Please help!

[Cindyloo20]

My DD is almost 10 month old. Her sleep has been horrific since about 6 months old. She has severe eczema so she can be up in the night up to 10 times needing re settled as she’s been scratching. She literally RIVES at herself even though she has a special suit/gloves to wear under her sleepsuit.
I’m really starting to struggle, I’m feeling overwhelmed with guilt as my husband has started to take her downstairs during the night because I really can’t cope and start to get so frustrated/upset and then feel terribly guilty about it 😢 We live 6 hours away from family so no way of a break. I just feel suffocated and like I’m failing as a mother, seeing her so uncomfortable after failed attempts of creams/steroids/antihistamines is really starting to get me down. I just can’t cope with the thought of this going on any longer 😢

I am so sorry to hear that this is happening to you and your little one.

First off, please do NOT feel guilty for your partner taking her at night. You guys are a team. I understand why you feel guilty but you really mustn’t - she is with her parent in a safe, loving environment at all times. Plus it’s nice for her to have some time with Daddy!

I’m afraid I don’t have experience of having s baby with a skin condition but i suffered badly when I was a child. I don’t remember it of course (and neither will your LO!) but my Mum has told me about how hard it was.

She found (and I still do now!) that some creams (like E45) actually made me feel worse - although they helped the itch they were so heavy that they made me uncomfortable in their own way so stick to light creams where possible

Could a cool bath before bed help? I had/have this stuff from the doctors that you put in the bath and I swear by it, I’ve used it since I was about 2! Turns the water blue. It’s a good way to get covered all over without feeling weighed down, might be worst asking her GP aboutnsomething like that?

Sometimes a massage can help too - it’s the sensation of touching something that’s itching without damaging the skin with sharp nails if you see what I mean! But totally depends on how sore the skin is etc

Fingers crossed that you guys get some relief! You are doing amazing and clearly care about your LO very very much - you certainly don’t sound like a failure as a mother in the slightest!

Thankyou for your reply. 9 months of hardly no sleep really is starting to get to me. We are on top of her skin as much as we possibly can, we’ve been prescribed a cream that seems to work best out of a bad bunch that we’ve been given and we also give her cool baths.
We’re are under the hospital seeing a dermatologist and just as things were starting to get good all her appointments get cancelled because of the current situation.
Thankyou for your advice, I guess it’s just grin and bear it till things get better!

Hi @Cindyloo20

I had eczema as a child and my mum used to say she used to have to put mittens on me as a baby to stop me from scratching my face. So I can sort of understand how distressing it must be for you.

My eczema has come and gone over the years - I'm 33 and a mum myself.

One thing I did look at and helped me was what I ate.There's a book by Karen Fischer - The Eczema Diet. It has a list of foods to avoid. It works on the principal that some foods can actually cause inflammation in the body and the skin.

Also wearing cotton is really important- make sure it's 100% cotton not with a cotton mix. Sheets - PJ's. Polyester can cause itching.

Oliatum is also excellent for bathing. There is a junior/ baby version. Helps to keep the skin moisturised.

You probably know all this already. Hope it's of some use. Are you giving her milk still? Formula? Sometimes cows milk can have an effect. From 12 months my mum said she gave me goats milk only. Helped clear it up.

Bron