baby ezcema support thread.

[happyathome]

just been talking about my nine month old DS on the steroids 'weaning off' thread.thought,if anyone wants to moan or just chat,give tips/support on here about their babies with ezcema(probably been done before...but anyway...),please feel free.
It would be comforting to stand together on this dreadful disease.
anyone?

Happyathome, that's great that your DS's skin was much better today. But I would still push for a referral to a dermatologist ASAP as using steroids nearly everyday is not ideal and the dermatologist should be able to advise you better on how to use them (eg. perhaps it would be better for you to use a stronger one less frequently).

I moved from breastfeeding to Nutramigen (now Neocate) close to my return to work when my DD was 6 months old. It was only then that I realised that my breastmilk had been making my DD's eczema worse. So, if you want to keep breastfeeding, which I can totally understand, then I'd recommend excluding all dairy products for a few weeks to see if that helps. And remember that the offer of my left-over Nutramigen still stands if you're interested.

I'd second what babybarrister said about pain of tests compared to pain of excema.

When we took dd for her RASTs the nurse said it was quite common for the children with severe excema not to be bothered by the tests.

Yes of course happy e mail me whenever you like- that goes for anyone who'd like to see some hopeful pics! Who knows it might all go bad again but for now she looks peachy and beautiful.

happyathome so sorry to hear you are going through this.
My dd2 has suffered with pretty bad eczema from birth but it is getting better now.
She used to have weeping skin infections under her arms , on the creases of her legs and arms and under her neck.
She was regularly given steroid creams and ab's as a baby.
It did improve somewhat when we strated weaning even though she was bf.
The weaning was hit and miss trying to find her triggers.
She is now 20mths and we are unfortunately back on steroids trying to combat another flare up.
She doesn't sleep well when she has a particularly bad one.
However her bad flare ups seem to be decreasing but we are no nearer to finding out what is causing them.
We were quite with this recent one as her last lot of steroids were about 6 mths ago so we had hoped she was growing out of it.
The worse thing is the mittens to stop her scratching no longer work now she can take them off. She even mastered taking her babygrow off a few nights ago to get at it!

sorry for you too Lily...sympathize with the neck thing especially(us too!).Under arms as in armpits?...anyone else with red armpits?...never know what to stick on them?.We were the opposite,worse ezcema after weaning.Bet you were gutted when she was clear for so long.Tried to put mitts on ds too and he pulled them staight off.
hope you win the battle.Which steroids are you on and how do you stop steroids when it clears,straight away or like on alternate days till even less or something?.
Better go both kids full of colds...DD coughing her head off and ds restless...joy.
BTW welcome to the thread.
happy x

Happy- we got dd some tops and babygros from Snugglepaws which she kept on for a while. Also sewing socks/mitts onto babygros worked.

But like Lily she can now houdini herself out of anything!

Hello can I join??

DD2 has suffered with excema since she was about 8 weeks...she's now 18 wks. My DP had it as a child so thats where she gets it from.

It is literally all over her, her back isn't too bad.

First I tried E45...terrible mistake, she seemed to havea reaction to it and her skin went much worse, saw the GP who prescribed Hydromol - that didn't do much so I strated researching on here etc and bougt the Oilatum cream and bath stuff. It seemed to work really well. Someone on MN advised Aveeno, so got that too and that is working really well. I have to bath her every day and do the cream at least twice a day to keep it at bay. You can hardly see the patches but they feel like sand on her skin and are worse now on her legs than anywhere else. She's not needed a steroid cream yet. I am now washing all her clothes in Surcare instead of Fairy Non-Bio and I know not to put wool next to her skin or let her get too hot etc. I'm going to try and hold of weaning her till 6 months if I can incase she is going to be prone to allergies...phew thats my baby eczema story

Hi Gillyan.

You can get Oilatum on prescription btw if you find you're using lots.

Fairy non bio didn't work for us either but supermarket own non bio and no fabric softener seems to be fine. Bought some Surcare but never used it as sticking with what we're using.

we also tried E45 on doctors recommendation but it made things worse.

At first Diprobase did the same and had a strange reaction with her skin which made her smell funny..

Then we went onto Epaderm which was great for a while but then that started to make her itch..

So we are now back on Diprobase.

Anyway just trying to say keep trying different things as something will help at one stage even if it hasn't helped before.

Hiya, yes I'd heard that about trying lots of different stuff. I think she will just have it forever and that she will have flare ups at any time regardless of things irritating her.

I bought the Oilatum stuff first but then realised I could get it on prescription and the Aveeno too. Thank God!

Poor babe she is living on calpol and teething gel also as she's been properly teething since she 14 wks!!!! She is so different to DD1!

have you tried anti histamine for night time instead of calpol? maybe itching rather than teething that wakes her? You can get it for under 1's from GP.

hi everyone,
hope you are all ok.My ds full of a cold now and i've come down with one yesterday too...so wish i coulsd just leave the entire care of both kids to someone else today but BF and ezcema creams.... ds's care felt so intensive that i feel he's going to melt if left by me for more than half an hour let alone an hour or more.know others could do his creams if shown but my dh keeps shying away from it and getting out of it.probably nervous of getting it wrong?!.any of you feel like that...tied to steroiding and the kid's health care as other family members don't seem to step in?.I just feel so exhausted with it though.do you?.I know i should make dh/let him..but i feel like i 'own' his skin and it is so vunerable it will flare the minute someone else tries to look after it...anxiety strikes methinks.any of you suffer with this constant anxiety over it?leaning over trying to cream my little houdini with a running nose is not nice and ds is extra grouchy with his cold and not taking to creaming well.got to do a pumpkin for DD's halloween birthday party that she's going too tonight.
sorry...selfish moaning rant again....
course you can join us gillyan..welcome.sorry you have had a rough time too.
hope dd2's skin improves over time.my dd never needed steroid cream,so take hope your's may not and now mine is completely clear and only has one food intolarance that we know of(as she was violently sick with it)...egg.
it's a shock when second child is worse isn't it?...then you feel like you neglect first born because of all flapping over second child e.t.c...hope the teething soon resolves too.
i've started a dairy free diet myself by having soya milk,no chocolate,no yoghurt(was having a lot!),so shall see if that makes a difference.anyone replaced dairy with soya or is there an alternative?.
take care everyone
happy x

Feel same as you Happy about being 'in charge' of dds skin.

Always me that takes her to apts/speaks to pharmacist/applies cream/knows which cream is for what and when/knows what she can/'t eat etc etc..

It gets very wearing. DH was left to give the dds dinner the other day and gave dd2 dry cereal as it was the only 'safe' food he could remember she can have!

As a result I'm very precious over her. I'm PSB instead of PFB I feel like it has been 'our journey' together. I'm properly protective of her as it was me that had to sit up night after night after night with her holding her hands to stop her scratching and help her sleep and it was who had to deal with the lovely comments like 'What have you done to her face?'

hi,
yes girls,i am so similar i could have written your post word for word the same.You couldn't have voiced it better PSB.Think i am still PFBing too so stereo worrying.
I am so annoyed that you get/got those comments about her face...who was it the public or family that said that?!!..it would have brought me to tears as i feel somehow to blame myself for ds's ezcema even though i know it's probably not my fault.
I think we should talk to our dh's everyday and show them the skin and what we've used otherwise i dread the day i go into hospital for something and nobody takes care of his skin properly...it scares me.Although the skin confuses me and my bag of creams still...still not sure how to attack it all.Just had a 'pears soap' few days,got rid of some horrible patches just by 'guessing' really and using 2.5 hydro,was so pleased and WHAM it's back today.Was going to do once a day with same cream maybe t for a couple of days,then alternate days,just to see if 'weaning off' creams helps...but i don't seem to be getting it to the stage where it will stay away even for a week.Guess i def need to see gp next week.I've had enough...i want a dermo to 'blast' it away and give me proper advice on cream usage.It's that getting rid to the point of it nearly vanishing entirely,and feeling so excited about that..then flare time!!...it's so demoralizing and shatters your confidence doesn't it?!.
anyway,shall get off my soapbox and save energy for gp,and try to enjoy rest of weekend.
thanks for listening everyone.
please keep talking.it's great to chat to you all and hear your stories
happy x

Don't get them anymore. It was pretty much every Tom Dick and Harry that commented on it tbh. Even if I took her to the GP for something totally unrelated they'd try to turn it round to the excema. I felt like saying' YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ANY F ING USE WITH IT SO FAR JUST SORT OUT HER COUGH YOU IMBECILE' but I never did..

She has a nice red face today as Dd1 snuck her some chocolate buttons while I wasn't looking.

DH will put the creams on but doesn't really know which is which.

It's more the food he can't get his head around as she hasn't got definitive test results but has definite reactions iyswim.

The only thing that categorically comes up each time is Egg so that's a definite no but dairy and wheat don't come up very high on the tests but she definitely reacts. The choc buttons for example- she had 2 and by half hour later she had patches on her face arms leg and neck.

Anyway on the plus side I've managed to put photos on my profile page at last so if you click on my name you can see her.

They're not showing her at her worst- we didn't take many photos as I didn't really want a reminder..

Good luck with Gp.

hi again,
i really can't believe people...you poor thing and your poor DD.i've looked at your photos and she's so georgeous despite the cheeks.Very similar to what my DS had,but he seems to be more affected body-wise thesedays,but come up very pimply on face this week with his cold.
i feel like a fraud if i say DD is allergic to egg,because we never had tests/positive results from tests,but she had it 3 times as a baby and each time heaving/crying for at least half an hour i think e.t.c....that did it for me,then they said they wouldn't test her either.now they say,just try her again.she may have grown out of it but i do not want to give it her knowing full well she 'could' be sick(my uncle/grandma had lifelong egg intolerance).
like you though,i believe it was the egg she reacted to and i've avoided it like the plague ever since.
you must have been mad about the chocolate buttons.
i've not put photos on mumsnet, as no digital camera/facilities for it,plus didn't want to be 'recognised'...no dark secrets,just very private person in real life IYKWIM.
bye for now
happy x

Oh I don't care about photos on here really as have had stuff on facebook for ages and I say loads of stuff about where I live on various threads so if someone cared enough they could recognise me I guess..

Dd1 is only 2 herself and is very good with not giving food to dd2 in general but it's a bit hard to tell her off for sharing with her sister isn't it??

Our dietitan said if there is a clear marked reaction to a certain food that is an allergy regardless of whether it comes up on the tests or not.

sounds like your DD1 is a kind sister...i meant angry that the ezcema has returned.Do you get a bit 'oh here it is again attitude after a bit about flares?...i admit i feel dissapointed and a bit angry when my DS's skin flares again after all that hard work to control it,but i guess i shouldn't let it ruin my moods like that should i...might be in for a long emotional rollercoaster if i don't learn to become a bit more detached from it i suppose.
i wondered tonight if heat has caused his flare as house been a lot warmer lately as i keep feeling freezing with my PMT.Kitchen been getting up to summer temp without me noticing.I know my ezcema hands/feet suffer when they get too hot.What i'm saying is that even if trigger foods were found maybe it wouldn't stop the flares if there are other triggers....that's what i've read too/been told by gp's...there could be something in that!!.....
i feel like Sherlock Holmes.
Your dietician sounds sensible...i think us mums know don't we,somehow,even without tests.
My massive cull of dairy has certainly not shown any promise yet(although only about day 3 i think).
I've got a suspicion that if there is even a slight flare,a nightly bath should be given.DS had slight flare last night and no bath...today a lot worse.Last week he had super smooth pretty clear skin so i left his bath for 2 nights and it didn't seem to harm at all.Any pearls of experience on this one?.(BTW i try to do nightly bath anyway,but sometimes it's impossible isn't it if you're out late or they are overtired?! e.t.c.
have a good day tommorow
happy x

Yes food is definitely not gthe only trigger- which is another thing DH can't get his head around. He wants it to completely clear up when the food triggers are removed.

Our dietitian is fab- the only medical professional that listened to us and gave practical support.

We try to bath pretty much every night and have found bizarrely that scrubbing her with Johnsons Top to toe then Diprobase afterward does the trick.

I'm almost always home with the dds between 5 and 7pm to make sure we have time for it.

The flare ups she has are nothing like the excema when it was at its worst so I can cope with them!

hi,
hope your'e all ok today.
yes girls-when you've had worse flare ups,the milder ones do seem easier to cope with,i must say.

HI please can I join this thread. our beautiful 6 month old boy has been suffering with increasing manic itching partic of the head but eczema all over, I won't bore you with more as to be honest, I read your threads and thought 'thank god, i've met some other people going through the same thing' (not wishing it on you of course!)
we cannot leave him for a moment without mitts - just scratches to distraction. absolutely exhausted, not very settled at night either.
We're using Aveeno which is definitely working better than others. Have used a rogues gallery of other emollients, notably Balneum plus caused such a severe reaction it burnt his skin...
still ebf - trying a dairy free diet on week 3 now (though found out mum made cake with flora BUTTERY for me, so that might have put us back a step)
we tried about 6 weeks ago to wean him onto formula - one bottle a day - and it brought him in out in worse rash each day.
also think its detergents of some type - have switched to surcare to see if this helps.
we've even noticed he sometimes gets finger/handshaped eczema 'prints' on his torso from where he's been picked up.

IMPORTANT to all those having major issues with scratching - our one saving grace has been scratchsleeves.co.uk - they are like scrathmitts with a cardigan so they are 'un-get-off-able'. So it doesn't stop the itch, but stops it being so destructive.

welcome littleweed.sorry you are having it so tough too.sounds horrendous.thankyou for sharing your story and glad you found this thread.Did gp suggest dairy free or did you just decide to do it?.I'm on week 2 of mine.What are you replacing your dairy with and have you noticed any improvement?.Yes annoying isn't it when you think you've had milk and it's hard to keep those around you supporting you isn't it as they forget all the time.I've nearly had toast and tea with marg/milk.Had salt and vinegar crisps today...forgot to look and...doh...contains milk.Still,DS's skin is pretty good at the moment,still responding nicely to 2.5 hydrocortisone and nearly back to that orangeyness/smoothness all over,instead of red/fiery.(last week flared nastily,i think,because of his cold?!)Went to gp's last week,but had to see another gp.They told me that the Eumovate i nearly started to use that day,that the other gp had prescribed a while back,was perhaps too strong for now,so at least i stopped myself over-steroiding by going to gp.I was confused about whether to use my fucidin h that's in my bag of goodies and gp said...look...if the skin is red and fiery and weeping/oozing/DS really scratching at it,then use the fucidin h,but if not just use the moisturizer(doublebase in my case).She didn't seem to ordain weaning of the cream either.I didn't ask for referral,because i know that this cream is mild and gp's have gone up to potent before(fucibet) for DS so i know there is a long way to go before they will feel it necessary to pass it to a dermatologist.I asked if my dairy free might help.She shrugged her shoulders.
I will see how his skin goes this week and if it flares again i will go back to the other gp who seemed more helpful and perhaps present her with my dairy result[hopeful emoticon] and say...so i think there may be a milk allergy,but would like it confirmed,or something like that.
I told her i was worried about my daily use of steroids,but she said there was a long way to go before any damage would be done.
i'll let you know how it goes.i need to wait till his virus has properly gone as i think that put a spoke in it.
take care everyone and good luck littleweed and everyone.please let us know how the dairy experiment goes.
happy x

Happyathome, glad your DS' skin is not too bad this week and your dairy-free diet is going OK. But, and sorry to keep harping on about this, I really think you should push for a referral and ASAP (as you could wait months for it to come through). My GP had also prescribed Fucidin (and Fucibet when got mega infected) as well as h/c 2.5% and weaker. But when I got to see the dermatologist I was prescribed totally different steroids that work much better and that I don't have to use nearly so often.

Littleweed, I agree that scratchsleeves are a godsend. Also, don't know if you're interested, but I find the following sleepsuits really good too (the "Comfymitt PJ"):

www.eczemaclothing.com/Department/Eczema+Nightwear/

hi sheilsie....hope you're ok.I will definately discuss it more with the gp next time i go (which i bet won't be too long off the way the pattern of Ds's skin goes).Ds's skin still excellent today...wonder how long it will last.?!!.
thanks for the info.Do you have to 'wean off' those steroids when you use them?
happy x

I'm using Elocon on DD's body and only ever need to use that 2-3 days in a row (and then can go weeks without it) so no weaning off.

I'm using Trimovate on her face. That's where she's affected worst and the dermatologist nurses told me that I can use it for 5-7 consecutive days for flare ups (but only one a month) and then once or twice a week to keep it under control. By some miracle, I haven't had to use it at all for about 6 weeks (maybe due to less dribbling) but I keep worrying it will come back.

so glad for you sheilsie that you've got it under better control now.you must be so relieved you don't have to use steroids all the time.do you use the steroid then, even if theres no redness at all to keep it under control ,or do you mean one application if you see a bit of redness returning?.
i'm still dairy free but having thought about it,i realise it may not be the only reason for DS'S pretty clear skin at the moment.i presume if it stays clearer for longer than usual,then i may be onto something?,but i will ask for referrel because i'd want to know it was milk so i could introduce dairy into his diet and back into mine confidently..is that what you all would do?.I wonder if it's as easy to spot enviromevtal triggers,but all i know is that heat aggravates my own ezcema/dust gives me contact dermatitis...wonder if i could find out for DS but the enviroment throws so many variables in doesn't it?!...guess that's why i definately would like tests.Guess i need to say all this to the gp right?!.
it's horrible 'ezcema watching' isn't it...their skin looks like a volcano and you don't know when it's going to kick off.
it's exhausting trying to hang onto them to cream them when they're mobile too isn't it and my ds is trying to stand up all the time now..we have some right battles and i end up with a sore back/neck e.t.c.
have to cut fingernails down nearly to the bone and file too and even then they still get sharp real quick..tough to do tiny fingers without interrupting naps isn't it

there i go again...moan sigh...
sorry i will go as you probably are getting bored with me.
have a good week everyone.thanks for your ears and advice again.
happy x