Eczema woes...

[ElizK]

I've fought eczema all my life. What a pain! Interestingly, it flares up in one area for quite awhile, goes away for awhile, and then shows up somewhere else the next time. Right now I have a small patch on the knucles of my right hand.

I have used Elidel with some success (haven't checked in a long time, but a couple of years ago a study showed that long term use over a large area of skin caused skin cancer in nearly all the test subjects. I continued using it because it's one of the only things I've found that helps, and I'm using it on small areas of skin). I also use Tide-Free and Bounty-free for the laundry, Bath and Body Works Shea Butter lotion (it's either "Lay it on Thick" or "Shea it isn't so".. can't remember which), never ever take a bath (showers only -- never use bubblebath). I always have more problems in the winter with the colder, drier air.

OT, I read a study when DD14 was little that 90% of children under the age of 2-5 (can't remember exactly) who developed eczema also were diagnosed with asthma by the age of 5. It was true for me, and true for DD14... Anyone else?

 

[daisyduck123]

OT, I read a study when DD14 was little that 90% of children under the age of 2-5 (can't remember exactly) who developed eczema also were diagnosed with asthma by the age of 5. It was true for me, and true for DD14... Anyone else?

When DS was 6 months old, with horrible eczema, our pediatrician referred us to a dermatologist. The dermatologist told us that kids with eczema have/will develop an allergy to something.

He did some skin testing on my 6 month old & it turned out he was VERY allergic to milk.

He also told us that there was a great chance he'd develop asthma in the future.
No asthma yet...and he's 8 years old now. But he did have pneumonia last year.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Another eczema fighter here for all my life.

I haven't tried the Cod Liver Oil but I should! Also dehydration is linked to eczema. I find that when I am well hydrated I am better. Same with stress....go figure.

As far as water on the outside of your body it is a trigger, esp. HOT water....(my issue)...I love hot water.
In fact I will "burn" my hands in the sink just to get relief from itching sometimes....however, that creates more eczema... So I have been better. My kids yell at me when they see me doing it.

Any antibacterial soaps should NEVER be used, this includes the "purell-type" stuff....but I am sure you don't use that. It is like acid for someone with eczema.

When I have to "cure it"....I will use the prescription cream, cover it with bandages, gloves, whatever and let it sit overnight and then try and treat my hands like a babies.

Anyway that is my story....eczema stinks!

 

[4chitlins]

Have you considered what she might be eating or drinking that could make it worse. I had it as a child and was not allowed to eat things like citrus and eggs and a couple of other things that made the flare ups worse.

 

[belle&beast]

OT, I read a study when DD14 was little that 90% of children under the age of 2-5 (can't remember exactly) who developed eczema also were diagnosed with asthma by the age of 5. It was true for me, and true for DD14... Anyone else?

My DD was diagnosed with asthma at 3.5 and had eczema issues beginning at 3 months.

I also just remembered that we were told we were bathing her too frequently. She was just a baby and we were bathing her every other day. The ped. said that we should cut her down to once maybe twice a week unless she is really sweaty or dirty. She is 5 and we still bathe her only about twice a week in the winter when her skin is dry and she is not outside getting dirty. Plus we have eliminated long baths and try to do showers if she is agreeable to it.

 

[cepmom]

both my younger DD's have/had eczema. I would recommend taking her to an allergist. We took DD9 as she was having other health issues that warranted allergy testing. Turns out she does have allergies and with treatment,the eczema cleared up also.

Before we tried treating her allergies, we used Eucerin and/or Aquaphor daily after and especially after baths/showers. I had to load it on her cheeks during the winter months. I switched to Dove fragrance free soap and that works well also. After a while the Eucerin/Aquaphor didn't work so well and I found Curel fragrance free worked much better.

DD6 will still get patches on her elbows and behind her knees during the winter....I use hydrocortisone for flare ups and the Curel daily after her shower. We have not had her allergy tested as the eczema is not so bad anymore.

Purell is horrible for their skin! DD9 used it quite a bit one winter and got the worst rash/eczema on her hands. I had to get her a prescription (forget which one) to clear it up. Also ~ the only liquid soap I found that they can tolerate without drying their hands is BB&W soap ~ the one that is creamy, not the gel. I wouldn't recommend it for your DD since her eczema is really bad now though. I would just stick with Dove for washing hands until she gets better.

Good luck ~ I know it's so hard to see them suffer!

 

[MzDiz]

My son had oozing sores from the time he was two until, well, he's 14 now. It's not as bad now, but I still see blood on his clothes now and then. I used to have to wrap him like a mummy in gauze and ace bandages so he wouldn't scratch. I would also duct tape socks over his hands before dosing him up with Benadryl just so he would fall asleep without screaming. Otherwise I'd find him in the morning, crying, with shavings of skin and crusted blood under his fingernails. For an entire two year period, he had the same sore on his cheek that would never fully heal. It's in all his pictures from that time. Needless to say, there have been lots of courses of antibiotics and prednisone through that boy.
My husband was the only person his dermatologist had ever admitted to the hospital for eczema when he was a child. They would so what he called "soaks", where they'd medicate his skin and wrap him in warm, wet towels and plastic wrap. There are times where he still has to peel his socks from his ankles at night because the ooze has stuck them to his skin. I've never known him *not* to have sores on his ankles.
Two things I've found that work the best after years of dealings with these two - over the counter 2% hydrocortisone cream (not the ointment) and plain old hydration. Oh, and try putting her to bed with mittens on.
For the record, they both have asthma, as do I (and a little bit of eczema now and then). My two daughers have neither eczema nor asthma.

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

Thanks to everyone who is posting all these good suggestions. Many of them I've tried, but the ones I have yet to try, I will be soon.

My daughter is indeed asthmatic. It never occurred to me that the two were related! I just thought she was one very unlucky child.

Thanks all of you for your support and encouragement. I cry over this all the time. It's hard to watch your kids hurt!

 

[mbw12]

My now 7 year old DD used to have food allergies and would have eczema flare ups. What worked best for her was cleansing with cetaphil products and using Eucerin for a moisturizer. If you are buying Eucerin, buy the type in the big tub...it is very thick (almost glue like when trying to rub it in) but it REALLY helped alot with her Eucerin. They also have other Eucerin moisturizing products, but they were thinner and, in my opinion for my daughter, much less effective than the thick stuff in the tub!

 

[KerriSue]

My DS didnt have eczema but very dry scaley skin. The doctor told me to use CRISCO You know the thick white kind. He said that it would restore the fatty tissue he was loosing. So I tried it (his back was super super dry). Well it worked.

I know it sounds gross but give it a try. Just put a small amount and rub it in. There is no odor and if you put it on just before they go to bed with their PJ's covering it there will be no greasy mess.

Give it a try. Plus its cheap and if it doesnt work (which is will) you can always use it.

 

[AnnaS]

My dd is now 14 and thank God she does not suffer from this anymore. We had the same problem as everyone here as mentioned. There were nights where she could not sleep from scratching and I would find blood spots on her sheets. It will/should get better. She always had sensitive skin and sand paper skin. I would not let anyone kiss her and I was anal about her rubbing her face on carpeting, rolling on grass, etc. She was always prone to breaking out and once was rushed with hives to the ER.

At the time - this is what our pediatrician said and it helped some. He did give us some sort of prescription cortizone - not to be used on her face.

Do not bathe every night and water should be as cool as possible. I washed her with Basis soap. Do not rub dry - but pat dry. I rubbed Eucerin lotion all over her a few times a day. Also - VERY IMPORTATNT - SHE COULD ONLY WEAR 100% COTTON CLOTHING (ESPECIALLY PJS). This seemed to help tremendously. I had to go out and shop for a whole new wardrobe, more money, but worth it. Also - she could not go out and be all bundled up and play in the snow for more than five mintues. Heat/sweat aggravated it more. Humidifier (cool mist) in the room seemed to help.

Good luck - I know the feeling.

 

[krcit]

My son had a few patches of excema when he was a baby. I switched over tp soy formula/soy products when he was about 9 months old due to terrible gas pain he ws having. The excema cleared up and would only come back when he had a bit of dairy He's 5 now and no excema and he does drink regualr cows milk and eat dairy now. I hope you can find out what is causing this on your poor little girl Sounds so painful.

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

My now 7 year old DD used to have food allergies and would have eczema flare ups. What worked best for her was cleansing with cetaphil products and using Eucerin for a moisturizer. If you are buying Eucerin, buy the type in the big tub...it is very thick (almost glue like when trying to rub it in) but it REALLY helped alot with her Eucerin. They also have other Eucerin moisturizing products, but they were thinner and, in my opinion for my daughter, much less effective than the thick stuff in the tub!

I have been using Eucerin, but it's not the tub kind. I'll go get some of that. I had been using a diabetic cream that was helping (in a tub, too), but the store stopped carrying the brand I bought, and the other brand they had was burning her skin. Anything with even the lightest fragrance hurts her.

Also a good point about the cotton clothing... I've noticed that anything 100% polyester makes her itchy.

 

[AnnaS]

Just wanted to add that when my oldest/first son was born - had the same problem with the formula and swtiched to Soy. His face cleared up right away. My second and third, I put them on soy as soon as they were born in the hospital.

If I remember right, I think dairy triggers it also.

 

[monorailsilver]

My 3 yo had it very bad on his face & his ears to the point that he had no skin there & people would ask me if he fell & got injured because it hurt just to look at him.

We ended up finding out he was allergic to me, aka dairy, peanut, egg, beef & tree nuts so since stopping all those he rarely gets a flare up.

But prior to finding out I took him to the ped & they swabbed his face & put him on antibiotics to see if that would help & when it didn't they sent me to a pediatric dermatologist & he told me he could cure him.

He started him off on Elidel & Dermatop (steroid prescription strength) & that helped & the next visit he gave him Protopic & that helped even more so.

But when the FDA came out with the warnings on those 2 I stopped using them for flare ups due to being in contact with milk/dairy.

He also had icky bad cradle cap too & he gave me dermasmoothe for that.

And he had me use this OTC vaseline type emollient that was $18/tube at the pharmacy in his office building but I have found it cheaper on line & that is called Theraplex. Aquaphor, Eucerine, vaseline, etc...didn't work but that did in keeping his skin moist.

Good luck & I hope you can figure out the cause of the problem.

 

[ahutton]

My DS has it too, he's 2 today. We were told to only give baths every few days (1 or 2 a week), and just use water on a washcloth to clean up inbetween. We use Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Wash to clean his skin in a lukewarm bath. We make the water just warm enough that he isn't cold. After bath we put on Gentle Naturals Cream which is a Petroleum based cream that has tea tree oil and something else. It is the only lotion he doesn't cry when I put it on him - baby lotion had too much alcohol or fragrance and he screamed horribly. Then into his cotton jammies for the night. On non bath days I'll clean him up with a washcloth and then lotion him up and into jammies. I haven't found the cream and wash everywhere, but it is usually in the baby wash section, in a light teal bottle/box. We've kept him under control with that.

 

[mrsv98]

I haven't had time to read thru all the responses but I can tell what works for us.

DD has had this since she was born (6.5 yd now) One thing, don't bathe her too often. DD takes a shower every three days, sometimes four in the winter. Sometimes I feel yucky about it, but it is really best for her skin.

Once she gets out of the tub or shower, I goop her up from head to toe with Cetaphil. I check her carefully and any little spot gets 1% hydrocortosine cream on immediately. She takes a claritin every night and that helps with any triggers. By doing this regularly, we have really been able to keep the excema under control and it was pretty bad when she was a baby.

At one time, we did use Elidel and loved it. Then the FDA put a blackbox warning on it and I refuse to use it any more.

IMHO, not bathing too often is really a key. As much as we have the desire to have a "clean" baby, it can do more harm than good in this instance.


ETA: I also only use ALL Free & Clear and Fragrance/Dye Free Downy on our clothes. Anything with a strong fragrance can set DD off.

 

[Christine]

My son is 12 years old and still has it. It was AWFUL when he was a baby because they won't give you a lot of the stronger topical ointments. He just suffered so bad. We did everything. Everything that has been written on this thread we have done. We tried changing forumulas, food, etc. He was on hypoallergenic EVERYTHING and none of it made a difference. We slathered him in every OTC cream available. OTC hydrocortisone did nothing.

When he was old enough the prescribed Elocon cream/ointment and that was the first relief we got.

He was later diagnosed with all sorts of allergies and was put on Zyrtec. That, above all else, has really made the most difference for him. If he forgets his Zyrtec for a few days, his skin immediately goes bad.

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the input!

 

[lajones81]

My sister is almost 22 and has terrible Eczema. She has been to around the world and back for testing, medications, etc. so I can understand your level of frustration! Hugs to all of you!