eczema bad on feet- best footwear advice?

[victoriagirl]

My 16 mth old DT's have always had eczema. Its currently relly bad on their feet. This seems to tie in with warmer weather, but am not sure if it is worse because they have been going bare foot a lot and therefore rubbing their feet on the wool carpet or worse because their feet have been hot when they have been wearing shoes and getting sweaty, therefore causing the reaction.
I wondered if anyone else had tips that had worked for them? Its so sore for them and they are constantly itching it, making it worse. we do cream it, use hydrocortisone etc but nothing seems to be making a difference.
Any advice gratefully received.

Hello
My son did have eczema on his feet but it did go in time.

Check for rubbing with shoes/footwear. Check materials in socks/footwear - is there any lycra, rubber, latex etc?

I did put down cotton type rugs but there is still the temptation to ease the itch by rubbing feet. Also when they are on hte move, this proves to be less useful!

Perhaps discuss with GP if you need anything stronger than hydrocortisone to address the flare and then to move back onto hydrocortisone.

Yes heat and grass pollen now do flare our eczema.

Do you have any pets? Fur etc can upset eczema too but we still live with our pets!

Consider too that little ones quickly learn that scratching causes attention from others - so my GP said - I am not sure on this one as I know eczema can be really itchy.

Eczema seems to go in patches around the body depending on age. If I remember, my son's feet were troubled by eczema at your twins age.

Perhaps ring COtton Comfort - Eczema Clothing Co - they have been more than fab for us; their sleepsuits are excellent! They can offer excellent advice too and lots of eczema friendly clothing.

Good luck!

Thanks ACL- that's really helpful. How old are your children? Does it get better in time? Nice to know they might not spend the rest of their lives with shredded feet! They have a GP appt today, just to see if there is anything else we can be doing. We have taken up the wool rug in the living room. We don't have pets but their grandparents have a dog which has just been staying- I think its always worse when the dog has been around, but I think everyone thinks I say that because I am not a doggy person (the dog is a very loved animal!) Looked at the web site for the clothes and think I will invest in some- particularly the socks as we have been given all of their socks apart from the Gap ones, I am not sure whether they are 100% cotton. The consultant put them on dairy free diets which helps. I know that other children have eczema so much worse, but I can' stand seeing them in such discomfort. But the only thing left now is getting obsessive about the cleaning- and that's unlikely to happen!

Hello

How did your GP visit go?

My 11 yr old son has no eczema on his feet - he does have mild seborrheic (sp?!) eczema by his nose and scalp but not that anyone would notice, and he has blepharitis. I suspect my son had a cows milk allergy as he had reflux until 11 mths old. My 5 yr old daughter had a cows milk allergy - went by 2 ish - I moved her from soya onto goats milk and then organic semi skimmed milk. I had lots of advice from Foods Matter - great supportive newsletter. Her eczema was worse than my son's - very weepy skin until she was off milk - and now the eczema is less however does flare when she is hot, pollen (grass in particular) is around, and not sure whether diet is a matter (eg strawberries) - she has a peanut allergy (hives and feeling princessy once when handling peanut butter) - she has had skin prick tests and has found to have cat, pollen, dust (yes I did try to dust bust and now just realise I can only do what I can - and maybe some exposure my help to reduce the allergy!), and peanuts. It may be worthwhile asking for an allergy test at an allergy clinic at some point - do you know of any allergies in your family? Having pollen allergy means she has hayfever. Stress also flares her eczema I think eg starting school - or is it change of environment? I hasten to add her eczema is far better now.

My son is one of the lucky ones whose eczema goes by school age and my daughter has been told she may lose it by early teens or not.

Washing clothes - I tend to put my daughter's clothes in her own wash, and use extra water or extra rinse and use less detergent than recommended. I do not use fabric conditioner. We like Fairy but opinions vary what suits everyone.

We have just found Aveenocream - thanks Mumsnet! We use hydrocortisone for red times and occasionally eumovate to zap the nasty flare (I read once to use this or hydrocortisone as soon as you see children scratching before the red area appears).

Gap socks - do your twins come into contact with the GAP words - are they made from rubber etc?

Cotton comfort clothing - the mittens clothes are fab for long car journeys when there is such an urge to scratch, and overnight. I am sure if you ring and maybe ask to speak to one of their advisors, they could suggest ideas for feet.

I will try to find the name of the book which has a picture of the areas of the body which tend to be affected by age - I was told it was typical for both mine to have their eczema start on their heads.

IT CAN GET BETTER - it can be exhausting finding the right creams, clothes, environment, food etc but you can find a way of living with eczema. Eczema is very common now for some reason.

Oh yes, try to keep nails short and not so sharp.

And both of my children's feet are OK - my daughter does get odd patches but she does not find them itchy. Their feet are not like before.

It is so hard not to say "stop scratching" - sometimes I used to rub the itchy bit so help them get relief. I am trying to teach my daughter to rub not scratch.

Consider too any chemicals you use eg polish, sprays, perfumes - all could be triggers.

Better go before I write an epic!

Thank you so much for your lovely, helpful message. It's funny really, I wasn't that bothered by their eczema, asthma etc when they were younger, but now they are getting older it seems to be getting to me more as I thought they might start growing out of it, and instead they seem to be getting worse. I have no experience of any of these things before. As they are id twins, they get a lot of attention as it is. I really didn't want them to stand out even more with special diets etc. Never mind- they are fantastic, happy little chaps, so I can't complain.
So the GP has given them anti-histamine saying its hay fever as well as the other stuff. I would far rather give them something natural but I don't know what else I can give them.
He has also given us a whole new range of lotions and potions to see if these make a difference for the eczema. They seem to be on more and more things, not less.
Aveenocream sounds interesting. Is that more natural?
Would be interested in that reference with the different ages of eczema as I feel I could do with knowing what to expect.
Have also got the number for someone to come and do a deep clean of the house. Its worth a try!!

Hello!

Sorry to be so late to reply.

Aveeno cream - yes a bit natural ie oats - www.aveeno.co.uk. Made by Johnson and Johnson! There is also a bath cream/oil (Boots sell it). Aveeno on prescription and over the counter.

I found using Epaderm really helped my little one's feet as it is so thick - drier than Vaseline. Available on prescription as well as over the counter. It is useful for flares when the other emollients do not work. Emollients vary how oily they are etc. I only use it for a short while. It does have sodium l. sulphate in it! It can be used as a soap substitute and in the bath. Thicker creams seem to work better on the feet as feet keep moving and are in contact with shoes etc.

You may find you will try all sorts of creams - we have a shelf of all sorts! Aqueous was no good for us - some react to it - but others like it. We like Diprobase also - others like Doublebase. There is all sorts. Have tried Green People, Liz Earle, Pure Potions etc.

Anyhow I wanted to let you know that the chart of the movement of eczema is to be found in the book Eczema In Childhood - The Facts by David J Atherton (my version 1995) - by Oxford Medical Publications P18. Front of feet show eczema 9 - 18 mths and not at 18 - 36 mths +. The author does say there is still a variety of patterns - not always as the diagram. The book has very graphic photos of severe eczema. I think I bought it from Nat Eczema Soc. Eczema Clothing Co also sell fab books.

If you know someone with eczema, do ask how their eczema is as sometimes it can be the same as your little ones re heat outside, pollen count, central heating etc. As they get older, they can tell you how it feels and where they need the cream! Putting stickers etc on the pots helps to encourage them to like the cream. Sometimes I have said it is a cream the fairies have made!! or it is magic cream etc.

Hope this helps.

What is deep cleaning like?