5mth old rubs eyes & face in sleep

[jcheung]

My boy is 5 mths old and has eczema. We uset to use Scratch Sleeves to prevent h im clawing his face at night, but he can still rub his eyes which wakes him up. If we restrain him he still wakes up, but frustrated too! So we now use a garment called Sleepy Wings which when turned upside down, prevents him from reaching his eyes. Trouble is there's just enough material for him to reach his cheeks and he now rubs those.

We presume it's cos he's itchy, but it could be just a behavioural thing. Just wondered if anyone has ideas on how to protect his eyes/cheeks whilst still allowing him freedom. He'll start to roll over soon, so we need a solution to calm his sleep! Also he tends to shake his head a lot, suggesting he has an itchy neck. We dry wrap him in Comfifast stretchy garments.

Thanks.

[AnnaB]

Hi

I used to have to hold my babies to allow them to sleep without tearing their skin apart.Have you tried wet wrapping?? Speak to your specialist about it. Also would an antihistamine at night be an option? I found I had to keep their bedrooms really cool. If i controlled their hands then they would use their toe nails to scratch, pulling one leg out their sleep suit and putting it down the other leg. Sometime these little people just have abilities beyond our control. I'd go back to your dermatologist and ask for advice you may need different creams if the ones your using are not keeping enough control.

Anna

[Marcie Mom]

Hi JCheung,

Night time is always difficult with an eczema baby Apart from bathing closer to bedtime, moisturizing with cream that stays longer, air-con plus humidifier, I cosleep with my baby and still does. I find that it's the most effective way to stop the scratching, painful though as in poor sleep for the adult and no couple time. I've drawn many cartoons on my blog about it! Cos it's still difficult till today!

Take care,
Mei

[jcheung]

Thanks v much for the replies. We've been brave and decided to remove the Sleepy Wings and to use Scratch Sleeves, which give complete freedom of movement but they are effectively silk mitts over his hands joined round his back to prevent them coming off. We've had good success with them for naps, but during the night he is still able to rub his face & eyes. However the redness in the morning isn't half as bad as expected. We hope he will learn to control himself in the night, cos we're waking up several times between 1am and 4am to calm his wandering hands.
Jack.

[Marcie Mom]

Hi Jack,

Glad you've found a way to manage night time Sometimes I find myself telling my hubby to clean the air-con, push humidifier nearer or change the way she's showered/shampooed We can get kinda crazy yeah, esp. when sleep's at stake. Hang in there and feel free to drop by more often or tweet us (me -marciemom & talkhealth) if you like a line of encouragement.

Cheers!
Mei