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?

Hi all, forgive me if I'm repeating anyone else's advice as I haven't read all messages, but as the mum of a 5 year old who had horrendous eczema as a baby/toddler I have some good advice:

1. Get a referral to a dermatologist from your GP now, if you don't feel you are managing the eczema. I waited three years before I did this and regretted it - the dermatologist took me seriously (even though my son's skin wasn't even bad by the time we saw her).

1. Don't be afraid to use hydrocortisones (e.g. E45 1% hydrocortisone) every day - my dermatologist told me this will not damage a child's skin; it's too mild. Apparently skin specialists are considering advising everyone with eczema to use it daily as a preventative. I was also told to use Eumovate for "bad days", which in my opinion is a miracle cream for eczema.

Advice over. My son's experience: now aged 5 he rarely has bad eczema and I only occasionally use hydrocortisone, never anything stronger. The GP I saw for 3 years kept trying to wean me off using any steroid cream for my son and his eczema always came back badly, with skin infections - the dermatologist put an end to this problem.

Lastly I would say that there is a huge amount of advice about how to cope with eczema including many, many different types of cream and diet suggestions - personally, none of the homeopathic creams or diets did anything whatsoever for my son (nor did frequent vacuuming!) - he just grew out of the bad eczema.

Good luck everyone, it really does get easier!

oh,
thanks SO much treacle for your advice.really has helped ease my mind.especially the bit about hydrocortisones.i presume that will include hydro 2.5 % then?.so glad your son doesn't have it bad anymore.your story has give us yet more hope.i will also try to get referred sooner,rather than later,as everyone on here keeps advising me,especially as you seem to regret leaving it too long.suppose i probably would too.
thanks for your good wishes also.
good luck in all you do too.(and of course that applies to all others on this thread too)
happy x

Hi Happy! In answer to your question, I only use steroid cream when there is redness. Even though my DD's skin is really good at the moment, I do worry every day that its going to come back with a vengeance. Like you say, eczema can be so unpredictable. So, yes, good to hear from mums whose DC have more or less grown out of bad eczema.

yes we were also told the severe excema/itch was worse in the long term for dds skin than the use of steroid creams.

Also voting for Eumovate here. And Elocon.

thanks to your support....good news....gp is referring me !!!
i will let you know how it goes and when my ds's appointment is.he was fairly clear when i took him too,but i explained that i was suspicious of dairy as he seems to be clearer since i went dairy free(although he is still flaring up a bit.I'm on week 3 i think and it doesn't seem as bad and it seems to damp down quicker when i steroid it.
I told her that i've heard others have food tests e.t.c and of creams that require only 2-3 days and clear weeks inbetween.She was bothered that i might be given false hope,but any hope is better than none eh.I said too what someone said too about an allergy pro who think all ezcema babies are allergy babies.gp seemed stumped that i had a lot of info.I made sure i was respectful to her though and said we were pleased though with how she's managed ds's ezcema with the creams and nothing personal(she's done her best)...but i said if theres something i can find out(an allergy) to make it easier to manage then i would like it if she could refer me.
thanks to you all again.hope you and kids are all ok BTW
happy
x

wondered if anyone here had dexeryl to try? I got some of this free, along with a lot of other mumsnetters. While it made my skin very red at first it's not a bad product if you persist and is useful as a preventative for those whose skin is now quite good. There is a thread under products for the testers.

Internet prices for it seem to be quite cheap.

no,not heard of it tatt

happyathome, that's brilliant news re your referral. Hope the appointment comes in soon. A tip - start taking photos of DS's skin on particularly bad days and take them along to the appointment to show the dermatologist, especially as there is a chance that his skin will be quite good on the day you go. But of course hopefully you won't have too many mega bad days in future now that you are dairy-free!

thanks sheilsie for the extra tip.hope you and family are well.

like i say,might not have had the bottle to get the referal without you all behind me and the 'inside' information.

Hi there,

Can I join you? My DS2 is coming up to 5 months and after months of pestering the GP we finally got a referral & had our Pediatrician appointment yesterday and he is pretty certain (as we suspected all along) that he has a cows milk allergy which is causing baby ezcema . The good news is we have a 'diagnosis' and he's put him on Nutramigen so I'm in the process of switching gradually and smothering him in Diprobase and I've got some hydro cream for when he's really bad . Is there anything else I should or could be doing to help? Any useful help pages or websites I could refer to as we're new to ezcema.
TIA
LCN

hi lechatnoir,
welcome.glad you eventually got a referal too and glad you got some answers.good job you went or you would have been fighting a losing battle eh?!.
i've looked on ezcema society website and just generally googled baby/children's ezcema.we just try to get the emollient on within 3 minutes of a bath as one website said and not let skin air dry.also bath temp should be 36.?...anyway i don't do 37 degree baths anymore.we use emulsifying wax as soap and after letting bath water soak in,rub it all over and like you loads of emollient.good luck.we are here for you to chat or whatever.
happy x

My DS has been pretty good skin wise for a while but is now going through the mother of all flare-ups I think. He has a high temperature on Tue/Wednesday, calmed down on Thursday and then rash all over face and body on Friday. He is teething as he is pulling at his ear and whining in pain, also very clingy. Took him to my GP and he said it was probably a viral rash, he went to prescribe me cansten HC which I questioned if he needed as not itching? Anyhow he then prescribed calamine lotion instead to stop my usual eczema moisturising cream until the rash goes? Gave him a bath (without his usual additive) and moisturised a little, dabbed on the calamine lotion. It hasn't helped and I'm wondering if the rash is an eczema flare-up? The only things he had this week different was ashton and parsons teething powder, Hipp organic rice cereal and more capol than usual. Sorry for being so long winded, can anyone help?

PS: I don't use steriods to control his eczema and thanks for the thread.

welcome worrier.glad the thread is helpful for you.
your poor ds!![sad}(and you of course).A while back when my ds's ezcema was kicking off,it started as a small patch on his cheek then i remember him getting a virus too and a big spreading rash which the gp said was either a virus rash(remember my dd had one of those as a baby too,head to toe),or if it hung around for a few weeks would probably turn out to be ezcema.Anyway,most of it went,but after that ds started with ezcema flare ups all over.I was told to use hydrocortisone 0.5 i think...hard to remember now...think i used a bit of calamine too...very vague now.I am realizing that ezcema is a mysterious disease,and think that more-so everyday now.One minute it responds really well and other times,totally wild!!
sorry can't help more as all i know is that the virus rash was different looking to how his ezcema is now...more like a measles rash or something and it did die down of it's own accord from what i can remember.
good luck and hope he is better soon
happy x

So far, so good I used the calamine lotion, next day it looked worse so just went back to my usual eczema moisturising routine and it seems to be easing. So weird, just when you think you've got it under control! I'm sure I will be a regular poster/lurker on this thread, thx happyathome.

I thought I would join you on the eczema page! my 12 month old has only just developed red patches behind the knees and odd spot on his face and legs. GP has prescribed the usual steroids, paed has suggested its not bad enough to warrant it and we are back to epaderm. I think it's starting to bother him now - hadnt until now - and I'm anxious to look at his diet to improve/get rid of it. GP and Health Visitor predictably non committal about nutrition effecting him. I'm thinking maybe skipping all animal milks and trying rice dream?
Any thoughts, recommendations of nutritionalists/dieticians in central london?

welcome duckbilledplatypus,
sorry your ds has started with it.glad you had a second opinion with the paed.
i'm with you on the food front.think i'm on about week 4 of my bf dairy free diet/ds has no dairy yet,but this week he has flared a bit again,particularly on his face which was good for a bit.he suddenly has been having longer naps and more active and too overtired to cream sometimes(super-hyper rolling when tired),so not creamed him as much.maybe that has something to do with it[blush}?!...ANYWAY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE dairy is only(if at all) culprit.Has been newly on rice cakes so i'm wondering about those? or even i have onion/products with onion sproadically and last week he flared the night after my onion then day after i had a sweet and sour and he had even more ezcema...so maybe i will leave out onion next/as well as.Good luck to you.let us know how you get on.my gp thought that i could be faffing around with a specialised diet for ages though and not get any results(guess that's why gp's are not commited to diet?),but on mn some people have cleared the flares through diet and cream management so it makes me think it is worth at least trying to see if there's a trigger.
i'm a bit too obsessed and the gp kept saying...try to not worry too much about it as it wasn't too bad and like it will not kill him (not said like that,but i took that as what gp meant)....anyway i think a lot of the anxiety comes from increasingly worse flares and you wonder where it will all end up and whether constant creaminig is damaging them...of course this thread has give me a lot of hope.
i still haven't even introduced wheat,tropical fruits ,tomatoes,and other highly allergenic foods yet but ds still has ezcema.i am going to intro wheat though this week as poor ds hardly has any variety to eat and is probably suffering due to my obsession,but on a Dr Chris Steel website,he said it might be worth leaving out such things till they are one(i think...was a while ago..you could check it out, i may not be fully correct),if they have ezcema or at least do careful introduction(4 day rule).
what foods does your ds eat duck?...have you given anything new lately/anything new in enviroment?(different house/area/furnishing?)...so many reasons to explore!!
happy x

got a letter today from Patient Choices and had to confirm and state hospital preference.should get an appointment through in 14 days they said.flare dampened down again.i've had no onion since.however ds woke up at a strange time last night and was really squirming about and restless rubbing his ankles together.Seemed like itchiness was keeping him awake.wouldn't go back to sleep after milk so ended up having to steroid and emollient him in middle of night.lost 2 hrs altogether.gave him antihistamine liquid too.Just wish i knew what was causing it!!...his skin didn't look too bad last night either,not exactly red.
hope you and your families are all well this week everyone.
happy x

hi ladies, it's good to meet some other mummies going through the same horrible nightmare with their LOs although sad for all.
My story is: ds had a serious virus (vomiting followed by 2 weeks of diahorrhea) just before he was one. He started scratching his head then developed a rash on his neck and this spread to his body and was diagnosed as eczema. the gp said it was virus induced eczema and it may clear up after he was over the virus. Needless to say it has not cleared up and I finally had to accept he has a long term condition. GP was sympathetic but pretty useless and after the 3rd consecutive week of ds being in so much pain and distress he was shaking when we tried to apply his cream we went private. The dermatologist gave us Eumovate which we use most days (eczema flares up if we stop) and 1% hydrocortisone on his face and neck. We use Cetraben moisturising cream and Oilaton in the bath. DS only has baths once a week at my mum's as they have a water softener and I live in a really hard water area. The consultant was on the committee that allowed steroid creams to be sold over the counter and he said we can rest assured there will be no lasting damage using the creams he's prescribed.

Re diet, my gp said there was no link but I have cut out dairy, soya, eggs and lentils from both ds's and my diet (still BF, lots) and on reintroduction there was a definite immediate reaction to soya, eggs and lentils (red spots on chin and face) and a different allergic reaction to dairy (more general slower reaction). We have cut out wheat too and we will reintroduce after seeing the dietitian. I think GPs know very little and because eczema is so common, they try to fob parents off rather than allowing us to get out babies tested so we can be sure it's not diet causing/exacerbating the eczema. I suppose due to cost considerations. EG we had to get special consideration to be prescribed cetraben so it must be more expensive that diprobase.
we have been referred to an allergy specialist, hopefully we can find out if ds is reacting to our cat/dust mites then we can take action.

It's good to know I'm not alone!!

pardon the typos, had about 3 hours sleep last night due to itchy ds

Hi all

Thought I'd just add my thoughts although I'm just repeating what lots of others have said. Still, it's good to get it off my chest!

My LO developed eczema at 3 months, all over body but particularly bad on face and head. We had lots of sleepless nights, trying to keep her from scratching. She often slept only for an hour at a time & I was breastfeeding to comfort her. All in all a very tiring & frustrating time. My LO was sooo angry/upset all the time.

Visited GP every week for about 6 weeks then finally got a referral to the dermotologist at the children's hospital. This was a godsend! Within 2 days of starting the dermotogist's treatment regime the eczema was finally under control. She is 14 months now & still has eczema but it's only mild and in her 'creases'. Still, it doesn't stop her stratching all over as soon as her clothes are removed. Nappy changes are a bit of a struggle but I try to distract her with singing & games (doesn't always work).

We use Dermol 600 in the bath, a soap substitute, Diprobase, 50% parrafin wax and hydrocortisone ointment (steroid cream) on a daily basis. The eczema tends to flare up if we don't apply the steroid cream at least once at day.

I'm not sure whether it's linked but we have since found out that she has an egg & dairy allergy. Looking back, it did seem that when I ate lots of dairy & egg her eczema got worse (she was solely breastfed at the time). I recall the worst day ever being one that I'd eaten omlette and had lots of stilton cheese. It may be coincidental but I'm tempted to think the eczema is partially linked to diet.

In terms of advice, I'd strongly advise parents to get a referral to a dermotologist. GPs get very little training in skin conditions & although they are doing their best they aren't experts at treating eczema. My other piece of advice to parents is to try to get some time to yourself away from the crying. My LO cried constantly with the pain, & it was worse when I applied the creams all day long. It's really hard when you are on your own with your LO all day & then getting little or no sleep at night. Just before we saw the dermotologist I was so stressed out by the eczema & crying that I was about to contact a child minder who could look after my LO for a few hours a week so I could take a break.

It's difficult for eczema baby parents because although it's thankfully not a serious disability it can affect your own sanity and health! Most people (including GPs I'm afraid to say) don't realise how your baby's eczema can effect your own health due to the lack of sleep, continuous crying & relentless need to apply creams etc.

Finally, I'm happy to say that as soon as we started the new treatment my daughter became a different baby. She now laughs & smiles all of the time.

thanks for sharing santa and bluedogfan.
good luck santa with the allergy specialist and glad you got sorted bluedog.After all your stories,glad i got a referral.Going on the 13th Jan to a dermo.Will report back here after!.
Recently introduced wheat and fish to DS,and skin a bit worse again.Had odd 'milk' products but still trying dairy free.Sneaky suspicion,ezcema not caused,or not solely caused by dairy now.He was never totally clear on my total non-dairy(although much improved on the past).Still been having to keep up with hydro 2.5 nearly everyday and even eumovate and fucibet on one bad patch.
have a good xmas everyone and hope your kids don't have flares over xmas
happy x

hi everyone,
happy new year!.hope you and families are all well and coping with the snow/ice.
went for DS's dermatologist appointment yesterday.she was nice and helpful and suggested Eumovate,with a weaning off plan to hopefully get him to just a mild hydrocortisone maintenance dose.Also got zinc oxide bandages and tubifast garments to put over the top.so....a bit nearer i suppose.glad i went to see her anyway.unfortunately she thinks DS will have it for a fair while as the pattern of it suggests and also she's referring me to a dietician.Yesterday they did a blood test for allergens too.
will keep you posted.would love to hear how your'e all getting on.
happy x

Dd2 who is 18 months has had eczema since she was a few months old. Right now it's at the back of her neck, her cheeks and worst around one ear. The eczema around the ear gets infected frequently and never ever heals. She often scratches and tugs on it bad enough to bleed making me feel absolutely awful.

I've found these: www.scratchsleeves.co.uk/index.html
and am going to order a pair to try out. They look promising and Katie does the most of her scratching at night.