how bad does your dc's eczema get while teething? please, I am at the end of my tether!!!!

[ratbunny]

excuse my constant posting about ds's eczema, but I am slowly losing my mind trying to work out the cause of this flare! ds is 13 months and his eczema has been pretty clear following exclusion of dairy/soy/egg. until recently....

he has had no dairy / soya / egg for about a week (I was doing a dairy challenge before, and stopped when it started to flare after his jabs, then tried dairy/soya once after his allergy results came back clear) and VERY little before that.

it's 4 weeks since his jabs, after which he did flare spectacularly, but it surely would have cleared if that was the only cause.

I have properly hoovered and damp-polished his room, banned the dog from upstairs, boil washed his monkey and bedclothes and STILL his eczema is flaring.

The only thing left I can consider is causing it, before I totally give up and resign myself to him looking like his face has been sandpapered, is teething. He is constantly chewing his fingers, so I suspect premolars even though he hasnt got all 4 of his bottom teeth yet.
his face is awful - eczema all over his cheeks, forehead and chin, even round his eyes and behind his neck and ears. Elsewhere (ie legs and wrists) its bad, but not desperately so. and he is getting intermittent nappy rash.
so is teething a feasible cause for this bad and prolonged flare?
and if it is, I presume hc cream will do nothing for it?
PLEASE help me stop being neurotic mum!!

yes it could be teething but it can be anything else too. my dd gets a flare up each spring - and any other times she feels like - pollen seems to be the culprit, tree pollen i think. short of putting him in a bubble you cant do anything more than you are doing. i assume you use emollients?

I am using emollients constantly! epaderm at night and doublebase / diprobase in the daytime. They have always worked really well, and i dont want to go down the avenue of trying new ones unless I really have to!!

what is worrying is that he has always responded to hc cream, but it is making no difference at the mo - which is why I thought there must be a constant underlying trigger (like teething).

I was also wondering about pollen - does your dd get hayfeverish symptoms like a runny nose too?

I'm sorry to say this but banning the dog from upstairs isn't as good as not having the dog in the house at all. I had to rehome my dog because dd1's excema was so bad, also got rid of all carpets and curtains and have anti allergen bedding plus the cleaning every day

your poor ds. My dd (15 mo) doesn't really get much excema, just a little dry skin and redness in creases. But when she is teething it does flare up. She gets very red sore patches behind her knees in particular, and dry red cheeks. hc cream will usually clear her skin overnight, but not when its teething induced.

Similarly she gets nasty nappy rash when teething, and metanium (which normally works fabulously) won't touch it. Nor will canesten or anything else I've tried, we just have to wait it out.

DS's mouth area is bad atm and he is 12 mnths..Im also putting it down to teeth.

Not suggested by medical professionals these days (To PC iykwim) BUT my mum swore by bathing my sister and I in salt warm water...mkes sense since hv's told me with dd that her skin would be perfect in the sun along with sea water..(salt water..)

I have done it with dd and ds and it does seem to work. Just watch eye area etc and bathe gently.

ratbunny- you will have to change emollients occasionally as the ones that are working now may well stop working.

Go back to your GP and ask for a referral to the dermatologist so that you can have prtoper guidance of how to treat it.

You need steroids to get rid of it and then emollients to keep it at bay. Even then you'll still have flare ups and will need to change your routine

scoobi - thats very reassuring (though awful for our dcs). hc and sudacrem (for nappy rash obv!) usually work wonders but are doing nothing at the mo.

shh - i have heard that before actually. How much salt would you need in a bath? (does lo-salt count?)

pixie - tbh the dog has made very little difference to his eczema. he has been at mums all day, and she has no pets, but his eczema was still worse later in the day than when he woke.

so how long does teething (premolars?) last?

(sorry for all the questions, but I am going crazy here!)

agree with most things others have said but salt? understand the logic but my dd cried and cried in the sea when we thought it would help - her skin was so sore (and broken skin, maybe yours isn't that bad). she wouldn't swim for a long time afterwards. but do try anything, diferent things work for different people try to see the practice nurse and get referral to hospital dermatologist.
dogs etc - we got rid of beloved cat. and laater (years) got labradoodle and no problems with him

ska - salt water! I found it when looking up how to make up the solution. Not sure how I would do his face though - maybe dunk him?

you are right - this flare has been going on for so long (lots of differnt triggers i think, but still not controlled) I think I need to get him in to see the dermatologist again. typically it has been awful for about 4 weeks, but when ds saw the allergist when it was almost clear for that 1 day, and it's on his notes as being 'much improved'! I am going to appear so neurotic!

both our lo's haven't got bad eczema and the salt water is very dilute...

My sisters was so bad it would bleed, she would wake each morning with her bed sheets soaked...mum swore by it. But as poster below says, see your gp for a referral.

BTW, just read ratbunny that you cut out dairy etc for a week..I personally wouldn't do this in such a young child...unless advised to by your gp. I was also advised not to use soya milk esp in boys.... My gp prescribed it for dd and the hv went mad, apparently things have changed with regards to it being used in babies.

shhh - he has been dairy free since he was about 6 months old - his eczema cleared completely within about a week of putting him on dairy free formula. then he was diagnosed with soya and dairy allergy - that's why he was re-tested at the allergist, and I was doing a dairy challenge.

ratbunny,apply to his face with cottonwool soaked in the solution. Gently bathe him with it.

thanks! I will try that tomorrow morning then.

Sory didn't understand what a dairy challenge was . Guess its something a medical professional has asked you to do....

Only passing on info I was given re soya as well.

Good luck in trying to clear it up.

yes we had blood too. i will look at that site and see what it says. when my dd saw the allergist first they couldnt do any tests as there were no unbroken patches of skin. she was literally weeping. had to go backwhen she had about an inch on her back to do the tests on.

ska - that sounds awful. poor dd

It might be he needs a mild steriod cream rather than hc cream. I have been getting flare ups on my face - so you have my sympathies! I tend to find if the hc cream is not touching it, it may be infected - within 36 hours of my GP starting me on antibiotics the skin looks much clearer. Last time I got new tubes of my hc and steriod creams to make sure I wasn't reinfecting myself. I will be seeing a dermatologist at the end of the month, it can't come soon enough!

you shouldn't use cotton wool as it has minute particles that come off and can aggravate the eczema

sometimes the ointment that is part anti-biotic and part hc works