SUPPORT THREAD - BABIES WITH ECZEMA

[Amani]

Hi,

I know there have been a couple of threads relating to eczema, but really would like to start some sort of recent support/sharing information thread for parents whose babies have eczema.

My DD2 has had severe eczema since she was 2 months old (nearly 6 months), and since then we have been in and out of hospital to treat it (i.e. infections, wet wraps).

Am finding it really hard at the moment with the weather being warm, as I can't let her wear t-shirts/short etc as she will itch herself badly, but I feel guilty for covering her up as I know it is making her warm. Can anyone share how they manage?

I know different creams are suitable for different people, but at the moment DD2 has been prescribed 50-50 white liquid paraffin, hydrocortisone for flare ups, oilatum for the bath and she is back to wet-wraps to hydrate her skin. Does anyone know if any of these creams can create long term damage to skin? Am very reluctant to use the hydrocortisone as it thins the skin. Also she is on Piriton twice a day to relieve the itchiness - will she get any side effects to it?

Also - how do you cope at night? DD2 wakes up every 3 hrs not because she needs a feed, but because she is itching. We've tried swaddling her but she always manages to break free.

If anyone can share any other information on how they keep on top of their LO eczema I will be really grateful.

Been offline for a couple of days, but interesting to read. Must say, since the weather has been milder today, for the first time in weeks DD2 has been much calmer and itching less.

Still having problems at night though, she still wakes herself when itching in her sleep. Even though I swaddle her she still managed to escape and go for herself....

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I found the following got rid of my Ds's eczema.

When he was very young, he had dreadful, red raw eczema around his mouth. I found cutting out certain foods reduced the soreness, redness and dryness within days! Within four days of cutting out tomatoes, citrus fruits and juice, colouring, E numbers as much as possible and everything acidic, his face improved by about 65%. About a month later, talking to a friend who's daughter had had severe eczema, she asked if Ds ate yogurt, which he did. She said cut that out and it'll help. Help? it was completely gone in days!
Every 6 months, I give him yogurt to see if he's outgrown the allergy, and so far, he hasn't. Within a day, he has a patch appear in other places on his body. He can now eat tomatoes, but we still avoid citrus/acidic foods and drinks though.
He has started to get the odd bit behind his knees and I'm not sure what's caused that(having said that, my parents let him have Actimel), and he does have a pimply type on his cheeks, which I am at a loss over, but at least it's not sore or dry/itchy. During the Summer he gets it on his elbows and knees and last year we found Oilatum cream really helped. I just have to nag him to use it.

My mum has really bad eczema on her hands(her skin literally peels off)and found that Wool Fat Soap worked well and quickly when she used it. Unfortunately, when she ran out, she had a gap before getting the next supply and her skin seems to have adapted and it no longer works

e45 reflective is the only suncream my son age 6 who has excema can use. I bought it on the internet for £3.99 recently - just googled the name to find a supplier. The national ecema socir=ety had a useful list of suncreams and the ingredients in them which commonly cause allergies.