Eczema that returns after steroid use

[KL92xxxx]

My 24mo has had eczema on his shoulders for about a year now, it started as a little patch on one shoulder and now it’s on both and often spreads around the front of his neck too, but it’s nowhere else on his body.

I’ve tried every cream under the sun and spoke to the dr several times and he’s had 2 courses of steroid creams which work amazingly but as soon as we’re done it just slowly comes back. Does anyone have any advice? I’m just really worried it’ll get infected soon but I’m on the fence about more steroids as it doesn’t seem to resolve anything.

Eczema is about keeping on top of it rather than curing it.

Have you been offered any allergy testing? My DS had awful eczema, and the only thing that sorted it was cutting out the various foods he was reacting to

Carrot oil is brilliant for eczema, just dilute it or you dye them orange

This is only anecdotal but for my dd the steroids didn’t do anything and only weakened the skin so the eczema came back worse after.
I still haven’t found the perfect cure, it has taken a few years to figure out the cycle and how to keep on top of it.
Dd really enjoys baths with Dead Sea salts but not sure if they are suitable for a 2 yr old. Dermol cream helps to keep moisturised and also prevents infection
Switching to plain Tesco non bio washing powder and taking antihistamine
And the nhs sunflower body butter is also amazing but we can rarely find it (a big Tesco near us sells it)

My DS had extreme eczema. We used to have to wet wrap his whole body which was horrendous. So, I have some experience. We tried everything in addition to the wet wrapping. In the end he grew out of it and has perfect skin now - never got acne or anything. Some things to think about:

• do you have hard water as it can irritate. Oats in a sock in bath water softens the water
• diet, is there anything you suspect he is allergic to. Do you see flare-ups after he eats something
• don't be afraid of steroids. If you can control it with mild steroids it means you won't have to go on to stronger steroids
• watch out for asthma as they are of the same family. My ds developed asthma very young
• what works for one might not work for another
• I get mild eczema and I find moisturiser with oats and liquorice work for me.

Good luck

@Missdotty

Eczema is about keeping on top of it rather than curing it.

This 👆🏾

It's a life long condition with ups and downs (or 'flares') I've had it since birth and you just have to learn to manage it with diet and products along with the required creams/ lotions.

Key 'irritants' to look at are milk/lactose allergy. Artificial colourings and flavourings in food (avoid highly coloured 'fake foods' with E110 numbers in) avoiding lots of sugar, no biological washing powders or harsh chemicals, everything fragrance free from baby wipes to moisturiser. Drop any fabric conditioner. It's all trial and error and individual but they are major ones to start with

We used Elena’s Nature Collection for our son’s eczema.
Keeping on top of it is what matters.
Cotton next to his skin, and wash his clothes bedding in products like Ecover. No fabric softeners.

Make sure you are using an emollient even when no eczema is present. It’s about prevention as much as possible.

Don’t be scared of steroid creams - once the skin looks clear then use the cream for a few more days (this ensures all layers of the skin are healed not just top layer). Then taper of use of the cream over a week or so - once a day, every other day, every two days etc, until you’ve stopped completely

I use Mummys magic nappy care spray it stops the itch and clears it up, it’s brilliant for eczema on mine and used it recently for chickenpox I can’t recommend enough xx