Advice please on onset eczema in DS3 (10 months)

[NationMcKinley]

DS3 is ten months and has sudden developed extensive eczema on his face and scalp. He's very itchy and has scratched so hard he's made his ear bleed . We've been to the GP who has prescribed 1% hydrocortisone cream to get it under control and then epiderm cream to moisturise it. He's also having a milligram of piriton twice a day to try and reduce the itchiness. He's had nothing new diet-wise and we've not changed the washing powder or the bath stuff. I'm quite atopic and DS2 had a bit of eczema as a baby so it's certainly in the family, just odd that it's only on his face and scalp. As he's had a bad cold recently, the GP thinks there might be a post viral element. I'm wondering if any of you have any other ideas of what I can do - especially in terms of his itchy scalp. Thanks!

*the title should be sudden onset eczema. D'oh!

Poor DS.....can I suggest Virgin Coconut Oil which you can get in some health food shops, supermarkets or online.

It's amazing for some people...very pure. I have extremely sensitive skin and it's very nice to use...have a google to read other's experiences.

Thank you, Jitney funnily enough I love coconut oil and have a big bottle that I use all the time, I just hadn't thought to use it on the DCs. DS has just had a bath with loads of oilatum so I rubbed a load of coconut oil into his scalp first. Thanks for the tip!

Has your ds been hotter than usual? Could it be to do with central heating being on more? My ds is a lot older than your ds, he will soon be 5. He has had eczema since he was a baby and I am always trying to figure out what causes it to flare up. When I removed cows milk from his diet there was a huge difference but he still gets flare ups in certain areas of his body which seem to be to do with certain materials touching his skin and also if he is hot.

I need to be really careful with hats because they cause rashes and eczema on my DS's face. Has your ds been wearing a new hat?

I use Simple Baby Shampoo to wash his hair and it has resolved the dry scaly skin he had on his scalp. I am not sure if that is the same as eczema on scalp? A dermatologist at the childrens hospital recommended Simple Baby shampoo to me.

I also love coconut oil and I use that in ds's bath instead of oilatum.

I hope your ds's eczema is better soon!

Thanks Tacal! that's a very interesting point about the hat. He does have a new one so maybe that's the culprit? I'm not mad on central heating and tend to only use it for short periods when absolutely needed (pre DCs we lived in a tiny cottage with no CH so got used to not having it). I'm beginning to wonder about a possible cows milk intolerance too: I'm still BF ing him but he does love yoghurt and cheese. Do you think it would be worth eliminating them for a while and if so, how long for? Thanks again!

do you wash your clothes in same washing powder as baby? I gave my sons face flare up when I used some bio powder on my clothes when i was still breastfeeding him.

If i cant think of more useful advice than that I will post later!

Hopefully if your DS3 does not wear the hat for a while his eczema will clear up. With my ds once the eczema has started it takes a long time to clear up, especially when it is on his face.

I would not like to give you advice about removing cows milk because your ds is so young. When my ds was around 13 months I saw Jan De Vrise (alternative healthcare) who recommended I give ds nanny care goats milk instead of cows milk and use goats milk cheese. Almost immediately I could see a difference in ds and after 4 months his skin was perfect. Now DS has goat milk flavoured yogurts (delemere), goats cheese (hard like cheddar) but he does not like goats milk any more. I use soya milk or oatly milk for cooking and milkshakes.

If you start another thread about possible cows milk allergy there will be lots of people on here who will be able to give you some good advice.

I think I will try and use my central heating a lot less. I have it on too much and it does get hot and irritate ds's skin. Don't know how you could have lived with no central heating!! I hate being cold!

Is the new hat wool? Wool is bad for eczema.

Or if could be chemical residue on synthetic fibres.

Thank you so much all of you for all your help, [hypoallergenic] to all of you! You've given me loads to think about. His eczema is better than it was, thanks to the hydrocortisone, aveeno and epaderm. It certainly doesn't feel dry and scaly anymore which is good. He's still very itchy, especially on his scalp, I do think the coconut oil helped this so he's going to get another liberal basting tomorrow! I'm also going to get him a new non wool hat as that's about the only new potential trigger I can think of.
Tacal not having CH for a couple of years wasn't (mostly) as bad as it sounds. We drank a lot of wine which helped...... I can deal with being cold, it's being cold and wet that does it for me

Epaderm made my DS's skin lovely and soft but insanely itchy. He is completely reactive to anything man made and 90% of the natural options (slight exaggeration!!) so not the best case study but anything with petroleum was not good for him.