Eczema - how can you stop them from scratching?

[lisabartandmaggie]

Help - my 5 year old dd1 has an infected patch of eczema on her leg - about the size of a twopence piece - which she won't stop scratching and making it bleed. Its been there nearly three years now and I'm worried that if she doesn't let it clear up then one day her leg will just fall off. Or get a bad scar at the least.
She doesn't just scratch at night, but anytime she can get to it, e.g. yesterday the house looked liked a murder scene after she went in the bathroom for a sneaky scratch. We bandage it every night, keep her nails short, use aqueous cream twice a day, no soaps in the bath etc etc. We've tried explaining to her, and even bribing her but every time it gets a bit better she does it again.
I'm getting very frustrated to say the least - any advice please!?!

are you using anything to clear up the infection?

My ds is like this with his legs.Cool packs ,you know the ones you put in picnics held against it help.
Also I tell him to pat it instead of scratching to stop the bleeding.

I also use hydrocortisone cream when it flares up.I think your dd would probably benefit from some as well.
It can be a vicious circle of scratching and endorphin release in the body from itching that can be quite addictive .
You need to give a blast of steroid cream to get it under control and break the scratch itch cycle.

When we have patches like this, the only thing to break the itch/scratch cycle is to use Piriton. That, combined with a good steroid cream seems to help. We also used to put bandage tubes on his legs and arms during the day, with a lot of emollient. I think it is important to find the right cream to clear it once you have dealt with the scratching. Once it has cleared, it is 'just' a case of keeping the area moisturised.

Have you seen your gp about it? Recently, ds had horrible eczema on the bridge of his nose. He kept getting impetigo in it because he couldn't leave it alone. It was there for about 6 months and we thought the gp had given us the strongest cream (0.5% hydrocortisone ointment). It turned out that there were many more types of creams he could go with. We ended up with a 1% steroid cream and that, coupled with 10 days of
ABs got rid of it. He is now clear and we are so relieved. I thought he would be scarred, but he doesn't seem to be.

Can you get a referral to an eczema clininc to help get it sorted, my GP is actually really good with DS1s eczema but the nurses at the eczema clinic were fantastic and gave us loads of different creams to try.

When DSs legs are really bad he lies on his front on the settee and I gently rub the backs of his legs, it soothes the itching without any scratching, it often puts him to sleep as well lol

Thanks everyone. Not currently treating it with anything. Went to buy some hydrocortisone cream from boots today (as thats all i've ever been prescribed from GP) but assistant advised me not to apply it to broken skin, so just came away with more aqueous cream and jumbo plasters!

Perhaps I ought to take her back to GP for more (and maybe stronger) steroid. Have some Piriton in the cupboard - may dose her up tonight! Will go and get some cool packs too.

MetalMummy - I feel really guilty now. I think I've lost sight of the fact that she is the one suffering with it, not me. I've been getting really ratty with her about it. It just seems such a vicious circle.

Deffo go to the GP
You might need an anti fungal in addition to the hydrocortisone

Try the piriton too

Don't feel guilty, it's so hard as they won't listen and stop scratching

H scratched in his sleep last night and the half-asleep me thought it was ds! I said, 'Don't scratch poppet,' and ha said, 'It's ME!' . Shows how ingrained our responses to the scratching become!

When DSs skin is broken and weeping we use Fucidin H which contains antibiotics as well as steroids.

Don't feel guilty about it, I think it's really hard to understand how itchy it gets if you don't have eczema yourself. I had one small patch on my leg last year and it drove me mad, half the time I didn't even realise I was scratching it until somebody told me to stop.

It may even be infected now and need some internal ABs.

when you see the GP ask for hydrocortisone ointment and not cream, i find it sits on the skin longer and works better.

also ask for some better cream, aquous cream is pretty poor IME, and found that aveeno works wonders.

try some porriage oats in a cloth, tied securely, and run under the bath tap. then get dd to wash with the oatbag, so all the 'milky ooze' as my dd's call it, goes on their skin. it does work

Yes I will take her back to GP for some proper medication. Shame I didn't do it today.

Can I buy fucidin over the weekend or is it prescription only?

Am running the bath now so will try the oatbag trick - though I fear she may think i've gone mental!

Cheers everyone

fucidin is prescription

it's horrible isn't it...I know when I get any patches, I just cannot stop myself itching so it must be impossible for a child. Would agree with what everyone has said about GP and misdee re the ointments.

DD1 sitting in a porridgey bath as we speak, well, type. Seems to be enjoying it and has squeezed the bag so hard the oats have all come out - the minx.

DH convinced she does it all on purpose for the attention. Give me strength!

I am telling you, without cream, I would rip my skin off too, poor poppet (whack him over the head).

My youngest ds has flare ups and i have found using Oilatum in his bath helps, it stops his skin from drying out. Its available everywhere. I use this along with his prescribed cream, usually does the trick.
Hope this helps

Wet wrapping works wonders too - long bath with emollient in the water, then slap on a really thick layer of cream (but not steroid), then use a wet crepe bandage to bandage over the cream, then put either a dry bandage or long cotton sock over.

You just can't stop scratching though - I've woken myself up scratching my legs on the side of the bed. And my mum can look like a massacre - and thats 65 years of eczema.

do not bandage if you suspect there is any infection present as it can make things worse.

hope she is enjoying her oat bath. my dd's love it.

I would suggest trying something other than aqueous and heading to the doctor to try something stonger. The right cream should make a dramatic difference in a very short space of time. Then as others have said, maybe try something other than aqueous on it, aveeno seems very popular but I've never tried it. At the moment doc has prescribed me doublebase, which i don't think you can buy, and that's been really good for me but everyone's different of course!

I've always found that temp. plays a huge part in how itchy my eczema is, staying cool is key for me. I very rarely wear socks coz if I do I get too hot and it starts itching!

I agree with Calsworld, I've lost count of the different creams we had for DS1 before we found what worked for him. Aqueous cream was useless, we now use diprobase as his main cream and hydrocortisone, eumovate or fucidin H when he has a bad flare up (which one we use depends on how bad the flare up is).

As an eczema sufferer myself I agree that you have to scratch - to be somehow prevented from doing it would be torture.

But when mine is bad i sometimes cover it with light clothing (eg pjs) and scratch through it - you can still scratch but it avoids tearing the skin and might also make infection less likely. Mine is mainly hands and wrists but your DD might also be able to do this on her leg, if you explain to her why.

My DD had eczema from about 2 weeks after he was born and I tried absolutely everything. I don't think it was severe but he used to break the skin when he would itch it. I used everything the doctor prescribed me, steroids, hydrocortisone, oils equazen, etc loads but only steroids cleared it up and I got fed up of using them because I don't think they are good for the skin.

Anyway I started trying loads of natural creams and stuff and some worked for a little bit but not for long. Then my friend told me about this cream from Maples Street Organics called baby shea, it is a natural and 100% organic cream I think its made mainly from shea butter but it worked real well, within 2 days he had stopped itching, I think I applied it everytime I saw him itch and within a week you could see a remarkable difference.

I've been using this cream for just over a year now and he has only had one outbreak since I started so I would really recommend it. I think they have a website www.maplesstreetorganics.com I'm waiting for their full range to launch they said this summer but you never know. I would most definately recommend the cream though. Its a little more expensive then Boots stuff but is definatley worth it, especially as it has no artificial chemicals and stuff in and it lasts for ages.

lisabartandmaggie there is some great advice on here, but like most things in life, something that helps one person will not help another. I have been a severe sufferer my whole life and the majority of my body is scared because of it.
There are 6 differant types of eczema ( i have 4 types on differant parts of my body) and the hardeset, yet the most helpful is to dicover which type it is.
Sometimes it is hard to know if a certain product is working , because so many flare ups are enviromental. I found the best thing to do when trying something new is keep a notebook, take a photo of the area, try the product for a week or two and take another photo.
If it is infected then you will need ab's.
I would also reccomend not covering it up. Covering heats the area, bringing the blood to the surface and starts the iching cycle.
OILATUM ( you can buy it over the counter) in the bath is fabulous and v soothing.
E45 or diprobase are the best moistureisers I have found. Lastly, the best treatment for me ( other than steroids) sounds simple, but is sun and sea air. Get a good hypo suncream and get her on the beach this summer- works wonders. Hope this helps abit, sorry it's abit long winded. Good luck.

OH, forgot to say, I agree with snowleopard about the pj's and I will definately be trying arielle 's cream. Thanks arielle.

I've skimmed through the thread and thought I would post this as I can't see it mentioned already. It's a clothing company for children and adults with eczema. www.eczemaclothing.com.

I used Eurax cream on dd2 last night to stop her scratching her back - I think it says no to use on broken skin but it worked!

Also, dd2s excema is almost under control but I do use this EVERY NIGHT religiously