Eczema, really need help

[eczperts]

My 1 year old has such bad eczema, I'm having such a difficult time trying to help him. It is severe, covering his face, stomach and back and then patches on arms and legs too but smaller and more manageable.

We've been prescribed hydrocortisone, wasn't helping, then eumavate which did help but after weaning off it the eczema returns. We use epaderm ointment about 6 times a day all over him. We keep his nails so short but he still manages to do so much damage to himself and now has to sleep with scratch sleeves to cover his hands. His face breaks my heart, I feel like I haven't seen my boys actual face in a while as it's just covered in eczema, with little to no relief as we can't do the steroids on his face. I did out of desperation do the hydrocortisone on his face for 7 days and saw a slight improvement but after how much they stressed not to do it I didn't want to risk it especially as the improvement was so slight. We use no fabric softener anymore, we used the comfort pure sensitive skin one before that, I haven't noticed any difference since switching to none. We were bathing him in dermol 600, now just water. We've been warned against emollients, saying they don't work (from the GP)

I burst into tears last time I was there and they did a dermatologist referral to get me out of there I think, but advised it'll be a long wait. I asked about cutting out dairy as it's the main thing I'm reading online and they said not to until I've seen the specialist.

Do I just give it a go? He's so unhappy and itchy and I want to make him better so badly. I read threads online of all these different creams and emollients and I'm happy to buy them all and try but is there a point without knowing the cause? Will it always come back if something is triggering it?

I just feel like not an hour goes by where I'm not thinking about his eczema and how to help him. It's relentless

Excema is usually an allergic reaction to something. It could be food or it could be environmental.

My DS reacted to dust mites and his excema was so bad his skin was non existent in some places.

you could try to eliminate dust mites, it is a very common trigger. The best way to start is with the bedding he sleeps with..put encasements on the mattress and any pillows or duvets. Any bedding needs to be out through a tumble dryer and then washed (the dryer kills the mites and the wash clears out the poo). Get rid of all teddies and soft toys. If you really want to go for it then in his bedroom, Steam clean and then vacuum the carpet, switch curtains for wooden/plastic blinds. Vacuum everything with a hepa filter vacuum so you dont just blow the mite poo back into the air. If he sits on the sofa or any cushions, then think about steam cleaning and then vacuuming them

What’s his diet like?

It's a new house, new carpets etc (well 18 months ago) and he had a new bed, mattress and bedding not long ago could it still be dust mites given those circumstances? He doesn't use any teddies or soft toys yet. Hoover bedrooms atleast twice a week with a new Dyson (imagine it's HEPA?)

His diet is ok, breakfast is usually porridge/weetabix/hoop cereal, occasionally toast or eggs. Lunch usually sandwiches, wraps, pittas with either ham, chicken, cheese, philly etc. Dinner he eats what we eat, curries and rice, chilli and jacket potatoes, roast dinners, stir fry, pasta bakes, tortellini, pizza, omelettes and occasionally we will do meals just for the kids like chips with chicken nuggets or fish fingers but not too often. He eats a lot of yoghurts and a lot of fruit, bananas, grapes, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. He's a nightmare with veg, he'll have the odd bite of broccoli, carrot or sweetcorn but mostly refuses any. Snacks will be fruit, breadsticks, crackers and sometimes quavers. He only drinks water apart from he has 2 bottles of cows milk a day.

Both my kids had terrible eczema, with DS I got fed up of the creams the GP prescribed never doing any good and read an article in the The Times about a consultant derm who specialised in eczema, I ended up paying him for a private remote consultation / medication and it solved DS's eczema for good in a few days. I can look up his website if you like?

With DD her eczema was related to allergies (dairy and histamine) which were medicated and she was dairy free from age one until she grew out of them. Again we had to pay privately to see a specialist who then wrote to our GP with a prescription.

I've also read that a detergent allergy can cause eczema which is tricky because detergent is in most soaps / shampoos etc

Aww I could have written your post about my dd. It starts on their face and then moves usually to legs etc with age, my daughter has suffered from 6 months old. GP wasn't helpful but dermatologist has saved us, she's 9 now and it's well managed. When dusting use a damp cloth and water as chemicals can affect it, for a better nights sleeps we were given skinnies vest and leggings, covered in hydromol emollient one pair wet and a dry pair over the top to keep her warm for bed and this was an intense hydration for her, soothed and calmed the itch. We have topical steroids for flares, hydrocortisone is mild but it sounds like your son needs something slightly stronger to calm it usually for 3 days, due to his age dermatology is the best next step as they can prescribe more than the gp. Ring the hospital and ask for a cancellation if possible. My daughter has had a course of light therapy which worked at the time but didn't give the result the hospital wanted so the next step would be methotrexate but she is being well managed with pb7 viscopaste bandages. I do feel diary increases her itch and pollen, at this young age it's a lot of trial and error and the cause isn't always found. If you have pets keep them out of ds's room. We have also found the dyson fan helps keep her cool at bedtime as heat increases the itch. Have you tried porridge oats in an old sock/tights and wash him in a coolish bath?

dust mites can get going in 2 weeks, so his mattress could easily be heaving with them

He sounds like he has a great varied diet. When my dd was little her excema was related to dairy and when we cut it out it helped a lot. You could try for 2-3 weeks and see? There are non dairy milks to try. If he had a limited diet then maybe bad advice but this looks good so go for it

Soy yogurts are nice too so try swapping to those as you say he has a lot of yoghurt

OP, there are lots of tips on this thread that you might find helpful:

mums-please help www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/4696062-eczema-mums-please-help

Just to add, in terms of triggers, I know gluten can also be an issue, though I'm not sure if it's advisable to cut out gluten for children. My friend's DH had suffered with awful eczema all his life, but after cutting out gluten a few years ago is now completely cured. I notice your DS does have quite a bit of gluten in his diet - but of course babies and children need carbs, so I'm not sure how this would work at his age.

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about your awful situation. I have been there with my own son as a baby. Please look into the Aron Regime. There is a doctor in north London who prescribes the cream. It is life changing and will remove the eczema permanently. I know it sounds too good to be true but it really is incredible.

I read half of your message and felt like I was reading something I’d written myself as you’re describing my boy, who is now 3.

Absolutelt cut out dairy COMPLETELY along with soya. Soya contains the same
protein s chances are if you’re allergic to one you’re allergic to both.

being dairy free is “easier” than it used to be. We put him on Alpro growing up oat milk, and also Oatly barista as it had the right amount of calcium, iodine and fat. Lots of dairy free cheese and yoghurts available.

my son was like yours and I imagined a life where he’d never meet someone who looked like him, and I would touch other babies and wonder why mine didn’t feel beautiful and smooth like him.

we cut the dairy out on the Friday and by the Monday he a different baby. We introduced the milk ladder and now he’s back on dairy pretty much completely. He does still have eczema but only in typical places like behind the knees.

Don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t work as it might be another allergy, such as egg but what you’re describing is super typical of a dairy allergy

Just to add, wheat and eggs are other allergens but only cut out one at a time to try. I’d try dairy first 🙂

and also I’m sure you’ve been told this so sorry if I’m teaching you to suck eggs, but avoid baths unless he’s absolutely filthy. They don’t need baths. They don’t sweat. It’s not the soap that’s bad for them , it’s the water, especially if it’s on warmer side. When you do bath him, use the emoillionet as soap

Sorry if this is too basic a suggestion but have you tried Sudocrem? (The one in the grey pot) My son gets mild eczema sometimes and it clears it up quickly. Appreciate it might not help a more severe case but worth a try.

Epaderm isn't really that heavy duty. We had a hospital appointment for our little girl and the doctor recommended e45 eczema repair all over 2-3 times daily and epaderm in its place when it's really hot weather as it is quite light weight in consistency. Then back to e45 once weather cooled down again. I wouldn't use epaderm all year round.

Your GP is an idiot! You need steroid cream to deal with a flare up. But very regular slathering on of the right emollient is a huge part of dealing with eczema.
Also look at Methylisothiazolinone. It’s in so many liquid products like shampoo etc and many many eczema sufferers are rampantly allergic to it.

I haven't read the other comments so don't know if this has been suggested, but I tried everything going with my daughter including multiple prescription creams from the GP.

Recently I tried Lush dream cream after someone recommended it and... its worked! I have to use it once or twice a day otherwise it comes back but her skin is finally almost clear!

also take a note of the pollen calendar for your area.
dc' eczema turned out to be seasonal allergies and taking antihistamines (cetirizine) 'cured' it.

Have you tried happyskin. It’s a clothing brand for eczema. It really helped my little one. I’ll post a link. We saw an improvement within a day or two.

https://www.happy-skin.com/

I feel your pain. I was the same. ♥️

regarding baths - consider an old fashioned dettol bath
really relieved the itch for dc

how do you do laundry?
extra rinse & spin and washing at 40 for vests/knickers can help, too.

Heart breaks for you OP.
It takes a min 30 days of consistency I was told.

1. bathing in demol 500 for 5 mins each night
2. slathering in Aveeno 5 x a day
3. antihistamine
4. only cotton, loose, long sleeves/legs

X

Also oat baths (Aveeno adult oat bath has only oats). And here’s a link for the only cream recommended by happyskin. It’s been a lifesaver:

https://amzn.eu/d/5ENkzTp

You really need to see a dermatologist. I would keep calling the hospital and checking for cancellations. GPs are useless re steroid creams. He needs a stronger steroid under advice from a dermatologist to treat the flare up. I don’t know what GPs think will happen without steroid creams - that it’ll somehow magically get better. I had very bad eczema as a child and have seen many a dermatologist.

In the meantime use an emollient to wash with and an emollient cream to moisturise the skin. Perhaps try a different GP to see if they will prescribe a steroid cream. Only dress him in cotton and double rinse your washing so all the soap powder is getting out. Try to keep him cool. Heat and sweat make things worse.

I found probiotics helped - you can get probiotics that you add to kids milk / food

I can’t advise about diet as this wasn’t my issue.

I know it feels utterly desperate now but that is because you aren’t getting the right treatment. Seeing a specialist is key.

And avoid any “magic cures” they don’t exist and are there to take your money. If there were magic cures we’d all be using it.

I agree with this, the Dr Aron regime works like a miracle for bad eczema. Speaking from experience....

The thing he doesn't do (as far as I'm aware) is address triggers or allergies, but his approach certainly works incredibly effectively to control the actual eczema.