Creams for eczema

[windywoo26]

My 5 month old is suffering with really bad eczema. He has steroid creams and emollients from the doctor which dampen it down a bit but I am looking for ideas for non prescription creams which might help.

He has cmpa and has been on neocate for one week now so hoping in the next couple of weeks the allergens will clear his system and it will calm down.

Anyone used anything that has helped?

Your DS sounds exactly like mine was! He got diagnosed at 4 months with eczema and we have steroids and emollient creams. Which steroids have you got and how often are you using them?

For example, don't use them at the same time as the emollient, as the moisturiser will dampen the steroids down. We used the steroids morning and night and the emollient twice during the day. We also use oilatum for the bath and hair and wash with aqueous cream. It's possible the steroids aren't strong enough, one dermatologist we saw said it's better to use a stronger one for a shorter amount of time than long term use of a weaker one.

Have you looked at your wash powder? We use non bio which seems to help. My DS was also on Neocate, sometimes it takes a week or so for the milk to get out their systems. My DS now he's 2 drinks soya. Does he itch? You can give Piriton at night to stop the itching.

Personally the only thing that helped us was the steroids. It wasn't until we saw a dermatologist (GP was useless) that we got a proper creaming regime that helped immediately. His skin is lovely now.

I agree with Popple.

My ds had eczema under 9 months. We had steriods, emollients and anti biotic cream for infected skin. He's now 7 and completely clear.

I feel like I've spent a lot of the past few years at the dermatologist as at 6 my dd developed guttate psoriasis which covered 80% of her body. It's was a long haul but at 9 she's now clear (ish) for now. The best advice I gleamed from the best doctors at GOSH was.....

Don't be afraid of steriods. Always use enough or it will be totally inaffective(but obviously don't slap it on whenever)

Always wait for the emollient to sink on first or the steroid cream will get lost.

Emollient - Are you using it enough? Drs told me most people don't use it nearly enough. At my dd's worst it was on 5 times a day. Literally slathered on it buckets and left to absorb not necessarily rubbed in.

We don't have soap in our house. We wash with emollient. It cleanses. People will always tell you the cream they used is a miracle cream etc, but the truth is it's different for everyone. Keep trying different things. For what it's worth, I've always found Aveeno cream alongside emollients very good.

It does get better xxx

harry we saw a GOSH dermatologist too! Unfortunately we had to pay and see him privately as the GP refused to treat DS (just moisturise him, there's nothing you can do, he's too young for steroids. Rubbish).

My 16 month old has had eczema since 4 months - I used to spend a lot of time researching what to avoid (certain foods, washing powder etc etc) but in terms of cream (aside from steroids which are really the only thing that works once her eczema gets past a certain point), I couldn't find an emollient that worked until we tried Hope's Relief intensive dry skin rescue. We buy it via Amazon, it's really expensive and you can't get it on prescription but it was recommended to me & it definitely worked for us. Worth a Google. I think it's a case of just trying everything until you find a cream that works for your baby's skin! Sympathies though...

Yes Popple, it was such a relief to see doctors that just seemed to know what to do. I think we managed to get referred because dd was so young and her skin was so so bad (the photos would made your eyes pop!). However, I think guttate psoriasis is quite unusual in such a young child. She was really poorly for 12 months. It was the most stressful year but (touch wood) we're on the right path now. The best thing was, afterwards the GP just took us more seriously as I seemed to know more than them eventually!

It such a scandal that gps are so reluctant to help with eczema in infants. I was lucky with ds and had a Gp who had a special interest in skin and believed in steriods and trusted that I was intelligent enough to use them. It really was the only thing that worked.

Thanks for your messages. Will try the hope's relief.

At the mo we have eumovate for his face and betnovate for his body as well as 50/50 and epiderm. The doc said put the steroid on then half hr later put the emollient on.

We are using non bio for all his stuff and only using epiderm in the bath and for washing him.

He is really scratching at the mo and permanently has mitts on to stop him cutting himself. At my wits end so lovely to hear the positive stories, his skin has been awful since new year. We have a dermatology appt next month, it all just takes too long

Another bit of advice I was given was to wash everything at 60 or 90 to get rid of any dust mites (I think that's what they said, it was a few years ago but we still do it!) Also, no fabric conditioner at all. I had to say goodbye to all my silky soft new cleaned towels!

Thank you cookie! Got the Hope's Relief yesterday and have been using it before his emollient 3 times a day and I can notice some improvement in his face and he has been much calmer. May just be coincidence of the neocate kicking in but will be keeping on using it.

Our experience is almost identical to harryhausen's. When DS's eczema is bad, the only thing that works is Eumovate twice a day and emollient up to 5 times a day (but wait at least 20 mins after applying steroid before applying emollient). GPs were totally useless and kept fobbing me off telling me it was just normal baby eczema. I knew this was wrong as my first child had had 'normal baby eczema' but DS's was nothing like it! By the time we finally got referred to dermatologist (after basically begging the GP) they were absolutely horrified at how bad his skin was and amazed that he managed to eat or sleep at all given how much pain he must've been in :(