Sorry posting here for traffic but I’m desperate - photo attached

[Woopsy54]

My daughter has these rashes on her hands, elbows, back of her calves and front of knees

GP not taking seriously and saying eczema and keeps loading us up with steroid creams

Have been told 1 year wait for NHS dermatologist.

Any ideas what this rash could be??

I’m no doctor but I’m a mum of 3 children with eczema and I can tell you that it probably is eczema. My DD gets patches of those raised bumps but it can also look like scabs, red patches, sores, blisters etc. The pictures online don’t do eczema justice for the variation but I definitely wouldn’t be worried about it.

Steroid cream is a treatment, not a cure.
This looks like wet eczema. It's what I had in my late teens, on backs of thighs. I also get it occasionally on the tops of my hands. I also have discoid eczema which is more dry and flakey patches rather than fluid-filled blisters.
The photo looks like eczema to me.

Speak to a pharmacist, they will be able to advise .

DH had hand eczema exactly like this. In his case it appeared in his 20s apparently as a reaction to latex gloves. Made hugely worse by making bread… So I’d say think about what she could be touching. It was horrible and totally unlike eczema elsewhere. It has a special name too.

https://www.bad.org.uk/pils/eczema-herpeticum

It looks like what I get, which is called dishydrotic excema. Mine is triggered by my hormone cycle at certain times of the month. It's different for everyone though.

Mine honestly looks the exact same as this. It's fluid filled blisters, which itch, and then turn into scabs. There is a sub Reddit for it which I'd advise checking out.

I’ve called and I have an appointment at 9am on Friday so will update after I’ve been.

thanks all

I'm repeating myself but this really matters. @Woopsy54, did you definitely make sure the dermatologist sees children?

Not many do. But booking staff will often offer appointments regardless.

If you turn up, they will not be able to see your child unless their practice privileges cover paediatrics.

@Guytheskiinstructor yes definitely a paediatric dermatologist 🤩

Child's farm moisturiser worked wonders on my DSs eczema.

He is 14 nearly, and still occasionally gets flares, but the child's farm has always calmed it down before we need steroids

@Woopsy54 fantastic! You’re very lucky, they’re rare creatures 😄

Not all GP’s will do this. I was reading a FB post locally where a LOT of people were saying they had gone down the “right to choose” path and that the local doctors were refusing to take on the shared care - they will not prescribe for something based on diagnosis privately or through a different service. I think it’s ridiculous and contributing to the lack of appointments and huge waiting lists, but not much I can do about it as it isn’t affecting me.

So before anyone pays out privately, check your GP will take on prescriptions etc afterwards.

One of the reasons it ‘keeps coming back’ might be that the steroid hasn’t been used for long enough. There are multiple layers of skin, the steroid has to work on several layers, if not thoroughly cleared deep down it just pops up again.
My hands and feet looked like this for many years, I found stopping the steroid when the skin looked clear was not effective, it needs to be used for a while after and then properly tapered off.

It looks nothing like any eczema I’ve ever seen. My 2 kids have it and my dad. Although I see others are saying it does so maybe my experience of eczema is different. My girls both get red patches that are really dry and itchy.
Inbetween bad spells when they need a steroid cream we use Childs farm moisturiser daily and it seems to help keep it at bay.

I used to get blisters exactly like this as a child/in my teens. When I was in my 20s after a really bad flare up I worked out it was caused by gluten. It took about 3 months of a gluten free diet for them to clear up completely. Steroid creams did treat it but they always came back when the steroid cream stopped. I wanted to treat the cause rather than the symptom so gave up gluten. (Also tested for celiac but it was negative).

We saw the paediatric dermatologist today and she is 99% certain it is dermatitis herpetiformis, a rash caused by coeliac disease.

I have contacted the GP and requested a coeliac blood test but we can’t get an appointment for another 3 weeks.

For anyone with similar rashes and the GP has told them it’s eczema please ask for a second opinion as undiagnosed coeliac can cause all sorts of damage.

@Woopsy54 Please contact the Coeliac society ASAP. You can google them for contact number details. They are brilliant and will give you expert advice. I'm a medically diagnosed coeliac and my mother had, and one of my brothers has, dermatitis herpetiformis.

You can get steroid cream withdrawal, and it can make the problem come back worse.

You need to slowly wean off the steroid cream, and you still need to be moisturising with a normal moisturiser.

ETA: Didn't read the full thread. Glad you've seen a paeds dermatologist and got an update.

What a good job you found that paediatric dermatologist Whoopsy54.
Could you get a telephone appointment earlier with the GP?

I had that on my hands for over a decade. Was told it was eczema. Eventually managed to clear it by smothering my hands in heavy moisturising cream every night and wearing pillowcases over my hands (cotton gloves made it worse) for months. I thought I was stuck with it for life. I don’t have coeliac disease as far as I’m aware, I assume I’d have found out by now, but a quick google says it’s possible to have it without that. It was utterly miserable when I did have it. I hope you manage to get some decent help for your daughter. It’s probably another decade now since it cleared up, but I’m sitting here quite cross that I was left to suffer for so long with what appears to have been the wrong diagnosis.

I just seen this & your update! I was coming to ask about ceoliac disease as this rash was what got me on the CD pathway. Glad you are getting some answers

Make sure your dd has been eating some gluten before coeliac test op. I had one recently and the Dr was clear that it wouldn't work if you had cut gluten out prior to testing.

It may be worthwhile contacting peads department at your local hospital. In our area GP's don't do child blood tests, and we book directly via the hospital. Could save your wait time.

We are 10 minutes away from local large hospital so may make a difference.

So glad you now know what's causing it.

Yes I’m very glad I booked a private appointment!

I had this mum gut feeling, I knew it wasn’t eczema.

Unfortunately not able to get an earlier appointment so will see how the blood tests go. We’ve been told the blood results can take slightly longer to come back so hopefully within 4-5 weeks we will know for sure.