To ask opinions on E45 cream

[Monty27]

That's all. What is it good or not for? Thank you

Child's Farm products have had some amazing reviews from people who have suffered with eczema for years and tried a myriad of different creams to treat. It's quite widely available now and inexpensive compared to a lot of alternatives.

Eumovate fairybatman. Also available OTC tho I don't know if there are different concentrations in prescription versions.

Fierce, if it's coming back that quickly I'd get medical advice. They might suggest trying something a stronger, or longer blast of hydrocortisone. Some people do need constant steroids but it would be unusual for eczema that reacts so well to v mild steroid I think? If it's properly gone and comes back could there be any products (soap, shampoo, washing powder etc) that are triggering it?

eczema triggers

• food allergies (red berries for me)
• bedding (especially natural fibres/feathers)
• pets, including pet bedding/food (hay!)

I use protopic ointment but it was prescribed by Consultant Dermatologist for perioral derm on my face and pomphlox excema on my hands. I find it does make my skin flake off pretty badly
I use Diprobase as an every day moisturiser along with whatever is at hand when I'm out and about (because it's in a masssive pump)

But I also use Vagisil when I really needs a break from the stinging - it's quite drying so I have to layer with Dipro - but sometimes I need a lidocaine circuit break. You can buy it from Tesco.

IMO as an eczema sufferer e45 is rubbish.

The big issue with E45 is the lanolin, it won't offer any relief if you're allergic to that. It didn't help DS's eczema at all but I really like it for myself as a cheap moisturiser. Speak to the pharmacist and see if they have small samples of different emollients so you can try several and find what works for you. Everyone reacts differently and one emollient can work for a while and then stops working for any individual. And a flare up probably needs steroids, get some OTC 1% hydrocortisone in the first instance, try that for a week and if it doesn't help then go back to your GP.

It's shit, makes my eczema worse. Diprobase or Cetraben are better. E45 is very watery and can sting when sore.

Also get some hydrocortisone if it's upsetting you

I used to have terrible eczema around my wrists; backs of knees; inner thighs; inside elbows; neck and between the fingers and toes. It was awful and when I tanned, those areas would stay white/red, raised and bloody.
I tried E45 and Diprobase and whilst they softened my skin, the eczema remained.
I began using Aveeno Skin Relief (the blue one) and within a week or so, my eczema was clearing up. It soon disappeared and it’s been about 15 years that I haven’t had it since. I use Aveeno daily. It’s completely desensitised my skin in addition to clearing up the eczema. I don’t have reactions to pet fur or scented products now either.

@DBML ooh, will try this. I use the green tube currently

I use it every morning as a daily moisturiser. Am I not supposed to?

Do you actually have eczema OP, or just a dry patch because of a bite? If the second just get some OTC steroid cream. It'll clear right up

I get it on my legs, forearms and sometimes hands.

If I use thick creams, especially greasy ones, it goes sodding mental.

The only thing I have found helps is treating with Eumovate for a few days upon flare ups and in between bouts moisturising lightly once a day after having a wash with Vaseline Intensive Care Essential Healing body lotion. It's the yellow bottle, £1.99 for 400ml from Savers or Body care and a few other places. It's very dear in the chemists and supermarkets so avoid them. It's got oat extract in it and is very light, easy to absorb and doesn't get all over your clothes and bedding.

I personally think the thicker creams suffocate my skin, trapping sweat underneath and that causes my flare-ups to go wild. Cetraben was prescribed and my legs in particular went apeshit, ended up not being able to sleep because of the insane itching and on antibiotics.

Actually aqueous should only be used as a soap, according to my DS’s dermatologist.

@Zilla1

What it the 'it' you don't trust, OP?

I'm skint and deplore pharmaceutical rip offs. I've had consistent advice on here on what to buy. It's amazing and thank you everyone. E45 certainly hasn't worked so far and I will get myself to a pharmacist. 👍

E45 is really only a moisturizer. Pharmacists and gps throw it out to people to 'use something like e45' but when you read the back it says 'can even be used on sensitive skin', (learned after putting on my son's skin and him beginning to scream like he was on fire:( ) meaning that's not what it's meant for. Moogoo and Roche posay's cicaplast have changed lives in this house (have 2 with eczema).

I use it every morning as a daily moisturiser. Am I not supposed to?

Yes you are supposed to! (If it works for you.) It's not medicated, just a moisturiser. As such useful alongside a steroid for treating eczema, or on its own for dry skin.

I am a lifelong eczema sufferer. I would use E45 as a moisturiser but not to treat my eczema - hydrocortisone is the only thing that would touch it.

I could not tolerate Aveeno at all and I've seen that there's quite a lot of medical scepticism about the benefits of aqueous cream and emulsifier as they can suffocate the skin - which can make eczema more itchy. But in a general sense avoiding soap and shampoos containing parabins, using non-bio powder and wearing mainly cotton or silk and no acrylic fabrics were all generally beneficial for me.