Recommendations for eczema creams when hydrocortisone is not helping

[Perpetuallywondering]

Hmm… put this in preteens but not sure if right place!

Anyway, ds11 has been struggling with eczema since New Year. He’s had flare ups before but we’ve always got under control with hydrocortisone and emollient. This time nothing seems to be touching it - we’ve been repeatedly to the GP who just say hydrocortisone and moisturiser. We had one tube of fucidin.

Emollient wise we’ve tried E45, Aveeno, Epaderm and Doublebase. Epaderm seems the best but it’s not actually shifting it. I can’t keep covering the kid in steroids.

I keep seeing adverts on social media for natural creams - Wild Mint particularly makes itself sound like a wonder! I was wondering if people had recommendations as they’re pretty pricey to experiment with.

TIA!

Child’s farm, it’s amazing

Stupid question, it’s definitely eczema not psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis etc.

Only because my husband has a bit of a mixture and we found different areas respond differently to different creams. Like you we didn’t want to keep using steroids.

Can you ask for a referral to a specialist to get it checked?

I have heard good things about Child’s Farm, may be worth a try…

Not a stupid question and worth checking out, thanks.

Don’t bother paying a fortune for anything off Facebook. Ive had eczema all my life. You need a steroid prescribed to deal with a bad flare I’m afraid.

I also can’t use any of those creams you mention.

Is he taking a daily antihistamine? That helps me greatly. Most eczema is allergy-related.

After many years of narrowing it down I worked out that most of my eczema is contact-related, mostly to any cream-type or soap substance or anything with Lanolin in it. I flare up even if the washing up water is too hot.

What’s worked for me is not using any type of cream or emollient whatsoever. I shower in L’Occitaine almond shower oil then moisturise my body with the spray almond oil. Shampoo is awful for me. I can’t use anything scented. I moisturise my face with epaderm ointment only and have done so for years. My skin looks good.

What works for one doesn’t work for another so it’s a case of trying a few things till you find what works. Don’t persist if something feels itchy or makes his skin tight. Just move on to the next thing. But do get the flare under control with regular antihistamines and a steroid (plus anti-fungal if he needs it).

Yes - taking antihistamine but not sure if it’s helping. Sounds like it might be.

Agreed that it’s different for everyone so worth trying different things. I’m just a bit at wits’ end as the current steroid isn’t cutting it 😢

Child’s Farm sounds worth a shot. Is there a specific one? Just the general moisturiser?

Any changes to laundry detergent or new pollen in house or garden?

my face is the worst in reacting to any new moisturiser or make up. I think different formula in detergents and moisturiser make a difference too and packages don’t always say.

good luck, especially as itchy sore skin is more miserable in the heat.

I have psoriasis and this heat is making me horribly itch, I am taking loratadine and it helps a bit.

My daughter eczema and found E45 works for her. She’s 30 now and manages with a 1% hydro cream when her hands flare. If anyone recommends a fungus cream definitely do a spot test - we saw a dermatologist about her hands and she was in agony using the cream. Good luck. Ps non biological washing powder for everything

should have said used to love Aveeno and they changed the formula, took weeks for my skin to recover and find something that worked. Currently using cetraben for body and Aestura for face.

Ducray Dexyane MeD Soothing Repair Cream. Works on my DS's eczema around his eyes where he's reluctant to use steroid. Not a magic cure, but soothes & calms, gets him a night's sleep. On Amazon & elsewhere.

Oilatum bath emollient is good. Try cutting out washing powder/liquid completely. A lot of eczema creams make me itch, especially if applied before bed.

Only thing that works for me ATM (past 8 years) is vaselines intense care, the white bottle. Savers have it cheap.

My ds is a similar age and has had persistent eczema his whole life. During a recent bad flare up we were prescribed fucibet that helped get it under control and then Elidel for maintenance.

I recommend Surcare washing powder/liquid for eczema prone skin. It is approved by Allergy UK charity. Also look at the Nursem range of skin creams which are suitable for eczema prone and psoriasis prone skin

Have you asked to be referred to Dermatology? It might be a wait but get on the list. In the meantime the GP can prescribe quite a few different steroids so you may find something else that helps. What are you using at the moment? The main one I use is Dermovate, but there’s also Eumovate and various other formulas, in a variety of mediums too - ointments, creams, sprays, shampoos… don’t be fobbed off with ‘this is the only one available.’

One of my sons had bad eczema when he was younger and we got nowhere until he was seen by a dermatologist really. The GP had been prescribing low strength hydrocortisone cream for ages with no real benefit but the dermatologist prescribed a much higher potency cream, which scared me initially to be honest, having had dire warnings about steroids from the GP. But the dermatologist told me that a short course of high strength cream was both more effective and safer than long term use of weak ones. Obviously I don't know if that's the case for everyone but it certainly worked for my DS. Once the more potent cream actually cleared his skin, the emoillients really started to work and whilst I can't say that he never needed steroids again it was infrequent and we always used the same strategy for subsequent flare ups with good effect.
I know it's not going to help right now as it can take a long time to be seen but I'd push to be referred to dermatology if possible. My other son has psoriasis and again, we found seeing a specialist made a huge difference.

I have eczema but anything with petroleum jelly makes it worse. No emollient like dip rinses or oilatum.

for me it’s eumovate and pale blue aveeno. Ceravee is good between flare ups. Dd1 has another greasy one that works over night but I can’t think of the name so I’ll check in the morning (she’s asleep). Apart from dh we all suffer.

I’m allergic to salicylates so that removes a lot of creams.

Your GP should be able to prescribe something a bit stronger than hydrocortisone like Elocon for example.

My DD must have tried every cream on the market. Nothing works for long. She had a long run of steroids plus Protopic (anti-inflammatory) - that was possibly the best combination, but it wasn't a cure.

Sunlight is helping a lot. I try to get her in the sun for 15 minutes each day with no sun cream. Since she's been doing that, her skin has improved hugely.

I find Sudocrem good for mine. Anything the doctor or pharmacist has recommended has just made it worse.

I use Betnovate, but you can only get it on prescription. It works really well.

My colleague has some super strength steroid cream from the dermatologist that cleared mine up with one single tiny application (not that we are sharing prescriptions honest) - definitely worth pushing for a referral to dermatology.

Hi op. I echo what PP said about different things working for different people.
I can't go near emollients except for aveeno. When they took it off prescription I was put on a generic version and it was horrific. Greasy and bleugh.

I can't TOUCH ointments, anything with petroleum jelly.

A few years ago a derm told me to increase my antihistamines, I'm now on around 3 fexofenadine a day. And next step is Montelukast which GP has suggested for seasonal flares in excema.

Plus I use a shed load of betnovate. Everywhere. Private consultant Derm told me the thinning skin thing was not true..

Dd's is awful at the moment, cracked and bleeding. She has it all over her hands, which suggests she's allergic to something, but cannot figure out what. A course of Betnovate has just finished and did nothing, seemed to make it worse if anything. The GP did say it could be stress related, so she's going to see how a couple of weeks off work helps before going back to the doctor.