Desperate for Help Atopic Eczema

[russy]

Hi my friend has a 2 1/2 year old with a diagnosis of atopic eczema. he has had skin irritation since birth however has steadily become worse. He currently wears leggings vest and arm (tubifast) as well as gloves to reduce the scratching. He has the eczema through his scalp however she has been informed that the shampoo for this cannot be used of children under 6. he is so frustrated that he tries to rub his face on carpets, clothes and anything he can come in contact with. She is only able to bandage one hand at a time as he needs a hand for bottle and she unable to find 100% cotton gloves or mitts. he has now taken to biting his skin for any relief. He has become so short tempered and has regular outburst of behaviour, he has no relief from his symptoms at all. He is bathed and creamed every morning and from point of bath he screams until the tubifast is in place then the scrathcing and screaming commences again That's the daytime issues. When it comes to night time he is so tired but unable to sleep for irritation, He is totally tormented and is constantly on the move unable to decide which part to scratch, he wakes up to 12 times a night screaming and scratching for periods of up to 1 1/2 hours at a time so disturbed sleep and lack of care and repair for physical and mental health becomes an issue. Further complications are that his chest is bad and he has regular asthma and chest infections also. He is such a poorly lad at the moment his back is covered as is his torso, scalp, face, ears, hands, arms, legs and feet. The consultant has now suggested allergies to house dust mite, dog hair, cat hair and food allergies to all nuts, coconuts and wheat. Any Advise would be gratefully appreciated.

Due to his present situation She has been advised that he is unable to go to nursery for infection control reasons and they are unable to give him the attention he needs for reapplying his creams and bandages too so he further missing out on socialising with peers.

Poor boy :(

I have no idea if it would help a young child but the one thing that really helps my excema is to keep it cold. when my hands are really itching I hold an ice pack which is particularly useful when they get warm in bed.

oh god what a nightmare :( i had eczema like that as a baby, i still have it but no where near as bad so it may get better as he gets older.

firstly i assume she is seeing a specialist dermatologist? and has she been referred to an allergy clinic so they can test for allergies?

dust is likely to be a huge culprit and that is a pita, there are things that can be done to help ie no pets, get rid of carpets, hoover curtains and soft furnsihing daily, and freeze cuddly toys once a week.

re special eczema clothing there is a website that sells it and some has some kind of silver in it to help, i will google and try and find a link :)

re the itching esp at night i know he is only young but you can get piriton for young children and that may help soothe the itching and breakt he itch/scratch cycle, i would be asking at gp or consultant about this.

has she been in touch with the national eczema society? i would bet there are specialist forums where she should be able to get more advice, off to google for you xxx

www.eczemaclothing.com/

here this site has clothing with built in mittens! it is really good but not cheap :(

eczema.org/

this is the national eczema society she may get more help and advice from there, there are references, contacts and lots of information etc.

www.eparenting.co.uk/shop/cottonclothes.shtml

more links for clothing

Oh dear, poor mite. I think they should get professional help re. pain management first. I had my last big flare when I was 17 and the itching is unimaginable

Poor Little mite,

Allergy Testing! Sorry but seriously will help a great deal.

I had chronic eczema and terrible astham (have my only nebuliser and was in and out of icu so much I got cards from the nurses)

Up his Omega 3, 6,9 salmon, broc, etc etc

Decrease lactose (most common allergen for skin problems) and get friend back to docotor and demand help - allergy tests etc.

Lastly has she tried sweet almond oil - sound like th current system is not working, so it is worth a try. Rub it into his scalp (little patch and a tiny amount and see if it helps)

Dust mites can cause this level of irritation so wet dusting, vaccuming clean sheets as often as possible

Try silk sheets (I know they are expensive but if they get him some sleep then they are worth every singal penny)

Think about an omega suppliment, - tea spoon of olive oil every couple of days,

Add some garlic in to help aswell.

keep him cool - real does help.

Re the problems sleeping she could ask her gp/consultant about prescribing an anti-histamine at a sedating dose. Unfortunately anti-histamines don't help particularly with the itchiness but they can be useful to increase drowsiness and therefore help with night time wakefulness.

Also she could consider applying for disability living allowance as her dc would qualify because of his many additional care needs and she may struggle to afford the special clothing, dust mite proof bedding, extra washing costs etc otherwise.

link here:www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_10018702

Is there a community dermatology nurse who she could see more regularly than the consultant? It sounds as though her ds' eczema is not well controlled at the moment and establishing an effective individual eczema treatment regime is often a case of trial and error which needs monitoring on a weekly basis initially.

Also if it is regularly causing him such distress and current emollients/steroids are not controlling it, there may be infection present. It would be worth a visit to the GP's at least to rule this out and to ask for referral to a dermatology specialist nurse.

Please do NOT rub any NUT oil AT ALL on your sons skin. until they have been cleared of any nut allergies by the testing.

Your son does need to see an immunoligist, in an allergy clinic, were do you live?

have you been to the allergy section of mumsnet?

Your friend's child needs intensive treatment. I have been there. Needs piriton or vallegan or similar in order to get a good night's sleep from time to time. Needs intensive steroid treatment with wet-wrapping. this is a short term measure to get skin into a good condition. It is not for the long term. We feared extensive steroid use but our dd now 16 is fine. Also we made our own mittens out of silk.

eragon

totally right, I thought i made it clear that allergy testing was first and if all was clear then Sweet Almond was worth a try, but was working at the time and I have just re-read my post, and I did NOT make it clear at all.

so thank you for correcting me! Good job you were on the ball!

DD2 is 5 mo and has a really bad skin condition. She can't stop scratching, day or night! We tuck her arms inside her sleeping bag but she still manages to escape. She had a skin infection caused by scratching and making the area weep.

She was on antibiotics for a week, with no improvements, then on IV antibiotics for 24 hrs as GP was concerned about infection, sent home with 5 days of antibiotics which really helped to clear the infection and stop the weeping. Then it got worse and when we went to see paediatric dermatologist, DD2 was given a four week course of antibiotics, two types of steroid creams, Dermol for cream and bath and 50/50 to be used whenever skin is dry. She finished antibiotics about two weeks ago, but still on creams and emollients and appears to be improving slowly. Still very itchy, but infection under control. We were advised to use piriton twice a day, but tbh not sure whether it helps as she's still scratching away!

Hope dermatologist (preferably paediatric) or allergist helps.

Thanks to all comments above, he has been tested and is allergic to all types of nut including coconut. he has his bandages changed 3-4 times a day depending on his situation. he was on a sedative but the consultant took him off it much to my friends disgust but he did not re-prescribe. his back is one massive patchwork of whelks/raised eczema.
He also missing out on socialisation as he is not allowed to go to playgroup/ mother and toddler etc due to infection control.

I have told her to apply for disability living allowance for him as will help with the cost of looking after him and also bedding etc.
Hope this all helps she is as demented as he is bless.

One word - milk. Has he been tested for milk allergy? It's a common cause of atopic reactions. Usually it's the cow's milk protein that causes the problem, not lactose (the sugar). Even if he is RAST blood tested for milk allergy and it shows negative, he may still be severely intolerant to it. The blood test is not particularly reliable unless you have a type-1 (eg immune-mediated) allergy.

There are completely non-dairy formulas that are available on prescription, or extensively broken down formulas. These should at least be tried IMHO.

IT sounds absolutely terrible, your poor friend and her baby :(