OK ds def has excema and I have 2 questions...

[charmkin]

Ever since stopping bf at 11months his skin has got continually worse and now with the heating on and the cold weather he has fully blown excema.

Is hydracortezine (sp?? ) as bad as everyone says?
Does diet really effect it and how can you tell what makes it worse?
ok 3 questions
Do they really grow out of it?

In my experience

1. No (if used as prescribed)
2. Yes, elimination and reintroduction
3. Yes ( my experience of 2 babies)

Hi Charmkin.
I am in my 30's and have had excema since I was baby.
IMHO:1: Hydrocortisone creams are good for controlling an outbreak, although I prefer to use emollient cream as a preventative measure(just discovered Aveeno cream on prescription)
2: Common triggers are things like Dairy products, cut them out of diet and look for improvement
3: I haven't grown out of it, but many do
As I said this is only my opinion, others will probably differ

in my experience with DS:

1.No. it ios good to use for a short space of time to get the ecxzema under control

1. yes, by removing things from his diet. Also dustmite can be a trigger.

1. Often can. Can come and go as they get older as well. DS had it terribly when a baby, now his skin is perfectly clear but can sometimes have some patches.

We took our ds, who has had eczema since about 3 months, to a hospital specialist. She prescribed a stronger ( 2.5%) HC cream plus emollient and bath oil, all of which help. She was v reassuring and says the mild strengths of HC cream prescribed for children are safe to use even on very young children and that's better to control an outbreak with it than let them itch and potentially cause greater damage to the skin by scratching.

Not convinced about diet - never seemed to make much difference with DS. He hasn't started to grow out of it yet ( 4) but then both DH and I are eczema prone so depends on your child I suspect.

Aveeno is great - hard to get on prescription where we are but you can buy it in some branches of Boots if you get no joy from your GP. The key is to make sure you moisturise at least twice a day even when there don't seem to be any problems.

1. HC is fine as long as you use the recommended dose (nor more nor less) and only on red flares (stop it when they disappear and maintain the skin in good shape using aveeno twice a day)

1. Diet may be the cause, but may be also environmental aspects as dustmites and pet hair. Don't remove dairy products from the baby diet unless the process is supervised by a nutrtionist/gp as good replacers should be found.

1. DS eczema is nothing compared to what it was when he was a baby. Buit if I stop Aveeno for 3 days it's back.

Was just going to start a thread asking the same questions, then found this.

DD (nearly 3) has eczema on backs of knees which can flare up quite badly. Have noticed that strawberries are a trigger, as it is usually worse in the summer.

Does anyone one know when children typically grow out of eczema or does it vary enormously?

Thanks for the advice everyone. Will try and get some Aveena prescribed.

should have said "and it is usually worse in the summer"

my dd get this behind her knees and also in patches on back and lower abdomen area... i used and use Calendula mother tinture... u cud get it fm any homeopath...dilute it in water and dab it on..I also use an Aloe cream from acompany that i have started working fm home for (can't name as that wud be advertising it) but the redness is gone and the scaliness is much gone. 30 % still left after about 2-3 weeks. The calendula even on its own is great for the skin. Try it..it might help your dd too..

Hi - I'm a nurse with experience of skin care, so I hope this helps. The main stay treatments for eczema are topical steroid cream (these come in different strengths of mild/moderate/potent and very potent)and emollients (moisturisers). Steroid creams reduce the inflammation of eczema are usually used once to twice a day for a few weeks. Emollients should be used as often as possible to cool the inflammation and prevent the scratch/itch cycle which can drive eczema sufferers mad. There are many different types of emollients available now and they come in ointments, cream or lotions and its personal preferace which you use. Aveeno is one of the many newish creams around, other names are Diprobase, Doublebase, Oilatum, Cetraben, Hydromol and Unguentum Merc, there are loads more but these tend to be the most popular and most readily available on prescription and in a large Boots Dept. Try to avoid E45 as the lanolin can aggravate. Its best to apply them after bathing, leave for 10mins and then apply the steroid ontop and let it soak in, try to resist rubbing the creams in as this can aggravate. I'd apply emollients 4-6 times a day and these should be continued when the flare settles to re-hydrate the skin. Sometimes the skin can sting a little when you start to re-hydrate it with these creams this is due to the skin being so dry, this usually settles if you keep going.

Hydrocortisone comes in various strengths 0.5% upto 2.5% and is perfectly safe to use on a short term basis as it is one of the mildest steroids (be very careful around eyes)

How on earth to you moisturise 4-6 times a day when they are at school? I find it hard fitting 2 sessions in.

My dd has been using hydrocortisone regularly for years and so far, everything is ok.

We tried milk and lactose free and it didn't really make any difference.

Dd is 5 and hasn't grown out of it yet.

She has also started reacting with any creams that contain paraffin, which is a complete pita. At the moment I am trying cardiospermum and aloe propolis as emollients as they are both paraffin free, neither are available on prescription unfortunately.

I know its difficult in reality. Some school nurses are very good and will help apply creams if you're child is desperate.

Diet and growing out eczema is very individual to each child

Give Elenas Nature Collection a try - worked wonders for my lttle guy. He doesnt itch half as much now:
www.elenascollection.co.uk
tel 01435 882092