a moan about eczema

[duzzlightyearsmum]

Just want a bit of a moan tbh! DD has terrible eczema, we've been referred to the eczema clinic at our local hospital. We've had five different creams and three rounds of steroids. We just seemed to be getting it all under control but out of nowhere it's flared up again. She's not eaten anything new and we've obviously not risked trying anything different on her skin. Why oh why has it flared up?!?!?! It's awful she itches at it like crazy and it keeps her awake!!!!

I appreciate that there may be nothing anyone can suggest to help but I just needed a bit of a moan about it :(

Argh! Much sympathy from me as I had eczema like that as a kid, often there just didn't seem to be a reason for it and the steroid creams left my skin very thin, it took ages to recover.
Discovered many years later that emollient cream itself had been making it worse as the paraffin base was thinning my skin too, dramatically making allergies worse!
Sorry I can't give any real helpful advice, just agreement that eczema is awful.

Thanks for the sympathy! Just so frustrating because we were just getting on top of it and out of nowhere a massive flare up. The skin on her face is flaking off to the touch now :( and that's with me having applied her creams countless times today!

Hurry up the end of April for her dermatology appointment

Hi Duzz,
I'm an adult who has had eczema all her life (so know a thing or two!)

What cream is she using. Has she any allergies?

She's got doublebase and hydromol. We use then doublebase usually and the hydromol after a bath. We are working on the assumption she is allergic to cows milk although we are waiting to have this confirmed. She's 6 months old if that makes any difference to anything. She's had cetraben which made it worse.

Any advice would be fantastic!

In my experience allergies are often the root of the problem. If you don't think a new food has been introduced my guess this time of year would be pollen with the spring starting pollen levels are rising very quickly.

My ds2 has had terrible eczema you don't like to try new things without being prescribed them as you don't want to risk making the situation worse but aveeno has changed my boys skin 100%! Both the bath oil & the cream, he still has flare ups but not as bad no way near as bad!

Ok, so here's what I found/find.

Doublebase/aqueous cream type cremes actually made my skin worse! I think of all the years I slapped aqueous cream on and want to weep. I think they were way too harsh, even though they are meant to be gentle.

I am with Booville in that Aveeno (make sure it's not the kind with Almond in it - just in case of nut allergies) was pretty bloody lovely. I'm also having a lot of happiness with something called 'Impruv' (stupid spelling).

I also found that cutting down on the number of baths certainly helped. I try and limit contact with water as it just dries me up. As soon as I leave the bathwater, my skin starts to flare and sticking on cream makes me mad with itchiness for about 30 mins after. For this reason I now only bath my kids ever 3days (unless stinky) and luckily my son's eczema isn't too bad. I think there is a tendency to over bathe - the American Skin Association (not sure of the exact name) recommend about 1-2 a week! Obviously it depends on how dirty they get.

Ask your docs as well how long you should use the steroids for. I'm not sure if this is true btu I heard you really should use it for a few days after a flare up as the dermis lower down is still inflamed. Please check that with your doc. I do tend to give any itchy areas couple of extra days afterwards with the steroid.

Please check for allergies too. I'm allergic to nuts, sesame, eggs and lanolin. It's amazing how many things contain these things.

These are just my experiences, the 'medical' part may be dodgy or unfounded, so please check first.

HTH.

Thanks everyone!

We have oilatum for the bath atm. But will get hold of some aveeno.

Interesting what you say about aqueous creams lemony as it is the only cream we've tried that has even slightly helped but am definitely willing to try again!

We are currently pushing for a referral to a dietician to confirm any allergies but it is taking a frustratingly long time so sort

just lost a looooong post.
in essence: trial and error. don't only rely on prescription cremes, try a few.
same with washing powders.
we have good experience with using a light moisturiser and a fattier one on top mornings and evenings and the lighter one in between if needed.

I have been using emu oil both on myself and dd. It has worked brilliantly.

Oilatum contains lanolin (if she is sensitive to wool then watch out for this) and I wonder that the 'floral spice' they put in there caused some sensitivity with me. It's another one I've now steered clear of.

Yes, the allergy referral thing is annoying, isn't it? my DS has a bunch of allergies and it wasn't till we moved to the States and had insurance that we found he was allergic to nuts, eggs and bananas (we knew about the eggs, hadn't given nuts because of me, and bananas were a surprise but he'd always hated them!. Life got much easier after that.

My ds is nearly 13 and has eczema all his life. I've tried all the lotions and potions and as my son has got older he's been able to tell me that all the prescription creams and bath liquid either make his skin itch even more or sting like hell.
We now use Aveeno and it's been a godsend. We only started using it in dec but it's made a huge difference.
I also agree with previous post about pollen. My ds takes cetrazine everyday from April-sept and stays away from cut grass.

Donkir's absolutely right about her DS. All the prescription things which come in big imposing bottles itch and sting after a bath. It's almost as if they hate my skin. It took me years to finally stop using them.

I also found using olive oil in the shower is very kind (if it pisses DH off as it gets slippy on the floor). Would love to know about Emu oil!! Do they squash an emu in a press of some kind?

No advice about creams, but Lemonyone is right that overbathing is a massive contributing factor. It won't cause eczema in the first place but will dry it out more, making existing eczema worse (imagine washing all the protective oils in the skin off each time you go in the bath).

I vaguely remember an article in the British Medical Journal last year that mentioned severity of eczema is linked to washing frequency.

Can you perhaps do top and tail washes with a flannel each evening and only have a bath once a week?

My little girl has really bad eczema, which started when she was 3 weeks old. She gets terrible patches on her hands, face, in the creases When we started weaning it became clear very quickly that she had an allergy to cows milk and egg. As I was still breastfeeding at the time, I had to cut out milk and egg in my diet.
I also suspect she has an allergy to lanolin, pineapple and tomato.

She too gets flare ups that come out of nowhere, and have tried various creams etc...with different results. Sometimes a cream that works well over a period of time can suddenly make her ezcema worse. Currently Epaderm is working ok for her.

I only give her a bath 1-2 times a week and for no more than 10 minutes because the water dries her skin.

My husband still has ezcema, but it has improved over time so I'm hoping the same for dd.

Sorry if I've caused confusion we do only bath once a week I just meant when we do we use the hydromol afterwards!

Very interesting about the prescription stuff being perfumed will definitely get some aveeno.

Just so frustrating/confusing as we seemed to have a handle on it and despite not changing anything its flared up!

Forgot to add, changes in temperature can trigger her ezcema. If she gets a bit hot she starts scratching and her skin is worse in the summer. I HATE eczema, my dd's skin can look so sore and painful

homeappliance did you get an allergy test for your DD? How old is she now? Interesting about the creams suddenly not working, it's almost as if she's become resistant to it

Yes we were referred to a paediatrician who then referred her for allergy tests. The allergy tests showed that she was allergic to egg and milk - we cut these out of her diet completely in the beginning and when she reached 2 years we gradually introduced them back into her diet, with the paediatricians advice. She's 3 now and she can tolerate cows milk to a point (if she has too much the eczema flares up), and can have egg yolk but not the white. The other allergies have been discovered through trial and error.

I'm hoping were close to an appointment with a dietician, are they able to authorize allergy tests? Or the dermatologist maybe???

It sounds like you are tackling it all well Duzzy. How stressful for you though. Just remember, we eczemary people get through this and so many grow out of it. I'm a bit of a freak in that I never did. But my eczema is particularly bad, as are my allergies and asthma. That makes me sounds like a feeble thing but it's never stopped me from doing anything, going out with anyone or massively affected my schooling.

And sometimes skin just does flare up for no apparent reason. I would avoid any itchy fabrics (wool is the very devil - just avoid as the texture on easily irritated skin is just awful - even if it's only 10%wool). Probably keep pets outside just in case. And yes, get onto your dermatologist.

I think Aveeno may be perfumed too, but it doesn't seem bothersome. I found the green version better than the blue but I can't for the life of me remember why.

Thank you lemony it does seem sort of better today with no rhyme or reason again! Just hope she grows out of it, horrible to watch her so uncomfortable. And the lack of sleep is killing me

Poor you with the sleep.

Can I ask, is she on any kind of antihistamine for when the flare ups are bad? For a start, it will allow her to sleep, secondly, sometimes when the itching is so intense I really really need an antihistamine, otherwise I scratch and the whole process begins again.
I know it's not nice to think of 'drugging' your child, but the quality of sleep I get when I'm in full flare is pretty poor as well so it's worth considering so you both get some sleep.
And remember, eczema can make you (your DD) feel crotchety because of this poor sleep, so the next day she may be more friable in her moods.

She hasn't got an antihistamine, is she old enough for one? I'm so clueless about these things

I think you can take them at any age, but I would certainly check with your Dr for dosage and type.

As said, no-one likes the idea of medicating a baby unnecessarily, but when you are in the middle of being hideously itchy an antihistamine will give much relief and allow you to sleep or get on with the day. I'm afraid I don't know if there are antihistamines which are non-drowsy for daytime use for kids. I used to occasionally give me DS antihistamine syrup (Piriton) if he had a flare up and was frequently waking at night because of it. He would be so much happier the next day, not so crotchety.