wet wrapping for eczema

[buttercup]

My DD is three months and has quite bad eczema in all her (many)folds plus around her neck. GP prescribed 1% HC which worked for a week but now the eczema has predictably come back. I've tried loads of different creams as well as homeopathy over the last two months and nothing seems to really work. I wondered about wet wrapping as I've read about it on other mumsnet threads and mentionned it to my GP but she was dismissive and said it was 'old-fashioned'. However it seems to make sense to me as my DD gets very dried out overnight. Do any of you have experience of wet-wrapping, do I need to see a specialist before I do it?

wet wrapping is NOT old fashioned otherwise the paediatricans at Gt Ormond Street wouldn't be recommending it as they did to me.It is a bit of a fiddle at first but I tell you buttercup, my dd was covered in eczema which she scratched until the skin wept .....you know the score. After 1 week of wet wrapping her eczema was gone and now she just has small patches on her wrists, behind her knees, the common spots and these can be managed with creams.She is now 2 ys old. You would need to be shown how to do it but If I were you I would nag the GP to refer you to a specialist. We got the wraps and ointments all on prescription too. Alternatively you can make a private appt with Gt Ormond Street and ask to see Dr Atherton ( a lovely and helpful man) but it will not be cheap. But do persist - wet wraps do not work for everyone but they did for my little dd who was a miserable 7 month old and covered in horrid eczema. We also tried so many different creams and homoeopathy to no avail prior to wet wrapping.Good luck.

Buttercup, When ds was a baby, his gp kept prescibing steroids but they didnt help at all and we were rererred to a dermatologist at our local hospital and she prescribed wet-wraps. They helped with the very dry skin that ds had but made any "wet" eczema worse. I think the important thing to ascertain is whether or not the eczema is infected, if it is, wraps will worsen it. We had a nurse come to show us how to apply the wraps, it was a time-consuming process, about 1 hour from start to finish. We wrapped at night only but then introduced wraps in the day too. It was really distressing as ds would kick and scream from beginning to end. Once they were on, however, he was very comfortable and didnt want to scratch so it was worth the perseverance. Unfortunately they only worked for a while then ds got repeated infections under them so we stopped the tratment.

Then we were referred to Dr Atherton (we went private as there was a 6 month waiting list on NHS). He took one look at ds and said that wrapping and cream would never help as ds' eczema was so bad. He prescribed oral steroids (prednisolone) and that cleared up the eczema within days. This treatment is not without side-effects so it is reserved for only the worst cases but if all else fails, it works miracles. Now ds only gets the odd flare-up and Protopic cream sorts that out immediately. It is difficult to get a prescription for Protopic as it is expensive and doctors would rather we kept using steroids but it is your baby's skin so if I were you I'd keep asking to try protopic till they give it to you. HTH

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Not every type of eczema is a case for wet wrapping though. My Ds gets eczema in coin size patches and it it generally not itchy and my specialist said that it wasn't a case where wet wrapping would help. Have you tried a cool mist humidifier in her room? I also sit little bowls of water on top of heaters throughout the house.

My Specialist just squeezed a little Protopic in a small plastic cup for us to try and see if it worked before writing a prescription. It didn't work. But Elocon works for us - although I'm not sure if 3mths might be too young for it.

I also take probiotics and fish oil now and am continuing with breastfeeding.

Good Luck.

dd1 eczema doesnt apparently need wet wrapping (why do her appointments come up when she is realitivly clear???), but we have wrapped her with clingfilm with efcortaln under it, but that was on specialist advice and it does work. but i dont know if it would be suitable for a young baby.

i hate using steroids on my dd1, she has been using them almost almost of her life and she is only 4. everytime i say i dont want a steroid treatment, isnt there some other way, they give me a load of rubbish about how it doesnt damage the skin. err excuse, can u explain the think black hairs she gets on her legs where most steroids are applied? also the ones on her back?? the disappear after a few months of non-use, but do return at times when using steroids.

wet-wrapping can work wonders, but it can be a fight to get it. i have been fighting for them for almost 4 years, but her specialist say we could dry-wrap with emoilants underneath on her legs at night if she is bad. or return to the clingfilm treatment. there is a way of wet wrapping without seeing a specialist but u need a special nurse to come out to show u the way to apply the bandages. i'll see if i can find some info.

Misdee, I dont work for Protopic Ltd honest, but, I do think it is fabulous stuff. Have you asked your doctor for it? I asked on the grounds that ds had been treated with steroids for nearly 4 years and needed to give his skin a break.

I can remember reading a lot about protopic when it was launched. My GP had not even heard of it! ( this is about 2 years ago).I realise wet wrapping doesn't always work so I'm glad protopic was so helpful for you child bunny2. Havent tried elecon but a friend has it for her sons eczema.I would like to get a water softener installed in our house as I know that is also helpful. At the moment we have alpha keri oil for dd's bath and ordinary 1% hydro cort cream for persisitent patches, but she occasionally get s the discoid patches too.What is the youngest age protopic can be prescribed ? I seem to recall reading it was no younger than 2 yrs. BTW buttercup where do you live ? can you get to great O street ?

Wet wrapping is fantastic- are you sure your GP isn;t thinking of tar bandages or something. A specialist dermatologist prescrived wet wrapping for my son (then 11 months) 3 years ago- it was fantastic. You can't wet wrap if the eczema is infected though. We had to clear the infection before wet wrapping. DS1 was covered from head to bottom of his legs (his feet were the only clear patch of skin) and wet wrapping really helped. Finally he ended up just wearing the warps over his hands as they were the last to clear.

Wet wrapping is fantastic- are you sure your GP isn;t thinking of tar bandages or something. A specialist dermatologist prescrived wet wrapping for my son (then 11 months) 3 years ago- it was fantastic. You can't wet wrap if the eczema is infected though. We had to clear the infection before wet wrapping. DS1 was covered from head to bottom of his legs (his feet were the only clear patch of skin) and wet wrapping really helped. Finally he ended up just wearing the warps over his hands as they were the last to clear.

thanks everyone for all your advice. I am going to ask my GP for a referral. I dont know much abou eczema but I think my dd has 'wet' eczema. Its very weepy and hot and sometimes I wonder whether all the creams are actually making it worse as they just add to all the sweat and dampness already in her folds. The only thing which seems to have given her any relief, oddly, is sudocrem which I have tried in the last two days out of desparation. It seems to take the heat and wetness out of the eczema areas though its still very sore.

It sounds like it mght be infected. Do you have antobiotic cream (fucidin) on prescription? Wet-wrapping can make the infection spread so it might not be suitable.