Some questions about eczema

[sifuentes]

DS is nearly 3. He had dry skin as a baby. But nothing major. At 18 months developed discoid eczema and since then it has got worse and worse. He now gets it on his face, all down his arms and bits behind his knees and patches on his legs. I use double base gel three times a day. I sometimes use hydrocortisone which does clear it, but was told you shouldn't use it too much.
I have only just read that eczema makes them irritable! Doh! Course it does!
It seems that the cold days really effect his face. The sea on holiday did too only then it was his legs more...
Anyway questions are

1. How can you test for allergies? Is it only by removing something from the diet or is there an actual test? I banned cows milk but it didn't seem to do much.
2. Should I use hydrocortisone more frequently?
3. Will he ever be able to learn to swim? Am too scared to take him to a highly chlorinated pool :(

Thanks in advance for any answers/ tips

bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/pdf/patient-summaries/atopic-eczema-self-help.pdf

www.rch.org.au/derm/eczema/Knowing_Your_Childs_Eczema/

Hope they help. Eggs can be a trigger. Also biological washing powder or fabric conditioners.

we have a tube of ointment, rather than emollient, from the same range as works for us, and cover the worst bits before swimming - a bit like Vaseline.

Put less detergent in the washing machine, and do an extra rinse. Scrap the conditioner.

Did you just ban cows milk, or did you ruthlessly remove anything with lactose and CMP from the diet (loads of biscuits and processed foods your not expecting it to be in)?

My ds1 also has discoid eczema (diagnosed around 9 months). I think things are always different for different children. He is much better now he is 7. We have a cat. Dairy seems to make no difference. Washing powder makes a huge difference. Also bubble bath. For ages I used 'wash nuts' to wash clothes in when he was a baby. Now he is a bit better I can use very sensitive washing powders with no fragrance and am currently trying out the new Method one. He moisturises with Aveeno once a day (used to be twice) and can even have some sensitive bubbles now. In terms of steroids, he had some stronger ones than hydrocortisone. The consultant we saw said it was much better to 'zap' it quickly before it spread and then you'd need to use the steroid for longer. His advice really worked and we very, very rarely use it now. As soon as it appeared, it had Betnovate or Fucibet and then went quickly so only needed to use a couple of times rather than a whole week on a large patch.

So advice would be:

• No bubbles or even shampoo for a while
• Find a good moisturiser which does work including something oil-based for the bath
• Sensitive washing powder and certainly no fabric conditioner
• 'zap' small patches as soon as they appear with a steroid

Meant to say I washed ds's hair in just water till he was past 3! Don't know it worked, but it did...

I am not an expert and DS hasn't suffered too badly but advice I had was that one size doesn't fit all. Don't be afraid to ask the doc for different creams to try. And ask for a referral for allergy testing too. I may have been lucky but our GP was very obliging. Think they appreciate the difference between an informed parent and a Google doctor!

My dh is asian. I think discoid is more common in asian/ mixed race kids. Do try the Aveeno. It was magic for us.

Oh, and he used to go swimming a fair bit. Just thorough shower after and moisturising. He was fine.

Moo goo (google it) was recommended on here and I use it for my own eczema and it is very, very good. Try double base shower gel for washing (on prescription). No biological washing powder, wool and keep him cool (no hot baths or showers). Salty water helps so Dead Sea salt in the bath is really good. I have been using hydrocortisone for 44 years with no side effects. Put it on after the moisturiser to lessen its potency. Cover in cream after a bath when skin is warm and damp.

I use the same as you with a bath oliment (I don't know the word!) basically it took till dd was 7 and she's basically grown out of it now. Was terrible for years all over her face but with dd we found te sea air and water really really good for it. Sure hers was triggered by central heating to, winter was always the worst.

My dd is 4 and has eczema. She has had allergy tests after a severe reaction to something. Her eyes and face swelled and she needed a course of steroids to bring it down. The allergy tests didn't identify any allergies. The doctor has told is she atopic allergies rather than true allergies so its trial and error. We keep a food/product diary. So at we have discovered she reacts to strawberries, kiwi and most scented products. We use non bio, avoid plug ins/air fresheners, don't use bubble bath and shampoo is an asda gentle one that doesn't flare her eczema up. It is difficult though as strawberry and kiwi are in things you don't even think about such as haribo. We take her swimming but give her a bath with porridge oats tied in a muslin and cover her in double base when she gets home.

Thanks so much for replies. I think I will definitely ask for a referral for allergy testing and may try zapping with a stronger cream too.

What do you use for washing their hands? I always use soap but his hands are bad...

You could send him to bed in gloves with double based/e45/suda cream and anytime you go out put cream on before gloves. The gloves will help it absorb more. I used to use aquious cream but not for hand washing before food or after toilet I guess slather on the cream after every hand wash.

Stop using soap and get Dermol 500 on prescription. It has some anti-bac in it and also moisturises at the same time. It comes in a pump dispenser so is ideal to keep by the sink/wash hand basin.