Having to use steroids on baby frequently.

[Hope54321]

I’m so exhausted and can’t seem to think of what else to do regarding my baby’s eczema. He grabs his skin and pulls so hard, he does this for hours, especially at night. I do all the following, but he still has itchy skin:

1. eliminates trigger food from his and my own diet as I’m breastfeeding.

2. wash bedding at 60 and change bedding weekly.

3. vaccum frequently and vaccum the mattress.

4. mop at least once a weak.

5. wet wipe furniture a lot.

6. avoid turning on central heating

7. only stick to cotton clothing

8. use a tiny amount of surecare and wash at 60

9. moisturise at least every 2 hours, even more if required with hydromol ointment.

10. keep baths very short and bath with junior oilatum bath additive.

11. allerief medicine if he’s too itchy.

Despite doing all of this, I still feel the need to use steroids on my baby at least twice a week as he just can not sleep due to the severe itching.

I avoid taking him to places as he reacts to his environment and ends up just scratching non stop.

I can’t carry on like this. Please help.

I saw a dermatologist and allergist who gave me a programme of creams to help wean my baby off steroids. He's still having breakouts but much less often.

Also have you tried washing him with dermol 500 instead of soap?

@HeyDuggeesFavouriteSquirrel

I saw a dermatologist and allergist who gave me a programme of creams to help wean my baby off steroids. He's still having breakouts but much less often.

Also have you tried washing him with dermol 500 instead of soap?

We don’t use soap on him.

Just wanted to touch base and suggest you start a food diary. My son had multiple allergies and it took me a long time to get rid of the eczema but it was life changing once we did. There were quick reactions we knew about but some things took days to show up in his skin. The food diary was a game changer, though it took a while to see all the foods. Once the foods were identified we had minimal reactions to the other things which had been problematic before (dust, detergent etc)

I am so sorry for what your little one is going through, and that you have to see him be so uncomfortable in his own skin despite all that you're doing. - And you're doing a s*-ton, so seriously: Hats off to you! (Hydromol still gives me nightmares.)

How old is your little one? My baby had very, very severe eczema/atopic dermatitis from about 4 months on (severe enough we were actually able to see a dermatologist fast), he is now just over a year and it has become a million times better. - I think it is a very individual condition, so it's really about finding what helps the most, and trusting that time is on your side!!

In our case it was a mix of these that helped:

1. Growing out of it (... I know...)
2. Going on a pretty severe elimination diet (me and DC): No dairy, no soy, no gluten/wheat, no nuts/peanuts, no eggs (we were able to confirm a few allergies, sensitivities later on through tests and we've reintroduced gluten and soy).
3. Steroid creams on the body, Protopic on the face (to avoid thinning of the skin there)
4. Antibacterial baths - didn't do bleach baths, though we did take DC to the swimming pool, but used Dermol 600 (prescribed)
5. We tested a cream called "Gladskin" - a promising concept, works well for some people with eczema, not so much for others (it's pricey, but you should be able to get your money back if it does nothing for you): It attacks Staph aureum bacteria on the skin, and is just an emollient otherwise, so perfectly safe (not a steroid) for all age groups
6. We tested a ton of moisturizers, in the end we preferred mixing either Hydromol or 50:50 with a moisturizing cream containing Ceramides, like CeraVe or Aveeno baby Dermexa: I felt it made a difference (and made applying the cream much easier).

All the best to you, I hope your little one gets better! I remember how hard it was, the scratching, not sleeping, ... I wish you all the best!

@Hope54321

I’m so exhausted and can’t seem to think of what else to do regarding my baby’s eczema. He grabs his skin and pulls so hard, he does this for hours, especially at night. I do all the following, but he still has itchy skin:

1. eliminates trigger food from his and my own diet as I’m breastfeeding.

2. wash bedding at 60 and change bedding weekly.

3. vaccum frequently and vaccum the mattress.

4. mop at least once a weak.

5. wet wipe furniture a lot.

6. avoid turning on central heating

7. only stick to cotton clothing

8. use a tiny amount of surecare and wash at 60

9. moisturise at least every 2 hours, even more if required with hydromol ointment.

10. keep baths very short and bath with junior oilatum bath additive.

11. allerief medicine if he’s too itchy.

Despite doing all of this, I still feel the need to use steroids on my baby at least twice a week as he just can not sleep due to the severe itching.

I avoid taking him to places as he reacts to his environment and ends up just scratching non stop.

I can’t carry on like this. Please help.

You do what you need to. DS needed steroids between 6 months and 18 mths. And because we used them as recommended everyday by 20 mths he no longer needed them as the skin barrier was perfect. He’s nearly 2 now and only needs them now as patches appear which is very rare.

I had the same issues with DS2. I tried everything. We were constantly at the doctors or dermatologist. Aged 20 he finally got a diagnosis - an autoimmune disease. 20yrs of being fobbed off basically plus pain and misery. The diagnosis only came about because he went on holiday to South Africa and was in horrendous pain with his skin, they gave him a steroid injection which worked like a dream. He tried to get one in the UK and was refused but that finally kicked off the investigations we'd begged for.

I second a food diary. My husband and son both had awful eczema. I gave up dairy and so they both stopped eating it too and my husband’s terrible eczema (looked like burns) that he’d had since infancy completely vanished. My son’s gut problems and milder eczema improved too.

@morepatiencerequired

Just wanted to touch base and suggest you start a food diary. My son had multiple allergies and it took me a long time to get rid of the eczema but it was life changing once we did. There were quick reactions we knew about but some things took days to show up in his skin. The food diary was a game changer, though it took a while to see all the foods. Once the foods were identified we had minimal reactions to the other things which had been problematic before (dust, detergent etc)

I have a food diary since I started weaning him. He is now 10 months old. I introduce new foods to him slowly. His eczema flares up with a lot of fruits I’ve noticed. I’m still too scared to introduce eggs and peanuts to him.

@SainteCroissante

I am so sorry for what your little one is going through, and that you have to see him be so uncomfortable in his own skin despite all that you're doing. - And you're doing a s*-ton, so seriously: Hats off to you! (Hydromol still gives me nightmares.)

How old is your little one? My baby had very, very severe eczema/atopic dermatitis from about 4 months on (severe enough we were actually able to see a dermatologist fast), he is now just over a year and it has become a million times better. - I think it is a very individual condition, so it's really about finding what helps the most, and trusting that time is on your side!!

In our case it was a mix of these that helped:

1. Growing out of it (... I know...)
2. Going on a pretty severe elimination diet (me and DC): No dairy, no soy, no gluten/wheat, no nuts/peanuts, no eggs (we were able to confirm a few allergies, sensitivities later on through tests and we've reintroduced gluten and soy).
3. Steroid creams on the body, Protopic on the face (to avoid thinning of the skin there)
4. Antibacterial baths - didn't do bleach baths, though we did take DC to the swimming pool, but used Dermol 600 (prescribed)
5. We tested a cream called "Gladskin" - a promising concept, works well for some people with eczema, not so much for others (it's pricey, but you should be able to get your money back if it does nothing for you): It attacks Staph aureum bacteria on the skin, and is just an emollient otherwise, so perfectly safe (not a steroid) for all age groups
6. We tested a ton of moisturizers, in the end we preferred mixing either Hydromol or 50:50 with a moisturizing cream containing Ceramides, like CeraVe or Aveeno baby Dermexa: I felt it made a difference (and made applying the cream much easier).

All the best to you, I hope your little one gets better! I remember how hard it was, the scratching, not sleeping, ... I wish you all the best!

His eczema started at 2 months and he is now 10 months old. We are currently under the dermatologist. They are good at handing out steroids, but not at identifying his triggers. No discussion whatsoever about his triggers.

We were advised by DD's allergy consultant to get all the major allergens into her diet as soon as possible, one at a time.

What do you mean you need to use the steroid at least twice a week?

You should use it twice daily to achieve relief and control, and for a further 2-5 days, then reduce. You may then need a once or twice weekly maintenance application but only if the skin is calm.

It might be that you’re actually under-using the steroids.

www.wsh.nhs.uk/CMS-Documents/Patient-leaflets/Dermatology/6326-1-Steroid-use-in-managing-your-childs-atopc-eczema.pdf

You might find this useful?

@Sidge

What do you mean you need to use the steroid at least twice a week?

You should use it twice daily to achieve relief and control, and for a further 2-5 days, then reduce. You may then need a once or twice weekly maintenance application but only if the skin is calm.

It might be that you’re actually under-using the steroids.

I agree.

My DD has steroid cream and it's needed twice a day. She has been on it for a while and it's on repeat prescription so I'm guessing it's long term.

Can't you up the steroid use? At least until it clears it up then try doing it a bit less?

Sometimes there is no trigger. Some babies are just generally sensitive to everything and will grow out of it. My DD was 1 this month and was severely allergic to eggs, and has a really awful patch of eczema on her chest.

We are very slowly introducing eggs. So far so good. And the steroid cream has worked wonders. Has the dermatologist instructed you do to the steroids so little often?

I would try doing it daily. It doesn't sound right doing it twice a week.

My sons are adults now, but when the youngest was a baby/child, he had terrible Eczema, and like you, I tried all kinds of things, had to end up with Betnovate. One thing his skin was made worse by was Oilatum in the bath. I used plain water, with a little bit of Simple soap.

What I mean by that is I did use the steroid ointment for several days until it cleared and it keeps coming back despite doing everything to prevent it from reccuring. My dermatologist has instructed me to use tge steroids whenever needed, but I’m just too scared to do so due to the long term effects.

My DD has severe eczema currently very well controlled. You should use the steroids for as long as is needed - the doc should give you stronger/weaker ones to use depending on how well the eczema is behaving but if you just go cold turkey it will come back. In our case we use elocon for a flare, eumovate regularly and hydrocortisone if things are good or just a little patch. And maintain with emollient of course.
Dermol 500 in the bath and quick moisturising when out to keep moisture in, keep the skin clean to avoid a flare. Hope this helps but push for more attention - it shouldn’t be this bad on a regular basis.

@Ionlydomassiveones

We unwittingly exposed my dd to low dose steroids for bloody years until a snippy dermatologist basically gave us a powerful one which cleared it fully in a week. She then only got the occasional outbreak for the remainder of her childhood - it was like a miracle. ‘Use sparingly’ has got a lot to answer for.

This is basically what happened with us. It was a wonder. I’m no doctor but I’m now pretty good at the relative strength of steroid creams so it sounds like you’ve not got a strong enough cocktail to help him manage it OP.

Would him sleeping in little cotton gloves help so he can't scratch himself at night so it reduces the aggravation?

Oh OP, we had exactly the same. And like you I was terrified of using the steroids. Turns out like others have said we were under using. We had to go nuclear using for weeks at high strengths to get it under control, and carry on using for a while once it all looked ok to ensure the flare up was over.

You can drive yourself mad trying to work out the triggers, at this age I would just ensure that they're not the big ones (dairy/gluten etc). We could only identify tomatoes at that age, DS is now 16 with a list of allergies as long as your arm but it would just not have been possible to figure it out at that age. You may find that once you have this current flare under control he's far less reactive.

Once we had used all the steroids he didn't have another flare up until he was 15, so it is well worth using lots for a short time than underusing and actually exposing him to steroids for a lot longer.

Just reiterating what others have said, don’t be afraid of the steroids. Our dermatologist said that the damage done to the skin by uncontrolled excema is far worse than the damage done by steroids. You can drive yourself potty trying to work out what is triggering it but some children just have excema. My DS is loads better since he turned one but I still use steroids to keep it under control.
The only thing apart from steroids that made a difference for us was treating a staph infection, so we had special wash for the bath a cream that went up his nose for a week, was very odd but did really help. Also you can request a prescription for skinnies babygros that help keep the emollient in at night and soothe the itching.

I found Elena’s Nature Collection worked on my DD.
It cleared her skin up better than any steroid cream did.

Steroid fear is often responsible for poorly controlled eczema. Understandably, but unnecessary. Damaged skin from badly managed eczema is far more harmful than mild steroid use, even over a prolonged period of time. Broken skin has the potential to get infected easily, and as you have seen causes distress and discomfort.

Use the steroids as necessary, and once the skin is calm continue them for a further 2-5 days. Use emollients frequently and liberally.

Restricting the diet excessively isn’t necessarily safe either and ought to be done under specialist advice, especially for an under 2 year old.

Please don’t be scared of steroids. Used appropriately they aren’t as damaging as you think, especially at the doses prescribed for babies.

No personal experience but Balmonds skin salvation is meant to be great and was develops by a mum whose kid was suffering badly with eczema. I’ve heard greet things about it.

How often are you bathing him? I doubt cutting down massively on baths helped my kids eczema. Ultimately though, the only thing that actually cured it was time, they both grew out of it eventually (not helpful I know!)

I just found that as soon as I stopped using the steroids the eczema just came back worse than ever before so I just stopped using them altogether.