Eczema 3 year old - NO STEROIDS please!

[pmum1]

Hi :) so both of my children have suffered with Eczema - my eldest grew out of it from around 2 years old but my daughter still suffers quite badly. Im really reluctant to use pharmacuticle products like steroid creams as i would love to find something more natrual. Please if anyone has had any luck with anything that is softer, gentle and more natraul on the skin all recomendations would be appreciated. :)

If it's bad eczema steroids really are the way to get on top of things and it's better to have a course than let things grumble on for ages. For any dry skin then doing as much as possible on terms of moisturisers on is the main thing.

Coconut oil may keep ontop of it. As might beeswax.
But I strongly recommend using steroids on breakouts.

We bath my son in aqueous cream as any other off the shelf stuff irritated him and just use aveeno as a general moisturiser.

As pp has said though you do need steroid for cracked painful areas, GPs prescribe 0.5% (as a comparison this is also what they prescribed for adult eyelids and other very thin areas of skin) just don't use it excessively.

My 7yo has had eczema since she was a baby. We use childs farm baby moisturiser twice a day plus childs farm shower gel, bubble bath, conditioner etc. This brand is great for her eczema, it reallykerps on top of it snd she rarelyhas flare ups now. Be really careful with washing powder and fabric conditioner. Even sensitive brands can flare up her eczema but we have found the right ones for her through trial and error. Basically just be really careful with anything that touches her skin, don't use anything with fragrances.

Tbh though you can't beat steroid creams for flare ups. I've never found anything else that can calm her skin down when it's really sore and itchy, and ultimately her comfort comes first.

Childs farm moisturizer helps my daughter but hers is mild.

Weleda. Swap to the baby shampoo and bath, and they do oil and cream as needed

We use childs farm baby moisturiser twice a day

^

How do you persuade her to put the cream on???! DD will not moisturise for love nor money

MooGoo helped my little girl battle her eczema (provided no dairy allergy perhaps? Although not sure if that's the actual active ingredient)

She had awful eczema, although we had allergies too so eliminating them plus a 2 -4 day course of steroids means that now she can manage with no steroids and only needs them once a year or so

The more you avoid steroids for bad flare-ups, the worse the inflammation will get, and you'll end up needing higher doses of steroid for longer periods.

Short bursts of steroids, early on in a flare-up, calm things down quickly, and therefore less steroid is needed overall.

There is too much fear about steroid use. When used correctly, under medical guidance, they are excellent treatments.

I would looking at her diet and trying to find triggers. Dairy is a very common one.

Were currently on very mild steroids as I've tried about 12 different creams and nothing helped, steroids took it away completely within 2 days! We use the moo goo too twice a day its brilliant stuff!

The first time we were prescribed benovate (a strong steroid) for a bad flare up it cleared within 2 days, I felt awful that I'd let my little boy suffer for so long before going to th GP

Now we use steroids very sparingly when needed , epaderm as a daily emoliant (the only one he can tolerate) and aveeno for washing

Occasional steroid use (and figuring out as many triggers as possible) is much preferable to only using "natural stuff" and dealing with cracked bleeding skin

If you are concerned can you afford a private consultation with a specialist.

DS has always suffered and I do a series of things to keep on top of it.

on the skin I use shea butter- I buy un whipped and whip it myself as that’s cheaper. It moisturises and provides a barrier.

supplements- probiotics and omega

cotton clothing- polyester is bad for eczema

laundry- unscented powder or mild natural scent , extra rinse cycle on machine

only low/no foam shampoo etc unscented

I used Avalon organics liquid soap

lastly I have a water softener which really helps

Also agree that you really have to find out what the triggers are! Food, environment, humidity, clothing, products in home/bathroom etc

My daughter was covered in exzema from 18 months until she was 4. We had her tested for allergies. She is allergic to all animals, 2 years later not one bit of exzema 🤞 maybe see if she's allergic?

What's you resistance to topical steroids? I know you said the pharmaceutical industry, but they also manufacture and process a lot of so called natural products.

Surely the important thing is your child's comfort?

cetraban - you can buy it or get it prescribed - miracle cream

OP I get why you don't want to use steroids, the side effects etc.
As someone with eczema and the ability to verbalise how it feels; it's like the worst sunburn you've had, your skin feels tight it's sore every time you move, it burns if you move too much. If something is touching your skin it's uncomfortable. It itches, oh my it itches like nothing you can ever imagine scratching it is ecstasy but you can feel your skin disintegrating under your nails and you know after it will bleed, ooze crust and the pain moving before??? Nothing to when it cracks from where you damaged it.
Having something touching your skin, for me it's soap and you know later that skins going to be red and swollen and sore.
Honestly eczema is the worst, I don't say this to upset you I know you want the best for your little one but believe me weeks of trying different products to see if they do (most likely will do nothing) work whilst you suffer with how uncomfortable wanting scratch your own skin off feels.
Please OP see a professional ask for the eczema nurse, the dermatologist whoever you've got locally and get the best treatment plan for your little one

If it’s a bad flare up, you’ll need steroids to calm it down and then you can keep on top of it with something else.

I’ve had eczema since I was a baby. I’m not sure what kind your DD has or which part of her body it affects, but definitely keep an eye on triggers. For me personally, too much diary can trigger it.

I do opt for a steroid cream if I have a flare up, which isn’t very often as I’ve controlled my eczema through trial and error over the years. But I do use Aveeno as a daily moisturiser.

I know people are against steroid creams and long term I understand they’re not good for us, but used sparingly as directed to calm it down will be better for your child than suffering.

Hope you find something which works.

Exactly this. Both my kids had horrendous eczema. At first I went the natural route but honestly, only steroid cream zapped it. Once it had resolved I then reverted to a good emollient.

If you can get hold of homeoplasmine it was a miracle for DDs. Covered to nothing in a matter of days after seeing every bloody Parisian specialist with DMIL.

My GP spent far too long faffing about with moisturisers and emollients before finally giving my 7 month old the steroid creams he needed. They worked within a few days and I cried with the relief. He was a different child.

He had a 10 day course and his skin has never been as bad again. Now he's 3, we've used the cream maybe twice in the last year as a one off.

If your child's skin is very bad right now, I wouldn't discount steroids.

If you haven’t already, try eliminated dairy/egg and see if it clears up. My dd was covered in sever eczema for the first year of her life. She had every steroid cream and moisturiser going but reacted to most of them. A few weeks after quitting dairy and egg she was eczema-free and hasn’t needed any creams since. Perfectly clear skin. As a baby she looked like her face was burnt and was in and out of hospital. She was diagnosed with severe allergies .