Q about infected eczema in 6mth old

[lovecamping]

so darling boy has got eczema pretty bad, mainly on his body. one small area has got infected and, of course, its the bank hols. i've put calendula cream on it tonight and given him 2ml of medised.

is there anything else i can do? other than taking him to A&E to get a doctor to look at it (this was what out-of-hrs doctor told me).

the other areas of eczema donot look infected but is very red and sore. he crys when i try and cream him.

any advice???

If it's infected he needs treatment from the doctor. I had an antibiotic cream that I used when dd's got infected. It needsmore than calendula

Call NHS Direct. In our area, they can make an appointment for you with an out-of-hours doc at a clinic, which is a lot less time-consuming and stressful than going to A&E. My son had infected eczema on the palm of his hand and the GP took it very seriously. I would get it seen to asap. Good luck!

dh thinks i could take him to A&E in the morning as he is sleeping ....

should i take him now? its quite a small area and has only come out this evening. wasnt there at noon when i creamed him but was visualable at bathtime ...

I am sure you could leave it overnight, and A&E early on Saturday morning should be less hideous than on Friday night!

how does it get infected?? where i can find out more info about eczema as this is the first time i've really encountered it ...

I'd've thought it could wait till morning.

If you get the infection soon enough, then a cream like fucidin H (hydrocortison with antibiotic) xcould clear it. If it's a rapidly spreadin ginfection an oral course of antibiotics might be needed.

Look up the Eczema Society as a starting point for more info.

It gets infected because the skin's broken, allowing nasties in. DS was prescribed Fucidin, as mentioned by Pointy - it never got bad enough to need oral antibiotics. Fucidin is magic, his poor little hand was practically as good as new in 24 hours.

thank you everyone. so took ds and was prescribed a steriod with antibotic cream. creams to have worked already and it has calmed down alot, hoewver his skin is still sore when i cream him - poor thing.

another questions - do your kids go swimming?

My DD had eczema and hers was infected when she was about 9months. I saw a great locum gp who prescribed all sorts. he was actually a specialist in skin disorders - what luck!

He gave me:
Stronger steroidal cream (betnovate)
milder steroidal cream for minor outbreaks.
Aqueous cream to use everyday to keep the skin moisturised
Piriton liquid to give at night to reduce the itching and stop her scratching so much (as it is when the skin is broken through scratching that it is likely to get infected and weepy)
Also Dermol to put in the bath (again helps with keeping the skin moist)

I was also told by him to ignore the common advice to be really sparing with the steroid cream. He said it was important to get rid of bad outbreaks as fast as possible. So you should slather on the cream and rub it in well twice a day. As soon as it is getting under control and is just mildly scaly, start using the milder steroid cream and then when it has settled down switch to the aqueous cream for daily use.

Yikes - an essay! Sorry, but I know how awful it is seeing your LO suffer. Recommend seeing a nice gp and taking that list of stuff with you to try to get it all prescribed!
My DD only has very rare outbreaks now, mainly in hot weather or if she is poorly with something else (both triggers)

Ooops x-posted!
Yes, forgot antibiotics too!

My DD loves swimming and is ok with the chlorine as long as she doesn't have any scaly patches. If she does, then we know she will need steroid cream for a few days on the pink patches that flare up.

use eurax hun
my lo has the same problem when you see doc ask him bout it or you can buy it in boots it will stop the itching etc....
its excellent. Also with it being infected the docs will give you a steriod cream most likely which is what Lloyd had when his got infected x

Steroid creams aren't for infections.

Swimming tends to depend very much on the child. SOme children with eczema find swimming pools unbearable, others aren't affected. If you want to try it, slather your child in vaseline or a 50/50 type ointment first.

The steroid cream isn't for the infection, but it is to get rid of the eczema that has become infected.

thank you very much for your recent posts ladies. its all really useful and reassuring.

i think i'm going to cancel the swimming lessons for this term as nothing seems to be working for this one little patch. i'm using fucidin at the moment and found that eperiderm doesnt hurt as much as doublebase when i cream him. hate the stuff though - its just pure grease.

i'm also starting to wean him - are there any foods i should beware of that might worsen his eczema?

what i really want is to be referred to the eczema nurse but seem to be having to see doctor after doctor....

I agree, you should keep pushing to see eczema nurse. They often have far more practical, useful tips than the doctors.