My Daughters Eczema

[WestCountryLass]

My DD is 21 months and has had eczema since she was about a month old. First off she got cradle cap and then she got 'redness' in all her creases. At first this was treated as thrush but our Dr then said it was eczema and it appears to now definitely be eczema as she has it all over her arms, legs and legs but the backs of her knees are in a terrible state.

I am treating it with steroids, emmolients, oilatum etc etc as well as natural lotions but it jsut seems to be getting worse.

I am now trying to find the cause of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms, and am wondering whether people have found a common cause for eczema in their kids?

Any help would be appreciated!

Bed mites, hot weather and some foods. Offending foods are difficult to find, but you certainly can do something about bed mites and hot weather.

All I can say is that my son had eczema and then several of my clients' babies have too (I am a doula)... I have noticed it is often 1st born.
I would say that I have found that Elena Schalburg's creams have REALLY help all of them, my son 1st.

A friend of mine went to see a specialist in alternative therapies (this after the conventional wet wraps were absolutely not working) and she found that her son's liver was not functioning properly. She sorted that out - he is cleared !
He had eczema really badly for 5 years.

Thank you nfor info so far :)

About the bedmites, our cat had fleas and we have debugged the house with a spray that kills mites, fleas and apparantly woodlouse and spiders as they are dropping like flies too. Besides that and vacuuming the bed, is there anything else to get rid of bed mites?

I just posted this on another eczema thread...hope it helps:

I agree with removing all dairy...I had infantile eczema and my mother put me on a strict dairy free diet until I was old enough to rebel! An unpleasant vivid memory - warm goat's milk on cornflakes on a winter's morning - bleugh! It worked a treat though.

Epaderm is also a fantastic emollient. It is emulsifying wax BP 30%w/w and yellow soft paraffin BP 30%w/w.

Completely ban bubble bath; my ds had almost cleared up then i let him have some johnsons and he is a scabby mess again.
I use halo and horns shampoo and wash stuff as it is sls free - you can get it in Tesco and Morrisons.

Shazronnie, we have been using that for a whil as so much better for cradle cap than regular cradle cap shampoo. I tell everyone to use it too!

I think cutting our dairy is a good plan, she is still BFing but weaning off and drnking more cows milk and eating more dairy products so that adds up. Will have to attempt that when we get back from our holidays as will be difficult to source dairy free whilst away.

Thanks again!

See if you can get her allergy tested. My ds is allergic to dairy and eggs (and now peanuts it turns out) as soon as I switched to goats milk products his eczema (which covered his entire body for his first year) cleared up. I was also b/feeding at the time and took out eggs and milk from my diet - it worked a treat. It makes life so much easier if you can get the information.

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sorry baby on knee

Aveeno- is fab. in the bath and as a cream.

Dd's severe eczema improved greatly when we rehomed the dog as well (horrible ting to do but it worked)

I second the Aveeno, fantastic stuff AND available on prescription

Aveeno has changed our life really too.

DS's excema was awful he used to rip his little legs to shreds until our SA doctor said to use Aveeno - we use the cream lotion and the bath oil and get loads of it on prescription for him - it is great at last he has perfect little baby skin!!

Our doctor did warn us not to cut anything out of his diet until we had tried all the creams he said it is amazing the number of mothers who stop giving their kids dairy because they have bad skin without being properly advised by a health professional. DP has hayfever and DD and I asthma so we are that type of family!!

another vote foe aveeno - but press for a prescription as it is expensive.

WCL, do you still have a cat? Ds and dh both havesevere eczema and are highly allergic to cats. We dont even visit people who have cats as it triggers off eczema.

Ds bathes in plain warm water now. I use a little diprobase to clean his skin. We found keeping it simple was the most effective way of controlling his eczema, oilatum made things worse.

I do have a cat, I can't event hink about rehoming her as I got her when I lost my first baby and I am not sure how i'd have got through that without her.

I will try the Aveeno, my Dr has prescribed me something else but not sure what yet as have to collect from pharmacy.

ORGANIC PORRIDGE OATS!!! worked on all four kids,in the bath,no bubbles,use muslin bag or a thin sock,use like a bar of soap,it makes a gorgeous sort of milk.
My health visitor has made a point of passing this on for several years its so effective.Good Luck. xx

I suffer from eczema - it was at its worst through teenage years, at which point i went through a series of tests to discover that along with all the usual 'hayfever' allergies, trees, shrubs, grass, housemites, animals i am also allergic to two preservatives commonly used in toiletries - even those that claim to be for sensitive skin!

Illuminating the ingredients and other things as much as possible, i still suffer with eczema and am another big fan of Aveeno to control it.

I have always found mine to be worse during the summer months, and recently i have just noticed that mine gets worse at the beginning of spring when i start spending more time outdoors in t-shirts doing the gardening. I get it all up my arms, so its obviously to do with being allergic to trees, shrubs grass etc which are pretty tricky to illuminate from my lifestyle!

I'm another eczema sufferer, now aged 30 its beginning to be under control and pregnancy is doing wonders!

Please don't cut out dairy foods for small children without seeking proper medical advice first, the number of children who have true allergies to dairy products is actually really low.

Keeping cool and avoiding sls (I use the halo and horns products) are two of the simplest ways of keeping down irritation.

Additionally, preventing scratching by use of mittens, cotton gloves (or knee length socks pinned onto sleeves of nightwear for children like me who could get out of most situations to achieve a satisfying scratch! Also, regular trimming of fingernails will clearly help eliminate damage that children, even little ones can do.

Sometimes keeping cool can be tricky as even water can hurt sore skin - try a dry flannel stored in the freezer for instant relief! Hope this helps!

And remember, moisturise, moisturise, moisturise!!

can I ask what you are doing now? what treatments have your tried?

I can give detailed advice on dustmite removal, and control, but its worth testing for this as it is an expensive allergy to control.

have you tried changing your washing powder? my dd1 suffers from eczema too and after trying all the lotions that have been mentioned someone suggested this. we were using persil non bio but alot of people including my dad have a reaction to it. we now use fairy non bio and it has cleared up a treat, i also put baby oil in her bath. so for us the old washing powder was part of the cause. hope this helps.