Feeling very low about dd's eczema - does it ever get better?

[Utka]

It's probably just because it's the middle of the night, but I'm finding things very tough going at the moment, and wondered if anyone else out there ever feels like this. It would so help to know I'm not alone.

DD1 is 4 and has had pretty bad eczema for the last 2 years. It started when she was 4 months old, but hit a really bad point when she turned two. She's also allergic to various foodstuffs, which seem to set off the eczema too.

At the moment, we're wet wrapping again, but it doesn't seem to make much difference. Any improvements are soon undone during the day and we have to start all over again in the evening. Life for her and us seems to be one endless round of trying to identify the triggers - I feel like we are constantly watching her clothes, her food, what she touches, or else desperately trying to find some sort of way in which we can make it better - homeopathy, different creams, different shampoos etc. I think that if I search hard enough I will find the miracle cure (and I know there isn't one).I really feel I'm clutching at straws though.

She wakes every night having tried (and generally succeeded) in getting out of the wraps, and is nearly always grouchy and whingey first thing in the morning. We've had so few unbroken nights sleep in the last 2 years that I've forgotten what it's like to feel rested - what she must feel like I don't know.

To cap it all I just can't bring myself to be sympathetic anymore. It's as though I've run out of energy. When it 's my turn to get up to her (dh and I do alternate nights, although we both wake up on the other nights), I invariably end up shouting at her for moaning as I reapply the cream. Afterwards I feel dreadful, but at the time I just can't seem to do anything differently.

Tonight I ended up smacking her, which was hardly constructive. I feel absolutely awful now (as I should), but just don't know what to do any more. Has anyone else ever got to this point? What did you do?

All my contact with dd seems to be about some aspect of her skin or allergies. I feel like the guardian of her wellbeing, and yet powerless to do anything to help. It doesn't help that dd2 (who's 1) has perfect skin.

Sorry for the long post.

Hi. My son had dreadful eczema for about 14 months and we tried everything you can think of. We also wet wrapped and even tried chinese herbal medicine. I had eczema on my hands at the same time as my son and I noticed how bad my hands got with washing so I stopped the wet wrapping, reduced his baths to once a week continued with steroids gradually reducing and now 4 years later he is much much better but water does make him very itchy. I really think water is a bad irritant but you have to weigh it up against the risk of infection. A water softner would probably help.

My DS also has severe allergies to several foods so i can really understand how frustrating it is. We never go on holiday to a forign country (other than France with a french friend) cos I can't be sure to notice allergy warnings on food labels.

sorry is not algaa,is aalgo and you can find it here www.aalgo.com

It sounds as if my DS has mild eczema compared to the rest of your descriptions (haven't had to go as far as wet wraps etc) but we do have broken nights because of the itching. We decided to try to track down the root of the problem by searching for the triggers and for this we had bio-resonance therapy. My DS was tested for all sorts of intollerences from food to grass/washing powders/cats etc and we found 6 different triggers. He then had a seperate treatment for each of them (£50 a time and have to steer clear of them for 7 days)...but it works!! He can now stroke cats, eat strawberries, come into contact with wool and play on the grass with no reaction. He still does have very mild eczema but these treatments have really helped. We found all our info here . May be worth looking in to.

Just thought I'd post an update. DD's skin is so much better than when I posted, but, of course, because a number of factors have changed, we have no way of knowing what's caused it!!!

We stopped using Dermol bath emollient, because her eczema seemed to be going red raw in the water and she itched continuously in the bath. We substituted it with some Aveeno oil, which I'd tried a year or so ago, and given up on as it didn't seem to make any difference. We were also prescribed Loretadine antihistamine syrup for her hayfever. We've been giving her it before bed, to distance it as far as possible from the homeopathic remedy she takes in the morning.

We've stopped the wet wrapping on her body, and limited things to gloves and wet/dry socks (over Zipzoc bandage to sort out the cuts). These are taped on with micropore tape to prevent her removing them in the night. We're also 3 weeks into giving her Eye-Q fish oil in her morning milk (masked with a strawberry actimel!!)

Whatever it is, she's scratching less, her skin is smooth for the first time in ages, her eyes bright and clear (no redness or itchiness) and she's a sunnier child all round because she's sleeping.

Do we know what the change is? No, but to some extent we don't care!! Thanks though for all your support and offers of advice. I'm sure this won't be the last serious flare up, but for now we seem to be ok.

UTKA! That's great! , it must be the hormones but I was almost weeping when I read your post

brilliant utka Its lovely when someone improves. Hope you are all managing to get some sleep now.