Parents of kids with atopic dermatitis?

[6_Time_Momma]

At Olivia's checkup yesterday, I showed him a rash that Ithought was a yeast/fungal infection (goes to show how why I am not a doctor! LOL!!), but turns out she has atopic dermatitis.

He gave us a script for a steroid cream for her, but apparently this will come and go and come and go, etc. So, if you have kids with it, any tips?

I also have heard babies with this are more prone to other allergies/asthma later in life. Any experience with that coming true in your case?

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Hi 6_time_momma,

My DS4 has eczema, and the symtoms you have described sound similar..Maybe the conditions are related?? Anyway, he has had it for about 2 years now, I have had it for about 15. It isn't contagious..He gets dry skin all over at times, and hard leathery patches of dryness on his ankles and knees. His toes and heels sometimes get cracks..It is a nasty condition. We use a thick cream all over, and a greasy ointment on "hot spots". It is worse in the winter, but right now he is having some big dry spots.. I only get it on my right hand's fingers..!

My DSIL mentioned the asthma thing, she has a son with it (my DH's blood nephew) and she said that the two can be tied together.. her son also has really bad allergies, but I don't know if he has eczema. )But my DS4 has never had any asthma symtoms. He does, however have swollen lymph nodes in his neck from it, which don't ever seem to go away.

Lucas' dermatologist says not to have him shower, for some reason the beating water aggravates it. He ususally takes a warm (not hot, per DR. ) bath to soak in Aveeno bath oil. It really relieves the itching and flaking. Then we slather the white cream, then the hot spots with the grease. It is never ending.....

I hope that your DD's flare-ups are few and far between, I know how hard it is.... Good luck..

Linda

 

[6_Time_Momma]

My DS4 has eczema, and the symtoms you have described sound similar..Maybe the conditions are related??

I think they are, actually.

He does, however have swollen lymph nodes in his neck from it, which don't ever seem to go away.

That's interesting. Olivia has a pea-sized lump on either side of her head at the base of her skull in the back. Doc said those were lymph nodes. Maybe there is some connection there.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by 6_Time_Momma
I think they are, actually.



That's interesting. Olivia has a pea-sized lump on either side of her head at the base of her skull in the back. Doc said those were lymph nodes. Maybe there is some connection there.

That's them...They are kinda scary, but the DR. says they are normal...

I am getting itchy just talking about this...Poor little babies, it is not a pleasant condition. But thank God, it's not something worse...

 

[mrsv98]

DD has had excema since she was born and the little lymph nodes, too. I have a real objection to the steriods so he gave us Elidel and it is fabulous. Also, everytime she has a bath, I lather her up with Cetaphel lotion as soon as I get her out and that has cut the flare-ups to almost nothing. It is harder in the summer because the heat can really stress out skin so the lotion is even more important.

Once you get the rashes under contril, you can usually stay ahead of them if you check her everyday. HTH!

 

[janette]

My youngest had that type of ezcema, rarely see it now but she taken allergy medications almost her entire life. That is when it cleared up when she was young, Dr gave her claritin and the rash was gone pretty quickly. She is also asthmatic, that started when she had RSV which can also be a trigger so hard to tell. Both grandmothers have asthma so it could also just be in the genes.

 

[Christine]

My son had had this since he was 2 days old (he is now 9). It does get better as they get older. I remember also that my son had the swollen lymph nodes also.

We use a steroid cream called Elocon. I've been to two dermatologists and both have them have told me that the Elidel doesn't work that well (maybe if the eczema is mild it might be okay), but it is a good think to use on a baby. Generally, they do not prescribe the steriod creams to infants. My son was almost 3 years old before we could get a prescription for one, but what a godsend it was!

 

[dmfuru]

Three out of five of mine has ezcema. My first DS kept getting dry red patches til we tried Aveeno lotion on him. Now we use nothing but Aveeno. We also use Elidel. Cutivate when the ezcema really flares up. I lotion and put Elidel on my 10 month after every bath and again in the mornings. When we do use Cutivate, we use a very tiny amount. When I was nursing I gave up all dairy and eggs when the ezcema developed since ezcema could be connected with allergies.

My DS who had the worst case of ezcema was allergic to milk products til he was 2 or 3 and he is also allergic to dogs and cat. I remembered you started a post about wanting to get info on a particular breed of dog.

My DD also developed ezcema and she didn't start drinking milk til after she turned 2.

Now my 10 month has it too and he is on soy formula and I will not be giving him any milk products til he turns 2 years old. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

Doctor gave us Desonide cream to use on Olivia. Her patches seem to be a little less red today.....more light pink. Still scaly, though. Fortunatley, she doesn't seem to be to uncomfortable with it!

 

[4greatboys]

Ds, 14, had this really bad from 18 months-12 years. Nothing helped. His poor little legs would look awful, and they would itch all the time. Some kids outgrow it and it seems he has finally. No outbreaks for about 1.5-2 years. Thank God!
My best friend has a little boy with it and her pedi told her it could be related to allergies to dairy products and she took him off dairy and he hasnt broken out in 2 or 3 months, so it seems to be related.
Good Luck with it.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

edited-DH and DD have Keratosis Pilaris. Where the skin does not shed the dead cells. I knew I heard Atopic Dermitis some where!

 

[jel0511]

DS has this and asthma. He's currently taking Singular for his asthma and since he started that, no outbreaks. I'm guessing the outbreaks were triggered by some allergen and the Singular has kept that under control. Here is a quote from a dermatology website about the relation between atomic dermatitis and asthma.

Atopic dermatitis usually occurs in people who have an 'atopic tendency'. This means they may develop any or all of three closely linked conditions; atopic dermatitis, asthma and hay fever (allergic rhinitis). Often these conditions run within families with a parent, child or sibling also affected. A family history of asthma, eczema or hay fever is particularly useful in diagnosing atopic dermatitis in infants.

 

[dancergirl]

I have psoriasis and have since as long as i can remember. (im 17) My doctor gave me some elidel to try and it didnt work for me. Actually, I had some type of reaction to it. I was supposed to use it on my eyes lids and it burned like fire! I recently found out that I am allergic to something in Rewetting drops and some eye makeup removers, maybe there is a connection. My skin conditions havent gone away completly, but they have gotten much better as I grew up. I believe that there seemed to be a connection between my milk allergy and psoriasis. It's been a long time, so I may be confused!
*I just went back to read someone else found a connection with milk allergies. Very intresting!!*
I hope the best to you and your little girl! Hopefully she will grow out of it with out many problems!

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

My 4 year old DS has eczema. It appears as itchy, dry patches on his elbows and knees. It seems to be worse in the hot summer months. We use Elidel cream to keep it from flaring up and a steroid creme when it gets bad. The most important thing for him is to keep his skin from getting dry. Aquafor ointment is a great lubricant for dry skin.