5-year constant scratching..what do i do?

[Sandi102]

Some of you may know ds (5)had mild eczema from birth. It went away when he was 3 for a year and has come back rather severe the last 12 months. This particular winter has been bad, as chandra has earlier mentioned in another thread.

One thing I would like to cure is his itching. What triggers it? How can I cope with it? The nights are the worst. He itches all over his body. His neck and backs of ears being the worse. Sometimes the ears bleed. His legs are so dry and scarred, because of the constant itching. I use 50/50 liquid soft parafin, but more recently been using avenno, which I love but ds hates it, because after applying it he complains he cannot walk or move his arms. I also give him piriton once in the morning and again at night. Its clearly not working. Would appreciate any advice.

We have been using the zyrtec for a year and hadn't noticed it becoming less effective. Then we had to take a break from it for a few days before some allergy tests, and when we restarted it Bob had his best skin ever! Of course it could have been a coincidence.

Oh, and he continued to sleep on the "off" days because the cycle had been broken. I was really worried about his sleep but it was unfounded.

Fran1 - it makes you wonder doesn't it? Perhaps drier skin is worse, my DD and DS both have what I call patchy ezcema, ie it's not all over them but in the typical creases of arms, legs, groin, DS around the mouth. My cousin was literally covered from head to toe, a very severe case.

As I have mentioned on here a few times too, my DS (3) is affected by bananas. He had some last week at nursery and his skin has flared up around his groin and around his mouth. He LOVES them too, it's like giving him chocolate if I let him have one very occasionally.

gp has prescribed zyrtec. I'll let you know how i get on.

For my son I have used Renew intensive skin therapy from Melaleuca, also Renew oil in the bath. There is a soothing, moisturising combination of Malaysian glycerine, allantoin (from comfrey herb it pulls moisture into skin)
and tea tree oil.
Also there is a good soap with aloe vera, glycerin and tea tree oil.
Melaleuca also do laundry cleaning products which are great for children with allergies.
See notice board small ads healthy homes for more info

yes, i've heard about the glycerin and aloe vera. In india this is used widely, for people with dry skin or other skin problems.

as a result of using zyrtec, ds is not scratching as much as he used to at night..although it has not completely eliminated the itch, its better.