eczema...advice please

[Ghostie]

Hey my DD is 15 weeks and we were really careful to keep her totally chemical free to try and avoid eczema and alergies. However, when she was about 10ish weeks old she started getting patches of dry skin on her upper arms. The HV said to just keep them well moisturised, so I've been rubbing olive oil in every morning and evening, which did seem to be helpping a bit, but recently is seems to be spreading more.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do or use to help?

Hydrocortisone cream?

we were prescribed oillatum for bath and a lotion for after bathtime for ds.

also i found Almond oil better than olive oil for my ds's eczema.

Aveeno oil and moisturiser. you can buy it from Boots but it's also available on prescription.

You could ask doctor to prescribe a moisuriser such as doublebase or diprobase - very mild but help with the dryness. Having gone through extreme eczema with DD1 I just naughtily nick a bit of hers for DS2 who has only ever had a tiny bit, and it keeps it at bay.Seems an unusual place for eczema to start though ? I've always experienced that kind of dryness in joints of elbows and knees first with children.If it is eczema, avoid using softeners in your wash and use a non bio washing powder such as persil non bio.

Hi Ghostie,
I have tried olive oil on my own eczema, eased it for a short while but then aggravated it badly, so I now steer clear of any moisturiser with olive oil in - also have to avoid lavender, chamomile, teatree. Aveeno works very well for me. Some years ago a friend in Rome whose baby dd had eczema & was advised bt Dr to rub on olive oil had the same experience. As people above have said, speak to GP about moisturisers. Another word of warning from my personal experience, and my family's - aqueous cream (ouch)doesn't suit us at all as a moisturiser and I believe this is quite common.

I'd second the "avoid aqueous cream" message.. lots of GPs prescribe it as the first cream to try - it sounds so mild but really isn't! Oilatum Junior also hurt my skin.

We've been very happy with Diprobase - used the cream, ointment and bath stuff.

oilatum worked wonders on ds1 skin with epi derm after. you can buy it in boots but expensive. get a persciption from gp and save yourself a fortune!

Hi there - was going to start a thread about this myself this morning!

My DD who is 4.5 months has recently been getting worsening dry skin / exzema on her face and forehead. She also has it very mildly on her shoulders and back of arms. I have tried E45, and this made it worse - it came up very red and angry looking! It also seems to be on the bits of her face and forehead where she touches my face when cuddling - I was wondering whether she could be sensitive to my face cream! I use Olay. Has anyone else encountered this?

I have problems with all E45 and all Olay products, if that's any help. Aveeno is what works best for me but it does seem to vary from one person to the next! Best thing is to talk to your GP about suitable moisturisers, I think. I also find that most detergents for clothes washing make me itch so use Surcare now (no perfume).

Myself and DD both have exzema and we use doublebase, put it on DD twice a day since she was a baby (she's now 4) and she's not had a really bad outbreak in years.(never did like diprobase, never seemed to moisturise just sit on the skin)

so completlely agree with other posters, go to the doctors. Trying stuff over the counter always has risks, when you inflame the skin, esp with children its so hard to calm it down again.

Flossie69 E45 (well when i tried it 10 years ago) had lanolin in it, which alot of people with sensitvie skin can be allergic to, and does Olay not have perfume in it, its definitly got far to many chemicals in it to be putting on a 4.5 month.

Just to clarify - I am not putting Olay on my DD - I put it on my face, but when I wind her over my shoulder, she cuddles up to my face, and I do cuddle and kiss her quite a bit, so she is against my face alot, which is where the irritation could be coming from.

The point about E45 and lanolin is interesting.

Have booked GP for Wed. morning, so will see what he says.

sorry flossie, 8 months pregnant i mis-understand along of things at the moment , did think it was bit unusual putting Olay on your daughter.

Thanks people, I have also made an appointment with the GP this week, so will make a note of all your advice, so I can turn up for armed - all really helpful. Thanks! :)

Report on BBC today about aqueous cream and eczema. According to which, it should not be prescribed as a moisturiser but alas frequently it is.

i would advise totally against using any form of nut oil on ezcema skin on a young baby.

go to the gp, ask questions, but dont go to a health shop and try anything , just because its looks natural.
natural isnt always good.

For dd who had atopical eczema as a baby which kept getting infected we were advised:

• not too many baths
• no soaps/bath foam etc whatsover
• when washing hair take care no hairshampoo on body
• all her laundry (including sheets and towels) had to be washed on hot with only a little non-bio detergent and then had to be washed TWICE AGAIN with no detergent, to make sure there was absolutely no detergent left
• no olive oil as was too greasy
• junior oilatum in bath
• junior oilatum cream/diprobase on regular basis
• only 100 per cent cotton clothing, no wool, no acryl etc.
• only 100 per cent cotton bedding
• to make sure that she was not too hot
• to keep nails clean and short at all times (she kept scratching herself, getting the eczema inflamed and ending up on anti-biotics)

Was all quite difficult and stressful as it made her really unwell. Now she seems kind of having grown out of it, although we still have to be really careful.

the best thing we found for eczema was a bath additive called epaderm..can be bought in sainsburys or on prescription.....that with the use of diprobase worked a treat....and she has almost grown out of it now as well....she is now 2 1/2

Hi guys,
I have been completely through the mil with eczema with my 14 month old. We now seem to have it under control with the use of an emolient hydromol and occasionally hydrocortisone.

However I really pushed and pushed with my DD to be prescribed an non-dairy milk formula. This is what has really turned it around.

I discovered this when she was nil by mouth at 5months old with bad RSV. Her eczema pratically vanished.

Ilooked at some old photos today and it shocked me at how bad it was. She was covered in bright red eczema.

Im not suggesting that your babies have allergies to milk but I would be keeping a food diary if you are BF od if your DCs are of solid food age.

If you really cannot get a hold of the eczema (using steroids every day all over like I was) it will be worth pushing to try a milk alternative. You will need to push for it though as it comes out of NHS budget!!

Hope things are getting easier and it doesnt get that far!

We use Oilatum in the bath and La Roche Poseey AP lipikar baum for her skin. She has eczema very mildly, so forgot to put cream on her for a few days, then she started itching and scratching until she tore the skin. Went to GP and got Betnavate which cleared it up very quickly.

diprobase and doublebase are brilliant.

gooddie i am reall suprised gp prescribed steroid on broken skin as it is not supposed to be used on broken skin.

Yes i read that and asked her and she said it was ok??? Am nervous now...why not do you know? Only used it 3 days twice a day and a teeny tiny piece.

Go to the GP and request a referral to a dermatologiust.

Also, I really, really, really insist you look at buying Dr Arterton's book 'Eczema in Childhood' - I think as have lent my copy out. Either from library or I bought mine on Amazon secondhand - it was a 1994 copy but my dermantologist said it is all still valid.

Our lives were changed overnight by getting Epaderm emollient and ointment on prescription from dermatologist.

Please, please bear in mind that the GPs are generally quite unsure about eczema, have limited interest and training on it. www.patient.co.uk may also be useful to you.

Allergybestbuys sells bamboo towels for children, which also helped DC massively as he used to get so itchy as a small baby on a normal 'baby' towel.

Good luck and remember to keep purshing for help as your DC should have skin that looks beautiful so help them now before it gets worse.

if the skin is broken ,there is a potential for infection and if there are any bacteria there,the steroid helps them to grow really fast.

If you are not sure about using any of the creams, please ask your pharmacist as they are much more clued up on the actual creams themselves than your GP and are more likely able to recommend something you can go and ask for on prescription.