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General health

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Original poster

infected eczema and night time scratching

10 replies

vivie · 26/01/2004 14:36

Has anyone got any any suggestions? Ds is 14 months and the eczema on his chin has become infected. He sleeps on his tummy and rubs his chin on the sheet so it's not healing. He's on antibiotics and fucidin-H and the doc advised us to have him sleep on his back - easier said than done! He slept a while in his pushchair last night but obviously got very uncomfortable and I had to give in and put him in his cot eventually when he managed to wriggle out of the pushchair harness and was about to fall on the floor. Has anyone else experienced this and got any ideas to help? Thankyou.

OP posts:

bunny2 · 26/01/2004 22:07

Ds used to scratch all night long, we were prescribed Vallergan, Phenergan and Piriton (not all at once) to help him get a good nights sleep. They are all anti-histamines with sedative side-effects and they really help when ds is itchy. You could ask your gp if they might be appropriate to help your ds get a good sleep so his skin can heal.

fairydust · 26/01/2004 22:19

dd was prec Vallergan 2-day so fingars crossed it'll work for her

bobthebaby · 26/01/2004 22:21

I would second the use of antihistamines if he sleeps on his front. It is impossible to stop an itchy child from scratching, so better to give him a few nights off being itchy until his skin heals. I have found that even the non drowsy ones give him a good nights sleep.

Chandra · 26/01/2004 22:29

I agree with the rest, DS is also taking antihistamines to help him to sleep better.

I believe the cotton of t-shirts is softer than most cot sheets, if you have one T-shirt that is big enough you can put it over the area where he places his head and secure it to the sides of the cot with two rolled towels. He will scratch anyway but at least the damage will be less.

misdee · 26/01/2004 22:35

i have brushed cottons blankets for my dd's which are lovely and soft. were a bit more than the usual cor sheets, but after 2 kids and almost 4years of use are still very soft.

but def try some anti histimine to try and get him to have a good nights sleep.

Chandra · 26/01/2004 23:13

Misdee, where did you get them? I would be very interested in getting some for DS

misdee · 26/01/2004 23:18

i think it was a catlogue company but i cant remeber which one now. i was looking for something other than the cellular blankets as i always found them scratchy. if i find out where u can get them i will let u know.

misdee · 26/01/2004 23:23

i found these ones, but dunno if they are as soft as the ones i have blankets

Original poster

vivie · 27/01/2004 09:51

Thanks everyone, I will try using soft cotton T-shirts. We found a big improvement in ds's eczema when we switched from brushed cotton (flannelette) sheets to very smooth ones. I have heard from other adult eczema-sufferers that the fuzziness of brushed cotton can trigger flare ups.

OP posts:

oliveoil · 27/01/2004 13:02

My dd scratches her eczema on her cheeks when she is teething and just as it clears up, it infects again. Took her to the docs AGAIN yesterday and she gave me another prescription for the only cream that seems to work - Dactacort I think??? - and Piriton to as it has a drowsy effect so she will hopefully not wake up and scratch.

Have you tried Dactacort? White tube with green and red writing. Has small dose of hydrocortisone (??) in it so I have to use it for about a week and then stay off it for 3 weeks. It has an antifungal effect and I found that Fucidin H didn't do a thing for dd.

Spelling may not be correct but I can check the tube tonight for you if interested.

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