Excema. I'm not alone am I?

[Harrymetsally123]

I know I'm not and I know my son isn't the only but it sure can feel like it sometimes. I know no one in real life with excema like his. Mine was never as bad.

I have one friend who knows it all and is so supportive, but I still feel alone some nights. I want to take it away, but I can't. I want to hug him but it hurts him if I do.

Can anyone relate?

And I just re-read my original post and it's supposed to read "nan" not "man".

OP you tried Hydromol ointment? the stuff that looks like ghee. a lot of gps dont give it unless u insist u tried other stuff, its more expensive. well my husbands nephew had it very bad from a baby he's 12 now and has it still but not where near as bad. After much nagging by me and my husband they tried hydromol and they say it works stuck to it.

give it a go if you haven't already may help you but its all trial and error right PITA

ive heard hard water can make eczema worse but I'm not sure if that is true anyone know?

DDs had eczema but not really bad and they have both grown out of it.
What worked for DD1 was to reduce the number of baths to 2 a week and use no soap/products at all. Just a tiny bit of shampoo (but she had lots of hair!) I still put oilatum in the baths but prior to this I was also needing to cover her in creams every night - Aveeno worked best for her but diprobase was ok too.
Because of that DD2 never had a nightly bath, she was never as bad but still got patches on her groin creases, underarms.
But then I have read somewhere that the latest advice is lukewarm nightly baths ...I think it is really a case of what works for you.
As well as less washing powder if you have a modern ish machine they use very little water - use the water plus setting and/or an extra rinse. I used to use ariel but then moved onto ecover non bio - and they were fine with both but fairy nonbio made DD1 flare.
Finally look out for MIT (Methylisothiazolinone) in washing products, shampoos bubble baths etc. I have never had sensitive skin etc but I am sensitive to that. It is a preservative that has been increasing in use because of concerns about parabens. But now, after causing lots of problems it is being removed from leave on products (like moisturisers, sun cream etc) but it is still allowed in shampoo etc. If I use a shampoo with it in I get a burning face, it feels like it is on fire. And nearly everything like that seems to have it in. More info here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylisothiazolinone
Good luck it is awful when they are in pain/discomfort and you can't make it better. And hope your DS will grow out of it
(DD1 had her last flare at I'd say 6-7, DD2 is 9 now and has been fine for about a year -so touch wood that's it for her too)

Washing powder - surcare liquid was the one that worked best for me. Worth a try if you haven't. And you know definitely non-bio, no conditioner, right?

Another top tip to try is aqueous cream instead of soap for handwashing (indeed, washing everything except hair). I put it with a little water in an empty soap dispenser.

I'm probably saying stuff you've already tried, but just in case. It's hard. Keep trying things. I'm so thankful DC don't have the sort of eczema I had as a kid. I mostly grew out of it, but that was partly learning and avoiding my triggers.

Poor you and your DS.

Unpopular opinion here but I really think farting about with gentle stuff on severe eczema is pointless. The only thing that worked for my DS was strong steroids. Once those had cleared the eczema, we went back to gentle preventative measures. He used to have severe flares with infections every summer and needed steroids then too. I know there are downsides to steroids but my baby was suffering.

Oh and we stopped using fabric softener and extra rinsed all the washing.

Good luck op.

Agree with that too IHeart. Again it's a case of trying things (with doctor's help) and finding the right steroid for DC. Cream or ointment can make a difference too.

Oh yep, the ointment DS ended up with was that horrible Epaderm, but it was the one he needed. OP you're right about it being so individual, and that's what makes eczema such a bugger to sort out.

Do you have a children's centre near you? Find out through them or your GP if there is a local excels nurse. My youngest had bad excema from birth, he ended up at his worst in wet wraps at the hospital. It was after that we were put in touch with the excema nurse. She ran a course and it was amazing. I met 5 other local mothers going through the same thing and I learnt a lot about eczema. With a lot of myths blown out of the water that my GP didn't tell me. My son is 3 now, we moved out of London which helped dramatically and he gets it now and again but he's gone from a child that could only wash with prescription gloop to one that can now live a more normal life. Many children do grow out of the more severe symptoms. In those dark days though, the excema nurse was fantastic.

Oh and they really put your mind at ease about steroids. Use them when you need them, especially if they are only 0.5 or 1%.

Yes to the non bio - I buy the cheap Tesco one - and the white fabric softener

I agree too Iheart if it is a bad flare no point extending the suffering - go for the steroids.
The other approaches can then be used to try and stop it flaring/getting as bad again.

I don't know if anybody has tried this but the MooGoo range is also supposedly having great results for eczema. I'm tempted to try it but not sure if it's marketing hype.

I bought the MooGoo shampoo and conditioner after it was well-recommended on a thread on here about scalp issues.

Unfortunately I reacted to it. Having said that, lots of people obviously get on very well with it.

The trouble with all this is the cost of buying something pricey like MooGoo only to find you can't use it. I packaged up a load of shampoo and conditioner I had bought to try and didn't get on with and sent it to another mumsnetter.

Perhaps we should have a products swapping thread?!

Thanks INeedNewShoes -that's exactly what I'm afraid of - there are so many products out there. Lots of the emollient types also have SLS in them which is v drying & I find they just sit on the skin but don't do anything to moisturise or take the 'tight' feeling away.

Hi guys, sorry I've been a while I couldn't get on the thread earlier!!! Hope everyone is having a good Mother's Day whatever u are doing.

I'm just trying to relax but my son won't! Does anyone else find that when they or their child is having a flare up they won't relax, my son will not/ cannot sit still he's acting out and just seems very on edge.

Thank you so much for all of your advice I am writing them all down, going to boots soon for the eucerin.

Brace yourself for the price of the Eucerin. It's about £12 a bottle. There are quite a few different products. I've linked the one I use:

www.boots.com/en/Eucerin-Dry-Skin-Intensive-Lotion-10-w-w-Cutaneous-Emulsion-Urea-250ml_6771/

If your son gets on well with this, if you are a little bit persuasive you should be able to get your GP to prescribe it.

Another tip I forgot to mention earlier is to never towel-dry his skin by rubbing with a towel. Only gently pat dry. I suspect you're already doing this though.

Thanx I need shoes, I had a quick look and saw it was on the higher end of the scale!!!! But unfortunately most are aren't they!

Yes I tend to pat him dry more because if I don't he bleeds

I recommend Boots (the chemist) own brand washing powder suitable for eczema sufferers.

Like you and others I tried lots of different lotions and potions and different ones helped at different times. Nothing from gp or hospital helped.

Last time ds had really bad eczema coconut oil was the thing that eventually got rid of it. The coconut oil made the eczema worse and look really sore before it got better and disappeared completely. I was going to stop the coconut oil when the eczema got worse but I was so desperate and it was my last hope I kept using it and nothing else.

Ds is eczema free for the first time at age 7. He has coconut oil in his diet now as a substitute for butter. I don't know if there would be any connection to eating the oil and having better skin.

Good luck. It is so hard, I really can sympathise.

my Dds eczema is thankfully not as severe as what's being reported on here. although we have had some pretty severe episodes where it's been bleeding or infected and incredibly sore.

not 1 thing we git from.the drs has ever worked. we have been prescribed :diprobase, double base, aqueous cream, epiderm, cetera ban, oilatum and probably others

have also tried the likes of aveeno, e45, aloe Vera, baby lotion etc

what eventually worked has been

cutting dairy

using vegan, organic, paraben free and SLS free shampoos conditioners body washes etc. sadly not available.on prescription and rather expensive.

using a vegan organic SLS paraben free body moisturiser 2-4 times a day

swapping detergents. we now use violet's. again vegan and expensive but has made a big difference.

sadly school uniforms and hot classrooms are a nightmare fir sensitive skin and that's the one thing I can't control.

Here's a tip the nurse gave me. Never use your hands or fingers in pots of cream or epaderm, always use a clean metal spoon to prevent bacteria entering the cream. Also try to apply the creams with a spoon unless using it to wash with. This really helped my son. His excema got really really bad when we moved, 2 days traveling and 3 aerplanes. We moved to a hot country and I was worried he would live in misery. After a month his excema was almost gone, two years on and he is clear. We live almost entirely on local or home grown foods, there is less air pollution and despite it being above 32 degrees most of the time he is thriving. I will never know if it would have cleared up anyway, but the last time we went to London for a month his excema flared up again. For my son at least, city pollution is a major trigger.

Everyone reporting on here I can relate too so well. I am so grateful for all the support and advice. I really feel alone this weekend with it all. It's a fight to get him to cream, he's upset and irritated and taking it on me (that's fine I can take that) but I just wanna take it away for him.

I know I'm not alone in that thought. Whatever it is we wanna get rid of it for them. I'm so helpless and it's just such a guessing game how long this flare up will last.

Back to school tomorrow and I'm worrying if he is gonna get himself into trouble as he becomes terribly anti social during these flare ups!!!

His teacher knows and understands he has a medical care plan in place at school so I know he will b looked after he's just such a different child and it makes me sad.

I'm rambling now because I am just lost - have got home and bought the eucerin do will try that. I an near a big health shop so am gonna pop in tomorrow n see what's what.

Sorry for this epic post I'm very much self pitying today

I have suffered from severe eczema on and off for most of life - I totally get what you mean about GPs not understanding how bad it can be. You can push for light therapy, which worked quite well for me. The other thing to be aware of is if the eczema is infected, no creams or ointments will work without clearing the infection first. The last time I had a bad flare up I was lucky enough to see an understanding GP who treated the infection with antibiotics as well as prescribing steroid cream to get the flare up under control.

I was worried his was infected this weekend but it isn't! It's a nightmare once it gets infected isn't it?

I had excema as a child and my mum bought special washing powder but that is where it stopped with me. I don't know anyone in real life who has suffered like my son is. I'm glad there are forums like this.

My son also suffers and the only cream we've found that works for him was Dermol. It's usually available on prescription but we've bought it from the chemist directly (at £12 a bottle unfortunately). It has a anti microbial in it so it reduces the risk of infection. Touch wood, it's worked for us so far but I agree that you worry about the chemicals in the cream, try something natural that is recommended by others and 'boom' your child has a flare up that takes weeks to settle down again. The latest flare up was from Aqueous cream... I was stupidly trying to find something cheaper that worked.