baby but is unsettled at night. I've asked the hv what foods to avoid and she's just told me wheat and yoghurt! I'm sure there's more than that.

Thank you for all the advice, drs just recommend keep applying the creams but can't really give me more advice.

My sons ezcema routine when he was younger was creams applied 5-6 times a day, if slighty worse up to 8, big flare up sometimes up to 15.
It took over my whole life.
it was very depressing.

anyway, food.
only give one new food at a time, no mixed fruit , or veg.
avoidance of cows milk is because milk allergy is common in infants, ( and is the good one for outgrowing BTW, not all, but im most cases)
and in the intolerance area, wheat does cause problems ( as well as cows milk)

Dont try egg for a long time, and if you do leave it for the 2nd year, and try very well cooked first.
If its classic food allergy , you will see the signs very very quickly.
If its food intolerance, maybe in a nappy later, and then the skin flaring up and a few nights spent crying.
Often food intolerant infants sleeep badly from gut pain as they are place flat in cot. ( lift feet slightly)

What sort of food are you giving?
i cant remember if you said breast or bottle or both?
What atopic diseases or food allergy are in your family, ( if any?)
Race does have a factor in food allergy, asian and middle east children in this country are REALLY developing severe milk (beef) allergies.

As a totally unimportant note, but interesting, common foods in other countries are causing a rise in food allergy, so japan have problems with rice and fish, and france have problems with celery and mustard.

Do you know what the difference is between intolerance and classic food allergy?
A really good book ( which I dip into all the time) is 'the complete guide to food intolerance and allergy' by prof jonathan brostoff, published by Hamlin.

hope this helps, sorry to waffle on.

sarah

wow, what fantastic advice, thank you so much. You've given me a lot to think about and I'll definately see if I can get hold of that book. It's so sad to think something I may give her to eat would make her worse. Thank you

i have really bad excema and so does dd i do have steroid cream from dr but dont really like using it i use aqeous cream my mum used to use it on me after bath at night (just water nothing else in it) i absolutly plaster her in it then put her pyjamas on over it my mum went one further with me and used to bandage me afterwards i get huge tubs of the cream on prescription and after 2 years of different creams it does help for us also found i was washing her stuff seperately from mine in non bio no fabric conditioner stuff but then she was reacting to stuff in my clothes when i was cuddling her