i outgrew mine but then came back post menopause….but sadly my DS has never got better. I’m interested that so many posters here say that children did out grow it. That should be good news for you ..but just bear in mind it doesn’t always happen, so work on habits that will last a lifetime.
my DS is now 28 so it is a loooong time since I was responsible for managing it, he stopped me applying his creams etc to it when in his early teens which is to be expected , so it’s been in his hands since then . About 4 months ago he had a flare up on his face (unfortunately a common place that he gets it, as well as creases in skin) and it was so bad and painful he had to take a week off work. Back to his dermatologist- she prescribed him a new cream which has only just been made available in uk, it seems to have got on top of latest flare up but it’s early days. There are a number of new and novel clinical trials ongoing looking at new pathways of causes …lots of research as big bucks for pharmaceutical companies if they find something that cures it. Areas such as sex hormone in balances, the role of interleukin etc. so there’s a lot of hope out there. So one thing you can do is find a good dermatologist- save up for private consultations if needed later on.
my advise is to avoid steroid cream if you can. Avoid on the face especially- which is what’s advised anyway for normal flare ups . My DS face was never the same once a dermatologist prescribed the lower dose facial steroid cream for a really bad flare up- the withdrawal is horrible and skin after that always seemed far more susceptible to it.
Also stop unnecessary baths , hair washing or showers. Do a bottom wash whilst in nappies but otherwise don’t wash body unless it is actually dirty.
I’d think about a water softener system if living in hard water area. My son spent infancy and childhood in hard water area- eczema was bad. From 14 to 21 in softer water areas..much better…then since 21 back to very hard water and can be very bad. The eczema society is running research into the link. It was pointed out to me when he was 9 by a dermatologist who told me to stop with showers/baths unless he really needed it whilst we lived in that area with hard water.
His eczema always gets better in summer. Certainly sunshine levels help ( again known that uv light helps) but you obviously need to balance with sun protection which by default negates the benefit- so limit it to when uv level not at peak ( eg early morning/evenings) and time limit before you slap ,on the high factor sun screens.
Plus dry air makes it worse…so central heating especially at night is a real trigger. Don’t overly humidify but try to ventilate rooms to keep humidity up.
when they get a flare up think about the itching and how to manage that. My son used to get nightmares about insects crawling over him - it was the itch at night. Eventually we’d fairly routinely dose him with antihistamines at night during bad episodes just so he’d get a good nights sleep. It also helps to break the “itch-scratch” cycle which is important to understand.
whilst some eczema may be related to food allergies , it is not proven scientifically to be a cause in most cases. More that eczema is associated with hyper allergenic people…including asthma and food allergies. My DS gave up dairy and most meat in last 5 years as per trendy young things…made not a jot of difference
it is known that it get worse with stress..but imhe with my son I think that it’s because he copes less well with the whole itch- scratch cycle when stressed or tired. Rather than stress seeming to actually cause an outbreak.
all these worth thinking about as will help now even if your dc does grow out of it.
I do hope your child grows out of it…it is miserable for the sufferer