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Original poster

How can i clear up dd's dry skin?

55 replies

EvesMama · 21/09/2004 21:18

my DD is 16 months old and for around the last year, her skin has been quite dry and gets very sore looking patches on back of arms, elsbows and back.
have tried steriod creams, which made it worse, e45/oilatum/aqueous cream and even hemp cream from body shop but nothing seems to really get rid of it.
it looks awful and sore and sometimes irritates the poor little lamb.
i have tried changing soap powders and softers but they dont seem to make much difference? please help, im running out of ideas

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Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 20:26

minkmamma - dp's psoriasis is not really itchy, he's now telling me it might not be psoriasis as he has never has it diagnosed, it looks like white crusts on elbows and knees and go's bright red after bath and when cream just applied. Eve doesnt seem to be bothered by hers now, but was a point when she had a patch on inside of elbow which she kept scratching, am beginning to think it might also be down to stuff i use in washer or even diet as someone suggested, she's not eating properly at minute so i cant look at that yet?

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Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 20:27

hi furball, whats eye-Q? and where can i get it?

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Branster · 22/09/2004 20:41

EvesMama,
I'm sorry I have no practicala dvice here but I just wanted to post this for Twiglett on your thread if I may.

Twiglett,
I hope you don't mind me sharing my DH's experience with psoriasis, maybe it helps your DP.

Has your DP tried light therapy (not sure if this is the correct term). DH has got psoriasis (not bad but enough to be bothered by it and it gets much worse when he's stressed). He used to regularly (about twice a week) have a bath with Dead Sea Salt (about £4 or £5 from Health food shop for a bag) and he did say it helped. In the end he was reffered for some sort of light therapy at the hospital. You'd need a few sessions (about a dozen I think) and it involves ultraviolet light. Then it is followed by a bath in some sort of muddy water(??? no idea, but that's what I remember him explaining to me at the time). They adjust the intesity of the light so it should start very low and the exposure time is minimal. Since then he hasn't been complaining about his psoriasis so obviously it did work. HTH

Twiglett · 22/09/2004 20:44

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Branster · 22/09/2004 20:48

Oh, I'm really sorry to hear all this Twigglet . All the best with the treatement!

Twiglett · 22/09/2004 20:53

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Twiglett · 22/09/2004 20:58

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Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 21:13

thanks twiglett, that site helps, but contact ecxema(?), that would probably need a steriod cream wouldnt it?
am gonna wash all her stuff over next few days with just persil non bio and no softner and also extra rinse as someone helpfully suggested.
you feel so sorry for them dont you?, it must be uncomfortable but although very good speaker, only tells me when 'mouth'(teething)hurting or tummy ache. she's been harldy dirtying nappies lately and mostly when she does, its like little hard balls?, nothing at all today, but very smelly wind and all sorts os noises going on in tummy????

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Twiglett · 22/09/2004 21:15

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Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 21:19

oilatum made no difference- used bath oil and cream (actually enflamed dp's skin) but have got some great suggestions here and will be going to docs tomorrow about her lack of dirty nappies(for about 2 weeks, even after prune juice!!)will mention them to him, he's very good with little ones and is very much into alternative therapies and remedies

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Branster · 22/09/2004 21:37

EvesMama
just on the nappies side of thing, there have been a few threads on costipation here so you've probably been on those and know all the advice etc.
Oats is a good cereal to offer in such cases (just as rice helps with loose stools, this does the opposite). Alos pears are good. Ripe and soft ones. or tinned pears are just as good. When dd was constipated the GP reccomended drinking of grape juice (the kind you find in tins of fruit where the fruit is preserved in actual fruit juice the label would most often read 'grape juice'). And no hard cheese, bananas, rice until it all gets better.
I am probably only repeating here what you already know but just as a round up I hope it helps a bit.

Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 21:42

hi branster, havent actually seen any threads on constipation yet, but your advice is really helpfull...although not eating much at minute, what she is asking for (and im giving her!)..is cheese (chedder), bananas(peeled 3 for her today and not eat much else, but only had couple bites of each) and yogurts, so will get to morrissons first thing for grape juice and pears.. will let you know..thanks again

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cuffie · 22/09/2004 21:45

Try cow udder cream!
Hi I'm new to mumsnet but read stuff on psoriasis. I have it - got very bad during my second pregnancy, but neither of my two have it (yet) I don't know how much any of you know about it but from what I can gather it is to do with the auto immune system not functioning properly and so the skin is overactive and has a production rate of 3 to 4 days rather than the normal areas of skin which are around 28 days. (Sorry sounding like a bore now) Have tried a million and one things for it over th eyears - keeping area wel moisturised really helps keep the scale down but not alot to actually get rid of it. Have recently been using cow udder cream. You get it from places like countrywide stores. it is quite effective at keeping it under control but as far as I am aware there is not loads known about the causes of it and therefore no known cure. Homeopathy didn't work for me, but have yet to try chinese herabl stuff - have heard that it is very good for exzema. Bit exspensive when there are smal children on the scene eating up finances though!!

Branster · 22/09/2004 21:49

good luck! it's sooo annoying when they don't eat much, isn't it?! Hmm, yes cheddar and banans are unlikely(hide them from her!) to help but yogurt is good for tummies. You could try giving her unflavoured cottage cheese as it is very mild and easy on the stomach, if she will eat it though, my DD wouldn't even taste it, I think the texture puts her off, whereas I like eating it. Kids are strange when it comes to food stuff!

Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 21:51

theres some great suggestions on my thread here, so see what you think of them. dp looked rather worried when i mentioned cow udder cream!
get yourself a good gp like mine, he's great with Eve and he'd probably come and mix the oats into the bath himself if he thought it would help her! i really feel for all of you i know how it gets dp down in summer(short sleeved tops!)

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Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 21:55

hi branster, will try cottage cheese, will the stuff with pinapple be as good? that might persuade her to have some? although not eating properly, wont turn her nose up at biscuits! a nasty habit picked up from il on holiday last week....constantly snacking on rubbish, but was glad she was eating something (wrong way to be i know)been giving her grapes today when she asked for more 'nana's' and trying to get her away from grazing so she's hungry at meal times!

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Branster · 22/09/2004 22:04

good idea with the pinapple cheese (I didn't even know it existed!) for taste. I imagine pianplle has a fair bit of fibers in it just by thinking of its appearance but I might be wrong. Can't be worse than 'nana's'!
Try not to worry too much about her eating habits. It used to keep me awake at night with DD just planning strategies to get her to eat 'healthly', it just falls into place on its own sooner than you think. Just do what you feel right as regards snacking and as long as you don't keep things you don't want her to eat in the house it'll all be fine. For example, I never keep kids'juice, biscuits, crisps etc in the house so DD can't have them. I only have breadsticks and a few jafa cakes (these are a treat for her)but that's not to say she never eats that sort of stuff, but they are limited to when going out to the shops say if it's a long walk, at the end of it she's allowed to choose some chocolate buttons or a juice etc from the shop and she'll have it on the way back home. What i found to be a useful snack though are those fruit bars (Cow&Gate or Organix), but DD doesn't always likes eating them, at least i don't feel gulty when she does have them. And YES YES YES , in-laws are the worst at teaching little ones bad eating habits!!!

Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 22:14

how with il's was food hell! own little one snacks all day some good most bad then wonders why they wont eat meals?
have tried the cow&gate cereal & yog bars, she loves them and also handy to have in bag are 'fruit bowl' fruit flakes with yogurt- little bits of blackcurrant or strawberry coverd in yog..mmm. also picked up a bag of crunchy banana(!) covered in vanilla yogurt from center parcs supermarket last week, dd though they were ok but i though they were great, sweet so didnt reach for the choccy's

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Branster · 22/09/2004 22:21

will have to try them! I confess I like eating them myself

Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 22:24

booking up to go back in january, will be taking extra suitcase to stock up and pretend im being healthy eating nana's!!

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Branster · 22/09/2004 22:32
Grin
Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 22:37

dya think it could be the dairy thats causing the dry skin prob? she loves her yogs and yog sweets?

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Original poster
EvesMama · 22/09/2004 22:39

just noticed the time! dp slinked off to bed, leaving me to lock up! cant blame him i said i was only coming on here to check my emails at about 8pm!!! night all.xxx

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Branster · 22/09/2004 22:43

interesting point. you'd have to see the gp about this question but i would have thought a dairy allergy would manifest itself more severely. from what you describe, her skin condition is localised at points on her body where friction is likely to occur with clothing. it's likely the constipation is unrelated to the skin problem, but I'm not a trained doctor so don't really know.
i wouldn't have thought the yougurt can affect skin like this. hmm. no idea what to say.

Original poster
EvesMama · 23/09/2004 20:17

dd's inside of elbow coming up again, this was the place that was most sore previously and she scratched till it bled! she is full of cold at min, so dont know if it's to do with being under the weather too? with reg to nappies= 1 dirty one in middle of night! and another today!, tried puread(?)pear and something from hipp organic, but she spat it straight back out!!!havent given her any nanas or cheese today despite constant requests and gave her weetabix for breakfast (she normally only has a few spoons of my branflakes along with her nana and yogurt)maybe the branflakes have too much fibre for a tot?

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