life is just so crap!

[forgetandforgive]

sorry to moan but just have to voice my frustration on mn. i hope someone can give me some advice on my 8 yo son. since 2 years old he's had eczema and he has never slept through the night for longer than 1hrs at a time. i know its not his fault but important starting to get angry and am losing my patience. all night he was up scratching not a wink of sleep from both of us. i think i should take him off school today since he is so knacked. his eczema has a knock on effect on all our lives. his older nearly 10 also has eczema we all share a same room. i buy cotton gloves for him but it doesn't say on. being back and forth to the doc but I've just given up because he will some home with more steroids mild/ potent ones. he's been relying on them for 6 years now but they don't seem to help with his itch anymore. he is seen by the skin specialist every 3 months but i feel that's a waste of time too. all they have given him is more steroids. i have change his old mattress for a new individual pocket sprung mattress in a hope that it will help but no change. a friend has advise me to install a water stoftener in the house, have anyone tried this and did it help? i looked up the net and found a site for dermasilk. its a clothing make from silk and its said to help with eczema and especially itching at night. does anyone have any experience with that and was it effective to help control the itch? im thinking about asking the doctor for one garment but its not cheap, so just wondering if it is on the NHS. but if it does work i will definitely give it a try and buy it. i feel so overwhelmed and helpless in the middle of the night. i feel terrible after screating at my ds to not scratch and send him to tears. i feel like a evil cow but i can't control myself and i feel my anger is getting worse by the day. my dss has also change from a confident child to a snappy/ unhappy child. maybe its my screaming and i tend to loose my cool at the smallest thing. i think i need to see a doctor again, before the doc gave me ad. i never feel happy and each day is another hurdle. just feel so drained and lifeless. nothing is fun anymore...

Shame forgetandforgive that sounds terrible, for you and for ds. Have you tried any natural remedies?

My DD has it too not as bad as yours and I've hardly bathe her just top and tail her that's worked wonders for her skin. And someone told me to stop giving her cows milk and wheat. I do hope you find something it's misery.

I'm so sorry that sounds horrible for you all. Have you seen this blog? May have some ideas.

no i haven't but i have seen a Chinese herbalist but my son wouldn't drink it after the first taste. but important giving him lactose free dairy for a while to test. i have cut out all sugary drinks and foods with lots of preservative and additives. please tell me more about the natural remedies, ive heard of it but don't know what it is. poor ds he's so tired fast asleep can't even hear the alarm go off.

I have no experience of eczema, but I drink a herbal tea for sinusitis that works better than anything a doctor has ever prescribed. Unfortunately I'm in South Africa so I cannot refer you to my herbalist. I'm not generally a fan of homeopathy, but in your case it would do no harm to try that.

thanks sonly. i try to only shower him in Luke warm water. he hates bath time now because the water really stings him. is lactose free dairy the same as ordinary milk. do you think people with eczema can have them as an alternative. but i will cut out all wheat for a few months and see if that helps.

You have my sympathies - my DD had horrible eczema until about age 7 but grew out of it - it's under control now but still flares up but in limited places. I remember having no sleep and know exactly how you feel.

The problem with cutting out the potential dietary influences is it takes so bloody long! You need a solution TODAY! But nothing can be that fast - you just have to hang in there.

You may find its nothing to do with diet - it certainly isn't for my DD - it's more about contact.

My only suggestion is Lush dream cream - helped us a bit, not totally, but it was better than other things that we tried. And also a tube of Nivea nourishing hand cream has helped.

We had to cut out dairy completely when my 3 were little (not for eczema) and I had to be dairy free while feeding. Some people have had amazing results. I recommend looking on allergy board for advice but when you do it cut all dairy and soya products out. Give calcium supplements as a temporary measure and try to get medical support and see a dietitian. There are two elements of milk which can cause reactions - lactose and cows milk protein. Lactose free milk will still have cows milk protein in and soya is similar in structure to cows milk - also not good for boys in terms of hormone levels.

It is v hard to cut out wheat and dairy at the same time. I would say to choose one if no change in a month then try the other one. Some people I know had to cut both out. When you do cut it out you need to eliminate completely at first - I found that even if I ate bread with milk in ds would have blood in his poo (ebf). You have to check every label until you know that either it isn't that or what he is able to tolerate. I is a PITA but then so is waking every hour

Sorry before hand if this has been suggested, or if it's no help. However my daughter has eczema, which is mild, however spreads all over into a very nasty rash if left. It must be genetic in our family as I have it, so do other relatives. Anyway, my daughter has had this since being a baby, we went to the doctor and we prescribed creams, steroid creams etc, but nothing worked. Anyway my mum has some friends who a trained in alternative mediciens and they suggested putting oats in a sock and using this to wash her instead of anything else. It has worked wonders for her eczema, and whenever she has a flare up we use this and it calms it right down. It also has worked on my mum's Psoriasis, so maybe worth a go?

thanks sparky for the advice. i have tried that but that seems to make his skin me red and inflamed after he baths in it. i don't use any fragrance soap to wash him. I've tried sebamed ph 5.5 for body but that still cause a reaction and it stings him. i only wash him with the emollient he uses for body as a soap substitute. dermol 500/double base. recently i have tried unrefined virgin olive oil. even after a sec of applying the oil it soak into his skin like a sponge. his skin is very dry and red all over his body. the dermatalogist have suggested light therapy. but important not keen on the idea because it involves
taking time of school. and his lack of sleep is already affecting his learning. i will do more research on the blog for which gunpowder sent me.

thank you every one on mn for your advice. I will try and test each one and see if my ds eczema improves. I know that eczema is very hard to treat because there are so many causes to his problems eg environmental factor and stress related which is a vicious cycle.

I remembered a friend used to give her child goats milk she said it helped.

Hullo - we're going to move this to Children's Health at the request of the OP, we hope you get some helpful answers.

thanks sonly. i will definitely give goats milk a try instead of lactose free milk and dairy.

I thnk if the dermatologist is suggesting light therapy then you should go ahead and do it, regardless of whether your child misses school because of it. If the light therapy relieves his itching which then means that he can sleep at night then in the long term, his education will improve.

Do you wet bandage at night?
You and your poor boy have my sympathy. Eczema is horrid!
Can I ask the advice they have given you about applying creams? Eg order, frequency etc.

hi Wolfe. my son haven't tried wet wraps I've heard of it from when i attended a few weeks information on children with eczema in London. the nurse was brilliant and we was given so much info on care and management on eczema & poriasis. i try and moisturise his skin with double or dermol 500 as often as possible, about 6 times a day and during the night when he scratches i apply vaseline all over him. but it doesn't stop the itch. i also use steroids ointment on him for 1 mnt at a time then stop and continue use. the downside of continuing long term use of metasone/ steroids is that its effectiveness starts dry the skin evermore and it gets less effective. he have used the fucibet tape. which was left overnight but the next morning his skin looked worse than before. the last wrap he tried was called fucibet wrapstocking. i think that's its name. he used that once on both legs overnight for one day and it ran out. we go an appontmnt next Tuesday to see the doc. before i shower him i apply dermol as a soap substitute then rinse his in Luke warm water. i pat him dry and apply more emmollent for head to toe. i was advised by the nursrvto apply the cream along the hair growth. it should be left to dry on its own. don't rub it in the skin this will not benefit. i bought him cotton gloves to wear at night but i will need to get proper ones that will stay on.

hi littlefish. i have put that option on hold because not only is it time consuming but the specialist said it was just a short term measure and its likely his eczema will some back. i will see our family doc on Tuesday and see what other options ie best. if I've tried everything eg comfi nigh wear to stop him scratching and wet wraps then i will have to let my ds try the light therapy. i agree with you as long ad it helps eventhough it is short term at least we can all have a peaceful nights sleep.

hey, I've suffered from very bad eczema since I was born but the last few years its been so bad. I was like your son, couldn t sleep, it was so so dry all the time and it was really weepy and red and open everywhere .
the best advice I had was actually from the dermatology nurse who gave me zip zoc bandages. I had to put a very thick layer of steriod - like half a tube - on my skin first, then an equally thick layer of 50/50 cream ( which is like vaseline) then the bandage and finally a cotton over bandage.
I did this for a week or so and my skin was just about healed, but even after one night of sleep and no scratching it was amazing.
I know it sounds like a lot of steroid but I was so desperate for sleep I gave it a go, and as long as its only for short term I was assured its ok.
and the moistureiser softened it all and helped it to heal and also kept the itch away because it didn't dry out.I really can't recommend it enough.
hope he feels better soon tho

Hi forget, I feel for you and your ds. I used to suffer from eczema quite badly when I was younger. Here is what helped me:

-100% cotton for everything, clothes and bed sheets.
-No softener, extra mild washing powder, extra rinse cycle.
-Creams with urea. Eucerin do some OTC stuff, but you can also get prescriptions for creams with urea.
-I would try to see a good nutritionist, see if you can get some local recommendations.
-Definitely go for the light therapy! Your ds will do so much better if he goes to school well rested and without itchy skin!
-Antihistamines and painkillers
-Holiday at the seaside, baths in salt water. I am not sure about here, but on the German North Sea coast and at the a Dead Sea there are resorts that specialise in skin treatments.

I am sure you know this, and you only want the best for your ds, but I remember wanting to kill people who told me not to scratch!

Really hope you both get the break that you deserve soon.

hi smiles and kat. thank you both for your suggestions. it is a great relief that the zip zoc stocking helped with your eczema smiles and next time when my ds next see the doc i will definitely ask him to prescribe it. maybe i need to look into m ds diet. i do try to buy them more fresh fruits and vegs. have cut out sweets and biscuit avoid them when shopping. i think its also addictives and preservative that is in food and drinks so now i only allow them to drink mineral water and goats milk. i will keep everyone posted about their development and whether cutting out on certain foods really help or not.

Op, poor you and your poor son.

We have a water softener system and my daughter said that she is definitely less itchy with it. She does not have bad eczema, just sensitive skin. We live in a area with cry hard water.
I had a tiny patch on my finger, it was so small, BUT that used to wake me at night so you have my sincere sympathy.
Have you been referred to a dermatologist ?

hi lala. my 2ds is currently seeing a dermatologist. but so far they have only suggested the creams and steroids which i can get from my gp. he's due to see the dermatologist in February. I will have to suggest the zip zip dressing smiles recommended. in the mean time its just constant moisturising and steroids to stop the itch. i have Google and advised by other MN and have placed an order to buy the comfiwear garments especially for eczema. can't wait till it arrives!

I swear by a cream called Uguentum Merck it's actually got my eczema under control and is not steroids.

It's horrible poor you and ds