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)

I had extremely bad eczema as a child and I couldn't have water on my skin at all. Water is so extremely drying, especially in the UK where it is very hard water.
I still canno have water on my face or neck or I get eczema.

You could try no baths but washing bum, pits and feet only

Sparkling - ui hope so, but i am meeting more and more people who haven't.

I do need another anti-histamine that actually works though - we haven't had piriton. we went straight to alimemazine, then chlorophenamine then back to alimemazine. (at one point we were mixing the two - alimemazine at night and chloro during the day)

today, she has had the alimemazine, and calpol. i also put canesten on to see if the anti-fungal might help...
she's dead tired (no shit ) and it just makes it worse.
i didn't even attempt to put normal clothes on her - she's in the comfifast from the beginning.

tacal - i think that might be the next step. she's due for a follow-up soon anyway.

we use the steroid if we have to (we've got 2.5% - they started her on 1%), but we're not allowed to use it on broken skin, and it's the broken skin that's bad at the moment.

valium - private is not an option. it is not to do with money. it is to do with the private system not only prioritising one life over another, but also they take away resources from the NHS - you say "private will help more" - if there were no private, then everyone would benefit from those medics. it's a moral stand - my life is not more important than yours, and vice versa.

we're looking at installing a water-softener. it's very hard water down here.

we don't give her a bath - it's flannel wash only.

unique I hope so too. I knew someone whose one year old had awful eczema when he was around one, his face was permanently bleeding and red. But by the time he was around 2 it had completely gone.

I really feel for you, I know how upset she was and didn't want to take him out.

My 7 month ds is on three different antihistamines and still scratches every chance he gets :( The hot weather is a nightmare for him - I never thought I would be praying for summer to end!

My DP had suffered seriously with it when he was a child (many moons ago) and DD had sadly inherited it.
DP swears baths can make it worse, so we just bath her a few times a week with aveeno in the water.
This works for us, but it was serious trial and error with various products for a while.
If its any consolation it has got so much better as she's got older. Fingers crossed you find a solution.

My 10 year old still scratches at night, blood on sheets is an almost nightly occurrence

The lovely lady from the scratchsleeves website mentioned up thread made her some in her size and they have made a huge difference -took so persuading to get her to wear them mind! But she's at an age where she cares what she looks like and weeping sores on your arms and legs is not a good luck -she took part in a drugs trial a couple of years ago and other than when she had light therapy it's the best her skin has ever been -its a shame that cream isn't available, or if it is I have no idea what it was!

It's incredibly frustrating when your child has eczema, lots of people suggest all sorts of miracle cures that they swear blind by, but everyone's eczema is different so feel free to have a rant

sounds like she needs some decent strong steroids, hydrocortisone doesn't do anything for my sons flare's. we use eumovate, and it actually makes a difference quickly

could there be other foods causing a problem too? my son is dairy and soya allergic but wheat also gives him bad eczema.

poor little thing, I only get tiny patches of eczema and they make me so miserable.

massive sympathies to you. I remember how utterly exhausting and all consuming it was when my son had severe eczema as a baby. by the time we saw the paediatrician I was pretty much deranged with exhaustion.

Unique - so sorry your dd is suffering with this, it's really shit.
Both my eldest DC have had skin issues (DD gets really bad eczema) and we found diprobase didn't help at all.
DD gets prescribed aveeno moisturiser now and I buy the body wash.

We also use coconut oil when it's super itchy/scaly/dry. Hope it clears up soon.

What respite are you getting for yourself? You sound, understandably, stressed out.

I am with you on the principal of public services thing. If you're not prepared to go private, then the only option I can see is shouting loudly within the NHS.

I think that's the only way to get a share of the dwindling resources currently on offer through our public services...not very egalitarian but even within the public sector it is the most vocal who get the best treatment. Sad, but c'est la vie.

Can you keep a diary of days and nights to demonstrate how bad things are for

For your DD and you. Posted too soon.

Ps if it's been good for ages and recently come back from nowhere, have other things like scabies been ruled out? friend's DD had a resurgence of eczema which turned out to be scabies.

scabies? really?
ow.

TiredFeet - the hydrocortisone does work when we use it, but we can't use it on the broken skin.
which means we can't use it until she stops making herself bleed.
there are sections of her body that aren't covered in holes, where we have been able to use the steroid, and it works wonders (of course, it only ever works while you're using it - a week after the final application, it's all back again)

and yep, I'm worried it might be other foods, too, but I can't see a food pattern (not that it would be obvious without proper elimination, I know :( )

we're already vegetarian, so I'm really reluctant to cut any other food out.

no respite.

it's because it's every night.

A friend of mine said that we should just put her in her own room and ignore her (for sleep!), because she does that with her boy (then conceded that he does wake up bleeding)
I don't understand why she would choose to put her DS in the position that he will make himself bleed through scratching, rather than be on hand to stop it.

If she's scarred for life because of the scratching, her teenage years will be hell.

We do need to go back to GP for a review of creams - the diprobase has been the best so far, but it's still not ideal (because she scratches/rubs it off too soon!!). We'll suggest epiderm, i don't think we've had that one.

Does your DD react badly to the mineral oils in Vaseline? I was thinking how thick, gloopy and difficult to rub off it is, when it is on my skin, and how much of a water proof barrier it forms.

Or can you put plasters over the sore skin? Or are the patches of excema too extensive?

It must be so difficult if she is doing this in her sleep, as well as in the day. My DH had severe excema as a child, but only gets tiny patches inside his elbows now if he sweats and gets dust on the skin doing DIY (I threw away lots of man made fibre clothes when I first met him) my DB is very sensitive to texture on clothes too.

no, when we tried vaselione, it was like putting a barrier over the dryness, rather than moisturizing then making the barrier.
so, she was dry underneath and nothing could get to it.

really weird.

if she scratches too much int he day, we put tights on her.
and longsleeves.
not nice in this weather, but it stops her scratching the raw skin.
(and will usually distract her from scratching)

really feel for you.
maybe use the hydrocortisone for longer if it comes back after a week. we use a stronger steroid than hydrocortisone and the dermatologist is quite happy for us to use it 365 days a year if need be (but we do have gaps between flares luckily)

The pharmacist in boots recommended a new cream called dermalex for my dd. it's like a clay- type light cream but I did find it effective (not as good as steroid cream though!). Not sure if you can use it on broken skin but might e worth a try, given you have exhausted all other options! You use on damp skin 2-3 times a day. It doesn't sting.

at one point we were on the hydrocortisone for an almost infitie length of time.
Dr said to "wean" her off it - started 2ce a day for 5 days, then once a day, then every other day, then every 3rd day, then every 4th day, then every 5th day etc.
we got down to every 11 days, as on the 11th day, it would come back again.

that's when we started the dairy exclusion.
and hadn't had to use it at all until the heat came along (it was about 3 months with no steroid)

Free - not hear of that one, will look out for it :)

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?

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 :)

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