When can I stop creaming my eczema kids??

[Stayathomemumm]

So I have 2 DS's with crappy skin and i feel like all i ever do is moisture. DS1 age 3 had severe eczema as a newborn but thankfully it is now mild and DS2 (16months) eczema has always been mild, his are just a few patches, mainly his creases. Generally their skin is manageable and totally under control these days, they have the odd flare up of spotty/itchy skin. Problem is, I have been applying cream all over their bodies their whole lives, everyday, twice a day without fail and I am getting so fed up of it. Creaming time is a constant battle as they both hate having it on and i don't blame them. But I worry that if I stop, their skin would go bad? I'm worried their skin is so reliant on these creams that it's unable to keep itself moisturised. Will I be creaming them forever?? When did you stop regularly moisturising your eczema kids and did they do ok without it??

Try moving to once a day and see what happens. If their skin flares up you know you have to go back to twice a day if not, stick with once for a little while then try moving to alternate days.

I find with DD it's less about the frequency of cream and more about the seasonal aspects. So during the summer when there's lots of pollen about and she's getting sweaty she is more affected by eczema. In colder weather her skin is better.

DD is 8 and she has eczema similar to what you describe with your DC2. I still moisturise her twice a day and more if needed.

I'd start by just creaming the patches that are prone to flare up, and see how the skin goes.
It will be much quicker if you are only doing creases.
Then start missing sessions, and see what happens.

Agree with pp just cream the areas that are affected these days and leave the rest, see what happens. My dd used to get it all over but now only a couple of areas suffer so I just cream those. If she’s having a flare up I do it 2/3 times a day but if her skin is pretty good sometimes I only cream at bedtime, but just the areas that need it.

Try getting a water softener at your home (if you don't have one already). It really helped me and DD with eczema. Infact if the salt runs out in the system we find out because our skin reacts in no time.
Might reduce your need to cream.

Ours was massively improved by cleaning the washing machine, changing powder for a liquid, not using soap, and steam cleaning. I think the trigger was soap related and dust.

DS was the same as a baby/toddler. The Dermatologist said he'd always have dry skin. He used to get 4 tubes of Aveeno cream a month on prescription.
He gradually reduced usage when he grew out of the actual eczema (although he did seem to get flare ups every time he was ill) but now he only uses about 1 tube a month (which he buys from the supermarket) as I think he only uses it on his face, hands and arms.

I would suggest you gradually reduce how often you use it and see how it goes, but be prepared for patches and flare ups.

As your children get older they can take responsibility for their own creams. If their skins flairs you would be unreasonable to reduce moisturising.

Eventually they will be able to take over themselves.

I would be wary of a water softener. DH wanted to get one because we have very hard water, but when I investigated I found that the softening process would have been worse for my particular condition.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I might start by gradually weaning off creams and also just applying on the problematic areas. That would be a whole lot easier than creaming them head to toe everytime. But then if they do flare up somewhere I won't really know if it's the lack of cream or if they were going to flare up anyway iyswim. Just don't want to do anything to jeopardise their skin but at the same time I do feel like they don't need it as often as I'm applying. Obv if they're having a flare up I would cream them, I can deal with having to do it occasionally, it's just the everyday twice a day routine that's killing me. I feel I might be doing more harm than good by making their skin addicted to moisturiser (is that even possible?). I long for the day I can just get them dressed in the morning and put pj's on at bedtime without having to slather them in grease first!