Really awful eczema

[thehouseofmirth]

Have finally night weaned DS and at 16 weeks I'm not weeing 5 times a night anymore so should be enjoying a bit of sleep while I can but I'm now being kept awake by awful eczema on my fingers. I'm avoiding all cleaning stuff and anything that might make it worse and during the day it's fine but at night the itching starts and no amount of Betnovate seems to be making any difference. My fingers are now cracked and weeping as I scratch them raw in my sleep (have tried wearing gloves but I mange to take these off in my sleep too).

I seem to remember when i was pg with DS that at some point my eczema vanished until he was born but I can't remember when. Any adice gratefully received.

I feel for you. You have my sympathy.

My eczema flared when I was pregnant with ds2. Is it just on your fingers?

Avoid too much moisture. Use gloves to wash dishes, and moisturize right after.

Try to avoid really hot water, I was advised to shower at as cool a temperature as I could tolerate. I'm not familiar with Betnovate, is it perscription? If not go to your gp and get a perscription.

MKG I've been doing all that but nothing seems to make a jot of difference. It is on my fingers which is a usual place for me but also on my wrists where I haven't had it for years. Did yours continue the whole of your pregnancy or did it calm down at any point?

Yes Betnovate is a precribed steroid ceam.

Mine was all over my body. Mostly on my arms and my legs. I didn't shave my legs for weeks, because everytime I did it would get worse. I also only showered about once a week because showers made it worse. It was bad in the drier months for me.

My hands did crack and bleed though.

I feel for you, I wish I had more advice. Can you ask for a different perscription maybe. I'm in the US so I can't recommend anything.

Dd is 12 weeks old and about 3 weeks I started getting eczema on my foot. I only have it on one foot and it is spreading up my ankle. GP prescribed betnovate and it seems to working slowly although I have a bruised rash now. Mine too only itches at night.

My dd had eczema on her face a few weeks ago and was prescribed Hydromol and hydrocrotosone which got rid of it straight away.

I would go back to you gp and ask for something different. It might take a few goes to find a cream that works for you.

I used Medihoney cream (from health shops/chemists) when pg.
It helped relieve the itch and helped the skin to heal.

at the moment I am prescribed ichthopaste bandages. They help keep moistur in the skin, alleviating the itch.

You really have my sympathy and I hope you can find something to help

Have you tried ELIDEL?
It's mostly prescribed for kids as it's steriod free, but works SO WELL!! I'm not sure if you can use it in pregnancy or not, but worth asking your dr about. It's gentle, but gets rid of both the eczema and the itching. Gentle enough for children so I'd assume for during pg, too. It's made by Novaritus (sp??) i think. It WORKS!! Everyone else who I have known to have eczema who has tried it swears by it as well.

For any long time suffers... try this: I used to have eczema on inside of elbows, a spot on my neck, on fingers and sometimes other random patches would appear. I did a routine of not drying off but applying baby oil (fragrance free) after each shower every single day then a light, fragrance free moisturizer on top of that (it all absorbed and I was dry from the rubbing in of the lotion and oil)... I did this for an entire year, not missing a day. Eczema is GONE (and was gone after 3 months)! (this was pre pregnancy). I haven't gotten it since. If I feel my skin starting to itch a bit, I do the whole baby oil/moisturizer thing for a couple of days and it's fine... and this left my skin incredibly soft and healthy.

Thanks so much for your sympathy as much as advice. I'm usually a stoic kind of gal but this is really getting to me and unless you've had it you just don't know how horrid it is.

Will try the non-steroid suggestions first as I know the Betnovate is thinning my skin and see how it goes.

I know how you feel - I have in the past had it on the palms of my hands, just now have a patch on my wrist, and my scalp...I'm constantly trying to find the magic potion, but I really don't think there is one! Different things help different people, I think.

Go to www.skincell.org (think that's the right address, it can be very informative.

I have used something from the dr called protopic - it's non-sterodial and really really helped me before - but it can burn a bit when you first start with it. Ask your dr about it - I had researed it and they had to order it in specially for me, it's worth a try.

You really have to try to break the itch/scratch cycle - that is def key to relief. Easier said than done, I know.

Aveeno do an itch-relief lotion which is sooting, I think it has menthol in it. Also like Lush's hand creams, they do a couple which are rich and soothing. Avoid anything with lanolin in it, people with excema can be sensitive to it.

I know how you feel, I used to cry with pain/frustration when it was at it's worst on my hands. Pregnancy cleared it up for me too, must be hormonal!

Is protopic safe for pregnancy? I've used this, in ointment form (like a gel), but I thought I couldn't use it whilst pg? I could be wrong.

Meant to add that I also put a slosh of Savlon liquid in the bath, which really seems to help mine too

thehouseofmirth I know exactly how horrid it is. I currently have it on my fingers, my neck and the insides of my elbows. I can't wear my wedding ring as my fingers are so bad. I was awake twice last night scratching (worse when the weather is hot).

I think about it all the time and it really gets me down too.

I use dermol500 to wash my hands and sit at night with thick layers of Aveeno cream on my hands. This makes it bearable only.

Mine flared up after dd was born - I think from a mixture of stress, over-tiredness and manic pfb hand-washing . Also washing dd's bottles in very hot water can't have helped. I am pregnant again and tbh it hasn't improved or got worse.

I had heard of Aveeno itch relief cream which I am going to try. I'm liking star6's suggestion - I have some BioOil which I keep meaning to use.

I know that with my dd it was just constant applications of cream that worked. It is just so hard to do on yourself when you are busy with children/baby bumps/house stuff/work etc etc etc!

If you find the miracle cure, let me know!

[waves hello to MKG!]

Oh! I nearly forgot about this one... Oilatum Jr.!!!
bath solution is good, but the cream is REALLY good if you need it fast and can't get a hold of a prescription immediately. It stops the itching, smells ok, is smooth and non greasy and works well to help start the healing of eczema.

Thanks for the link to skincell kitkat9. I've now discovered that as well as the aptopic eczema I've had since childhood this finger stuff is called Pompholyx or dishydrotic eczema. I'm going to ask the doctor if there's any specific treatment but apparently cold compresses of apple cider vinegar can help so I'll give that a go. And I'll work my way through everyone else's suggestions.

Re Protopic in pregnancy/breastfeeding I found this: The safety of this medicine for use during pregnancy has not been established. It should not be used by pregnant women unless considered essential by your doctor. Seek medical advice from your doctor.

When taken by mouth or injection, tacrolimus passes into breast milk. Although it is less likely that tacrolimus applied to the skin will pass into breast milk in significant amounts, breastfeeding during treatment with Protopic ointment is not recommended. Seek medical advice from your doctor.

Now, any suggestions for anti-scratching distraction techniques?!