Eczema DD2 - recommendations for homeopathy, Chinese remedies or anything else

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DD aged 2 has eczema on her elbows, wrists, legs, feet and some on her neck. Have tried everything; oilatum, diprobase, e45, hydrocortisone. The only thing that has worked to control it is fucibet but as it is a steroid I am worried about using it long term. Also now using aveeno and although this has been better than everything else we have tried she still gets itchy and then flare ups. She scratches a lot when tired and sometimes during the night but generally sleeps through. Scratches periodically throughout the day.
Any recommendations for alternative treatment in Manchester area or even anything else you have used which has helped?
Not a dairy allergy as we have already eliminated that and not caused by washing powder; we use either ecover or persil non bio.
Any advice will be very much appreciated.

Not tried a chamomile bath. Can you please explain this?

Thanks Bunbaker very helpful

I had pretty bad eczema til the age of 10. What sorted it for me was an exclusion diet which picked up allergies to dairy and citrus. Diet was really tough (I ate nothing but brown rice, pears and stewed lamb for weeks at the beginning) but it was sooo worth it.

Is eumovate for adults only? I'm sure my brother in law uses this from time to time and he said it was excellent

get some loose camomile and tie it into a muslin cloth so you are makin a giant teabag and hang it from the hot tap so it is in the flow of it. then put into the bath.
If you canot find loose camomile then use a handful of camomile teabags instead. It is said to calm the skin, and if it doesn't work, it won't do any harm anyway.

Don't change too many things too quickly! By all means eliminate, but be careful to reintroduce only one thing.

Sort out the washing powders first and find a very mild one. The only one we can use is a supermarket standard non bio. No conditioners or softeners.

Foods may of may not also be contributory factor. Yes have the test but it does not always pick everything up.

There is a big difference between different types of milk, and some people can tolerate a little dairy but react if they have a lot in one day. Same with other foods.

Common foods that can trigger eczema are eggs, dairy, gluten, additives, chocolate. Even changes in the hardness of the water can set some people off. (Going on holiday can be a pain).

Chamomile gives me eczema, so I wouldn't use that. Also all the creams and lotions and baby products have something that irritates me. Anything with any lanolin in it has me itching like buggery too.

Be careful about a diet of lamb, pear and rice...some people dvelop an intolerance to these if they have nothing else for too long. An elimination diet should be monitored by a qualified dietitian or doctor.

Actual medicine (steroids) as needed of course, but when thinking of alternatives, remember that skin issues can be a symptom of what's going on inside the body as well as caused by things that touch the skin on the outside iykwim.

Dietary triggers are very individual, but dairy and foods made of grains seem to be very common triggers. It may be worth getting rast tests done, but antibodies to a food needn't mean excluding it forever, but a few months then trying it again would be sensible.

Our 4yo DS couldn't take cows milk until very recently, but was fine with goat (about 25% of people who react to cow will also react to goat, and there's a lot who react to soya too). He also reacts to Maize(corn).

A broad spectrum probiotic might be worth a try - you can get powdered ones for kids that sprinkle on to food. There's a lot of research coming out recently about how gut health and gut bacteria affect health.

If you can, try organic skin and bath products- they don't have the SLS, parabens etc that most "normal" ones contain. Dr.Organic have a really wide range of products and they are lovely - our local Holland and Barratt stocks the whole range. They are mid-high price but I find a little goes a long way!

2 of our DC have reacted to the creams/lotions recommended - it was the lanolin in them, even tho it's purified.

Washing, non bio, and NO FABIC CONDITIONER! And wash at higher temps. 40 or preferably 60 to break down allergens like pollen and mould spores, animal dander etc.

We use fucibet but it returns straightaway but will try the weaning method. Also we always use organic bath and hair products.
Is non bio washing powder better than bio? The advice about this seems mixed

Using non bio powder plus never doing a service wash won't kill the mould in your washing machine. So if you use a non bio powder you must do a service wash regularly.

Op, it depends on what the DC is reacting to, some are fine with bio, some need the nonbiological. IMO, it's often the fabric conditioners that are the problem.

Yy to regular service wash of your washing machine to kill mould.

bio vs non-bio
short version, try what works for you.
apparently it's the other additives (perfume/fillers) that cause reactions than the enzymes in the detergent.
I find bio washes better = I need less=less residue on clothes= less itching
wrt to softener, some people get on better with them than without (as it makes fabrics less itchy) but again you need to try what works for you.

That's what I read on the link you posted bunbaker but what about washing with bio powder? Would this make the eczema worse? I know you said it helped in your case. I stopped using bio powder just before DD was born but thinking about it, it hasn't obviously helped

I agree with mousmous. You just have to try what works for you. I used the extra rinse programme on my washer for ages and find now that I don't need to. I use Fairy conditioner as I find the clothes don't feel as nice if I don't, especially knitwear. I line dry whenever I can, but in bad weather I use my tumble dryer.

OP we've use eumovate on DS since he was 5 months old. It was prescribed by the dermatologist.

Dr Organic Manuka Honey Rescue Cream (available on Amazon and in Holland and Barrett) is pretty good, although gets expensive. I use it on wrist and face eczema (doctors are very nervous about steroid cream near eyes, and I get horrible eczema around my eyes in wimter) and it's better than any other cream I've tried, other than steroids.

Thanks all - very useful advice.
Will start with service washing the machine and then change the washing powder to see whether this makes a difference

Agree with not changing too much at once, because if it all clears, you won't know which change helped!
DH needs non bio, so we have always used that. The kids seem OK with switching between Fairy and persil. I half dose the powder tho, and extra rinse if there look to be a load of bubbles on the final spin!
I also agree with keep trying things - and you may need to change again. The boys have seemed to respond to something, and 6 months later, it stops working as well.
The one thing I've not yet seen suggested is an oat bath - like the camomile suggestion, but with oats. Definitely worth trying if Aveeno seems to be good.
We use as little soap and shampoo as possible - water and bath oil in general, and shampoo if water isn't cutting it.
Swimming has a massive effect - for some, it aggravates, for some it clears. Might be worth trying.
Good Luck. With plenty of moisturiser, DH and both kids can control it now - cleared about 4 yrs old.

Thanks for the suggestions addictedtosugar. We have plenty of oats in so will give that a go

I don't know if Dr Atherton's book on eczema is still around. When my young son had it really badly we took him to Great Ormond Street to see him, wet wraps sorted him.

The book was a bible with lots pictures.

Just reading back up, I get Hope's relief from a little site called itchy baby (I've recommended it a few times on here and promise I'm not the owner!). I think you can probably get it on Amazon as well, but I liked the itchy site - I used to get lots of things from it. Always been a sucker for a nice cosmetic product.

The Hopes Relief seemed almost to make it more red to begin with but then seemed to heal it. This is completely non-scientific, but it seemed active iykwim.

Having said that, both DS and DD occasionally get a sort of contact dermatitis on their face, and I can't put it on that - it's sting-y. But I still will put it on itchy bits of DS's back, tummy, etc.

That's v interesting up there ^^ about mould and washing machines. I'm sure DS's eczema was mould and pollen related. His eczema used to get better in the winter with the heating on .

I have now cleaned the washing machine with ariel at 95 degree. Have also washed DD's bedding at 60 with an extra rinse and will do an oat bath next.
I have ordered the Hope's relief cream thanks LTF

Just come back to update and say a big thank you to everyone for all the advice. I hope this helps others in the same/similar situation.

As per bunbaker'sadvice, I service washed the washing machine using ariel at 95 degrees. I then washed all DD's bedding and most of her clothes at 60 and did an extra rinse. I'm so pleased that DD's eczema has almost disappeared and she is no longer itching and she hasn't been scratching at night. This has been such a relief as watching her scratch in frustration was upsetting. I can't believe the great results in such a short time and this is the only change we have made. The washing machine was mouldy so that explains a lot.
I also ordered the Hope's relief cream but have not used it yet but have continued with aveeno. Will patch test the cream in a few days.