Please help me, I'm losing it!!

[dizzymama]

My dd is nearly 4 months and the poor mite has so many 'problems' at the moment she just seems to be constantly miserable. If she's awake then basically she's crying. I feel terrible for her and want to make her little life better but don't know what to do. She has eczema and this is irritating her, it's weeping and she scratches it and makes herself bleed. I put her in cotton sleep suits and mittens to stop her scratching but then she gets too hot andd that aggrevates the eczema too. She's just been put onto a lactose free milk by the HV but is starving as was previously on sma white as she's a big baby, the sma lf simply isn't touching her hunger and she's crying because she's so hungry. On top of this she's teething, she's getting to the stage where she needs weaning and (rather worryingly) she's just developed 'clicky joints'. OMG I'm knackered, she's knackered and I feel as if I'm about to lose control ! Not sure what anyone can do to help but I feel better for having ranted - of course, anyone who does have advice please, please, please tell me!

have you taken her to a dr maybe you can get some cream for her eczema? sorry i know its not much help but i feel for you sorry to here your having a roung time

Sorry I dont have any advice Dizzy. But I'm sure there are lots of MNers who hav experince of babies with eczema.Maybe if you started a new therad with eczema in the title you might get some ideas. Have you searched the archives?

why was she put on the lactose free milk? can she not go back onto the sma white?
Weaning- this may help her teething as she can start to have maybe cool puree fruit and stuff which can help cool her gums,also the food will fill her up.As for the exzema could you try getting a fan or letting her sleep next to a window which is open a little to keep her cool while asleep to help stop the agrivation.
Also she is old enough too to have a little calpol or such like to help with teething and pain from her skin.Hope the little mite gets a bit better soon,little people are such hard work

dizzymama, I dont have much constructive advice to offer as I have never had children with eczema. Just wanted to say poor you, I can totally sympathise with that feeling of when will they be well and happy for more than a few days at a time.

Friends I know whose baby had eczema eventually went with the cream (cortisone, I think). They didnt like using it but it worked?

Thanks charlee, have basted the poor thing with cream since day one, I fear she may dissolve if I put any more on!!!
Kristina, good idea on both accounts, wonder if I can just copy the original message to save time...hmmm

what creams are you using?

dd3 also has eczema, not too bad but bad enough to worry me. all of my kids have it actually. might be able to offer some advice and can understand the miserable sleepless nights this horrible skin condition causes.

Loobie, thanks for the advice, was trying to put off weaning till four months (but that's only in a week) I worry about food allergies as she has so many other allergies, it would be just her luck! But I think I am going to have to take the plunge!
Dejags - ah yes the dreaded hydocortisone - it's a steroid based cream and that scares me too, but, where needs must ...I fear that is the next step by our GP.

I'd head to the GP, popping a baby on lactose free formula is a bit ahead for an HV I would have thought? I might have thought they would have tried nanny goats first perhaps? Has dd def got a lactose intolerance diagnosed?
Def head to the GP for advice asap. Weaning is probably not something to rush into just now if dd is suffering so badly with her eczema.
There are lots people on here who have exp of eczema, I'm sure someone will be along soon
xxxxxxxxxxxx Breath in, it will get better.

Misdee - she's mainly on epaderm, which soothes her for a bit but doesn't seem to get rid of it. She also has a 0.5% hydrocortisone cream and e45 (but apparently may not be taking well to the lanolin in that one)

Hi Dizzymama,

My dd had eczmema which has totally cleared up now. I can highly recommend a product called Epaderm (ask your hv about it). This cream doesn't contain cortisone either which is great. For more information have a look at www.skincareworld.co.uk - then go on notice board and it will tell you all about the product and "wet wrapping" which can be used with the cream depending on how bad the eczema is.

Good luck

Piffle -thank you for the sympathy it's so nice to let off steam! I did think the HV was a bit off prescribing such a big change but kind of just went along with it, think I got to the stage where I was willing to give everything a try. Have to go to gp for her joints so will check, wonder if there is a test that can be done? HV seemed to be going from the angle that a lactose intolerance could be what's making her so miserable.

Just seen you have already used it. Did you try the wet wrapping?

Media, thanks for the web site, I'll go and have a look.

I haven't tried wet wrapping yet but have heard of it.

No problem, hope it helps. The site is kind of endorsed by the National Eczema society so there may well be more info there for you.

Please get her allergy tested - she may be dairy allergic? We saw a Kneisologist and were amazed at how accurate she was - she went through every milk protein (casein, etc) in case there was one my dd could tolerate - she couldn't but she did recommend a calcium source soy) which did suit her.

5 years on now and we are still avoiding dairy as it makes her very poorly if she does have it (we have tried re-introducing). Interesting enough the hospital came back with the same results - but was a MUCH more envasive and painful process, after we had given up waiting for conventional medicine to diagnose (took 3 lots of blood work and 2 different labs to get a result). The Hospital knew she had allergies due to an Endoscopy they had done, but the bloods are notoriously in-accurate.

Good luck and please get her looked at - I have heard that eczema is a form of imbalance that shows itself by coming out through the skin?.... think that is Chinese medicines theory but sure that her eczema is related to some allergy or other - probably will get shouted down by the eczema Mners! but it would be definetly worth getting her checked

fimac - thanks, that's a good idea, she is having bowen therapy courtesy of a friend who also said asbout eczema being an imbalance, as I said, I'm beside myself at the mo and will do anything to help her.

dizzymama - look under allergies at the aveeno thread. Seems to be some good advice there?

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time of things, hun. Know how horrible eczema can be as I have it myself.

Would just like to say that to make it a bit easier for you, don't wean her yet - no need. Also early introduction of solids may aggravate her eczema still further. Hold off till she's closer to six months, and save yourself a job

it could food allergy, it could enviromental. with my dd's it everything lol.

ditch the e45. useless stuff imo. try some of these

aveeno (highly recommended by mumsnetters)
dermol 500 (a personal favourite)
doublebase
diprobase

bath additives try
balneum hermal plus
oilatum/plus/junior/unfragenced

wetwrapping can work but i had problems getting a nurse to show me how to do it. its a lengthy process as well. our bath/bed routines take ages already without introducing bandages as well.

is her ezcema weepy at all? just make sure it stays free of infections. dont dip your fingers into p[ots of cream, spoon it out into a clean bowl.

thanks for cream advice misdee, haven't heard of most of those, will take a look at that aveeno thread too.

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5yrs of being mum to eczema kids dd1 has dermo appt tomorrow. good job too as her legs look infected.

DizzyMama

I was extremly sceptical (but dd was in a bad way when we went) had seen allergy consultants, ent consulants, gastro consultants, who all agreed she had a prob (prob allery related) but could not find - as the first lot of bloods were neg they were scratching there heads. When we finally saw the Knesiologst (who I only knew as a Food allergy expert) and she said she did it with muscle strength testing I nearly left the room there and then! At the end of the session I was 99.9% convinced that she had managed to find the offending foods - within days my dd was a different child and I knew she was right.

3 weeks later the Hospital sent us her third lot of blood test results which mirrored what we had already found out

Hope your dd gets some help - its miserable when they are ill and you do not know the cause or what to do

Ok, you've all been so helpful but one more question.... if I don't wean her (which HV suggested to do - why do I listen) and I really don't feel comfortable doing it this early, what do I do about her milk? The lactose free just iosn;t filling her up but the sma white contains lactose which is probably hindering her skin! Ever felt you were jus going round in circles?!!