Toddler eczema - please help!

[Chloebo93]

First time poster. Longgg time lurker. Can anyone advise anything that would help with my very soon to be one year old’s eczema. It’s awful - his skin is so dry and itchy and the worse patches on his shoulders, chest and back look hive-like.
All the other posts I’ve looked at suggest a milk allergy but he has already been dairy and soy free for months due to digestive issues.
The doctors give hydrocortisone which has stopped helping now and various moisturisers which are useless. We’ve got a doctors appointment for next week. It’s obviously not a priority for them so every time I do a PATCHS, it takes a least a week to be seen.

Creams I’ve tried so far (to no effect) are:
Wild Mint Calm Balm
Aveeno Dermexa
Dermol 500 (we use this as a soap substitute in the bath)
Hydromol
Piriton for suspected allergies (prescribed when he was about 8 months old)

I’m happy to buy creams and lotions if they work but I’m not sure where to go next. I’ve heard people suggesting beef tallow but I’m unsure if that will help.

Sorry for the long post but I’m completely at my wits end with his obvious discomfort 😫

It’s so hard to watch their discomfort isn’t it. In my experience there’s no magic bullet solution but use an ointment (hydromol ointment, epiderm) not a cream or lotion and use it multiple times a day but especially after a bath. These (or other anti scratch clothing) also really helped with sleep comfort. Make sure you are using a gentle washing powder (fairy non bio works for us) and no fabric softeners. Check all toiletries for sodium lauryl sulphate as can be a real trigger. X

https://eczemaclothing.com/products/eczema-scratch-mitten-pj-1-4yrs?variant=54668298748289

Sorry to read this. I am 54 now but had chronic childhood eczema (cured by my parents taking me on holiday for sun and sea at age 7 after being hospitalised with my eczema). I have the occasional big flare up (having one this year, I think menopause related).

I've tried everything over the years, been diary free, had allergy testing, tried Chinese medicines, tried homeopathic remedies etc.. Tried all kinds of moisturisers and currently have a big basket full of them at home! I am allergic to most of them, they actually make things a LOT worse for me.

What works for me won't go down well with a lot of people but the alternative of living with sore skin is worse. Topical steroids and nothing but the steroid during a flare to get on top of things fast. I react to every single moisturiser I put on my skin when it's angry (I believe this is not uncommon). So I go against the advise given out by GP's and dermatologists to moisturise while using the steroid. I use a moderate steroid for a few weeks then taper down the ladder (this is what I am doing at the moment) and then stop.

Other things that work for me:

I have only sea salt in the bath

I try to use SLS free shampoo and conditioner

Swimming seems to help and my local pool now use a mix of chlorine and salt which is brilliant

A holiday in a warm climate with sun and sea helps (and usually clears it)

I take 2 or 3 antihistamines a day (obviously check with GP regarding this for little ones)

Keep rooms cool. Heat definitely aggravates my skin

Soft, cotton clothing next to skin

I use laundry balls - not washing powers at all

No scents in house

I keep my nails really short

Distraction. Sport, crafts, anything you do with your hands

I have worked out that the peak itch time for me is when I remove my clothes before bed. So I try to have a nice cool, calm, salty bath, dry myself, change and then relax for a while but really important to keep cool and relaxed at this time before bed.

I have used topical steroids on and off for my entire life with no withdrawal, no thin skin etc.. My eldest son as a baby had a flare up and I immediately put hydrocortisone on it to clear it. He is 21 now and just gets the odd patch on his inner elbows.

You do learn to manage it but I just want to say not to fear topical steroids. They get an awful lot of negative press online but they do work - brilliantly.

I also want to say that as a child, the whole thing was worse for my mum and dad. My mum never stopped worrying about my skin but I go for decades sometimes with very little eczema and when it does appear, I know how to manage it.

Good luck and I hope you can find a routine that works.

You have my huge sympathies! My DS is nearly 1 and has been suffering since around 8wks.
He has a confirmed milk + egg allergy and Soya is also an issue for him, but he was on Neocate long before weaning so we know his eczema is not only triggered by food!

Hydrocortisone is very mild, we only use this now on his cheeks. We have been seeing a dermatologist at GOSH, thanks to very luckily having health insurance to cover it. The NHS dermatologist we saw eventually was next to useless, sadly.

It is all so individual, but this is our current combo:
QV moisturiser (also used as a soap sub)
QV ointment for very dry areas - used on his chin to protect from dribble and hands +++ times a day
QV Bath oil, in a bath every day
Steroids are:
Trimovate on his chin & neck
Eumovate on his legs, torso etc
Locoid on his hands & chin / neck when it gets really bad
Hydrocortisone on his cheeks / face

He also has cetirizine everyday to help relieve itchiness

I would really recommend a specialist pead dermatologist if you are able to. The dermatologist we saw said the steroids should be making improvements within 24hrs, so you go in with a stronger one and end up using it for less time, if that makes sense, so long-term far less steroid exposure

All of the things we use are on prescription, with the exception of the bath oil. But I am aware we have been really lucky in having an excellent skin nurse at the local GPs and the benefit of health insurance.

Really hope you get some relief for him, it is so horrible when they're so little x