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...

I didn't say that. Nothing like that. I said it was unlikely to be a serious case of eczema. Some people call any sort of dry skin eczema and it can often be so much worse than that.

er, no piontydog, you said "ANY EZCEMA THAT IS SOLVED WITH A POT OF CREAM FROM LUSH WAS NEVER A REAL SKIN COMPLAINT TO BEGIN WITH"

er, actually, pointydog, my two nephews did have ezcema, and yes, dream cream from lush did sort it out after a prescribed steroid cream didn't, and since you have no idea of my nephews skin complaints and the treatments used and how thety healed, i suggest you don't immediatly write ff someone's post that is suggesting help towards someone else, i was passing on a hint and tip that the op seems to be asking generally for: didn't realise you were patrolling and overseeing comments?

hope the original message helps you, kissmummy...

I'm posting on a message board, not patrollin gor overseeing anything. And I most certainly didn'tsay anyone was thick

Try Hydromol - the stuff that is like a thick version of vaseline rather than the lotion. It is one of the few things I will use on ds's face. When it is really bad then I end up with hydrocortisone cream. Ds also takes an antihistamine medicine from Feb to Nov each year which helps but doesn't cure.

It is a never ending battle. The minute ds seems to be clear of it I relax our regime and its back. He had very bad bleeding ezcema as a baby so it is a lot better than that now.

aveeno powder for the bath is great as is aveeno cream.

Epaderm also has worked wuite well for us.

i find that we have to keep switching between creams as they seem to work very effectively to begin with and then lose effectiveness after a while.

hydrocortisone is the best thing for a really bad flar up, but they may be reluctant to prescribe it for the face.

thanks for all the suggestions - i've made a list of them and will talk them through with the GP who has special interest in paediatric dermatology, when we finally get to see her. all the advice is really appreciated.

Probiotics really helped my DS's excema.

He never had it very badly but since probiotics we hardly ever get a flare up. Before, the backs of his knees and patches on his body were constantly red and dry.

It might not be a 'cure' but anything that helps is a step in the right direction right

Another vote for aveeno cream here - my youngest was covered in excema but after three days with aveeno was clear - she called it magic cream!

Another vote for Aveeno cream and bath oil. Had tried Oilatum, Diprobase etc which did nothing and within 24-48 hours of starting to use Aveeno products there was a massive improvement and now very rarely have to use steroid creams.

Aveeno baby cream, only available online in the UK I think worked wonders for my two. Much better than oilatum, and much nicer cream too.

My mum was telling me about a study she was either reading about or watching about which showed what an impact hard water has on childhood eczema - those that used a water softener saw a marked improvement.

We bought one of those de-chlorinating crystal bath balls after a tip on MN and it seemed to help.

Just be religious with the cream. We did it everytime we put them down for a nap or bedtime and every time they woke up.

Two links for you here:

Entire Aveeno Baby Range Online

crystal bath ball

The fact is, all skins will respond differently so you will be wise to write down ALL suggestions on this thread and work your way through them until you find one that works for your DC.

Good luck.

If Aveeno doesn't work well enough, what worked for my dd who had it on cheeks, ears, neck, was Aloe Propolis Cream from Forever Living Products, which I still use from time to time for sore spots of skin/nappy rash etc. Works for lots of kids I know with eczema. xxx

Oh I like the idea of that crystal ball - does it really help?

Would agree that you need to try all suggestions.

I have quite bad atopic eczema (ie not contact) and Aveeno didn't work for me.

At the moment what it working is the EUCERIN range - they work for my mum too.

I also have to use steriods to get the broken skin under control and then try and keep it that way with moisturising.

I agree with Pointydog - but it is the GPs that call any kind of dry skin patch "eczema" this type of skin irritation is "contact eczema" (maybe) and not from within (atopic) which no amount of cream will every totally heal because it is your body sending out messages to the skin.

Use your emollients like there's no tomorrow! We used it at every change when she was a baby. Sometimes doing 3 or 4 coats (diprobase - double base didn't work)-starting at the top (her checks) and moving down to the toes and then doing it again and again. This is harder now she's mobile. But this is pretty much the regime I follow when mine's bad.
She also has Diprobath at max adult strength and this is brillant (for body not face)and unfortuately can never have bubbly baths to play in!!! KEEP using the bath stuff it should hopefully prevent flare ups elsewhere.
We use a mild steriod (TIMODINE -which has antibacterial, antifungal and an antiwetness agent to stop secondary infection) when there's a flare up. We had a flare up this weekend - reaction to the baby sensitive sun block!!! (2-3 times daily for no more than a week with a week off between - again just like mine.) TRY to get something like this from your GP. you may need to try different formulations till you get the one which works.
Always use a non-bio washing powder the minimum amount (1 block not 2 per load) AND extra rinses to make sure there's no residue. Different brands can make a difference. Anything that goes on the skin can cause a flare up.
Did he have lots of bad nappy rash? this often comes hand-in-hand with eczema.
The good news is flares get less with time - once you've got the right combination of emollients/bath stuff and steriods and things get under control.

OP - ignore Pointydog. Some people like looking down their noses at the less fortunate. Everyone has different skin and it's worth experimenting with different moisturiser etc.

I have added my daughters cure elsewhere in the allergies topic. It really worked, is cheap and very easy.

I am not in UK so the brand names would be different by we took our DS to see a pediatric dermatologist and she suggested Aveeno as a moisturizer (which is a MIRACLE - it has his skin feeling like a baby's for the first time in his little 12 month life!) and a fairly strong cortisone cream for flares. Her philosophy is hit it hard when it flares, get rid of it and keep moisturising, moisturinging, moisturising. Obviously keep away from known triggers if possible and avoid very dry/cold environments and very humid ones (hard where we are!). Its worked so far for us; his life is turned round. The danger with any excema, especially where kids can scratch it, is that is may become infected, which happened to DS when he was 16 weeks old. NOw we just have to train him out of his scratching-by-habit habits!

Re Lush Dream Cream - have just had a look online at the ingredients and as the main ones are oats and rosewater plus it has chamomile ess oil in it it could well work for eczema.

And before I set pointydog off again - in clinical trials chamomile extract was found to be more effective than steroid cream in relieving symptoms. And a damn sight better for you.

I Keep posting this because I do swear by it and want to spread the word,,,There is a magic cream on the market, it is better than anything you get on prescription as an emollient. We bought it in France when we ran out years ago and have never used anything else. If we use it twice daily faithfully (and avoid other irritants) then we are able to control my daughter's eczema so that it never flares up badly. It is Aderma Exomega face and body cream and costs about £10 per large tube, which lasts us about 2-3 months.
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