3 year old bad eczema! HELP PLEASE

[Esmaemum]

Our daughter has always had sensitive skin which we have always been wary of and always kept it under control but recently things have gotten out of hand and we cant seem to get it any better! Were using oiltum to bath and doublebase mouisturiser 3 times a day, but her skin is awful and its been a nightmare, especially night times, poor girl is waking up every night upset non stop itching! We have also tried other products but its just gotten out of hand we dont even know what to try next... her tummy and back is so rough its upsetting.. any help appreciated, thanks

My just turned four year old has eczema. His skin got this bad just after turning 2. Red raw. Waking at night scratching and upset. Ended up taking him to a private dermatologist who recorded a stronger steroid cream (hydrocortisone as prescribed by GP doesn’t work for him). That and hydromol have been a game changer for us. If the skin is red and flamed, a moisturiser won’t help. You probably need a steroid cream to calm it down. Have you taken her to the GP?

We've had good luck with Nursem. It seems to take a slightly different approach to other eczema moisturisers - it replaces a protein that is often missing in people with bad eczema.
https://www.nursem.co.uk/pages/ultra-caring-range

My daughter has severe ezcema to the point that she has near permanent steroid creams and has been on steroid tablets. Beat advice is keep going to the gp until you find something that works or you get referred to a dermatologist. The referral was the best thing for my daughter, she now has tailored care and an action plan.

My youngest DC was hospitalised with eczema when they were a baby - the prescribed medicine and creams made it worse. It was horrific! Turned out he was allergic to liquid paraffin in most of the creams and also dairy. Once we cut milk out of his diet his symptoms improved massively - strangely the only cream that worked for him is childs farm sensitive baby moisturiser applied 2/3rimes a day if he flares up. It doesn't contain liquid paraffin and is about £3.99 from boots etc. Has your dc been assessed for any allergies?

My sons was better when we cut out dairy. For others it's wheat/gluten. Worth trying?
If it's pone to getting infected, Milton/bleach baths can help (Google NHS hospital instructions for these, it's a tiny amount!).

It sounds as though your dc needs a steroid cream. I hope things improve soon.

Have you had any allergy testing done on her? Could be worth it to rule out that it’s being caused by an actual allergy (one of my DC gets eczema related to his pollen and dust mite allergies (confirmed by blood tests). An air purifier running overnight has been a godsend.
Id also second the Child’s Farm Moisturizer.

Have you tried Kokoso's balm sticks kokoso.co.uk/products/baby-soft-balm-stick
Or their coconut oil tub?

Allergy testing should be your top priority

in the meantime

Dust mite encasements on all bedding and minimise all the fuzzy friends. Those that you have to keep put through a double wash and dry cycle. The dryer is essential, dont line dry. Take down bedroom curtains and if there are carpets in her bedroom, steam clean them and then vacuum with a hepa filter vacuum

Switch to super sensitive/hypoallergenic laundry detergent, soap, dryer sheets, literally anything that touches her skin needs to be fragrance free.

Stop using perfume yourself and throw away any airfresheners

If you have pets, you might have a really big problem, but for the meantime try and separate pets (and pets items) and child as much as possible.

once you have minimised all the potential environmental allergens you can, you can reintroduce one at a time to see if there is a flare.

You also need to look for food allergens, hence the pediatric allergist and allergen testing

Ask the GP about giving her antihistamines on a daily basis to try and reduce the allergic response and keep a close eye on the folds of skin behind her ears, knees and elbows for cracking skin that can get infected. She probably needs steroid creams to knock back the flare and then a good moisturising routine might work for maintenance.

some advice i sent to a friend as a long term eczema parent. I have cut and paste it:

First of all don’t be scared of steroids especially something as mild as hydrocortisone. I was too conservative and got into such a mess in the early days. Infected and ongoing eczema is way worse for the skin long term than even quite prolonged use of steroids. My younger ones have some eczema too and whenever it flares I use steroid twice a day and for a day or so after it has gone. I use dactacort which is hydrocortisone plus an antifungal treatment combined. This is good for the face as it tends to be wet eczema with all the druelling. I always use all steroids in ointment form ( if they come in it) rather than cream as they penetrate better. All good dermatologists will tell you this but GPs don’t seem to have got the message so you need to ask for it.

I moisturise with creams and ointments. Creams are more convenient and less messy. Ointments are better but a bit messy and you need to use a spoon so you don’t contaminate the tub with your fingers. I like cetraban cream and epaderm or hydramol ointment. But there are loads and it isn’t a big deal which you use. I moisturise at least twice a day. Even when no eczema.

For washing I use dermol 500 as a soap substitute. And dermol 600 in the bath. This was prescribed by a dermatologist. It is different to oilatum and all the other ones as it is also antimocrobial. Eczema gets bad when the bacteria on the skin gets out of hand. Dermol 600 makes such a massive. When we run out his skin immediately gets worse. Unfortunately it has been lumped in with oilatum etc and it’s really difficult to get prescribed now. It’s about £11 a bottle if you want to buy.

For the scratching I can’t recommend scratch sleeves enough. You can get on amazon. They have a silk mitt which is softer on the skin.

I wash with fairy non bio, put it on an extra rinse and don’t use any kind of fabric conditioner.

Drop your thermostat down a degree and don’t wrap her up too much at night. Eczema babies get hot. Put innatural fibres like cotton (at least the layer that touches the skin).

I have eczema and I agree with a lot of what @SeaToSki advises. I've been allergy tested and I cannot have anything fragranced. Anyone with sensitive skin should 100% try eliminating fragrances as much as possible. I now use fragrance free: shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, skincare, moisturiser, washing liquid and softener. My husband swapped his spray deodorant for a roll on so that there's no fragrance in the air anywhere, no candles/reed diffusers etc. Don't be tempted by the "oh but it's a natural fragrance" line anywhere, even these can still be a trigger as it's entirely possible to be allergic to naturally occurring products.

Allergy testing and don’t wash her very much. Once a week is fine. Steroid creams to clear it up though first.
extra rinse clothing, rinse shampoo off body, natural fibre clothes
Becareful of the prescribed creams as well. I had moderate eczema and was prescribed the cream you can use instead of soap and also use for moisturiser and I ended up with much worse eczema. It can be tricky to find a moisturiser that works

Thanks everyone for ur replies, i am picking up a stronger steroid cream tomorrow! Will look at getting her tested for allergies along with a referall to a dermatoligist! Can anyone recommend a shampoo and conditioner good for kids as we have always used childs farm but even that at the moment is causing flare ups so scared to use it, thank you

Washing powder- find one that works, this is a long process, we have found ariel bio the best, this goes against everything suggested. Always use the extra rinse cycle on the washing machine.

Agree about not being scared of steroids, weeping is worse.

1 per week bath and use just water. Maybe do an oat bath if needed but definitely no soap. You could do a flannel wash in the places needed in between if she gets a bit dirty. Wash her clothes separately and use a quarter of a pot of washing powder and nothing else. I would go back to the dr and ask for a new cream. I found double base rubbish, I use a emulsifying wax 30% yellow soft paraffin and 30% ointment. The dr didn't want to give it to me because it is expensive and not on the normal prescription list but it was what the eczema specialist advised to get and has worked great since. My now three year old doesn't really get much anymore, when at one point he was scratching so much he would wake up bleeding.

GP for steroids. Eczema is like a fire, you need to put it out fast and then work it on keeping it away with the right non-steroidal creams. If you leave it too long it takes hold and is so much harder to control (and will need more potent steroids). Just removing the trigger - eg a suncream that didn't suit her - won't work at this point.

My six year old has had it since birth.

My son’s eczema was a lot worse until he was 2. Changing washing powder etc made bugger all difference, the only thing that calmed it down was a steroid called mometazone. Definitely recommend it.

I would agree allergy testing too. I am allergic to every cream moisturiser I've ever tried and I've tried loads. Sometimes the treatment is the thing making the problem worse. I really hope you get the support you need!

Ps if GP won't prescribe or will only prescribe hydrocortisone when you need stronger, the £180 for a private derm appt will be the best money you ever spend in you life. They can refer you straight into their Nhs clinic once you're on their books

Just to say this really does work for some. My Dd needs a bath a day to stay under controlas she reacts to environmental triggers

I have terrible eczema on my hands, and I learned about using organic castor oil. It's been a near miracle, and I have used literally every medication and product available.

Be careful with doublebase. It made my eczema worse, my skin felt like it was on fire after using it for a few days. I think it's too thick and so heat stays in the skin...exactly what you DONT want with eczema. Get a steroid, dermovate I think I had. Maybe there is a weaker one for children but it did the job very quickly to get things under control. I also use coconut or jojoba oil on the skin which helps lots.

I'm sensitive to perfumes and had two kids with eczema, oat baths completely cured the one with it mildly. It's very soothing and reduces night time scratching. Use an old sock full of organic oats and fill the bath through it. I've recently found that M & S sensitive non bio wash powder seems OK and ecozone laundry liquid from ocado. I tend to use Faith in Nature brand of toiletries for soap, shampoo etc, only perfumed with natural essential oils, the lavender is most soothing. The child with the worst eczema is now in his 30s and still has to use lots of creams and has needed steroid tablets occasionally when a really bad flare up, he finds the sensitive Palmers cocoa butter the best moisturizer (one with no perfume). Afraid its trial and error to find what suits😔

Something I read on here years ago we found extremely helpful was to moisturise before steroid rather than the other way round. Moisturise and wait ten minutes, then apply steroid and it can penetrate the skin effectively.

Also don't let bloody doctors give you aqueous cream, it is full of perfume and makes most eczema worse ime. You will find the one that works for you with experimenting.

GladSkin EczemAct - it’s expensive but it may work. It’s steroid free and relatively new.