Calling all mums of DCs with sensitive skin/eczema for advice

[SquidgersMummy]

Hi, my dd is 11wks and has always been prone to a bit of dry skin on her belly and legs. At the 8 wk dr check up thing the GP noticed and prescribed aqueous cream which we started using - her belly was just a bit dry with peeling skin. Over the past week or so her belly has got more red, dry bits. We were bathing just twice a week with water. Now at this point I f*ed up a bit and put some natural baby oil stuff in her bath - she really cried after her bath, her belly was really red and angry. I saw the HV who said put Oilatum in the bath water and do a test patch of E45. Again screaming after bath and think area where I used E45 (her legs which were never red now look a bit red). Am actually thinking now that the aqueous cream has made her worse?? We have gone from a bit of dry, peeling belly to red, dry skin. HV also suggested no fabric conditioner and double rinse clothes which could be it too: was using Surcare but they didn't have it in so have used a bottle of Ecover non bio. Am guilty of perhaps using a generous amount. Last week her scalp looked terrible with cradle cap - used loads of olive oil and it looks lovely now. Am thinking is the liquid parafin in aqueous and E45 good for them and would I be better off just using olive oil or the supposedly very mild (and expensive but it was on special offer as short date) L'Occitane cream I was using originally. Any advice really greatfully received. Completely traumatised after experience of bathing her tonight. Oh, also I think cows milk makes her more gripey so am on soya ....any significance?

Many thanks!

X

Sorry to hear your little one is having a tough time with eczema. My DS had very bad eczema at around that age. I would really recommend the aveeno baby eczema range - they have creams that worked really well for us and we use their bath treatment sachets which are the only things i found so far that make his weekly bath tolerable for him.

My DS is 10 months old now and much improved. The real breakthrough came when we saw a dermatologist so keep going back to your GP until you get the results you need.

i hope this helps

My daughter's skin gets really bad when she gets sweaty, whether in the summer when it's hot out or in the winter when she's wearing layers of clothing. Red, inflamed patches erupt in the sweaty nooks and crannies of her body, like behind her knees, under her bum, in the crook of her elbow, etc.

After reading an article that suggested that too much bathing can irritate the skin of some people-the idea being that soap and detergent products kill/remove the good bacteria from the skin, as well as the bad-we reduced her bathing from once a day to 3-4 times/week and it seems to help. If she does get an eczema patch-it happens less nowadays than it used to-I apply an over-the-counter hydrocortisone product (in the US, a brand called Cortizone-10).

Aqueous cream can make eczema worse (some older children call it 'stingy cream') - but this is what GPs usually prescribe first. My DS didn't get on with E45 or Diprobase either; he screamed when I put them on and they made his eczema far worse.

Aveeno worked well for us, but different creams work for different children. Also, DS's eczema was so bad that he needed quite a lot of steroid cream before we could just 'maintain' his good skin with Aveeno.

Eczema is an atopic condition, related to the immune system. Lots of children are sensitive to chemicals and do improve with a change (or absence of) washing powder, fabric conditioner etc. so your HV is talking sense.

My DS's eczema was related to his many food allergies, although this isn't the case for everybody. I kept a very detailed food diary, and worked out that his eczema got better when I avoided certain foods - might be worth a try?

You could try posting on the allergy boards - lots of mums there with experience of dealing with eczema.

I'd agree with trying different creams til you find one that works. We too are on aveeno, but took several rounds til we found something that worked. I also think Aqueous Cream is often problematic.
Also ask the Dr for some bath additivies.

I'd also agree with less bathing (which it sounds like you are already doing), and not letting them overheat.

If milk is a problem, soya could be too....
The other thing that affects my kids is tomatoes?

It will seem like a long way off, but most kids improve with age.

Try cutting out dairy and avoid using biological washing powder. Simple Rich moisturiser worked better than aqueous cream or E45.

Cannot recommend elegance skin cares goats milk cream enough. (Google them) it cleared up my prem ds s eczema no end. A dr suggested trying it though its not available on prescription at the moment the NHS are trialling it and one site of their links it.

OP, if you think your DD may be reacting to cow's milk, please, please don't try a cream made from goat's milk. It may work for some, but would be a bad idea in your case.

DD also had very bad ezcema as a baby, but she is now 2 and its defnitely improved with age. We use oilatum or aveeno in the bath (once or twice a week) and moisturise like mad. we have cetraben on prescription that we use as a moisturiser but as she has got older she has also taken to 'borrowing' lotions' from mummy's dressing table. i use l'occitane shea and she shows no adverse effects. i think its a question of trial and error with creams until you find something that works for you.

she is however intolerant to both cows milk protein and soya (though bizarrely can tolerate goats milk in small doses). it was a combination of the ezcema, reflux, general grumpiness/discomfort that first gave an inkling as a teeny baby that she may be intolerant. once she started eating food there was no doubt!

I'd agree that aqueous cream can actually make it worse, as can olive oil in my experience. Also it's possible to have a reaction to E45!

DS uses 'dermol cream' and bath ointment and nothing else, if it's absolutely necessary to wash his hair with shampoo (I do this every couple of weeks!) we use the shampoo for cradle cap, I've forgotten it's name.

If your DD has a rash over her whole body but not the nappy area it's likely to be a reaction to washing detergent. We were recommended to use washing liquid as opposed to powder as it doesn't stay on the clothes as much and no fabric softener or stain remover.I know this sounds mad but I was recommended to use supermarket own brand, the cheap stuff, non-bio liquid as they tend to have less perfume etc in them and are often more watered down! Also make sure you always wash new clothes before they're warn.
I'd also say you should pester your gp until you're happy. I think quite often this kind of thing isn't taken seriously and people are left to work our what to do themselves. Good luck, it will get better!

Both my babies had eczema. Both aggravated by clothes - particularly coloured vests - from Primark. Stopped wearing these, slathered on Diprobase and only bathed them every other day. Both grew out of their eczema by 9 months ish.

Get your dr to prescribe double based gel, since my dds been using this haven't needed steroid dream once and it's basically gone!

Aveeno is great because it stays on the skin while not being oily, and has oats in it, which is soothing. Absolutely no soap, just bath oil in the bath (plain water is drying). My DS1 had dreadful excema (still does really), our paed dermatologist prescribed heavy duty cortisone based creams to hit it hard, get rid of the flare quickly, and then maintain with the aveeno. Avoid wool, hot sweaty weather, and there will be food triggers too (DS has various food allergies, some of which manifest as excema flares). Good luck :)

We too are on doctor prescribed creams, and new stronger steroids for ds's eczema. We wash in doctor prescribed gel, as soap and anything with any kind of fragrance makes him flare up. Pester the GP, it can clear up. Once we were on the right regime ds's eczema cleared up within a week and we only have to maintain hsi skin atm.

Nextphase: my ds is also allergic to tomAtoes! He gets red angry hives when he eats just a tiny bit. He's 2 and a half and for now it doesn't appear to be improving with age ...

Op - aquous cream and diprobase work well for us, so I don't have much advice, but We noticed a huge improvement after dropping the night milk bottle. Obviously not an option for you at this age, but if you're bf you could try cutting out dairy.

Aqueous cream should be used as a soap but shouldn't be let on the skin.

We use Aveeno cream every day and occasionally need to use hydrocortisone cream on bad bits.

DS now only get a bath once a week (the evening after we have been swimming because that certainly makes it worse, but I don't want to stop him swimming, so it is all a balance, I suppose) and that has made a huge difference.

The NICE guidelines for atopic eczema are here. This is what your GP should be using.

Dear all - wanted to say a huge thanks - was awake worrying last night - so reassuring to wake up to some practical advice of what to try and hopes that she will grow out of it.

X

"liquid parafin in aqueous cream" It's most likely not the liquid paraffin but the sodium laurel sulphate. Use emollients not the aqueous creams. Using aquous creams on eczema is against NICE guidelines and your Dr should no this.

Another here saying Aveeno. DD1 was about 8 months when her eczema flared up. Aqueous aggrivated it (this was used as a soap) and agree with Bartlet, Aqueous is a soap, not a cream. I used it during pregnancy for my pregnancy eczema and it felt like it was burning me as I had been told to use it as a moisturiser, which it should not be.

A friend suggested Aveeno as her son responded to well to it, and I have never looked back. I get it on prescription from our GP now .
We had to use steroid creams for DD1 as her eczema was very severe and needed a lot of treatment before it became managable at aged 4 1/2. She still has flare ups when she gets too hot or if she has too much sugar. But we are just using Aveeno every few days now as her skin as much better. She is 6 now. We have been using Tesco Non-Bio for the past 3 years as we found this detergent to be the kindest to her skin, and comfort pure fabric conditioner - but this is only over the last 18 months.

Best of luck to you xx

My DD developed ezcema when I started weaning, I think she's allergic to tomatoes too but I'd also introduced soap. It was worrying watching her break out and cry and scratch.

We tried steroid creams to nuke it and then maintained with epiderm which we have on prescription. I also use porridge oats, either in a sock or large tea strainer in her bath water (so its just the water from the oats rather than actual porridge bits floating) and I think this is what has really got rid of it. As soon as we stopped the steroid cream it flared badly but we perservered with oat baths and epiderm and we've pretty much got rid of it now although her skin is prone to dryness. Try not to worry, it's horrible but most babies grow out of it.

Aqueous needs to be avoided. E45 didn't work for DS either, or Aveeno. Epaderm is greasy but good for him. You have to find out what suits them I think!

One thing which really helped was ditching fabric softener completely (honestly, I noticed NO difference in how soft the clothes are!) and putting clothes through an extra rinse cycle.

Good luck!

OP, I feel for you. Extreme eczema is miserable. For everyone. DD, now 2, has had excema since she was a few weeks old. Before we got into a good treatment routine she used to wake in the morning with her sleepsuit stuck to her legs where it had weeped in the night due to her itching. This was regardless of what measures we used to stop her itching (swaddling, mittens etc). Poor little thing couldnt sleep due to the itching either. Needless to say neither could we! We tried all of the usual suspects, acqueous (never could spell it), oilatum, epiderm and none worked. The only thing that has made any difference and has given her some peace is steroid cream. And quite a strong one at that. It went in two days. And there were times when her legs were entirely covered. I used to be sniffy/nervous about it but not any more. I now use it once a week on isolated patched and she is soooooo much happier. . It turned out DD was allergic to milk and eggs. So I am sure weaning also helped because no matter how hard I tried I just couldnt entirely eradicate them from my diet and they pass through as I breastfed but it is the steriod cream that made the biggest difference. Good luck. I hope you manage to solve it.

Another no to aequeous cream, it can make eczema much worse. DS is now 21 months and has almost grown out of it, but we saw a consultant when he was 7 or 8 months and he prescribed steroid cream for the flare-ups. It worked wonders, the skin cleared and then I was able to just keep the eczema under control. Aveeno is great, so are oats in the bath, and for us the Weleda cream was wonderful. Pricey, but a little goes a long way. It is important to apply the moisturiser on damp skin and not rub it in, but let it soak in. However, what works for one child might not work for another, so it's trial and error I'm afraid. There is hope, however, I can now take DS swimming, which I couldn't do until a couple of months ago as his skin would flare-up.

Aqueous cream IS DESIGNED TO BE USED AS A SOAP!
Diprobase suits me. Dermol suits my kids.
Wash kids sparingly. Avoid bubbles etc. Be careful what you use to wash clothes with.
Emollient cream on at every nappy change at the very least.
Good luck.

Dear all!
Dermol cream has an anti microbial agent which kills the itch! Hope it helps some of you.

FiveBells: I agree with your "no soap" recommendation.