ok, what can I try now to tackle eczema?

[kittywits]

I'd be really, really grateful for any tips to sooth my 2 year old dd's bad ezcema that doesn't involve steroids. Up until now I have tried:
dream cream, it stings her skin and makes her cry
Homeopathic oils in cream
oilatum
aqueous cream
It flares up occasionally, but when it does it's pretty bad, stops her from sleeping and she scratches until her body has open sores. It seems to be worse at the beginning of spring and autumn for some strange reason. I don't understand it really.
If anyone has trid something that has worked well for them I will certainly go out and get whatever it is. Thanks

[kittywits]

Really Sallyrosie? Silly me then [blush} I've stopped putting some stuff on as she tears at her skin and it seems to make it worse! I guess I just need to persevere.

Thanks for the link twocat, I've just emailed them to find out how to get it on prescription as presumably they don't do it in you average chemist?

[sallyrosie]

Think that anything is going to sting when her skin is flaring and sore so maybe persevere?
Good luck with the aveeno.

[mooshy]

vaseline.My friends husband is a dermatologist and really recommends it-its all i ever used and fabulous.

[twocatsonthebed]

I've had eczema all my life, and this is the most natural stuff that I've found which makes a difference - I think in some areas it's even possible to get it on prescription.

The other thing that really worked for me was homeopathy, and it's been just as effective for a friend's child too.

In terms of cutting things out, it can vary so much from person to person, but one thing that made a real difference to me was cutting out non-organic dairy (not that surprising when you think about it!).

hth

[Rosylily]

I was prescribed wet wrapping for ds2. It sounds awful though. I bathed him in oilatum, used a little hydrocortisone at first for bad patches, then smothered him in epaderm, then soaked special bandages and wrapped him up wet. dressed him on top of all that. He slept ok surprisingly. It really did amazing things for his skin. I did it for a few weeks just.

[TOD]

keep us posted!

[kittywits]

I have also found that she complains that the creams are making her itch and that they sting, even the dream cream. I've got some Aveeno today so I'll try that.

[kittywits]

Thankyou so much for all the ideas
We have a water softener but haven't got round to installing, reading this I just spoke to dh and said we must fix it in.
DD doesn't have too much diary. She drinks rice milk, but loves cheese and bananas, although she doesn't eat them everyday. It's very hard to know what the triggers are. her skin can be ok for ages and suddenly flare up really badly.
I'll look into all the things you have suggested, thanks again

[jellybellie]

I swear by Aveeno cream applied liberally morning and night as a preventative measure. When ds had eczema/very dry skin all over originally we used the Aveeno bath preparation - a bit like putting porridge in the bath and also they do a heavier cream - this cleared it up in a matter of days - expensive but worth it (I didn't even realise you could get it on prescription!)

[TOD]

I find aveeno great for my little 21 month old. I also bath him every day with emulsifying ointment......mix emulsifying ointment with boiling water...whisk in to a liquid and add to bath water. Pat his skin dry and cover all skin in aveeno lotion.
However if your little ones skin is very red, inflamed and itchy....you may need to use steroid cream and antibiotic cream to get it under control first. Good luck i know it can be very upsetting and trying!

[chestnutter]

Emulsifying Ointment worked well for us - you can buy it in a small pot at any chemist

[KBear]

My DS had bad eczema as a baby and toddler until I cut bananas out of his diet. It cured it completely within a month. His face used to bleed it was so bad and now he has lovely peachy skin. He is now five and I let him have a banana occasionally as a treat (he loves them typically and pleads to be allowed them) but after he has had a banana once or twice he gets a little patch of eczema and we have to ban them again! Please try it, it might work - I wish you so much luck in finding a cure for your little one.

[PinkTulips]

goats milkcontains something that helps exzema... not sure of the science of it but it's worked wonders for some people i know.

also Allergenics cream from the heath shop is fantastic, cleared my dps exzema in a few days when even steroid creams weren't helping

[TheVoiceOfReasonQV]

Aqueous cream has been found to make eczma worse.

We use diprobase with a great deal of success with DD. Oilatum oil in the bathwater. I've heard that Aveeno is very good but we havent needed to use it yet.

Try cutting out cows milk products from her diet too for a few weeks and see what happens (sheep and goats milk okay, just not cows milk).

[Petall]

Also a huge fan of Aveeno cream.

My children drink the bath water too, so a friend recommended putting porridge oats in an old stocking(and tying a knot in it) and putting that in the bath- it doesn't make as much mess as the bath oil does. I then put the cream on when they get out.

Just as a thought, but my daughter appeared to be allergic to lanolin and liquid parrafin, which is in most creams including oilatum and all the creams she was originally prescribed.You might want to check labels and see if there is a common ingredient that's a problem for your DD.

I also used to use Surcare washing powder and soya milk instead of cows. DD is now 4 and appears to have been fine for a while now, so I use any non biological powder and she can have dairy products, although by choice won't.

Good Luck

[Groveregg]

We were having similar problems with our ds and he was really suffering until we went on holiday to a house that had a water softener installed, it was like a miracle. Within 2 days it had cleared up. We came home and it came back! If you live in a hard water area I would definitely look into it. We have had one installed - ours was expensive in the extreme but I think you can get them from around £300 and I hardly ever need to use any steroid cream since then, and less than half the cream I used to use on him. The people that install the softeners are keen to stress that it will not work necessarily for everyone but I have since heard other miraculous reports from other people. I sound like a cheesy advert but...

[nixnoo]

thank you! am going to try it too.

[misdee]

just the plain aveeno cream

Aveeno® Cream
This cream actively moisturises dry and sensitive skin and helps to retain the body's natural moisturising oils. Perfect for smaller areas of the body and dry patches.

[nixnoo]

Hi,
Just looked at the Aveena website... which product do you use?
www.aveeno.co.uk/productrange.jhtml

[kittywits]

I think it's great that I can come on here and get all this advice, thankyou all

[Monkeychopsmummy]

The Balneum Plus bath oil is really good for itchy skin and doesn't feel as greasy as oilatum - just leaves skin feeling very soft. DS was scratching at his skin before I used it in his bath.

[blossom2]

yeah, DD1 likes to lie in the bath after i've applied it. so we now wash hair first, tie her hair up and then apply oilatum. they then have a play for 5-10 mins before getting out.

unfortunately DD2 likes to drink the bath water, and suck the toys so i'm a little worried that it gets into her system, but she's never shown any ill effects.

[blossom2]

i used aveeno when DD2 was 9 mths. i'd check with GP, but its fairly natural as its made from oatmeal

[kittywits]

So it looks like aveeno wins, I'll go to the gp next week. Hadn't thought about oilatum straight into the skin. I don't like putting it into the bath as it gets into their hair and makesit horribly greasy.

[Monkeychopsmummy]

Is Aveeno suitable for very young babies?