Help!! Please!!!

[Pinky123]

Hello everyone,
My names Kat and I'm here on behalf of my daughter, Kaycie. She is just over two years old and has suffered with eczema all of her life. When I first visited a doctor about her eczema it was when she was a few weeks old, he told me it was just a cosmetic issue and because I am a young mother I was more concerned about it than she was. I was appalled by this response and made complaints about the doctor.
I have since moved and have been visiting different GP's to try and help my daughters problem, I have been prescribed various creams and ointments, ranging from e45, aqueous cream, and hydroquortizone, but the only thing I have found to help her eczema is fucibet. However as doctors said this was an antibiotic cream aswell as steroid. It can't be used long term. My daughter is currently now using oiltum bath ointment, aswell as the shampoo, and epaderm for everyday use. She also has betnovate rd cream for flare ups. But it doesn't seem to make much difference anymore as her skin gets so bad so often.
She has been referred twice to a dermatologist at my local hospital, I have seen two different dermatologists there. They were both very unhelpful. They refused to give my daughter an allergy test even though I requested one. I asked for one as I've noticed different things seem to make her skin worse, she visits her dad at weekends and he has two cats, a dog and two rabbits. Whenever she is near the hair her skin gets really bad. The dermatologists told me all I can do is keep using the epaderm and realistically need to cover her whole body every two hours with this. It's not that easy to do! He said its something she may never grow out of but I should stop fussing because there are people with worse off conditions out there. I'm finding it all really hard, nobody seems to want to help us. My daughters skin is now cracked around her hands and wrists and is weeping.
Sorry about the long essay, think I've included everything. But can anyone help? I'm not sure what else to do
Any help would really be appreciated.
Kat

[Jimbob]

I am really sorry that your daughter is suffering. I am sorry that the dermatologists you have seen were not helpful. We have seen many specialists with my son who was diagnosed with severe atopic eczema at 6 weeks old and is now 8 years old. My son was referred to the Royal Manchester Children's hospital about 2.5 years ago and we now see a fantastic specialist who sems to really care about helping our son. His bedside manner is great he actually listens to what you are saying as does his team of specialist nurses. I think the most impotant thing is that we trust him.

My son has eczema, asthma, food allergies, environmental allergies and is allergic to cats and dogs. Removing the food allergies, treating for the environmental allergies (as not all can be avoided) and keeping him away from cats and dogs has not cleared his eczema though. These things definitely cause his eczema to flare along with other symptoms but they are not the cause of his eczema. It is a hard condition to treat as what works for one does not necessarily work for another.

I would ask to see another specialist as your daughter sounds like she definitely needs specialist care.

Kelly x

[Marcie Mom]

Hi Kat,

Any chance of seeing a pediatric specialist in dermatology/immunology/allergy? Antiobiotic steroid cream shouldn't be used for long-term, but if you've a mild potency steroid cream prescribed, it'd be handy especially for eczema flare-ups. Meanwhile, I'd say consider trying bleach bath/ swimming, wet wrap while searching for a good doc.

Take care,
Mei

[tracey.1970]

hiya,like you i have a child(daugter 4yrs)who has bad eczema.most nights were broken ones as she would end up in with me crying as her arms and legs(mainly)were driving her crazy with the itching!.Id keep her off school as it looked so bad and sore,the doctors gave me "the usual"creams and when they didnt work i felt like i was being "a pain"for asking for more creams. (my cupboards looked like a chemist shelf)nothing` seemed to work so i sypathise fully with what your going threw.theres loads of different creams,washes,oils,foods ect that might work but for me,(well my daughter) i had the "luck,chance or good fortune to try purepotions skin salvation (for eczema n dry skin).I used it with the usual expectation (4 it not to work!)about 3 to 4 days later i realised id had 2 nights of sleep .her arms had gone completley and her legs looked amazing (yes it was still there but the soreness and redness had gone)weeks later it had cleared,yes she will always have eczema and yes it still flares up but at last ive got something that works.I dont have to comfort her anymore becouse the creams i was using she said made it sting!It was made by a mum for her daughter who had bad eczema,so that gave me "comfort"and was all natural.my little girl says its her "magic cream". If you try this salve please let me no how you get on as its the only thing ive used that worked and i have full faith in it working.(google purepotions skin salve)Ihope this post helps you and good luck with your little one

[Jimbob]

I have heard great things about this cream and I know it does work for a lot of people. We did try it for or soon but he is obviously sensitive to something in it as when we patch tested him that skin became very inflamed and itchy.

[Marcie Mom]

Yes, doing a patch test on the skin is a good precaution to take, just in case our child is allergic to one of the ingredients

[Jimbob]

WildingP - Can I ask what kind of diet you recommend in the treatment of Eczema? I consider my son's diet to pretty good. We cook everything from scratch and he is dairy, egg, nut and gluten free due to allergies. We don't use processed oils either. We use organic coconut oil and good quality olive oil mostly. James eats a good mixture of meat, poultry, fish, fruit, veg and beans. James also likes rice with certain dishes we make.

I do believe that diet has an impact on some peoples eczema especially if they have food allergies like my son but I don't believe it is a miracle cure for eczema. Removing my sons food allergens when he was a baby did improve his skin a little and it definitely made it easier to get his severe flares under control. My sons eczema is by no means controlled by diet alone though.

Kelly

[Jimbob]

Thank you for your response.

As I stated in my previous post my son is already egg free. I don't know if I am comfortable with restricting James's diet further without professional help. He has previously seen a Dietician and she was happy that James is meeting all his nutritional needs from his current diet. I am not sure this would be the case if we restricted it further.

You state that I do not understand allergies and that the foods that my son avoids are not true allergies. I would just like to clear this up. My son tests IGE positive to these foods and he also has typical IGE responses to these foods. My son has experienced anaphylaxis so please don't tell me that the foods we avoid are not true allergies. The only way these foods will be reintroduced to my sons diet is with a food challenge in hospital and his immunologist is not ready for this to happen yet. The only exception is wheat as he only has minor reactions to this so we are happy to reintroduce this at home when his immunologist feels it is the right tine to challenge it.

I know you are trying to help people but you really should be careful when giving put this kind of advice. It could have serious consequences.

Kelly

[Jimbob]

People can develop IGE mediated allergies at any point in their life. There have been many cases in the news where people have consumed nuts for years without an issue and then all of a sudden have a severe anaphylactic reaction.

I am sure that the information you have given will truly help some people but please be careful with the way you word things. Please get your facts right as like I said on my previous post it could have devastating consequences.

[AnnaB]

I totally agree with Kelly, having 2 children that have had true food allergy responses to foods is a nightmare and not something to be taken lightly. A lot of people blame dairy and certain foods for eczema but as both my babies were breast fed when they developed eczema I cannot agree with this. My daughter had an allergy to dairy so was weaned onto soya products. She has since developed Food Pollen Syndrome and potentially could be allergic to a vast list of fruits, salads and veg. I never expected her to be unable to peel a potato!! Allergies are a nightmare and not easy to deal with or live with.

Anna