Any advice appreciated on eczema and hayfever

[kentmamma]

I took DS to GP today as he has developed eczema and it is getting worse.

GP has given me aveno cream but also said DS has hayfever as his eyes have been swelling up and he has now got conjuctavitus as well.

DS keeps scratching at eczema and only seems to want to sit and watch T.V

I am new to mumsnet and any advice on how to deal with the eczema and hayfever would be greatly appreciated.

how old?

with eczema i would avoid all washing powders apart from ones like surcare and also use their fabric conditioner if you use that. forget bubbles in the bath and just use stuff without sulfer lauryl sulfates - maybe just buy 'little me' I suggest that one as easy to get hold of in boots, but if you have a health shop near you - pop in and ask what they have.

Hi, my dd has always suffered from eczema and grass pollen allergy. We also use surecare washing liquid but not any conditioners. My dd use to constantly itch and itch. Our life saver was buying cotton comforts clothing www.eczemaclothing.com I use Dermol 500 lotion in the bath, its on prescription and is a soap substitute or light mosturiser. Been through all the wet wrapping too. My dd gets sore red eyes and is on cetirizine quite often for grass pollen allergy. I dont dry her clothes or bedding outside during high pollen season. Very difficult but if it eleviates her itching and sore eyes the better but you may not wish to go that extreme! Eczema is so so difficult to deal with when they are so bad. We have been there with the excruciating bath times and constant itching. Like I said take a look at the clothing. Stops them getting to their legs and ankles ect. dd quite often wears the leggings after school and still sleeps well covered up.

Does the eczema clothing work? Can you get it for adults? I've suffered quite badly my whole life but it seems to have got worse in adulthood. TBH I've just always lived with it, but I find it a bit embarassing as it's in my hairline and on my feet. So black tops and strappy sandles are out!

Keep sleeping area very clean and dust free, wash bedding at 60c, use Non bio washing powder. Remove all carpets from bedroom. Cotton clothing and bedding. Dermol for bath and very important moisturise skin as often as possible. Hydromol works well for moisturising.
How old is DS?

Yes you can get the clothing for adults. Well, I definately found it helped with dd. Protected her skin during the night.

we use non bio washing powder,no conditioner.only dream wash and dream cream on skin.
for hayfever we use piriton.

there is another thread about the light emitting treatment on offer at Lloyd now. You could consider that for the hay fever.

You've got off to a good start with aveeno. Another recommendation for non bio powder. Try adding probiotics to his diet as they can help some eczema. Also recommend an air purifier/ filter for the bedroom, although they don't make a vast difference unless you spend a fortune on them. Useful if they flatly refuse to give up stuffed toys. You can put toys in a palstic bag in the freezer to kill dust mite.

Hi, this may be obvious but it's reccomended to only bathe babies once or twice a week. if they have eczema this should help. My doctor told me this and told me most parents ignore it!

Hi Kentmamma - how old is your DS? Have you discussed with your Dr the possibility of a food intolerance?

I only ask because my DS2 is 21months old and his symptoms were very similar. He has suffered from eczema since he was 10 months and had itchy eyes and blocked nose since the spring (leading us to believe it was hayfever).

We have recently put him on a dairy-free diet trial and it has had amazing results. His nose is clear (he can breathe at night!) and his skin has already started to clear up within a week. His eyes, which were sometimes puffy to the point of looking closed, are now fine.

I know it's not the case for all, but many allergies and eczema are diet related so may be worth checking out.

Good luck x

Eczema and allergies go hand and hand. My son had Eczema so bad that his hands would bleed if he washed them to much. The doctor had me use hydrocortazone cream on it and it cleared right up. Stick with the 1%.

I agree with Meemar, you should ask your GP about food intolerances. DS1 is 4 and has asthma, eczema, and hayfever. In February he had his tonsils out and didn't eat for over a week, his eczema completely cleared up that week, but within 2 days of eating again he was absolutely covered again. Took him to the GP who did blood tests and found that he is allergic to wheat, milk, eggs and peanuts.
After going through a couple of months of elimination diets we now know that wheat and milk are the ones that set his eczema off, we have also noticed that his asthma has improved dramatically and he isn't as stuffy (or snotty) as he was, his snoring isn't half as loud as it was, lol. He now sleeps through the night wheras before he would be up at least 3 or 4 times because he was itching so much (and often bleeding), it's wonderful I now get a decent nights sleep for the first time in 4 yrs
We are now waiting for an appointment with the dietician and then hopefully we will be able to get some things on prescription.

I think you should talk to your GP, we never dreamed that his eczema was caused by food!!

Good Luck

Hi Kentmamma. Have only skimmed this thread, but I used to have terrible hayfever and it is now 99% cured. A friend recommended I try local honey. I'd heard this before and was very sceptical but gave it a try because I was pregnant and unable to take my usual shedloads of antihistamines. It took a while to kick in, but I've now been almost totally symptom-free for 2 years. Has to be local, and preferably unfiltered. 2 tsp per day (maybe less for children?)Worth a try?

Note about the honey not suitable for under 1 year olds (or is it 2 year old?) apparently a source of botulism (or something like that I recall) that little ones are susseptable to.

surcare washing powder and conditioner(avail in sains/tesco etc)

i would suggest avoiding milk or soya - a gp would say that you have to be so careful to do this as vit d and calcium are vital. HOWEVER, when I switched my daughter at 13 months to organic rice milk with added calcium on the advice of two friends her excema disappeared - i promise you! it was really bad before and making her life miserable.

yeah i use surcare washing detergant and softener also, greatly improved the itchiness and dry patches on my body