Eczema

[Jasu40]

Hi I just wanted to find out a little about eczema. My little one will be 2 in a couple of weeks and has sporadic patches all over his body. He was referred for a blood test but there were no intolerances or allergies, and because of the lockdown we never got to see a dermatologist. I wanted to find out if eczema does improve as my doctor says

I had it horrendously as a child and it slowly dissipated in my teens and now I rarely have a problem. To keep it under control I'd recommend bathing in Dead Sea salt (completely natural with nothing added) you can get a big bag from Asda. Using diprobase moisturiser several times a day which can be prescribed or bought from chemist. And steroid cream used once or twice a day, depending on the strength your doctor prescribes you :)

Mine can flare at times, second everything said above but salt baths can be painful if it is open and flaring.
Moisturise all the time even when there is no flare, make it a habit like brushing your teeth. Diprobase after a bath, Dermol 500 as a soap substitute when washing. I found oat baths really effective but what works for one may not work for the other.
If they struggle with itching at night try cotton gloves overnight (I always took them off in the night but it might help a bit!)

Have you tried cutting out dairy? A blood test will only show severe allergies rather than the intolerance type that cause symptoms like eczema. One of mine has this and I tend to blast it with a strong cortosteroid for a day or two to bat it down, and then use emollients to get skin back normal. It will only improve if you find out whats causing it. Cut each known allergen (dairy, soy, wheat, nuts, eggs) out for a bit, one by one, and see what happens.

Eczema often improves but whether it does or doesn't you will get to be more expert at managing it. As above, use a soap substitute and moisturise all over at least twice a day. If there is a flaw up use a steroid cream and try to get on top of it quickly. You might be lucky and find a trigger so it is worth having a go at elimination ie cut one thing at a time out of DC's diet 100 % for a period of 6 weeks or so. If their skin improves then restart the offending food item to see if the eczema flares up . If it does you can know to avoid it. Don't drive yourself too mad with searching for a cause though, most people do not find one and in those that do it is usually quite obvious.

Where do you live? When we lived in London DD's eczema used to flare awfully because of the hard water. When we moved to a soft water area it stopped. She's also grown up now. And moved back to London where she isn't reporting any further problems

I was told that my little had no intolerance to dairy and the doctor sad that children usually shake it off substantially between ages 2 & 3. In the meantime I moisturise loads and use eumovate If I need to. I’m just hoping he will grow out of it

We live in Woodford Green but we had a water softener installed I’m. It sure if it makes a difference to his skin though