SOMEONE PLEASE STOP THIS BABY FROM SCRATCHING!!!

[UniqueAndAmazing]

It is doing my head in.

It's lasted for at least 2 weeks, the weather is making it worse.

Stupid child with her stupid fucking eczema.

We had given up dairy and soya, and she was loads better (no steroid for ages) and then the weather turned fucking hot and all she does all day and all fucking night is scratch.

(and keep me awake of course)

If anyone can come up with a solution that we haven't already tried, or at least the name of a surgeon who can cut of hands, I will kiss you.

(bearing in mind the fact that I know there is no solution, any amount of sympathy and chat will suffice)

[nickelbabe]

thank you :)

[Weissbier]

Emoillient, sorry posted too soon!

Also agree proper steroids are an important part of treatment, particularly initial treatment.

Hope your little girl feels better soon.

[Weissbier]

Private or NHS I agree with make fuss, see dermatologist and if nec see another dermatologist. I saw 3 before I found one who prescribed cream that worked. As well as the steroid, she prescribed an emollient which the chemist made up to her recipe and which is ten times thicker than any other emollient I've seen. I hardly have to use the steroid now I have this em

[ClaireOB]

This Eczema Society web page has a link to pdf information on wet wrapping. It can be very effective for improving sleep at night but you need to be shown (by dr, dermatologist or dermatology nurse) how to do it properly and safely and have ongoing medical support. Wet wraps must not be put onto infected skin.

[UniqueAndAmazing]

hmmmmm interesting.
I'll have to look into that

thank you greenhill :)

[greenhill]

Have you seen this thread unique ?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/behaviour_development/1824938-Eczema-wet-wraps

[UniqueAndAmazing]

I think she gets a tolerance to medication - with the Aveeno, it worked for a while, then we found that it just stopped working. till it was like applying water - we'd be putting it on every half an hour and it would just disappear like nothing had gone on. That seems to happen to everything we've used.

if we swap creams every few months, that seems to work for a while.

terracotta thank you :)

[TerracottaPie]

Your thread is bringing back all the memories I have about DD1 and her eczema. It is truly awful when you're doing all you can and it still doesn't feel enough.

DD1 developed eczema at 5wo. Only the GPs kept on saying it wasn't. After a whole night of screaming when I stupidly put aqueous cream on her face I mentioned it to the HV instead. She told me about a paediatric dermatology nurse specialist and I went to get the referral from the GP (who knew nothing about the service).

Just having someone take a proper history, listen and then go on to advise and prescribe was amazing.

Sometimes it's very much a trial and error thing to find the right combination of creams and emollients. Steroid cream applied for certain lengths of time dependent on which body part, stopping when cleared up and starting again as soon as it flared up etc helped start to control it with us. Finding the right emollient - which for us was epaderm - helped. We also had cetraben.

Other things the nurse said was, yes to make sure nails are always very short, but to also file the nail after cutting to blunt the ends. Helps to further reduce any damage caused by scratching. Also to teach her to pinch or pat instead of scratch (difficult with a toddler and during the night I know). And another was only weekly baths but making sure to put on emollient afterwards (around 10-20 minutes once out of bath and dried off). Something to do with too many baths are drying but putting on the emollient after a bath locks in any moisture as well as then acting as a barrier for any triggers.

Appreciate you've probably tried everything but wanted to share my experiences. Particularly as I'm well out if the other side now as DD1 is 10. She occasionally gets a very small flare up in her elbows or back of knees but it's dealt with so easily. She does have a severe nut allergy, hay fever, dog and house dust mite allergies and asthma which I think I was almost waiting to happen once her eczema started (as her dad and I both have allergies/asthma and him eczema) but we manage them all fine.

Really hope you manage to get on top of it all.

[Bumpsadaisie]

I wanted to add my bit about the cats .... Nothing sets my allergies off like pet hair, I'm afraid. Is it worth doing a massive steam clean?

From age two you can do the York test for intolerances. I have a mild intolerance to yeast and lamb. Sure enough when I drink wine or eat bread, my skin feels more itchy the next day.

If she is in a cycle the only thing you can do is break it with the steroids as you suggest. Even if thing x was the trigger, removing thing x now won't help as she is in the itch-scratch cycle.

While its not good to use loads of steroids its the only thing to do when she is in a crisis. I would go on using them till its cleared up a bit.

Moisturising/bathing. No one has mentioned Aveeno cream yet? Like many others I find the who aqueous cream/diprobase stuff makes my skin feel hot and clogged. Aveeno is a dream for me.

[UniqueAndAmazing]

that's quite a scary link, thanks Claire - DH has asthma and hayfever, so it's very likely she'll get one of the two anyway.

delusion - the cats died over christmas :( : It is one thing we were thinking could be a cause, but she's still like it now, and the majority of the cat hair etc has now disappeared (I would assume it'll take ages to get into all the nooks and crannies to remove the danger completely, just like tinsel! but most of where she goes is completely clear - and we cleaned the carpets and chairs too).

It's unlikely that we'll get back to the dermotologist until the autumn when I have more spare time.

We put the steroid on yesterday and today she looks great

[ClaireOB]

just to add, IMO it's worth getting expert advice on the nasty eczema now to have the best chance of controlling further progression along the allergic march.

[delusionsofadequacy]

Have excluded allergies to animals? I notice you have cats on your profile and my DPs younger brother has an allergy to cats that caused really bad skin reactions as a child (they had a cat and tried diet exclusions etc but only when the cat disappeared to live down the road did things improve for him). Have you noticed any improvement when you have been away? I also recommend NHS paediatric dermatologist. Some specialist centres even have an emergency paed clinic that you can get referred too (cant suggest any as I only know the North West)

[ClaireOB]

Babies and young children can be allergy tested, see e.g here, paediatric allergy consultant at Evelina Children's Hospital in London. In my experience, the belief that babies and young children can't be allergy tested is still quite prevalent in primary care and the patchy provision of specialist allergy services in the NHS can mean that referrals are more troublesome to pursue. Perhaps you should speak to your GP again about allergy testing. There may be allergic triggers in the environment rather than food related, pollens, dustmite, pet dander etc so identifying them might help prevent severe flares.

[theyoniwayisnorthwards]

You are most welcome. I feel absolutely awful for your poor little girl.

[UniqueAndAmazing]

thank you northward - we have been referred to a paediatric dermotolgist, but the hours i work means it is impossible to get an appointment that is available - the last time one came up, we were given 2 days' notice (which meant that even DH couldn't get the time off), and then we were told that we would be phoned again when another came up. That's more me not chasing than it is them not giving an appointment.


We did have a much better night last night, thank you all :)
it's very hit-and-miss.

Claire - she's 20 mo, so they won't refer her for allergies yet. (but yes, we have seen a dermotolgist :) )

[ClaireOB]

in a bit of a rush today so apologies is someone has posted similar already - haven't time to read the whole thread. It's not clear to me if your DD has seen a paediatric dermatologist or allergist, if not I think you have good grounds for requesting an NHS referral (poor response to treatments tried, disturbed sleep for family etc). The NICE guidance on child eczema indications for referral (section 1.7 ff) would seem to apply in this case. It might help to take them along when you next see your GP to support your request for a referral. Anecdotal I know, but a very good dermatologist I know remarked to me that she finds the amount of poorly managed eczema she sees in children who eventually fetch up in her office depressing, given the what the children and family will have had to endure.
Good luck, eczema can be utterly miserable.

[jetstar]

So sorry that you and your little one are suffering. DD2 got excema at around 6 months. We use Balneum Plus in a cool bath (from GP - she said to bath every day - we did to begin with but now every 2 days) We also use Cetraben emollient cream and scratchsleeves and it has now nearly all cleared up except for a patch on her tummy which she can reach to scratch during the day ( she's now 14 months) We had a medium & strong HC cream from the GP too which we don't really need to use anymore.
Hope things will improve for you soon.

[greenhill]

Hope you all had a better night unique

[MrsGubbins]

my friend uses this product from pure potions for her dc, they've been hospitalised with infected eczema and I know she's tried quite a few different things to try and control flare ups.

you can get a trial size and they offer a money back if it doesn't work for you.

you have my sympathies, eczema is a horrible condition when it's out of control, really hope she grows out of it.

[theyoniwayisnorthwards]

Whilst I wouldn't dream of offending you by advocating private healthcare, I would respectfully point out that the same practitioners DO work in the NHS, paying privately if you can afford to simply gives you immediate access instead of months and years of frustrating to and fro-ing trying to get your child the help they need. If your moral standpoint prevents that course of action, I suppose that's that. I wonder if you would consider asking (perhaps insisting?) on a referral to a paediatric dermatologist via your GP then? It sounds like there is a significant need.

Vaseline and other barrier creams are unlikely to work unless the skin is wet first, if you are flannel washing it won't be effective. The skin should have soaked water up and then you 'lock' it in with a barrier cream. It doesn't work for everyone, it helped us.

She will probably grow out of it, in the meantime if you are at the point where you are screaming, not sleeping and being gratuitously rude to strangers who are trying to help you then it might be time to try a new approach. I doubt a few days of avoiding sunlight would result in vitamin D deficiency.

[LittleprincessinGOLDrocks]

It is a cream you only need to use short term. DS was cleared up in 6 days.
I understand the importance of vitamin D (qualified nurse) but for us a week avoiding direct sunlight was better than him being in constant agony with his face. He was extremely bad on his cheeks and eyelids.
We took him out in to shady areas (i.e once the sun had passed over our house) so he didn't miss out on all the fun on those days.

It is an option worth considering, especially as autumn and winter are approaching - where you are possibly inside more anyway.

[peachesandpickles]

Have you ever taken her to the sea? DD's eczema always improves greatly after a few dips in the sea.

The weather needs to be quite warm so she dries quickly but the effects are amazing.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

www.biggreensmile.com/products/akin-unscented-replenishing-body-moist/akunscentmoist.aspx?productid=akunscentmoist

I have found this cream to be amazing. Dds skin is sooooo much softer since using this. Her legs were sand paper before. This, plus similar style shower gel shampoo etc and dairy free diet has lead to skin I could only have dreamt of a few years back. It's not perfect never will be but this cream has helped immensly

[UniqueAndAmazing]

I'm not willing to use a cream where she has to avoid sunshine.
the vitamin d is good for bones and teeth too.

than kyou anyway, for a new suggestion :)

[LittleprincessinGOLDrocks]

DS has had bad eczema since he was just a few months old. It got to the point where he would gouge chunks out of his face every night, rub his face on the carpet in the living room etc.
Then after a dermatologist giving us the same 2.5% Hydracortisone cream for 18 months with no affect, we were lucky enough to see a different dermatologist. He looked at DS and said that whilst Hydrocoratsone has its place in eczema care he felt DS would benefit from a cream that doesn't contain steroids. He prescribed Elidel cream which has been almost a miracle cream for DS.
Whilst it does have the draw back that you have to avoid sunlight, the affect has been well worth that small inconvienience.

Might be worth discussing with your Dr to see if your child would benefit?