eczema questions...

[gallafamily]

I have a beautiful baby boy that is 20 months old. He has had eczema since he was only a couple months old. We have struggled with this for such a long time. We have tried so many things. We start to think we have it under control, then he has a major breakout. And when I say breakout, I mean his entire body gets red and itchy. He looks just awful. We get really strange looks from people when we take him out. I'm not concerned with myself, but I would really love any suggestions that people might have to possibly help out. We have gotten prescriptions from pediatrician for different creams to use on him. We use them on his really bad breakouts. We also give him Vitamin C and E along with multi vitamin. He also takes zurtek (sp?) and benedryl at night when it gets bad. We have tried limiting his milk, & we tried oatmeal baths & was also told not to do that. We also give him warm baths and bathe him with Dove body soap then take him out & spray him down with witchhazel. We let him air dry with that and then if he is not too broken out, we use Eucerin cream on him. That along with the daily vitamins, seems to work the best, but we still have breakouts about every other week. We have also started using humidifiers in the house too, since the weather has turned so cold and the heat is so drying.

Sorry this is so long, but just want any suggestions that I have not already tried.

 

[love2crooz]

My son is now 10yrs. old. He has had eczema since he was 5. He is covered from ankles to the tops of his shoulders in bloody scaly scabs. We see a Dermatologist for him she has prescribed Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment 0.1% to use twice a day for 2 weeks and then only 2 times a week. She has also prescribed Protopic 0.03% to use twice daily after the 2 weeks were up. She also told us that when he is not flared up so bad to just use over the counter Aquaphor ointment and make sure to put it on within 3 minutes out of the tub. We were also told no soap only on pits and privates. He has also had to be on Prednisone high dose and then ween down from there at least once a year to clear it up because it has gotten so out of hand. When he uses the creams regularly he is totally under control, but being a 10yr. old boy he is not as consistant as he should be so we battle this daily. It can be managed and the creams work well, like I said when he is consistant about it all. I hope this helps and we'll say a prayer for your little one!!!
Mindi

 

[gallafamily]

Thank you for your help. I will say that we do not want to go to a dermatolagist if at all possible, but are seriously considering it. Just do not want him to have to go through any more than he has too. I will tell you that he was REALLY bad before we started the vitamins, so bad that he never really got any relief. The vitamins helped alot. You may want to try that. We did alot of research on it, and it says that vitamins a & E are very good for the body and that eczema should be treated from the inside. My son gets approx 2000 mg of vitamin c and 600 mg of vit e a day. I had big hopes that he will someday outgrow this, but more & more I am thinking that isn't going to happen. I really hope that I will find something that will make things much better.

Again, thank you!

 

[daisyduck123]

I'm so sorry you're going thru this.

Some encouragement though....maybe your DS will be one of the lucky ones like my DS was. My DS had horrible eczema (oozing sores all over his body) by the time he was 5 months old. He outgrew it somewhere between 2-3 years of age. All of the sudden, it was just gone, & didn't reappear until this past summer (9 years old now). When it reappeared last summer, it was just briefly (I'm knocking on wood now!).

 

[pinkrose]

Bless your heart. I am so sorry to hear you are going through this.

Your son sounds like my daughter. She's 10 now. She's been under the care of an allergist since she was a baby for her eczema. One thing that we have to do is keep her indoors when it's too hot or too cold (being in Alabama, that means summers inside). Extreme temps can bring on flare-ups. As can stress. We don't use any scented laundry products and buy Dove soap. Swimming is a rare treat because she breaks out so bad from the chemicals (she can't be in the pool long.. around 20 -30 mins). She has a steroid cream to put on when she has bad flare-ups (except for on her face). When Pro topic came out, we used that until they came out with the warnings. I stopped using it then. She was on Zyrtec for years (3 tsps a day) until they said it wasn't working for her any longer. They also had her on another med. to help her sleep at night so she wouldn't scratch so much. She sometimes gets such bad flare-ups that she has to take oral steroids and antibiotics. I feel so bad for her. She doesn't let it get her down though. I do find myself explaining her eczema to people when I see them looking at her. They keep telling me that she'll outgrow it. I have noticed that she's better than she used to be. Her outbreaks aren't constant, and she gets fewer cracked places now.

 

[gallafamily]

Thank you all! I also hope that he outgrows it, but it gets so frustrating. I feel better now knowing that we are doing pretty much what everyone else in this situation does.

I understand having to keep them in during extreme hot & cold. We took the kids to the local zoo here during the summer, and poor little Noah scratched himself until his legs were bleeding. People were looking at us like we had lost our minds! Everytime I caught someone looking at him, I would explain that he had eczema, and that he was having a bad day. We had to leave pretty quick, but we hate to punish the other kids too. We just do the best we can. Plus, he wanted to see the animals too. So, we are still learning.

 

[BeckyScott]

Okay, this may be considered "controversial" ...

We started Justin gluten-free casein-free and did a round of anti-yeast because he is autistic. However, he also has bad eczema, and has had it since he was maybe 2 months old. He also has asthma.

The gf/cf hasn't done a thing for his autism thus far, but it has made a remarkable improvement in both the eczema and the asthma. He only has one spot on his leg right now, which is healing but not quite there yet, and a few small spots on his hand. For us, that's major progress, especially for the middle of winter.

Try pulling him off casein and gluten, and soy, sugar, and yeast, and adding a digestive enzyme. Cutting down won't work, it has to be all the way out, including bath products (why the oatmeal didn't help you). I know it sounds extreme but once you get used to it it's not so hard to pull off, and I don't consider the price too high for the result we got. If you really want to try this way there are several good resources on the internet I can steer you towards.

You might consider going to a dr that is more holistic, just to see what they say. It might be that some dietary changes could make a drastic difference.

 

[belle&beast]

My DD6 is having her first winter with very little eczema trouble, so it does get better. We had a prescription cream called Elidel and it does work, but we were trying not to use it too much because we didn't know the long term effects at the time. The absolute best remedy for our DD was mixing equal amounts of Eucerin cream and OTC hydrocortizone cream. You have to be careful using it on the face, but it worked very well for us. We also apply Eucerin after baths and we limit the temperature, time in the bathtub and number of baths. Good luck- I know it is hard, but it will get better!

 

[MandM-Mom]

My dd 3 had terrible eczema issues until we took her to the allergist and realized she had an egg allergy... we tried lots of things now we monitor eggs in her diet and we have seen a huge improvement. We have to make sure she doesn't use any purfumed soaps or lotions, and we now use Arbonne baby wash on her and it works fantastic for her. Good luck, its tough to find what works for each child, what works for one may not work for the next.

 

[MandM-Mom]

My dd 3 had terrible eczema issues until we took her to the allergist and realized she had an egg allergy... we tried lots of things now we monitor eggs in her diet and we have seen a huge improvement. We have to make sure she doesn't use any purfumed soaps or lotions, and we now use Arbonne baby wash on her and it works fantastic for her. Good luck, its tough to find what works for each child, what works for one may not work for the next.

 

[mickeysaver]

There is a blood testing panel that we use at our office for the really bad eczema, asthma, and chronic sinusitis kids. It can be used with valid results for infants. It is an allergy profile called ImmunoCap and it's only available through Quest Diagnostics. It is far superior to the old fashioned RAST testing. At first we were skeptical, but we saw so many allergens picked up at younger ages that you just can't deny the results and the difference that KNOWING those results can make in the lives of our little patients.

Consider asking your doctor about this simple blood test! Maggie

 

[Dis1978]

My son had eczema and asthma very badly as a baby and the good news is that when they get it young they very often grow out of it. My other kids also have very sensitive skin and will react to all sorts of things. Here are a few of the things we do to reduce outbreaks Always use unscented washing powder. Interestingly, we found that the unscented liquid caused a reaction whereas the same brand powder did not. Unscented soap is a must or your doctor can prescribe lotions to use instead of soap if the soap is too irritant. Oilatum is good for use in the bath. Dove soap usually has a masking scent and caused a reaction when we tried it. We also use plenty of emollients like unguentum merc and aquaeous cream.
When my son went swimming I put lots of vaseline on his skin to protect it from the irritant chorine.
I also damp dust and have protective anti allergenic mattress, duvet and pillowcase covers, easy wipe blinds instead of curtains, hard flooring instead of carpet. Windows are opened every day . No chemical cleaning agents. No feather pillows.All these measures keep the dust levels down. Allergy and food intolerance testing is very useful.

 

[RNMOM]

I'm sorry your son has to go through all this. As an adult with psoriasis and many, many skin sensitivities, I do know the less I do often the better. We just returned from a trip to visit family and I am all broken out probably from the soap the sheets are washed in in the hotels we stayed in. Luckily I seem always to break out on my calves and not other places too much.

I know many are sensitive to soaps and fabric softeners. I use only Tide free or Cheer free on my outside clothing but use Dreft on my undies. No fabric softener. If it is something that has to have softener like a sweater, I use Bounce free. I would also suggest you do his laundry separately.

I use Cetaphil for skin cleansing. I find Dove causes me to itch. I can use the Dove shower gel, moisturizing formula but the sensitive skin formula makes me itch. Go figure. Shampoo is another issue. I switch back and forth between Tgel and Neutrogena with an occassional venture into Pantene because it makes my hair look so good. I pay the price on that one.

Sometimes when I am really broken out, nothing will stop the itching. I find if I take a few drops of olive oil, from the kitchen, and rub it into my skin really well it will sooth it and usually the itching stops.

I know you don't want to make your son go to so many different doctors but if you can find a specialist in allergies and dermatology it would probably be the best. Having dealt with my own issues all my life, finding out if he has a food allergy or such can make a big difference in his quality of life.

 

[mechurchlady]

For me my allergies and celiac is two part. The first is the reactions such as head aches, inability to swallow, and a racing pulse. The second is long term and is the damage that reduces my ability to absorb fats and nutrients.

I get dry skin and other skin problems from excess protein and not enough fat and nutrients. Thus I would recommend checking for allergies to make sure something such as food, medicine, soap, or clothing is not causing or aggravating any skin problems. Sometimes allergies are mild and slowly build up to a point of causing problems.

I use a hand lotion that I won and like a lot. It would not help the kid probably.

 

[gallafamily]

I have been reading everyone responses, & I am very greatful! We will definetly be checking out an allergy test of some type if needed.

I will say that a couple of days after my first post, his skin has dramatically gotten better. We have done nothing to him, but bathe him & lotion him when needed. Thank the LORD!!!

This child has been through so much, that I am so glad he is getting some relief right now. I have no idea if he is cured, but at least he has a break. We have stopped giving him any of his meds, as well as no benedryl since then either. He is still eating & drinking like normal. We are bathing him the same & using the witchhazel on his skin after his bath, and then put lotion on him to hopefully prevent further dryness.

 

[mdsouth]

OUr son had eczema since he was a tiny baby. Around one it was so bad that he ended up having a very high fever from an infection from scratching the eczema outbreaks. Our regular pediatrician tried a few prescription creams for him. One had steroids (worked well) and then he switched him to Elidel (no steroids). It has worked fantastic as well.

We also took our son to a pediatric dermatologist outside of Chicago. He told us to try using regular old Crisco shortening (solid shortening) over any Brand name lotions or creams. He said to slather it on at night before going to sleep. He suggested we slather his hands and then have him wear gloves to bed.

 

[syko]

Thats great news. My daughter, also 20 months old has eczema too, and she has many food and drug allergies as well.
We have found a natural range of products that have worked miracles on her skin, we use the "Balaton Spa" range on her every day, which we get from www.moorathomeusa.com