Hit me with everything you know about eczema

[Dolphinnoises]

DD (age 12) has always had a bit of eczema (so mild I always felt a bit like I was exaggerating calling it that, a bit of sore skin behind her knees and in her elbow creases). However, we’ve moved house (hard to say if this is relevant or not) and her eczema has just exploded and she’s so miserable.

We’ve been to the doctor - well, we got a nurse - and have been told to moisturise her with paraffin (Excetra) cream 6x daily - this is impossible on school days. We’ve changed this to cocoa butter which is no better, but also no worse and at least she’s not flammable.

Shower gel wise, Simple and Aveeno made it worse, the Excetra was neutral and oddly a Lush cream containing gelatin which she was given for her birthday seems to be a bit of a help so we’re sticking with that. We’re washing in non-bio.

We were prescribed a hydrocortisone which does help but obviously can’t use it all the time, and we’re back to new normal when we stop.

We’re looking at diet too and have had a dairy-free week which did nothing. This week will be low sugar.

As this has happened so suddenly, I would appreciate all and any advice….

That's BS @Dolphinnoises my dd has had them 3 tines in the nhs to try and identify her except triggers.

You need to request a referral to pediatric dermatology. GPs are pretty useless at severe eczema and aren't allowed to prescrbe much beyond the bog standard options.

I think you can get it over the counter. But dermol is much better as a soap etc and you can wahs hair with it so should help your dd.

Mine has been under dermatology since she was 2 and is now on methotrexate (form of chemo drug but therapeutic levels) to reduce her reactions.

Feel free to pm me of you want tondicuss

Has she started her periods? I had a massive flare up of eczema around that age. In hindsight it was hormone-related, but it was hell at the time.
Products can be a bit hit and miss, but we lived in Europe and the dermatologist used to prescribe La Roche Posay products, which worked a dream.

Another long time sufferer.

Changes in seasons are a trigger for me. I've been fine until this recent cold spell and have a flare up. It will pass but I know as the weather warms my skin will need to adjust again.

Other than that:

• Persil is an absolute no. I'm am fine with other brands even bio.

• Dust and especially pet dander. I found to my cost just getting a hug from a cat loving friend (clothes with cat hair) led to a week of bloody misery.

• can't wear wool at all. Stick to cotton, jersey type fabrics.

• I take anti histamines daily which helps a lot

• sweat, yes my own which is why many of us get crease eczema. I spray sensitive anti perspirant behind my knees, inner elbows after a shower (but not if I have broken skin). I also need to wear pj's in bed, ideally tight fitting like leggings and a long sleeve top. This stops my skin sticking to itself at night and getting sweaty. You need something to wick away the sweat even in cold weather.

• oat baths during a flare up. Put oats in a sock (or I make some muslin bags) and in the bath. Squeeze to make the water milky and use the oaty sock like a sponge to clean yourself. I find it really helps.

I avoid steroids as much as possible. I will use them if a flare is very bad but my approach is to be liberal to get the flare under control and then taper off as quickly as I can. Often going months without using them at all.

We found the childs farm range good for my daughters eczema.

Also can second Protopic! Personally I use the stronger %, it’s been life changing

I have history of severe eczema (with secondary infections, extreme weeping, folliculitis and lichenification). Seeing as I am also very prone to staph infections I was worried Protopic wouldn’t work for me as it’s topical immunosuppressant but still did a great job. I also recommend hypochlorous acid and manuka honey gels to reduce levels of staph on skin (which is known to further trigger itching and inflammation) - go on to Google scholar and you’ll find many medical papers discussing association between staphylococcus aureus and atopic dermatitis.

Once you get in control of a flare, try and do as many self care tips like healthy diet, clean environment, avoid dust, lukewarm water showers or oat baths, try not to stress (though life isn’t always that easy and eczema flare ups are very stressful), and always moisturise after bathing.

Some of my favourite products: Eucerin Aquaphor ointment, Cerave cream, Ceramol 311

This. She needs patch testing.

I am allergic to Balsam of Peru, Linalool and cetearyl alcohol. Skin allergies are also usually delayed - so you get a reaction 3-7 days after exposure. I would never have been able to work out what I was allergic to with trial and error.

I’ve got eczema OP and it’s a bludy nightmare and like you for DD I struggled to find something to ease it. I definitely think different things work for different people. I tried loads of things to avoid using potent strength steroid cream that I do have but it’s a viscous circle as you say.

I tried a famous brand cream for eczema and it made it worse so I know the struggle!

When mine flares up in the winter particularly where it stings, cracks and itches the only thing I’ve found to help sooth it is Aveeno baby soothing relief emollient cream. It’s a game changer for me. I realise you said your DD tried the shower cream so it may not work for her but I assume the shower cream and the one above will have different ingredients.

Anyway good luck and I hope your DD finds something to ease it

Place marking

Which food additives caused your flare up?

As @Ihatelittlefriendsusan says, an NHS dermatologist can refer you for allergy testing, I was sent to a hospital a few miles away for mine, it's not painful and helps a lot. I found I'm allergic to citrus, limonene etc. Which is in virtually everything 😢😢😢

Our son had awful eczema as a baby and has occasional flare ups now.

I read that the problem with laundry is often the fabric softener rather than the detergent so stopped using softener on his clothes and that helped. He's 8 and I still don't use softener, I know you'd think that the clothes would be rough and irritate but it's so much better.

The GP told us that with moisturisers, it's a case of finding the one that suits your skin. Cetraben made it worse but double base works for him.

Also, weirdly, bepanthen nappy rash cream! Tired n Tested (Instagram) mentioned she tried it on her sons eczema and it does really work.

The cause of his more recent flare ups was that he got molluscum contagiousum - the area around the bumps really flared up. We finally seem to have got rid of the last spot after months and months, fingers crossed!

We use an Ecoegg for laundry and that seemed to help my DS.

His also triggered by hayfever, an antihistamine might be with trying. Although I do know the wrong season for that.

Pinetarsol was also good.

Definitely get a referral to (paediatric) dermatology.

Omg you are literally the only person other than my dd who has the same triggers!!! Drives me batshit

It's so difficult to get products without, isn't it? Shampoo bars are better than bottles, I've found.

Acacia is the main one - acacia gum, pollen, powder, you name it. It's in a lot of processed foods, sauces, vitamins/minerals and medications.

My guts also get very stressed and inflamed if I eat onions, garlic, leeks or cabbage and apples. I found that out through a pretty hard-core exclusion diet (low FODMAP was very helpful) and I've also cut down on gluten and dairy. <sigh>

I get severe psoriasis and urticaria as well as eczema (go me) so it's always a work in progress to juggle medications, diet and lifestyle. But I've made it to 60+ years of age, and my skin's probably the best it's been since I was 13 and all these problems started.

Interestingly, I use steroids very, very sparingly these days.