what can i do about my toddler's eczema - I'm in despair

[kissmummy]

My little boy has scaly red cheeks most days. sometimes its worse than others. i haven't been able to work out the triggers - there's nothing obvious that sets it off.
We must have been to the GP five times about this now over the last year or so. Each time we see a different GP (that is london for you....) and each time a) they don't examine him properly, b) they don't bother reading his notes to see what's previously been unsuccessfully prescribed and c) we get sent away with more of the same things that don't work. 1) oilatum. totally hopeless. the eczema is only on his cheeks. how can he lie face down in the bath and soak his cheeks in oilatum? [hmmm] 2) diprobase. Doesn't make any difference. 3) double base. didn't make any difference either.
I have today tried to make an appointment with the GP at our surgery who has a special interest in children's skin and might take it a bit more seriously and she's booked up till the end of june . So,
I'm at the point of resorting to going private but we don't have the money just now and I feel like the NHS should be better .Perhaps eczema on toddler's cheeks is no big deal? Maybe he'll just grow out of it? Any advice anyone? if this post sounds a bit familiar it could be because i posted something similar a while ago but I can't find the old thread...

okay - I'm off to Boots now. Will try anything!

have you tried fish oil ? has helped my 2yrs olds scaly cheeks no end.

no, not heard of fish oil. how does it come - in a bottle? does it smell fishy?
Have now been to Boots and am armed with Vaseline. Secretary for a private specialist returned my call while i was out getting the vaseline and told me private appointment is £280 for 45 mins- even by London standards that seems astronomical! i doubt we could talk about it for more than about 20mins anyway.

I found this book very helpful.

Unfortunately, as we found ourselves, a lot of GPs are not as up to speed with eczema as they might be. Once you get an appointment with the one specialising in skin problems make sure you only see that one for anything to do with your toddler's eczema.

We had the same problem, one GP after another, until we got the one who specialises in dermatology. She was scathing about her colleagues' advice and told us to only see her. And she proved to be a miracle worker for my toddler.

The scaly patches you describe are very common eczema symptoms for babies and toddlers.

It is caused by the skin not producing sufficient oil, drying out and becoming irritated.

You need to moisturise it with an emollient like diprobase frequently, by frequently I mean as in whenever it looks dry. You can't over-moisturise so you can apply it as often as necessary.

There are plenty of other emollients available if you find diprobase isn't very effective.

If it is very inflamed you may find your GP prescribes a very low dose steroid to get the inflammation down initially. Then you can keep it under control with moisturisers.

Oh, it's a good idea to moisturise before meals to stop food smears irritating the skin.

hi, yes it comes in a bottle - not very fishy and it comes in tutti fruti or orange flavour that masks the smell. My DS really like it !

www.health4youonline.com/health_supplements_nutri_eskimo_kids_nu3306.htm

How old is he?

I use Avene Skin recovery cream when I get a flare-up, I get it from Boots

Well I had the same problem with my baby girl and it just drove me crazy. If you could get a hold of Elidel, it works wonders. I only put a very small amount on the areas that were affect, not thick, very thinly and the next day, GONE! I couldn't beleive it. The only thing is it's prescription only. I went to pharmacy looking for it and couldn't find it, finally asked the pharmacists and he told me it was prescription only. It so happened, I was telling a friend about my baby's sking problem and she said I have some Elidel if you want to try it. I tried it, even though it was prescribed for her but it worked. I have not had to use it again.

thanks momof5 - i'll make a note of that and ask the GP about it when we finally get an appointment with her.
boysarelikedogs he's 22 months and has had this problem since he was about six months.
Is Avene Skin recovery cream in the medical section at boots?
marlasinger not tried that - will look it up.
thanks for all the suggestions so far. something's got to work!

I think it's in amongst the skincare products

I've found that Aveeno is more effective that diprobase, etc. The GP is slower to sprescribe it as it is more expensive but it does seem to work better on my DD's face

thanks Frazzled

I would ask your gp for a low dose steroid cream. You will only need to use it for a day or two at a time, and the risk of side effects is low.

DS2 has severe ezcema, and I find that a day or two of hydrocortisone accompanied by constant moisturising with aveeno has got it under control. I continue with the aveeno even when he has no ezcema. His whole body (apart from his hands) was covered with weeping sores at one point and his skin is now clear.

My friend used to use chickweed cream on her little boy.

Both my DC had/have eczema and luckily we were referred to the eczema clinic in Oxford. The cream that worked with both my DC is Epaderm, again this was prescibed by the clinic. Epaderm backed up with hydrocortisone is working for my DC.

Also DD's eczema used to be to be inflamed by certain foods (processed cheese, tomatoes and fish)
Both are pretty much eczema free now with the occasional flair up (3 and 5)

Sorry to hear about yr little boy. My dd had had severe eczema from about 8 weeks old - she's now 18 months. Diprobase and doublebase are the first things they prescribe - found them useless

At the moment we use Aveeno for regular moisturising (6 times per day). am astonished you've never been given steroid cream - low doses are not harmful and it reduces redness/inflammation which moisturisers alone cannot do. I agree that most GPs have limited knowledge.

Luckily our GP was very helpful and hated the fact that he couldn't help so referred dd to a paediatric dermatologist. We were seen within a month or so and were given a fairly experimental cream called pro topic. Was only for the eczema on her face and worked almost like a miracle drug overnight. Red, sore and scaley to smooth and normal (never seen normal skin on her face before)

Fwiw we paid to see a private consultant who was rubbish - NHS children's specialist was great.

I would suggest seeing any GP and asking for a low dose steroid and some Aveeno. I literally go back to my GP all the time and tell him someone has suggested something (aveeno was suggested here) and eh prescribes it. Consultant said getting the right emollient is trial and error.

Good luck

eczema on toddler's cheeks is no big deal in the medical sense. You need to push, keep on going back and you will be offered different creams.

You will be offered a varierty of emollients and you might find one that seems to help.

You will be offered steroid creams and hopefilly one of them will help.

Private doctors will tell you the same as nhs ones. Stick with this gp you are seeing at the end of June and take it from there.

DD aged 3 now had ezcema from 4 mtgs - 2 years moderate level. We tried everything and had many sleepless nightsvtrying to stop her clawing herself into a pool of blood. The worst experience of motherhood ever. It's was a godsend when I finallybwas refered to an Nhs dermatology clinic. Started wraps at night, aveeno and diprobase and epaderm in harsh weather or when swimming. Still use all even though skin clear. Not wraps of course. Switched to goats milk. Gave probiotics everyday and flaxseed oil. Switched to non-bio powder and organic cotton sheets Used steriods 'correctly' to clear skin then moisturised constantly. The skin has to remember what normal is so can only heal once normality has been achieved usually using steroids ( unfortunately). Any flare ups nipped in the bud with mild steroid then lots of moisturising( roped in childcare provider or anyone else when I was at work).
Eventually used steriods less and less (not used for a year now).
Now my DD aged 3 keeps herself moisturised. Always has dry skin otherwise. But then so have I. And I always check her body at bath time ready to zap anything in sight.

It's tough going but hard work paid off.

Remember clear the skin ( back to normal) then moisturize endlessly.

my sisters kids had ezcema and ashe had been recommended dream cream by lush

if you go into the store and explain why you need it they will prob do you a sample pot (but ask that they use s chunk from a tub other folk haven't been using!)

my sister said it worked wonders and quite a few other peiople i know have sworn by this one too

hope that helps

I know I'm going to sound picky, but what does htis really mean:

"The skin has to remember what normal is so can only heal once normality has been achieved usually using steroids"

It sounds bizarre

plus its all natural so might find giving your dcs skin abreak from steroid creams will help possibly?

sorry, that was re my earlier post!

any eczema that is solved with a pot of cream from lush was never a real skin complaint to begin with

oooh, i'll tell my sister that then shall i? she must just be bit thick.