emmolients making eczema worse - experiences anyone?

[specialagentoso09]

Hi,

My son is 21 months old, and has had eczema pretty much since birth. We've finally had a referral to a dermatologist, his appointment is next month.

The problem we're having is every cream/lotion/emollient we've tried makes his eczema flare up worse. But if we don't use anything, his skin looks less raw but gets extremely dry and flaky - which makes him itch, break the skin and start a flare up.

I don't know what to do with him. It's heartbreaking watching him suffer.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks

[yorkie2703]

Hi specialagentoso09
My daughter was the same for a long time every cream, lotion and emollient would make her skin flare up.

There is nothing worse than watching your child suffer and not been able to do very much. I always and still sometimes now feel completely unless when she is really bad.

Endless times I would tell the doctors she was reacting to creams and it was like they didn’t believe me. The doctor even told me that he has a patent that doesn’t react to the cream and I must carry on using the cream/s as it will settle down. Which for us never did settle down.

So I ended up taking pictures of her and writing down all the creams, lotions and emollients she had reacted too. If I was told to try a new cream I would patch test first. Try it on her leg for 2 days then do gradually over her body.

Has your son had any test done? Blood / skin prick

See if you can get on prescription Derma silk – You use less creams with them. Not many GP will prescribe; as they are very expensive (over £100) I had war with my GP over them, as he was reluctant to prescribe)

Best thing would be do a little diary with what he has eaten, what cream you have used /reactions the reason I say this is with my daughter I could never work out what was going on. Some days she was good and then others really bad. I would show our specialist and we would discuss together.

Once we had the blood and skin prick test we discovered she has grass and tree pollen allergies. She also has Wheat/Soya/Peanut allergies too still doing more test.

The diary is good as we also noticed she also reacts to sand and water

Also any questions you have for the dermatologist write them down and ask at your appointment. I found this very helpful as sometimes I would forgot to ask as I had so much to ask.

I hope this helps and good luck

Fiona

[Jhenna]

There has been a lot of interest in Chinese treatments for eczema. It was reported that many of the treatments used contained extremely high concentrations of steroids that were possibly harmful to the body. It's important if someone is considering trying these treatments that they only consult someone who's appropriately qualified and registered. Your GP or hospital dermatologist should be able to help you find one.
Some complentary approaches that may help with eczema

* acupuncture
* homeopathy
* relaxation techniques
* evening primrose oil
* fish oils such as cod liver oil
* vitamins C and E
* tea-tree oil - either in gel or diluted form

[daavidfischer]

Have you considered taking courses of oral corticosteroids? These can control an acute outbreak of eczema. It is not recommended to take them all the time because they have a lot of short term/ long term side effects. Hope your child is feeling better now. Regards.



David Fischer
_____________________________________
EHR system

[Marcie Mom]

Hi specialagentoso09

Maybe check the ingredients in the skin care products you're using? A start would be to avoid the top allergens - preservatives, parabens, colors, fragrance. Some parents feedback that using virgin organic coconut oil helps to moisturize without the stinging. Bleach bath? Wet wrap? These two work for children quite well.

Take care,
Mei

[kaigausista]

Also experienced this with my 4 year old son since he was 3 months old. Every cream that was recommended by the doctors or suggested by friends did not work for him...emmolients, bath oil, moisturizers etc. They would only work for awhile and then the eczema would come back worse than it was before. After trying so many products I finally found one that worked for him. He is now using Cetaphil Cream, Epederm, Hydrocortisone if it gets worse and Balneum oil for baths. It does't make the eczema disappear but definitely calms it down. I still have to frequently moisturize his skin for the dryness. One thing that greatly helped was less time in the bath and less baths during the week. Yes, the more baths I give the worse the scratching gets and the eczema itself. So one of my friends who also has a son with eczema recommended this to me. So I tried it, giving baths only 3 times a week and sometimes with Balneum oil. I saw the improvement on his skin and the scratching much less. He sleeps much better at night now as well. It does get better as they get older. Like I said, the eczema my not go away completely but their skin does get better. The weather also affects his skin especially in Spring and Autumn... why? no idea but it does. So sometimes I have to use different creams etc when the weather changes. Also I've found out that what works for his face may not work for the rest of his body or what works for his back may not necessarily work for his hands. So I had to keep a look out when the weather changes and keep those other creams/moisturizers etc handy when/if needed. The changes for him... he doesn't have to miss school like last year,he doesn't scratch alot, and he now sleeps much better at night. You may have to use so many different creams before you can finally find what works for him. What works for someone may not necessarily work for someone else. We just have to watch their skins like a hawk to watch out for any outbreaks or skin reactions. It does get better!

[ClaireDivas]

Foderma serum works well for the itch and discomfort of eczema and is good for dry skin in general. It's really soothing and it is not oily or greasy.

[nityasharma941]

Eczema is a common skin condition in babies. The condition can, however appear at any other given age and it is characterized by dry, itchy red patches that can be very uncomfortable for the baby. Eczema can be relieved at home without the need for expensive creams. Natural methods are best and there are a number of natural methods you can use to treat with apple cider vinegar for eczema.

[Laureline]

Yes. I could have written this 5 years ago. I was treated like I was an idiot and didn't know what I was talking about and just not wanting to treat my son. I contacted Allergy UK who sent me to one of their trained allergy specialists. That, in turn, helped me get a referral to a nearby medical practitioner. Within a few months, I had confirmation that my son's eczema was associated with an allergy and could start working on the cause and not just dealing with symptoms.

He uses no creams. If his skin does start to get dry for whatever reason he loves the child's farm cream. He is now 9 and a very changed little boy. I also stick to cleansing products with 0% parabens. He loves the oatmeal and honey soak from the Keswick soap company and more main brands are removing parabens so it makes shopping for those things both easier and cheaper.