Excema getting worse, what can I use?

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

I usually suffer from excema and dry skin but not very badly and not often, but since I have been pregnant it is getting worse and worse.

I have big red patches all down my arms, around my mouth, shoulders, backs of legs. I was prescribed a hydrocortisone cream and an emollient cream before I knew I was pregnant and have been using them for the past couple of weeks but they don't seem to be doing anything. I am 13 weeks now and really would like to see some improvement soon.

How long is ok to use the hydrocortisone for? Is there anything else more effective I can buy OTC?

Hope someone can shed some light for me, getting real itchy now.

cheeky bump :)

I swear by any mild body oil (no fragrance) followed by Aveeno smothered on top. My eczema isn't as bad as yours by the sounds of it though - but might be worth a try?

Thank you :)

Ground up oats in the bath (tied into a pair of tights).

You can use hydrocortinsone cream still but if there's no improvement with it you might have a pg related rash. (PUPP) Although that usually misses your face.

I had such bad itching but thank heavens have discovered urea cream (Eucerin). Read this link on how it works:

www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100000978.html

At first I'd put it on a few times a day, but now I only need to put it on after I shower, then I put a layer of oil (sweet almond) to prevent any more moisture evaporating out of my skin. My skin feels so soft even at the end of the day and I've had no itching AT ALL! God send. Was using dermacool before but that was more to treat the actual itching whereas this cream prevents the itching from arising in the first place.

I have heard some really good things about this company www.purenuffstuff.co.uk. Its probably worth giving them a ring to check what you can use as you are pregnant though. (Sorry can 't do links!)

My eczema has got a lot worse since being pregnant so went to gp coz nothing was calming it down despite spending huge amounts on moisturiser and hydrocortisone OTC! Gp prescribed diprobase emollient and eumovate ointment. Eczema is still there but it's not as angry as it was and it's a lot easier to live with. Recommend your Gp especially as prescriptions are free!!

Lynzi - I have the diprobase emollient. I find it does absolutely nothing

I will go back to the GP, don't want to start spending £££ on OTC stuff that might have no positive effect.

Thank you all for the replies, glad to hear I'm not the only one. I thought skin, hair and nails were meant to improve during pregnancy.

Have you ever tried the Doublebase emollient? (Google it and you will see what it looks like)

I have found it very effective for keeping my skin moisturised during a flare up compared to Diprobase as a preventative measure. If your GP won't prescribe it you can just ask for it at the pharmacy counter - it's not cheap though - I think about £5 for a 100g tube and £10 for a 500g pump.

If you try the Aveeno, get the one with green cap. I had terrible itching in pregnancy. I used to cover myself in calamine lotion and stand in front of a fan naked. Hope you find a cure.

Btw I heard about Aveeno on here for d's mild excema, it worked great, but I use it myself all the time now as a moisturiser.

i agree the diprobase is not great but its better thn spending a fortune on neutrogena and stuff liek i was doing!

i find that very few of the straight moisturisers they give me work really well. allergic to aquaous cream, i find e45 dries me out more. eucerin is pretty good but get through it dead quick. might ask for that when i next go though. i had to get over what it essentially was when i first used it though!

My eczema flared up terribly when I was carrying DD1. I don't think you are meant to use any kind of steroid cream in pregnancy, the bitch lady in Boots even refused to sell me some when she saw my bump

I stopped using any kind of soap (inc face wash, shower gel etc) and just washed and moisturised with aquaous cream (£2.99 for a massive tub). It got better in the third trimester. Good luck.

How about acquis cream?

I agree with NotAnotherNewNappy- I've stopped using any soap with detergent (sodium laurel sulphate) as it strips your skin- it what you find in fairy liquid- great for cutting grease on dishes but not so great for your skin. Instead I've been using Dr. Bronner's liquid soap (all natural- no SLS). You get a massive bottle on Amazon/Ebay for about a tenner but then you dilute it about 3:1 with water- so lasts ages. The almond scent is heavenly. My skin is not sensitive usually but it has definitely improved

Also, might be worth changing your washing powder and fabric conditioner to non-bio and non perfumed.

I forgot to add, the skin on my face got so much better after I gave up using my expensive face wash and toner that I have never gone back and still use the wonderful giant tub of £2.99 aqueous cream to wash and moisturise with instead

The other thing I find really helps my eczema is having a bath a couple of times a week with some kind of bath oil - it doesn't have to be special expensive dermatological bath oil like Oilatum, though that's good. There's one in the Sanctuary spa range at Boots that is much cheaper that I used to buy (now in US and using an Aveeno one), or if you want to go really cheap you can just use Johnson's baby oil.

Also, if you've only been using the hydrocortisone a couple of weeks you may well still see a major improvement in another two weeks - I think the rule of thumb is generally a month to see big changes in your skin. So keep at it!

Big sympathies - I hate eczema, and mine too seems to have taken a turn for the worse now I'm pregnant.

Doublebase is my saviour. I do have a fairly hefty hydrocortisone which I use from time to time but if I use my doublebase religiously twice, or even once a day I find I have very little need of it.

You can get it on prescription but as I go through a pump every 5-6 weeks so during pg I tend to get it on repeat every 4 weeks. That way I have plenty to work with

I feel your pain, truly I do.

Try Cicabio, if you can find someone to send it to you from France. Extraordinary stuff, and not a medicine, so safe for pregnant women and babies.

I have the same problem, I saw a guy on Harley St who tested my vitamin levels and all of my oils were down - the baby needs them right now and will keep needing them for the rest of the pregnancy. He told me to take loads of vitamins (very long boring list) but for now I am taking a probiotic, a multivitamin (pregnancy and lactation) and the important one for skin: Higher Nature Essential Omegas 3:6:7:9.
Hope that helps

ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts who told you that skin hair and nails get better in pregnancy!??

Before I knew I was pg I was bitching about my new Charles (not cheap) Worthington shampoo and how it was making my hair all greasy! And have lots of spots and a worsening of my eczema!

I've been using Palmers cocoa butter cream though and seems to help! Using it on boobs and belly to soothe dry stretching skin and on arms to ease my eczema, seems to help on all counts.

I've had the same thing all the way through my pg. One thing that has really helped is upping my fluid intake; it's so easy to get dehydrated as you need more water intake than normal in pg anyway and if you're anything like me you might not have been drinking enough anyway. Get a big 2l bottle and fill it up in the morning, then just sip it all day. Friend of mine does the same but puts a raspberry effervescent vitamin in it for the taste. My itchy skin has really improved since really making sure I drink more.

Second the oats in the bath thing. Really helps my itchy legs. Basic unperfumed baby lotion does it for me, and I use my really thick stretch mark cream on any really angry patches.

It's misery isn't it. I've been assured by a friend that it calms down afterwards; 12 days to go so let's hope so!

Kitty, I wish I could drink more. I am in the throes of HG. Eating and drinking has become such a challenge for me. Although I am fully aware that this is probably part of the problem. My diet is crap, and I know it, but I just cannot physically do anything to improve it. I long for the day where I could sit and drink a nice glass of water.

I'm going to try and get a doctor's appt this week or next, depending on how busy they are, to see if there is anything else she can prescribe me.

Thank you for all the suggestions :)

I had hg too, been on cyclizine since hospital at 14 weeks for rehydration drip. I wonder if there is a connection to dehydration. Bless you; it's misery, isn't it. Pester your gp and get some meds, they do turn things around once you find the right ones; and can keep them down! Try the porrige bath if the smell doesn't make you yak, it's really soothing. Hope you feel better soon :)

I'm on cyclizine Kitty. Have been on them since my rehydration session at 7 weeks. They do work for me, thankfully, but still cannot drink water and I can't just eat anything. Things still turn my stomach. Wish they would take it all away and make me feel normal :) Maybe that's too much to ask! Are you still suffering with HG? If so, I hope it clears for you soon.

On the eczema front, i have used no creams at all for two days and it looks calmer this morning.