Support for eczema in children?

[sezzel84]

I iv just joined, cud reallu do with surport!! X

[LouiseBird]

It has been a while since my original post so I thought I should post an update and thank JimBob and Marcie for their support. Hopefully it might help you as well.

After about 9 months of flare up C's skin is finally looking good and we are all getting some sleep. We haven't managed to get off the hydrocortisone just yet but I am fairly confident we will soon. How did we get there...

Trust your instincts and find someone in the medical profession who does as well. Giving up on our local eczema clinic was the right thing to do I knew moisturising 6 times a day wasn't going to stop her bleeding! I tried all the GPs at our local surgery and luckily eventually found one that took me seriously. Keeping a diary with photo's really made a difference when talking to doctors etc. Unfortunately the main thing that seems to cause C's flare ups is cold/hot weather. Sometimes you just have to make a nuisance of yourself even if it means you end up in tears due to frustration (why is it so difficult to get repeat prescriptions and appointments). I contacted a couple of people through this website with children the same age, it helps to know you aren't the only one struggling.

As for what worked...who knows my eczema quest will continue but Eumovate twice a day for a few months then stepping down to once a day and we are now on the standard hydrocortisone once a day was the main thing. Despite my hydrocortisone nightmares we stuck with it and it seems to have worked. We did get a referral to a dietician but as C developed it at 3 months she felt dairy was the only food group likely to be causing a problem, if any, and it wasn't worth phasing it out yet. She recommended probiotic and multivitamins both of which C had already been taking but she has recommended some different strains so just need to find a commercial product with these. The ProVen probiotic doesn't seem to have made a difference over 6 months. in terms of creams we went back to the trusty Epaderm Ointment four times a day along with Curel, Doublebase bath emollient, loving Allergencis Shampoo, QV handwash, skinnies suits day and night. Changed to green cleaning products and Surcare laundry products as well so ignoring the 60degree washing I pretend I am helping the environment as well.

You aren't the only one worrying day and night about whether the paint/sand/orange juice/fresh air will cause a flare up. Why it takes four phonecalls to get a repeat prescription or emergency doctors appointment. Walking around with very dodgy emollient stains on your clothes and organising the family around cream applications.

[Jimbob]

I am so glad to hear that things are improving. It is so hard when the changes in temperature cause flares. My son still has this issue. The way the weather keeps changing at the minute is causing real issues with his skin. You sound like you have really got into the routine of having a child with eczema and all that comes along with it. The only thing I would say is that you should not be having a battle to get repeat prescriptions. We used to but now we rarely have problems. If at any point we do then I just contact the eczema nurse at the hospital and its amazing how quickly things get sorted out. We are very lucky to have the support from the specialist nurses and his Immunologist though. I know a lot of people do not get the same kind of support from the specialists that they see at various hospitals.

I hope things continue to improve for your daughter.

Kelly x