dd4 was scratching all night :(

[misdee]

small bit of background.

dd4 (6.5months) has had eczema since birth, and has a cows milk allergy. she had an allergic reaction at the weekend, and her skin has been really bad since then.

i spent about 4 hours last night ttrying to stop dd4 ripping her skin to shreads, and breastfeeding her.

i cant find other dd's smaller eczema sleepsuits. i think i'm going to go back to stitching mittens onto sleepsuits.

i'd forgotton how bad this can be. am shattered.

My sympathies. I have the same problem with my ds. The itching keeps us awake many nights, even when he doesn't have much eczema. He seems to be sensitive to a few different things.

I took him to the doctor two days ago, because I'm so tired from the sleepless nights, and I asked about an anti-histamine for him. The GP said he is too young for an anti histamine to be safely used, and she told me to use the mild steriod cream he had been prescribed (I use an oily cream on him daily, but hadn't wanted to use the steriod cream).She said the steroid cream was less risky then the anti histamines, and to use it when his sleeping is badly effected by the itching.

It is hard to know what to do for the best.

i dont have steroid cream atm, apart from the canasten hc wich was perscribed when the gp finally dx eczema at the 6 week checks, after me asking/telling the hv for weeks i didnt think it was 'just milk spots' as she suggested. though i might have a neew tube for dd1 still. i know i should get dd4 her own stuff but seems daft when i might have a new tube sitting here currently unused.

what oily cream are you using for the eczema? does that help at all? Same thing happened with ds, everyone said he had milk spots and cradle cap, but I knew it wasn't normal baby acne.

atm she has diprobase. i hate it, but thats only because dd1 is allergic to it. if that doesnt work then will ask to move onto aveeno or dermol500.

do you live in a hard or soft water area? Children who live in hard water areas are more likely to get eczema.

a very hard water area.

same here. We want to get a convertor to have soft water, but it's expensive and lots of work.

There are so many chemicals in modern life that it's hardly surpising our children have eczema.

would love to get a water softner in place.

i am utterly laid back when it comes to cleaning. no anti-bac for surfaces, just a hot cloth and soapy water, same for floors, occasionally a drop of bleach in the mop bucket. i dont go overboard on cleaning. but am wondering if i should go back to being OTT to help dd4 skin as i helped dd1 when she was younger.

i better unleash the dyson fron under the stairs.

It's just a thought, but my DD (2.5)'s eczema has gone into overdrive in the last few days. I realised yesterday morning that he was still sleeping with quite a thick blanket because I hadn't adjusted for the nights getting a bit warmer this week - we had a better night last night, don't know if coincidence or because of keeping him cooler at night.

I'm giving him antihistamines this year now that he's older, as suggested by GP, and think they help, but obviously no use to you with your LO. I can see you're familiar with different creams, but I wasn't a fan of diprobase either, and ended up liking doublebase which my GP suggested (have tried many others in between & use steroid creams in addition). Good luck anyway and hope things improve.

misdee, hugs to you. my dd1 is 3 and she's had eczema from birth.

there's a couple of things i have started doing in the last couple of weeks which i can really recommend- one, get a proper eczema sleepsuit from www.eczemaclothing.com. they are expensive but a real godsend. also, i have started doing wet wraps- a layer of viscopaste plus coban bandages to keep it moist and in place. it cools her skin and moisturises and she finally sleeps well- after 3 years.

get on your gp's case and ask for a referral to a dermatologist- if things are this bad, she needs to see someone who knows about it. and with all due respect to gps, they can deal wit mild eczema, not really severe one.

good luck

Hi Misdee,

I hope you have a better night tonight. I have spent most every night for the last 2 months trying to stop my 6.5 month old ds from scratching. I've gone from holding his hands all night to mittens tied on, to tying down the arms of his babygrow. Nothing can stop those litte hands reaching up to his cheeks and scratching. My latest idea is returning to swaddling with a huge muslin. I am still needing to redo it 2 - 3 times a night but I think it has helped. He wakes himself up less.

We use cetraban as emollient. Have you tried it ?
I saw your previous piccies of your dds skin with the milk allergy, hope you get your referral through soon.

thanks for the replies. she has had a go at her ears this afternoon, making it bleed again. she also now has a new rash on her chest, which isnt dry, and isnt bothering her, so i dont know what to do about it.

the skin round her eyes has puckered up again and she has dark rings under her eyes as well.

she has been refusing food today, and is quite content on just milk.

have you tried oilatum in the bath? I have some that i'm trying with my baby, i will let you know how it goes. she is allergic to diprobase and doublebase so am at the test patch stage at the moment. aveeno seems to work though.
I used adult Oilatum when i had eczema and it was really soothing.

we haqve aveeno oil for the bath atm. boots were selling it off cheap so i stocked up

I didnt know they did an oil as well, we hav been given the 24hr moisturiser by the doctor and that is good (so far).

Misdee- reading about your dd4 is just like reading about my ds. He also catches his ears and makes then bleed, and often has rings under his eyes. On days like those he is also content just to bf.

I gave him some strawberry yesterday, he loved it, but two hours later his rash had really come up an the itching was driving him crazy. I used the steroid cream and today he is far better.

I did use aveeno cream on him a few months ago, but I think he reacted to it. I may try a patch test in a couple of months.

the rings after the eyes are known as atopic shiners. dd1+2 often have them in the hayfever season or during flare ups.

a little bit about allergic features

that's very interesting missdee thanks! My dh has an allergie line going across his nose, caused by constantly wiping his nose.

ds does have the extra skin fold, I don't think anyone else in the family has that. I hadn't realised that it can be an allergie sign.

dd1 is alwaqys rubbbing her nose. its sweet. and she wrinkles it up like a little bunny rabbit (she has more allergies than the middle two). she also has dark circles and creases