At a loose end with 8 month old DS eczema

[Marleya]

Hi, really desperate for advice. Gp not helping much, especially with covid situation.

DS was born 3 weeks early last December. He had mucus on his stomach and took a while to feed. He would have 0.5oz and projectile vomit. This cleared up he started taking more so drs wasnt worried. However, his poo has always been green, sometimes slimy, and he is often constipated. He was on cow and gate and we switched to mamia milk which seemed to help reflux a lot.

When he was about 4 weeks old I realised he had patches of eczema, I have it myself and had cows milk intolerance and allergies as a baby. I started using Aveeno lotion to clear it but its progressively got worse.

We was now in the middle of the covid pandemic by the time dr diagnosed him with eczema so all these appointments have been phone and video calls. He is covered in eczema now, head to toe. Scratches CONSTANTLY. He has to have long sleeves and pants at all times and socks or scratch sleeves on if hes particularly uncomfortable or he will scratch himself raw. I only use persil non bio on his clothes, we have a dog but she doesnt really go near him (no carpets downstairs, she isnt allowed upstairs) on the odd occasion she has led with him, he doesnt seem to react. I dont think she is the problem.

Weve tried all sorts of creams and emollients. Some have helped, but the itchings never gone away. Even when he looks clear. We use steroid creams and taper them off, eczema comes back raging. He is on piriton at night which seems to help a bit but he can still have bad nights where hes waking up every few hours scratching.

When we have started weaning, he seems itchier and his skin is red after dairy products - yogurt, cheese stick, cheesy pasta, cows milk in cereal to name a few. Dr insists it cant be a cows milk intolerance that he has. I just dont know what to do anymore.

I'm waiting to see if the Dr will prescribe dairy free formula. If not, Im tempted to buy it myself and try him dairy free. Please share any of your own experiences or advice. I feel really stuck.

From what you have said it certainly sounds like trying diary free would be a good idea. Many shops now sell soya formula for not much more than regular. Worth a try.

I saw soya milk in Morrisons yesterday, I was tempted to buy! Im just worried about gp will say.. I dont know why. x

That certainly worked for my DS but he was 12, not a baby. His eczema got much worse so we tried it as an experiment. He was a different person in two weeks.
He grew out of it by uni age.

I think long- term, you need a dieticians advice to ensure your baby is having a balanced diet.
However I don’t see why you shouldn’t try it yourself and see how it goes.

First sign of my third child having dairy issues was his skin. My older child had cmpi too. We cut out all dairy and soy and his skin drastically improvrd and reflux stopped. My children can't have soy. The proteins are v similar so I'd push to get some formula from the doctors. I had a doc who didn't believe in cmpi so I refused to leave until they referred us to the allergy clinic. They never questioned it when we went there

Apparently around 15% of children's eczema is due to food intolerances. You could do a trial of cow's milk free diet for a few weeks. But bear in mind that some children are intolerant to soya. I would ask the GP for a referral to a paediatrician.

I can't speak for babies but I've had 27+ years with eczema soap powder/gels are a big irritant for me. I'm allergic to Ariel and Persil is highly irritating. I use supermarket own brand and my skin has calmed down massively.

Aveeno is a complete no go with me, diprobase and zerobase have been the only non irritating creams for me.

Poor kid. Cut out the dairy and any laundry detergent (we use soap nuts or a laundry egg). See if that helps.

Remember that eczema isn't curable though and at his age there's not loads they can do as lots of treatments affect growth.

I've had eczema for 25 years and all that works is strong steroids and zeroderm.