National Eczema Week: Webchat with dermatology nurse Julie Van Onselen: Tuesday 18 September at 9pm

[RachelMumsnet]

Today marks the start of National Eczema Week and we’re running a webchat tomorrow evening (Tuesday 18 September) with Julie Van Onselen who will be on-hand to answer questions about eczema from 9pm on Tuesday evening.

Julie is an experienced dermatology nurse, who is passionate about improving care and support for people with skin conditions and in educating patients and healthcare professionals. She is a Dermatology Nurse Adviser to the National Eczema Society and provides advice on eczema to people who contact the charity’s the Helpline service.

National Eczema Society is the UK’s leading charity for people with eczema, providing independent information and support through its helpline, website, social media and publications. The charity also provides a voice for people with eczema, in research, in the development of new treatments, and in improving medical care.

Join Julie at 9pm on Tuesday evening or post your question on this thread in advance.

What a great idea for a webchat, I know so many people struggle.

I'd love to know what's the most common eczema myth you'd like to dispel?

What's the most effective way to treat mild eczema - via improvements to diet and well being or steroid creams? Mine improves massively on holiday!

Interested in this. Suddenly my very mild eczema has become so bad in my 40s that I am on immunosuppressants. Not helping yet.
Triggers are also interesting. I’m allergic to MI.
Would also be interested in how it could be possible to update the knowledge of our GP community. No aqueous cream won’t solve my eczema and should only be used as a soap.

bestbefore -

Not sure if relevant to you but my eczema is made loads worse by cold weather so perhaps it improves on holiday for you if you're going somewhere warmer? My cousins quite bad asthma and eczema improved hugely when her family moved from Scandinavia to the UK

I made the bad decision to work in Scandinavia once too and ny hands were bleeding they were so dry and cracked 😭

I'm not sure whether I've got eczema, psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis. It's quite disgusting. There's a patch on my eyebrow, my ears are scaly and my head has a sort of cradle cap on it. Help!!

Great idea for a webchat although so difficult to answer questions about specific cases. Such a heartbreaking thing to watch your child suffer with, and it is suffering.

I'd like to know about long-term steroid use. DS had quite strong steroid ointments when he was small (eumovate, betnovate) for his severe flare ups. He's 9 now and hasn't had bad eczema since he was about 4, which is amazing, but he still can't go in the sea on holiday as the salt water stings his skin so much, particularly on the back of his legs where he mostly had the steroids. Could this be because of the steroids, and will this always be the case?

I'm so grateful to the amazing GP we had when DS was tiny who had been through it with her DC and took it seriously.

What's your opinion of the doctor Aron regime? I am intrigued as to what the opposition from the medical community is based on. Our gp said he is against because of the antibiotic resistance aspect of long-term fucidin use, yet DD was on oral antibiotics every month or two for years because of staph overgrowth, as well as very strong steroid creams, wet wraps etc etc. There seemed to be a reluctance to look at the big picture, with repeated prescriptions of strong oral antibiotics (and even immune suppressants) accepted because they are nominally 'short term' (and often prescribed by lots of different doctors), whereas from a parental perspective longer-term use of a milder topical antibiotic seems far preferable in practice. Hope that doesn't sound too antagonistic as a question, I'm just perplexed as to why the regime hasn't been adopted more widely for uncontrolled eczema.

@Solasshole - warm weather I think helps but so does not having to clean as mine is on my hands.... Just was chatting to someone who was convinced it was all about diet and I am not convinced!

My DD is 3 and has eczema (and asthma too which I've been told can be linked), particularly suffering on the backs of her arms, neck and legs. Do you have any tips in regards to creams or any simple tips/lifestyle changes which may help her? Where she's very young I worry about her sensitive skin.

Why do steroid creams, even mild ones, come in such small tubes? I am 5ft 10 and that means, on occasion, there is a lot of skin to cover multiple times.

Drives me nuts.

My dd has chronic atopic eczema, is under a specialist children's dermatologist however no one seems to be able to control the constant itching. She is on insanely high doses of antihistamine as well as lotions and potions.

Is there anything more we can do to help her?

Also her hands are always burning hot - is there a link to the eczema?

I've got eczema on my eyelids and have been told I can't use steroid cream there. Is there anything else to use besides emolient cream?

How can I stop flare ups in hot weather? Dd1 is nearly 4 and apart from a couple of dry patches her eczema is so much improved. Apart from in summer when her knees, elbows and lower back get hot and then the exzema returns. We kept her in long sleeves and loose trousers a lot but she wants shorts and tshirts!

My dc now only has eczema on the back of the hands. Was always told that water helps but it seems to me that overwashing hands or lack of drying hands properly has caused this? Doublebase handwash has helped but is there any other non prescription everyday brand that you could recommend please Julie? Thanks

I have had eczema, very severely at times, for years. I remember once, (reluctantly) an nhs dermatologist tested me for allergies and said there were none.

I ended up doing a bit of an exclusion diet and realised dairy and eggs were causing the issue. Absolutely life changing in terms of my management of both my asthma and eczema. I am 35! Is it just my experience that seems to suggest that food isn’t taken very seriously as a trigger for eczema? Is allergy testing not advanced enough?

I was told they couldn’t/wouldn’t offer further testing after my skin patch testing.

Hello,
My DS 9 has recently had an improvement since we moved house. Not sure if it was an issue with damp/mould (awful landlord) as we’ve moved to an airy house. We were having to wet wrap his hands nightly with hydromol ointment (had tried creams before but they seemed to make it worse) to keep on top of it.
Now however we have only done the gloves once since moving in July and the usual ointment made his knuckle go red raw overnight. So we have stopped again. It’s still vastly improved from the old house but it is still dry/flaky and a bit angry, but I’m too scared to use hydromol again and not sure about going back to cream treatments either. It almost looks mild enough to just use an over the counter thing but experience tells me otherwise. Any suggestions please 💐

I have developed eczema since having chickenpox a few weeks ago, it's on my face, back, arms and legs. Is it related to the virus?

What is the evidence for dairy exacerbating eczema?

Both ds and I both suffer from it and dairy is quite a staple in our diet.

My mum is a nurse (with primary care experience) and is forever going on about the evils of dairy. She has never produced any good evidence for this claim though.

I would of course be more than willing to change our diet if there was good evidence to suggest that it might make a difference.

No amount of cheese is worth feeling like climbing out of your skin!

Welcome to Julie Van Onselen who is joining us to answer your questions over the next hour. Over to you Julie...

Hello everyone Thank you mumsnet for inviting the National Eczema Society to host this web chat. I am really looking forward to talking to you tonight. My name is Julie and I am an indecent dermatology nurse and adviser for the NES. I am passionate about supporting people with eczema and their families/carers.

Hi Julie

Hi Mrs Marigold I am sorry to hear you have developed eczema for the first time after having chickenpox. Eczema can start for the first time at any age and can be triggered by lots of different things, including infection. It may be that you had eczema as a child and it has returned as your skin has had an nasty viral infection and chicken pox can be severe as an adult. I suggest you see your GP and ask about treating your eczema.

@PoliticalBiscuit

What a great idea for a webchat, I know so many people struggle.

I'd love to know what's the most common eczema myth you'd like to dispel?

Thank you for your supportive comments, yes lots of people do really struggle with eczema and the NES exists to support people and their families. I like your question on dispelling myths – there are lots of eczema myths but one very common myth is daily baths and showers are not good for eczema. In fact the opposite is true a daily emollient bath will soothe eczema and help reduce itching. Emollients should always be used and soaps/cosmetic washes and bubble bath avoided – as this is what will aggravate eczema (and is the reason why this myth about daily bathing exists). In fact, the opposite is true: a daily emollient bath or shower will help cleanse the skin, reduce itching and repair the skin barrier, as emollients penetrate the skin. Keep the water tepid, as too much heat can aggravate eczema.

Hi Political Biscuit
You asked a great question earlier and thank you for your supportive comments about this web chat, yes lots of people do really struggle with eczema and the NES exists to support people and their families. I like your question on dispelling myths – there are lots of eczema myths but one very common myth is daily baths and showers are not good for eczema. In fact the opposite is true a daily emollient bath will soothe eczema and help reduce itching. Emollients should always be used and soaps/cosmetic washes and bubble bath avoided – as this is what will aggravate eczema (and is the reason why this myth about daily bathing exists). In fact, the opposite is true: a daily emollient bath or shower will help cleanse the skin, reduce itching and repair the skin barrier, as emollients penetrate the skin. Keep the water tepid, as too much heat can aggravate eczema. Julie