Eczema and cream types

[SteppingOnToes]

Full info so I don't drip feed. DSS has severe eczema (to the point that he is scarred and has skin that makes him look like a little old man at 5 years old). He bathes in oiled water moning and night, washed with a cream lotion, has cream applied 4-6 times a day, has stronger steroid creams that he needs every few weeks, and if we get through a whole weekend without needing prescription antihistamines we are doing well. His parents manage his eczema under the direction of a dermatology paediatrician.

My problem - I have been, on occasion, applying his main cream after his bath (if DP is busy with his DD) and I am having really bad reactions to it. I am getting eczema blisters all over my hands, especially over my knuckles - but I have never had eczema!

I have looked up the ingredients in his creams and lotions and all of the main ones (bar the prescription steroids) are mainly mineral oils. I have always stayed away from mineral oil products as I understood they weren't good for your skin, but I guess they are more 'neutral' than natural products for people with allergies?

Has anyone ever heard of a cream specifically aimed at people with eczema making it worse? Or better still, someone who doesn't have eczema developing it because of them?

(I'm not completely allergy free - I am allergic to tomatoes, citrus cordial and if toothpaste dribbles on my hand I can react to it)

Yes, I think so. My dd has had eczema for years and has tried a squillion different creams. So many of them she reacts to... there is only one ointment she trusts now.

I would use latex gloves if you are sensitive.... unless you are also sensitive to latex!

Thistly - thank goodness you have replied and I am not going mad! I'm not allergic to latex, no but as I work for the NHS I am not allowed to use it due to the risk of transfer to a patient. I have tried using medical nitrile gloves but DSS doesn't like the feel. I'm going to have to stop helping and swap to helping with DSD if he is out of the bath before DP is ready.

He has an underlying condition so will always have problems but I wonder if the creams he is using could be contributing as it just never seems to ease. His parents follow paediatricians advice to the letter so I know they are doing their best for him though.

Oh stepping, it is sooooo hard, when you suspect that the best medical advice might not be quite right for someone you care about, especially in your step situation.

Have you read the nice guidance for treatment of eczema, and the underlying condition? I found it really helpful to come to terms with the treatment my daughter was getting, and to stop Thinking 'why don't they try food intolerances?' etc.

Some creams work better for some kids, so I would encourage any way you can to keep trying until one is found that suits

Good luck

Thistly - without outing myself he has a rare, genetic, non-standard kind of eczema. The NICE guidelines don't even scratch the surface of the amount of daily treatment he needs. I really feel for him, especially now, coming up to summer when everything is going to get 100x worse :(

Oh your poor wee man, eczema is horrible.

I am allergic to loads & loads of prescription eczema type creams. Even aqueous cream if not one particular brand

I test creams on myself by using the new cream on my left (generally better) side for a week.

Also loads of emollients have lanolin in them & despite pharmacists doubting me I do react badly to all lanolin even the hyperallergen type. (Also shea, coconut, beeswax, preservatives etc etc )

Im not sure if its true or not but ive heard using steroid creams for a long period of time acctually damages the skin more as it the skin gets thinner. Ive read alot of horror storys also online about people who try to stop using them and it certainly put me of using them anyway. Try vasaline cocoa butter it helps with dry skin it may not help but its worth a try. Ive been prescribed loads of diff creams and none work and also make it worse for me causing more of a breakout. When i have a breakout i use the vasaline it doesnt clear it up but it really helps me with the itchyness and dry skin.

Also maybe try and cut down the baths ? Bathing to much can also cause it to get worse. The water has to be just right if its to hot or to cold for his body temp it could make it worse.

I dont know if any of this info will be of any use to you but i do hope you find something to help him soon.

Yup.... prescribed creams were horendous for DS, made his skin look lovely but he scratched like he wanted to take his own skin off. Petroleum was the trigger which was in almost everything. What I have learned along the way is that nothing is truly 'hypo allergenic' for those 1 in a million children. We watch everything that goes on around DS and when he reacts we consider all sorts of ridiculous possibilities. (He has vomited when I put ylang ylang oils in my bath and started wheezing when I watered a poinesetta, stopped when I put it outside and he was several rooms away.)

my son could not use dipro base, without hives, but I could.
In the end the creams that suited my son did not and I too had pretty severe eczema from applying his creams.
I ended up using more prescribed stuff, and wearing cotton gloves at night to keep mine under some control.
As my son has stuck to the atopic march pattern his skin improved after 5 years old although the flare ups linked to his environmental allergies.
We obviously like many changed the whole house to keep things under the best control we could.