Severe scratching to the head by 4 my month old

[EmmaPeel]

Please help !
My 4 month old boy has got into the habit of scratching himself. He has done this from birth, but the older and stronger he gets, the more damage he is doing to himself ! His poor little head is covered in cuts and scrapes.
95% of the time he is a very happy and content little boy who is always smiling and gigling and who is such a good sleeper (usually 7pm through to 7am) but the other 5% of the time he is in such distress.
The scrathing is mainly on his head, although he will gladly have a go at his legs or tummy if he can get to them.
He does have dry skin on his head, and a little excema on his ankle, but nothing that would indicate such vigorous scratching.
We have tried all manner of lotions and potions (E45, olive oil, diprobase, oilatum in the bath, craddlecap shampoo, calendula etc..) and we no longer use fabric conditioner when washing clothes, and of course keep his nails trimmed everyday.
During the day we have tried putting mitts on his hands but he learned very quickly how to get these off and so we now use long socks which go over his hands and up to the elbow. At night we have had to result to tying his hands with ribbon to the side of his grow-bag. I know this seems a little extreme but without the cuffs in the past we have rushed into his room at the sound of his crying only to find blood all over the sheets.
It is so distressing for us, we have to watch him ALL the time in case he has a quick go, and he seems to be getting worse not better the older he gets.
Any advice from someone who has been through this before would be grately appreciated...

Hi EmmaPeel - sounds awful, your poor son. Poor you. It's so distressing to see blood on the sheets. A couple of things have made a big difference to my ds's eczema - using an extra rinse cycle whenever I wash any of his things, and using very smooth cotton sheets rather than fuzzy brushed cotton ones. Sounds like your problem is going to need a more dramatic solution though - can you get a referral to a dermatology clinic?

EmmaPeel - my four year old DS still scratches himself, but not daily anymore, and not to the extreme of yours. The only thing that works for us is Hydros cream on precription. It is really thick but absorbs quickly; he used to really fight having it but now it is a habit. Occasionally even now he will scratch in the night, and in the morning looks like he has been attacked.
Make sure he is not too hot, as that sometimes brings on the itching. Good luck, it must be very worrying.