experience with eczema

[gingerninja]

My 16 week old has eczema which seems to be getting worse and worse. Starting on her face it spread to the ankles, backs of her knees, under the arms and now all over her torso and the tops of her legs. (think that's just about the whole body then!) Does anyone have any advice on what to use / avoid? We have been prescried doublebase, diprobase and aqueous cream all of which seem to have either made it redder and angrier looking or have stung when applied. We've been given H'cortisone which we used with some success at first but it's since all come back and I'm not happy about using it long term. We have also been using oilatum in the bath but I've since been reading that the products with petroleum and parafin in them can in fact dry the skin. Anyway, would be pleased to have some voices of experience passing on their wisdom. Any suggestions?

Aveeno, Aveeno , Aveeno.

Don't be scared of the low dose steroids- the scar3e stories refer to days gone by.

Ask to see a dermatologist, nay, demand to see a dermatologist. Use the steroid cream, also for a week after it's cleared. Moisturise the skin to break the itch.

Join the excema society- you'll get tons of help, suppost and advice.

Cotton clothing- google it. Clothes that are fab for excema sufferers.

Sorry but there is no cure but you can do an awful lot to help your LO's symptoms.

Come here for support xxxx

I have just discovered that my dd is allergic to paraffin and petroleum and that they were all making her eczema worse.

If you think it might be making your baby's eczema worse, it might be worth changing to a cream that doesn't contain either of these ingredients. Unfortunately, that means practically all emollients that you can get on prescription.

I have tried Forever Living Aloe Propolis and also one called cardiospermum. Unless you've got something natural handy, I guess you are going to have to wait until the shops open again. Where do you live? If you're near enough to me, you are welcome to come and collect something.

Sorry, should have said "avoiding practically all emollients that you can get on prescription".

Can't find the ingredient list for Aveeno Rickman. Different emollients work for different people gingerninja and unfortunately you have to tery different things till you find what works

Aveeno does have paraffin in, although it is the a cream that she can use in small doses without it affecting her too badly.

From what I have read, apparently an allergy to paraffin and petroleum is fairly common if it is used in large doses, although using it in the bath to wash with, doesn't seem to affect the skin as badly.

Interesting, but old article here

my ds has eczema and i use epiderm and its really good hydramol is another good one both non steroid

I would ditto the other poster advocating the steroid cream ,DS had extremely bad excema from 6 weeks,we had great support from the dermatology dept at the local hospital.The steroid cream was a lifesaver for ds.It breaks the itch-scratch cycle and allows the skin to heal.Please don't be frightened to use it.I used it on ds's skin 2-3 times a day for 3 yrs and hos skin has not been affected at all.

We use epaderm as an emmolient,doublebase as a soap and doublebase and oats in the bath,although ds has all but outgrown it now.Ds also reacted badly to aqueous cream,I think it may have lanolin in it which ds is allergic to, but I could be wrong.
Definately get a referral to the dermatology clinic as they can teach you the wet wrap technique which relieved ds at times.
Hope that helps.

Thanks for all your advice and the interesting article Rickman. I've used Hc on her again tonight and feel a bit more confident in doing so with such positive endorsements. I will hunt out the Aveeno and give it a go as I've read other articles refering to it. Her skin is so rough it's like sandpaper and it really needs a good hydrating moisturiser. I always apply it after her bath when her skin is a bit damp and I try and dampen her skin during the day when I apply it

It's hard to say how much it irritates her, she doesn't sleep that well which could be attributed and I just feel awful about it all. Neither I or DH have any of the associated allergies and she's totally breastfed so you'd think she'd be pretty safe. Poor little things it's just not fair on them is it, they've got enough to deal with being new babies.

thanks again everyone and Merry Christmas

you should find aveeno in bigger Boots. but its expensive. i would get a tube of cream (100mg) to get you going and then ask for it on repeat prescription once you get to the gp. there is also a lotion but on the sandpaper skin, start out with the cream.

Another vote for Aveeno we use the baby aveeno range but we buy it in the states and bring it back as the baby range is not available here. Another thing whichis a bit of an old wives tale but does work is put some oatmeal in an old stocking and tie roung the bath tap. Run all your bathwater through it then leave it soaking for five minutes before bathing little one. The water looks kinda yucky but a soak does releive excema symptoms.

I would second what Pixiefish said about not being scared of low dose steriod creams. We were, and were trying other creams, not to much affect for 6 months at least before I tried a steriod cream (because I was concerned about it) and it cleared up in a couple of weeks. The one we use is called Eumovate, excema has now been clear for several years except for the odd spot, and no side effects.
Hope it gets better soon for your LO.

Also try and get something like cetraban (emollient) on prescription and slather your LO in it before actually putting her in the bath. Then wash it off. That will really hydrate her skin and the aveeno doesn't come in big enough tubes to do that with it

Thanks all for your advice. I've been using the HC 1% cream since Christmas day and have bought some Aveeno cream. I've also been using oats in the bath for sometime. Today her eczema seems worse than ever, all the patches have joined into one and it looks like a big angry scald over her front and back. It had pretty much cleared behind her legs but is now back with a vengence. Obviously the doctors aren't available until tomorrow so I'm wondering if you have any further advice on what I can do. She was very unsettled last night which I think could have been down to itching because she was wriggling around a lot and doing lots of shouty grunty type noises like you would if you were trying to lift something heavy and getting frustrated!!.

Do you think my diet or our cats could have anything to do with it? She's totally breastfed and yesterday I had some nuts (there are no known allergies in the families) also half a glass of wine.

I think she is also teething and wondered if that could make it worse.

Thanks in advance

my dd is prone to excema which did get worse when she's teething.
We use a variety of things and see which works at the time. At the moment we using a baby lotion at every nappy change to keep her moisturised, which is preventing a breakout (touch wood!).
We also use Aveeno, Calendula cream and Metanium baby moisturising cream if the lotion doesn't work.
I use low dose hydrocort if the skin breaks.
I've had excema since I was a baby, so I tend not to use things that set mine off on her.
I found that yoghurt was triggering her off, so switched to fruit purees instead

Went to the docs today and they are refering us to the dermotology dept. In the mean time they prescribed a different steroid, betnovate, which i've just read is a potent steroid. I'm really not happy about this, unfortunately I had already put some on and DD squealed as if it was uncomfortable and thrashed her head about clawing where I'd applied it behind ears and neck.

Has anyone got any experience with Betnovate?

I have used Unguentum - it doesnt have a huge amount of anything in, but it works wonders... my SIL suggested it to me and when i asked the doctors he looked at me like i was mad... but i used it and it cleared up the worse patches and DS's skin is loads better.

I have not used Betnovate on my DS but my DH has used it on his hands.. i guess it'll be a lower dose but its VERY strong... personally i'd be wary using it - it can sting like hell on cracked skin...
*Just my opinion....

thanks Snow, i think it's too strong too and feel really cross with myself for using it before doing my research. It even says on the leaflet not to be used in children under 1. She's only 4 months. Think i'll refrain from trying anything new until we see the dermo. I do feel quite annoyed that the doctor just prescribes lots of potent creams without addressing a likely cause.

My doctor gave me a tube of some sort of cream for DS and i got home and then noticed it was steroids ... after speaking to a few people i knew they said not to. Sadly i dont know enough about this kind of thing but i'd definately try Unguentum - it'll either work wonders or do nothing at all. For my DS nothing else has worked but this was brilliant.
At first my HV gave me some really thick vasline like emolient (hydromol) but i found it didnt actually help heal but just covered it. However the hydromol bath oil is good for the skin..... i use this too.
There are mixed thoughts on Oilatum too, some people swear by it, but i didnt think it did anything.
I think you just have to keep tring and changing as and when.
Randomly i also found E45 for Juniors (ok for babies) works quite well on 'dry' patches not open cracks... but its hard to find in the shops...

Hope this helps.. i;ve spent the last few months trying loads...