Infected eczema, has anybody got any advice please?

[tee4two]

Hi,Ive seen my nephew this afternoon, and although I had heard he was suffering with his eczema again I didnt realise just how bad it was.
It is apparently infected eczema, diagnosed last week, and the stuff on the backs of his knees do indeed look like this, but he has a large patch on his buttock and in his crease that looks so sore and so painful and today the large one had weeped a clear liquid onto his pants. He is only 5 poor little thing, and I could cry for him.
It is the size of about three 50p pieces grouped together and if I didnt know better would say it was a very bad burn. GP has prescribed doublebase and Fucidin [I think] but it is getting worse. Apparently there is nothing more the GP can do, now he will have to see a specialist, which is great but I wondered if anyone had any advise for something my sister could try right now?
It is such a sorrowful sight we will be grateful for any advice at all.Thanks.

When i was small i had infected eczema all the time, i was given very smelly impregnated bandages which i was wrapped in to sooth my skin at night, also i would suggest cotton gloves on your nephew at night to help him not to scratch also contact the NES
www.eczema.org/
I know how miserable it can be i still suffer now...... hugs to your poor nephew xxx

Thanks, I said he needed wet dressings [if thats right] I'll suggest the gloves. He was given something like Piriton to help him sleep and not scratch but it had the opposite effect, and he was awake all night.
I didnt know if it could be impetigo cos its such a big patch not like his little scabs on his knees etc.??

what she could try right now...hmmm. A cool/warm bath with emollient in it, a slathering of his moisturiser when he gets out p[lus a little of the fucidin over the red sore bit, 100% cotton pjs on, washed in a gentle non-bio, no fabric conditioner. It's hard.

When dd2 was very bad, we spread her with icthamol paste (thick, greyish, like mud and wonderfully cooling) and then wrapped her in bandages. It works incredibly well but not the sort of stuff your sister could lay her hands on without talking to the specialist nurse.

Wishing him well

fucidin is antibiotic only
fucidin H will have hydrocortisone in too

I think the GP should be trying harder really

any news on a referral?

I'm talking to her at the moment, and it is Fucibet she has been given this last week, and it isnt doing anything. She has had Fucidin last time, and she isnt very happy with her GP, who couldnt sort out the specialist because she couldnt find it on her computer!

The sore bit is actually weeping clear liquid, and its a really large patch, almost covering his bum cheek.
She uses non bio, and usually does the bathing routine until she got very houseproud and undid the screw on her plughole, promptly dropping the screw down the drain yesterday. So showers only at the moment.!!

DS had what was diagnosed as impetigo on his head at xmas, it went all horrible and was weeping yellow pus and blood everytime he touched it. I have taken him to three doctors since and was eventually told it is probably infected excema, I agree he should have the cream with Hydrocortisone in, DS's head has gone down now, still not great and he lost his hair but the cream worked marvels.

my son has bad eczema on the back of his knees also - my doctor prescribes dipro-base ointment(its like vaseline) and hydrocortisone for when it flairs up - i use the dipro morn&night a good slathering and the h.c. if it gets red at all which normally nips it in the bud quickly

i find if he eats certain foods it can flair up really badly and if we indentify a trigger food we remove it from his diet

i think this GP sounds shite unhelpfull i would go to another

fucidin is no good for me either.
i find it makes things worse, but i am always given it first.
gp always makes me have an antibiotic if it is infected- but this may not be what the doctor would suggest for your lo.
the best thing for me is
1 a bath with balneum or a handful of porridge oats
2 once clean and soothed ( pat dry do not rub)apply a good moisturiser - i like Aveeno but diprobase is usually ok too.
3) go back to the gp and get another cream.there is anot one cream fits all solution.also ask for an ointment not a cream as it will hold to his skin better and is generally more moisturising.
4) try to let the air at the sore bits or let him wear very loose cotton pants.
5) repeat the moisturising 3 time a day
6) it much itch like hell so try any form of distraction available.
7 wear gloves in bed
8) avoid getting overheated.And extreme changes in temperature- such as being cold oputsideand coming into a hot house.this will make the flare up worse

for me the flare up,folowwed by raw weeping skin followed by slow healing is a kind of cycle and will come to an end itself.the creams will only serve as relief until it naturally calms down.
You are a lovley auntie to be so concerned BTW
3

Apparently she has got him in to see a different doctor in the morning, the other one didnt really take a look at it.
She is going to get him some cotton gloves as well, I just hope she gets some help for him tomorrow, poor little man.

If it is infected and the Fucidin isn't helping then he should be prescribed a course of oral antibiotics. Poor fella, hope it improves soon.

For a bad flare up that becomes infected it should be blitzed with a cream that dries out the weepiness, like Calmurid, otherwise the clear liquid (forgotten the name) continues to sting and itch (makes me wince to think of it), and then in combination, a strong steroid cream, like Eumovate, none of the 0.05% stuff. I can't remember precisely how high it had to go - I think 1.5% - when I was at my worst.

The eczema.org to some excellent emollient bandages that really do soothe.

Lots of exposure to the air, cotton clothes.

I imagine where it's worst, is where it chafes and gets hot, so maybe even change the style of undies? Nails cut really short; you can't stop him itching but you can lesson the damage and less chance of dirt getting underneath the nail and furthering the infection.

Do you know if he reacts to dairy or wheat? DS now has porridge for breakfast and oats are also something you can also put in the bath. Can get Aveeno (oat based) products on prescription.

Sometimes just having the area stroked gently can help!( in your poor nephew's case). My father used to just stroke my hands when cracked and raw, and it just took away the itch & the soreness for a time. When it got really so awful, I used to put my hands under the hot tap until I couldn't bear it and then plunge them under cold. Oh the relief! But not something I recommend for a small child!!

Hope your nephew feels better soon. My gp always is better at prescibing when I tell him what precisely I want!

Thanks Cremolafoam, he is a lovely nephew too.
He says that when he was sitting on his cloud before he was born,[!] he looked down at all of us and thought what lovely people we all were and he would like to have us as his Aunties and Uncles, and so he decided to come to us!

If it's infected he may well need more than just topical antibiotics - he might need a course of antibiotics orally. Also, if he has a large open area that may be infected, a steroid containing cream isn't a good idea. If he is unwell - temperature, off food, clingy - he may need more than just oral antibiotics and might need a hospital visit sooner rather than later. Wet wraps are a good idea for maintenance once this problem is under control. Does your local hospital have a rapid access clinic for kids? Your GP will be able to tell you.

I'd suggest mentioning impetigo to the GP aswell tbh, DS had a course of fluoxcillin which did nothing for him (probably because it wasn;t impetigo) but they gave him a second course of much stronger fluoxcillin which did take some of it down, just not as much as we would have hoped which is when we went to the cream.

oh heated i hear you. i used to stand in the shower which was pouring nearly boiling water and then plunge into a cold bath.
god i was so desperate. oats have been my salvation and ( i can't believe i am saying this) 'practising acceptance' which sounds like a load of old cobblers,but i think getting stressed and depressed about the whole thing only made it worse.
my nephew has got it as bad as me too, and i really feel for you tee4too. it is very hard to look at.

aaaaaaaaaw t4too what a sweetie.

Ive made a note of all your advise, she is going to try the oat bath tomorrow. She has a really bad cold sore as well which made me think impetigo, and mum has said he needs oral antibiotics.
Ive just discovered through trial and error that my DS3 has a milk intolerance so Ive suggested she asks for allergy testing too, he is a bad eater but drinks loads of milk and eats yogurt etc.
I think it looks so bad that hospital treatment could be necessary, I'm not sure about rapid access at our hospital.

this is a bit of a random post, more for the longer term... mainly as everyone else has said all the stuff that i was thinking. Anyway, my DS1 had horrible eczema, the antibiotic cream didnt work and the emollients sort of did for a bit; we gave him goats milk to drink - and he was younger than this little chap, at only 20 mo. it cleared the eczema within days. yes we found at around the same time that the eczema was a 'symptom' of a cows milk intolerance, but goats milk is known to somehow heal eczema and relieve skin reactions. Worked for us, no harm in trying? goats milk (go for pasturised for a child) is usually in supermarkets along from the cows milk.

oh poor lad.

when dd1 had this (she has had eczema since she was a baby, and in the first two years used to leak clear fluid fm her legs a lot, god i crying remember it all), our gp hit her with everything he could. she had fucidin h, oral antibiotics and oral steroids (presidanole, cant spell) all at once just to get it under control and stop the cycle. it was a releif when it stopped weeping for a while.

Thanks Gigglewitch, I will tell her about this, and I think I may try it too. My DS2 has eczema, but doesnt suffer with it to this extent, and what with the discovery of DS3's allergy, I have been wondering if DS2 could be allergic to dairy too.
Did you cut out all dairy at the same time?
DS2 is nearly 3, can he have goats cheese etc?

My DD1 had this right in the middle of her forehead when she was only a few months old.

I wasn't happy with my gp either so phoned nhs 24 who faxed them confirming they had diagnosed an infection over the phone and he better see her quick sharp. I got an appointment the very next morning (after he had refused to see us for a fortnight

They put us in touch with a specialist at the local hospital - who saw us that afternoon.

We were given icthamol paste to use at night and had to cover her face in bandages. She looked like a bank robber but it did help to soothe her skin and a course of antibiotics.

If it is an open sore and he is becoming distressed I would suggest your sister phones the hospital direct and asks to be put through to the dermatology nurses. They will advise how to get an appointment - and are miracle workers when it comes to excema.

Hope he is feeling better soon.

Gigglewitch, is there a noticeable difference in taste between cow's and goat's milk? I only tried goats cheese at christmas just because I had no choice [dinner at MIL's] and really enjoyed it,I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to trying new things!
Misdee, dont you wish you could take it all away from them?
Kerrymum, I will suggest the evening primrose oil, to go along side his treatment, when I had my first flare up of guttate psoriasis I took zinc supplements, and sulphor homeopathic remedies, and think they speeded up my recovery.
Yes, my family has very weird skin!!

oh now you've done it you have asked me about dairy free children. you will be unable to shut me up.
yes we stopped all dairy at once with DS1, started a food diary and took the whole thing on my mum's theory that it was the milk causing DS's trouble (constant poo-will not elaborate) lethargic, sickness, eczema, runny nose etc.
As i said, within days of getting dairy out of his system and using only goats milk, he was a totally different child no snot/sick/poo. He is seven yrs old now and still dairy free. The range has improved hugely in supermarkets, there is goats milk, yogurt(it's plain, so add your own fruit), cream, cheese - and as you ask, we get the hard goats cheese made by delamere dairy, who do heaps of 'goat' stuff, my dc have had it from around 18mo. it is quite strong, so if we are using it for cheese on toast or on a pizza or whatever, i slice it with the potato peeler so that it is really thin. they love it. erm...what else? - oh, we have an alternative for everything, "swedish glace" which is dairy free ice cream, and tastes very creamy! Other than that i use goats milk just as you would cows milk in cooking etc, sauces, pancakes, everything. It is quite thin so you need a bit more flour than usual to make pancake batter (you've got a couple of weeks to practice) but once you have tried it you can't really taste the difference.