Exczma help wanted again DESPERATELY!

[Angeliz]

Hi all.
Well i am coming round to the nightmare of exczma! I have tried everything you all suggested on my last thread but nothing has worked so far.
My poor ds looks like he has big open gashes behind his knees. I took him to the G.P last week and he gave me hydrocortisone cream which seems to be making it worse.
I have fucidin H cream upstairs as it was prescribed once for a week and it cleared it up immediately.
So, even though the Doc says it's not infected should i use it for a week to clear up the wounds?

I am really struggling and DP and i are going to see if we can get him referred to a skin specialist as nothing we've tried has worked
Would the fucidin H be really bad if it's not infected. (BTW, for me that's a sign of how bad it's got as i am anti drugs if anything!)

you could try it around the bits which aren't raw and open and if it helps. I've been using Fucibet recently (that was prescribed a while back for my infectewd eczema on hands) which really helped, although the GP gave me Dermovate which stung it more.
If it's eczema behind the knees, it's likely to be from him having sweat/dampness after bathing etc so try to keep the area as dry as possible and perhaps let him wear shorts around the house for a few hours in the evening.When oyu used Fucidin H before, was it for infected eczema then?

Hi

My son has bad eczema too but only in a few places. He has a specific type of eczema which isn't the usual dry skin but is red and quite weepy. The fucidin type of cream works much better on him as it has antifungal and antibiotic in it. He has a stronger one also called Trimovate. I would see a specialist, but Fucidin is really not that strong. We used Trimovate for about 12 weeks 2 x per day on the advice of dermatologist (in his face!). When it didn't work we went up to something stronger. He has something stronger for his body too.

I personally think it is much better to use the drugs and get rid of it, as it doesn't seem to come back (in the same place) once you have got rid of it. But if you leave it to get bad, it is MUCH more difficult to get it better (with scratching factored in) and usually need to use the creams for longer. Now on his body we use the cream for 1-2 days and it goes. Rarely comes back in the same spot either. It's worth seeing a dermatologist for reassurance, but I would use the creams then (GP's tend to be more conservative than our dermatologist in terms of the strength of the cream).

Our ds is not 15 mo but has had this since about 3mo and we were using Fucidin after about 5mo.

Yes it was for infected exczma then.
In MY mind i am drying the open wounds and then wetting them again with moisturisers but the G.P says i need to get my head around moisterising at all times. To me it seems more logical to keep it dry !

Have you tried Aveeno - it worked like a miracle cure for DS - he had terrible excema which used to get infrected and now we are excema free almost and getting sleep at last!!

We use the cream and the bath oil - is really good for DDs skin as well as she used to be a bit scratchy and now has lovely skin.

Aveeno was suggested on the last thread and i tried the bath stuff. I had to wait 2 weeks for that to be ordered in and was told they don't do a baby cream (That was at a pharmacy!) I thought i must have misunderstood the advice but i'll try again to get the baby cream now!

oops, lots of typing errors.

Our ds IS 15 mo.

Also, what I was trying to explain (sounds contradictory when I read it over) is that it is better to use something stronger and ZAP it (use it for much less time) than something milder that you have to keep on using for weeks and weeks. This is what happened on ds face, and I finally caved in to the stronger treatement (not supposed to be used on under 2's!) and it has gone in 3 days when I was using Trimovate for weeks and weeks. Wish I'd used to strong one before and not waited so long.

Also make sure you are moisturising well. Aveeno for skin and Balneum for bath worked wonders for us.

Sorry X post. The Aveeno is not specifically for babies but they can use it. It is expensive to buy but if you ask doc for it (I did) he should prescibe.

I know what you mean about keeping it dry but the skin of someone who has eczema is lacking the oils which cause it to be naturally lubricated so when it dries out, it itches and the itch/scratch cycle begins. By keeping it moisturised, the skin remains supple less itchy. That Aveeno stuff sounds good - I might try it. I'm getting over a reaction from dust inhalation whcih has mad emy eczema swell over my face and hands. I'm now using Double Base which is less greasy than aqueous cream but £11!!!
They say frequent bathing (patting dry completely) helps too.

how old is your DS then?

Is the cream i want the third one down on here ?

My ds is 6 months old.

MY DS had the msot horendous eczema all over his body. We had to wet wrap him jsu to give you an idea of how bad it was.

I agree you probably need a stronger steroid and for us ointment worked better than cream. I know what you mean about moisturising I kinda agree with you. I found neat tea tree oil very good for infected wet eczema and this was echoed by the Consultant. It does sting some people but I personally find it soothing as does DS.

DS is very irritated by water so bathing was and is once a week. I live near a water plant and I can always tell when they do something to the wter as my eczema flares up as does DS's and my hair becomes very dry. Check out the healthy House website and you will see water purifiers there. I keep meantin to buy one.

I would use the Fucidin if it works until you can see a specialist. It won't do any harm.

Yes, it is third one down. Annoyingly they can only prescribe the 100ml tubes so we ahevt oget 4 at a time which last a month.

Maybe ask GP again then about the Fucidin H if he's only 6 months.

what washing powder/fabric softener do you use?

It is difficul tto mositurise wet weeping eczema which is why steroid ointment is better. It stays on longer.

Another thing I used to do with DS's elbows is to put whatever cream sterois annd then use a melolin dressing (special dressing that doesn't stick to wound and can be bought in Boots) anf then a turbogrip bandage over it to protect it. When I get eczema on my fingers I wrap it tighty in a bandage and for soem reason it helps with the itching.

You have to try lots of different things to find the one that works for you and baby.

I also found teething caused flareups with DS. Maybe try those teething powders.

Hi Angeliz. Don't know about fucidin - others have advised on that - but I know exactly what you mean about letting the weeping dry out. We found that good old Vaseline is great for moisturising those open wounds once you have dried them out too, as it doesn't just make them go soft and gooey as the normal creams do. It protects the skin a bit too.

When ds2s feet were awful on the bottom - open wounds, but of course any cream I put on them came off as soon as he stood up - a GP suggested using the cream (I think that it was an antibiotic cream that time) then sealing it in with vaseline. It worked wonders as it stopped it rubbing off.

Just wanted to totally echo MerryMarigold's thoughts about using a stronger cream too. 0.5% hydrocortesone never worked for ds2, though we used it for months. 1% worked in two days.

They are working on the water mains outside my house at the moment. I never thought of that!!!

Thanks for all this advice and the healthy house website looks good. I'm using fairy non bio and no softener and have him in 100%cotton clothes but i want to get an eco ball for his cloithes. I've just spotted one on that website actually!

it's the 1% hydrocortisone oily cream he's on at the moment.

What about swapping the Fairy for persil or surcare non-bio just in case. I've always steered well away from Fairy anything (washing up liqid burns my hands) even though they say it's kind for skin. You could always try for a week.If it's behind the knees on such a young baby, I'd have said it was because of contact with something while his skin is hot or damp and that causes the irritation and makes it worse.

I'll try that. Fairy burns my hand too, i have to wear gloves at all times.
Is surcare non bio a good one then?

Angeliz, have you tried wet-wrapping? It worked extremely well on dd1 who had nasty eczema when she was smaller.
You can just buy some slightly elastic fabric bandages from the pharmacy (or if you're lucky your HV will give you some special ones), bathe your ds and pat him dry v. slightly, immediately slap on steroid (I would use the Fucidin H, it always worked far better than any other steroid cream) and moisturiser, wrap around a wet bandage and then some dry bandage and then put on pyjamas.

Dd1 had full-body eczema, so we actually used a tight-fitting sleepsuit instead of a bandage for the wet layer, that worked well too if you need to cover a large area.

Haven't got to that yet geekgirl!
Reading some of the stuff on other sites i think the Doc has not prescribed wisely actually. He's given me hydrocortisone ointment for wet weepy skin and it says that cream is best for wet and ontment for dry!

Need to sit and research this!

I'm surprised he said it wasn't infected . Wet & weepy = infection IME.