Eczema driving us up the wall! Stop the scratching!

[milkyjo]

Anybody got any guidance? 15 month old has patches of eczema all over his body. He just won't stop scratching and this makes it worse often broken down and bleeding. We have steroid creams ones for normal and ones for infected weeping, emollient, oilatum, hydramol, hydrocortisone for his face. Its the scratching that is making it worse, I was sure the weather would make it improve but it seems to have got worse even after being out in the sun this past week. Is there anything else we can do as he really suffers, as soon as his clothes are off he just doesn't stop, I can't change his nappy without him scratching at his legs and tummy. We have to be really quick with washing and bathing to get a vest back on him. He only had baths 3 times a week. Even if his hands were covered he still finds ways to scratch like rubbing his legs on the highchair or even rubbing his arms on me when I'm holding him!

No answer, sorry but I do sympathise as 4 month old dd is scratching a lot. Got her out if her cot this morning with little scratches all bleeding all over her head :( will watch this with interest.

you really need to go back to your GP- sometimes it's beyond the point of cream antibiotics working for superficial infection and may need some by mouth- doesn't always look red and raw.

oats in a sock in the bath will help, maybe bathe less while it's bad- the heat will be making it worse.

piriton (can buy at the chemist) will help soothe the itch, but I would get his skin checked out again.

Ds2 and I have eczema but it disappears if we take fish oils, don't know if that's an option for child so young?

Is there a lot of pollen around?

My DS tends to get worse this time of year which is def due to pollen.

Some sort of antihistamine might help if he's been outside then a bath to wash the pollen off and don't dry clothes outside.

No advice sorry, but my DD's eczema peaked at around 15-18m and has been pretty manageable since then, she's just turned 2. It flares up worst when she is teething or poorly.
I just used to avoid baths which made it much worse, and try to keep her dressed in long sleeves and tights (not easy in this weather I know).
Eumovate is our saviour - it heals when no other creams will.

Ds has eczema and we have been told that latest research recommends daily baths to prevent infection of eczema, agree not too hot as does possibly irritate the skin if it is, we have on prescription an anti microbial bath emollient called dermol which is to wash away the skin bugs (this is my non medical term, you had probably noticed) , we also have dermol lotion which we use as a soap substitute. Perhaps worth seeing your Gp?

Aveeno has oats in and my eczema in my hands burns like mad if I don't use it. See your gp they will give you Aveeno or others on prescription until you find what works. I saw a dermatologist and they gave me a carrier bag of creams to try as there are that many!

Also look for sls free or low shampoos it's helped mine (on my hands) a lot using low sls shampoo.

Get your GP to refer you to a consultant dermatologist. My brilliant GP at the time realised there was no more he could do & at about age 2, referred us and within a year we were discharged back to the GP. Almost 2 years on DS1 is unrecognisable from the itchy, scratchy, ever uncomfortable toddler he was.

GP's rarely prescribe anything other than hydrocortisone for children & go on about it like its the Cream of the Devil. It's not & there are far better things available. Eumovate is a good starting point but also Protopic. The latter doesn't work for everyone but it made a massive difference to DS1. We were also prescribed Dermol bath additive & soap substitute which is antimicrobial & stopped the infection. We were also told to bathe him as little as possible & when he was really bad to slather him in hydromol then put him in the bath. Talk about a slippery fish! The other thing we purchased were scratch sleeves (Google them). Theyre like a long sleeves bolero cardigan with ends of the sleeves sewn up. They have silk over the ends as well meaning that they can't scratch. They're about £8 a pair but are brilliant.

Then the usual things - keep nails short, keep DC cool, apply emollient 4 times a day when things get really bad. It is horrendous & I totally feel your pain, but it does get easier. I never believed that DS1 would outgrow it and now aside from one very stubborn patch on his leg, he has.

I want to echo protopic as being a saviour to some. My dd had severe eczema, hers only started at one and a half but went on until about 12-she had it around her mouth, on her lips for many years and nothing seemed to work. Well steroids worked but it come right back with a vengeance. Finding protopic was like finding the holy grail, it was wonderful and the eczema finally went. She now only has the odd scratch behind her knees and it never gets bad.

I sympathise with the op, it's very hard to deal with, and you get SO much advice from well meaning people, it's just a case of finding the one thing that works for your child.

Go see a dermatologist. GP's can only follow basic one size fits all procedure and eczema can be managed well with the right treatment. My 19 month old is a different child since I took the reigns, googled paediatric dermatologists and took him to see one. Hydrocortisone did nothing for us either.

We have also been told to bath DS every day or twice a day and then cover him (all of him not just eczema patches) in 50/50 liquid paraffin in soft paraffin while his skin is still wet from the bath to lock moisture in and create a barrier to protect from irritants.