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  • dadstrackworld – baby excema – help
  • Pook
    Full Member

    Our 5 month old has baby excema and every night he scratches himself awake.

    We’ve tried mittens, holding his little hands down when he starts, and most recently oilatum in the bath and aveeno cream moisturiser. The cream has helped but he’s still up through the night – these past three nights he’s been up every half hour or so from 1am. Me and my wife are shot.

    We took him to the docs today who gave us hydrocortisone cream. We’ve put it on him, and he went down at about 7.30pm – there’s already been one scratch awakening.

    Anyone got any similar (and hopefully encouraging) experiences?

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    Been there and got that t shirt

    Used to have to do the mittens – I advise socks taped up over the hands and the oilatum and all the creams- harder to keep them covered in this weather though but grow bags help as well as they cannot get at themsleves as easily

    Used to scratch himself to the point he bled especially behind the knees
    The hydro cream – is it the steriod one – thins the skin and is not a long term solution
    On the positive front he has been clear from about age 3 and it was just a growing thing and needs no treatment currently. he was really bad I would reckon at times about 60% + coverage of arms and legs especially the joints and used to get it on his face and kneck and even his eyelids occasionally

    toys19
    Free Member

    we get dermol from the docs, I lie beside the 3 year old as she is dropping off, every time she reaches to scratch I rub dermol at the site. Labour intensive, but she looks much better in the morn, and scratches much less at night.

    Other things, I have no scientific evidence but experience/anecdote:

    1) We got rid of all SLS products, which is bloody difficult – we now use almost exclusivly Alma Win whihc has a detergent made with sugars rather than SLS. Dishwasher, washing up, laundry, houshold cleaner..
    When we go to grandmas, whois a compulsive cleaner, the little one itches herself to death..
    2) I found wheat and dairy reduction amde a mssive difference, just meat, fruit, nuts and veg beans, but that is bloody hard to maintain..

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    Pook
    Full Member

    just been up to stop him scratching and put him down again. JY – he’s in a grow bag; did you tuck his arms in? Today’s cream is a steroid one. We know it’s not long term so fingers crossed it will work and he’ll grow out of this

    DarrenH
    Full Member

    One of our twins had it up until 6 months ago, thankfully he’s grown out of it now.
    We got a cream called epiderm from the doctors on prescription for him, we’d give him a bath then absolutely cake him in the stuff while he was still damp, then get his pj’s on him.
    Seemed to do the trick.

    glupton1976
    Free Member

    You can get baby grows which have a wee pocket like thing on the end of the sleeves which you fold over to make a mitt to stop them scratching their self.

    iffoverload
    Free Member

    have a google on porrige baths, works for some people.

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    No arms outside as well as that stops skin to skin contact when scratching
    We did use socks then taped them as it stops the nail dmage
    Trim nails short – best done when asleep – I have some kiddie nail clippers [Free]if you want them [ mail in profile]

    Also used to bath and then coat them – ended up with Doublebase iirc- think we had others but i still have some of that just in case but it is not needed

    The steroid cream works for an “episode” and will control it/reduce it but use sparingly

    Also agree about soap powders only recently started using non soap based ones again

    CharlieMungus
    Free Member

    Sudocreme?
    I think we used that once in a while

    Burts
    Free Member

    We chnaged our laundry liquid for an allergy-free version, helped to clear it up for our 3yr old.

    Wookster
    Full Member

    We went with bambino merino sleeping suits, worked wonders along with seeing which washing power didn’t set him off. Have you looked at Scratch sleeves these are really good and merino too.

    The cream will take a few days to kick in, but keep at the Doctor, the allergy nurses were awesome when we got referred.

    Feel for you and the small person mate. 🙁

    toys19
    Free Member

    we had those sudocreme bandages, very good.

    Tracker1972
    Free Member

    Started with diprobase cream on prescription, was a bit tacky and hard to apply all over, doc swapped us to doublebase gel, worlds apart in ease of use and application. It being a gel in a clear tube just helps the fun. Also regular use of Oilatum in the bath, initially added to our nipper directly on a sponge before letting her soak for a while. No other detergents in the bath.

    Then a steroid cream of some sort for direct application to the worst spots. Seem to remember steroid cream had to go on first as the moisturising creams effectively worked as a barrier cream if you put them on first.

    It isn’t much fun and there was no instant win but plugging away with the moisturising stuff paid off in the end. Virtually no treatment now (she is 3) as it just subsided. The new one year old has taken over night duty anyway so the big one can get her sleep safe knowing the little sister has the parents covered 🙂

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    This sounds tough – our almost 5 months old is enough work without problems like this… My wife mentioned that shed heard porridge is good for this – google it! Here’s a snippet I found:

    “What you do is get some porridge oats and muslin cloth, cut up the cloth into squares and pour a pile of the oats into the middle of each one. Then tightly tie up the corners to make a little pouch. When you go for a bath or shower, either drop one or two of the little muslin bags into the bath water, or wet a bag under a warm tap or the shower and rub it gently over the affected areas. I did this every time I had a bath or shower and after a few months, over 80% of the eczema had cleared.
    I have tried almost every known remedy for eczema but porridge was the one thing that I found actually worked long term.”

    freddyg
    Free Member

    As above. What kind of washing powder do you use? We switched to non bio and it stopped young master g’s scratching in a couple of days.

    bradley
    Free Member

    My 1yr old has/had it pretty bad. We have a right concoction of creams and medicines. We have a medicine given orally called Ucerax that is an anti-histamine which the doc said should sooth the ‘need’ to itch. We also have hydrocortisone steroid, works a treat! We then apply a good layer of Aveeno cream all over which is again good stuff. We then have a 3rd layer (nightmare every night!) of this stuff that is twice as thick as Vaseline called Hydromol, this stuff is insane. This is applied as a scratch barrier as such, because it is so thick and greasy their little fingers will just slip and slide all over the place. Works for us. She sleeps through the night.

    RustySpanner
    Full Member

    I had severe eczema from being 15.
    Buggered up my face with steroids, had an awful time.

    About 8 years ago the stepdaughter bought me some olive oil soap back from holiday – eczema gone for good in about a month.

    Still using it today, I get this stuff from health food/organic shops:

    No idea if it works for anyone else, but it bloody well worked for me.

    Good luck, hope you find a solution.

    moniex
    Free Member

    My son had eczema when he was a baby, not as bad as your little one I think. The doctor told us not to bath him as much, and it really helped. Babys dont really get sweaty and stuff anyway. My son did try and use this argument when he was much bigger (why should I have a shower, I had one last week!?) boys!

    Bear
    Free Member

    Google water softeners and excema.

    DaveyBoyWonder
    Free Member

    Pook – I’ll write a proper reply later as our 5 month old has it bad. Referred to specialists, spent time in hospital etc. Cant write a proper reply now as he’s on my lap and has just shat himself…

    paul4stones
    Full Member

    My 11 and 13 yr old still scratch to bleeding. Some creams work better than others but what works for one doesn’t for the other. My wife was fairly convinced that diet had an impact when they were little (including her diet when feeding) but there’s little evidence mainly because it’s hard to research and there is a delay before the effects are seen so it’s hard to relate changes to effects observed.

    So we have aqueous cream instead of soap. Balneum bath oil was good but now they’ve gone onto aveeno cream and bath oil. Flare ups managed with betnovate.

    It also seems to be a bit seasonal. At the age of your little one, Pook, it got a bit out of hand before we really knew much about it. We needed to do a few days of smothering in steroid to get it under control but after that it was more easily managed. Hth and good luck.

    stevied
    Free Member

    How often do you bath your little one? We used to bath BabyD every night but noticed her skin getting worse so started doing every other/third night and it made it loads better..

    Wally
    Full Member

    As a baby of 42 years of age with this problem since birth, since recently going nearly gluten and dairy free I have cleared up. What a wally taking 42 years to work this out.

    corroded
    Free Member

    As a life-long eczema sufferer, here are my tips for getting it under control:
    – try different washing powders; non-bio definitely and whatever has fewest fragrances, additives etc.
    – apply a steroid cream at the first inkling of an itch, just to that area. One application is often enough but you need to do this before the skin is broken. And moisturise daily.
    – wear only 100% cotton next to skin, no polyester. Wool ok in winter.
    – seems related to seasonal changes; not much you can do about this.
    – dairy also seems a factor; I love cheese so no chance of giving that up.

    My sympathies – with luck it may only be a phase.

    scaled
    Free Member

    We’re mid flare up at the moment, little ‘un is nearly 3 and this heat has made her eczema so much worse.

    Every time we think that we’re on top of it for a month or so it flares up.

    As above switched to non-bio washing powder, baths down to once a week (or a decent shower after swimming), diprobase cream morning and night. Honestly, it’s a massive ball ache – the most annoying thing being when she’s smothered in diprobase then goes and rolls around in the cats bed.

    Betnovate has gone on this morning in lieu of diprobase to try and get the current rashes under control, worst thing is that it looks like one of her little nips might be infected 🙁 That’s gotta be sore.

    p7rich
    Free Member

    If there’s one thing i’ve learned as a lifelong eczema sufferer is that there is no single solution that works for all and you will likely have to work through a trial and error routine to identify the cause (if you find it at all). Best thing you can do is get in touch with the National Eczema Society. They are the authority on eczema management and it’s fairly likely they’ll be more helpful than your GP:

    http://www.eczema.org

    They welcome phone calls too, so you can get immediate support. Good luck.

    DaveyBoyWonder
    Free Member

    Right, thats him changed…

    So… born mid January and fine until mid April when he started getting dry skin at the bottom of his cheeks. Then it started under his eyes and then spread to his entire cheeks and all over his body.

    During this time we’d made numerous visits to the doctors (literally twice a week for 5/6 weeks) and they to be honest, had no idea how to treat him. It had got to the point where his face was so bad it was weeping – whole face soaking wet, soaking his clothes, his bed etc. The doctors prescribed weak hydrocortisone (sp?) cream and antibiotics to clear up his now infected skin which really fked him up – nappies were getting filled every 15 minutes, not sleeping etc

    Anyway, reached a head one afternoon where the doc phoned the hospital whilst we were there and they just suggested different antibiotics. Walked out, realised things had gone to far so went back into the docs and said we weren’t leaving until we had a second opinion. Second doctors opinion was basically the polar opposite to what doc #1 had been telling us and then we realised your general GP just didn’t know how to treat such extreme eczema in an infant. So called NHS Direct, told them what had been happening and we were admitted to hospital.

    Since then we’ve been fast tracked to see a dermatologist but to be honest, he too seems completely lost. The nurses in the dermatology department seem better…

    Out of interest, do you have pets? We’ve two cats and just over a month ago had a fortnight in France where, putting two different creams we were given, Oscar’s eczema almost totally cleared up. Within 24 hours of being home he was going downhill again so what was different? Two cats at home. We’ve had an allergy test done and the results were that he is allergic to them so we’re going to look at re-homing them and getting the house steam cleaned to get rid of the cat dander.

    Currently he’s on antibiotics, two different creams twice a day and emolliant (oilatum cream) as often as possible and oilatum bath oil every night in his bath. Seems to be very up and down still…

    Interesting what Pete said about the olive oil soap. When we were in France we got talking to a fella selling soap on a market stall and he seemed (oddly) to be the most knowledgeable person we’ve come across so far about eczema and how to treat it. He too was saying olive oil soap was brilliant at cleared it up but we’re still hesitant about putting anything out the ordinary on Oscar but to be honest, if its nothing but pure olive oil I think its going to be worth a shot as I hate rubbing these parafin based creams into him.

    Its bloody tough though. Scratches himself to bits, doesn’t sleep very well (was only waking once a night prior to all this) and we’re absolutely knackered 24/7.

    Definitely going to give the olive oil soap a go…

    stuey
    Free Member

    Our little one get bad exzema on the back of her legs.
    We went through most of the above – ‘porridge baths’ helped – but wet dressings at night – some times changed in the middle of the night brought it under control http://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/derm/Wet_dressings_A3.pdf

    We settled down with a little oil latum in the soak water.
    The bandages cool help prevent scratching and promote easier sleep.

    Took a while but was worth the hassle.

    – she’s at primary school now – and takes a cotton cushion for ‘carpet time’ as school carpets makes it flare up.

    marko75
    Free Member

    Our son had it bad for the first few months of his life. He also has a ‘port wine stain’ on his face which makes things tricky – but we do get to see lots of dermatologists.

    Try Aveeno link – its active ingredient is porridge but it works! Apply after washing in the evening. After 1 week it was much better.

    It was the dermatologist who pointed out the active ingredient – and couldnt give a reason why it work…. but see from the posts above!

    Pook
    Full Member

    update: two days into hydrocortisone cream, aveeno and oilatum cocktail and last night we only had two wake ups – one for a cuddle, one for a feed.

    We’re both feeling considerably more human today, and my little lad is in a fantastic mood having slept from 3am to 8ish.

    No new cuts either.

    thanks for all your advice everyone.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    had really bad excema until i was about 21.. the urge to itch/scratch is irresistable. i used to wake up every morning of my childhood stuck to the bed sheets from the blood and you could fill a cup with the dead skin/scabs off the sheets every morning

    although not allegic to anything stuff will act as an irritant and sussing out what they are is a top priority.. artificial fibres, certain washing powders dont use hot water to wash as it removes the skins oils.. th elist goes on and you become aware of them all good luck to you and the nipper..

    totalshell
    Full Member

    had really bad excema until i was about 21.. the urge to itch/scratch is irresistable. i used to wake up every morning of my childhood stuck to the bed sheets from the blood and you could fill a cup with the dead skin/scabs off the sheets every morning

    although not allegic to anything stuff will act as an irritant and sussing out what they are is a top priority.. artificial fibres, certain washing powders dont use hot water to wash as it removes the skins oils.. th elist goes on and you become aware of them all good luck to you and the nipper..

    ivorhogseye
    Free Member

    I’ve had bad eczema on my hands for the last 10 years, I think it’s a combination of washing powder and sweat allergy.
    This new product on the scene called Dermalex has cleared it up (took all of 2 hours). It’s cortisone free so can be used freely.
    Check out the product to see if it’s safe for small children, it’s made by Omega Pharma.
    If it is, it’s available in Boots, for me it’s been a real find.

    whatgoesup
    Full Member

    My six month old has excema, poor little chap – fortunately he’s not started scratching, hopefully we can hold off that stage.
    We’ve been putting oilatum in his bath water every night and lots of very simple moisturizer afterwards, trying to stop is progresisng from the “dry skin” stage to the itchy, scratchy stage.

    What we have found is that 50% oilatum and 50% baby oil seems to work very well at keeping his skin moist, although it does make him very slippery post-bath!

    Stuuey
    Full Member

    Pook really feel for you mate. We had this with our youngest, if its any consolation he grew out of it and is fine now. We don’t have many photos of him as a baby, people would cross the road to avoid him in the pram.

    He would rub his face raw through the gloves/ socks. We made a rod for our own backs by rushing to him every time he cried as he would rub/scratch his face. We quickly got a dermatologist who put him on a cream which was 1/2 percent hydrocortisone and antisepctic/biotic as his scratches were getting infected.
    He was always on piriton and if he didn’t sleep we would give him calpol.
    As he got older we spotted that cows milk/cheese would make him worse so we switched to goats milk. Our regret is that we didn’t change the wife’s diet when she was breast feeding him. Anyway by the time he was one it started to get better, by about two he could eat drink anything although a cows cheese/milk fest may still bring out the odd patch. He doesn’t have any scars from the scratching even though his face was covered in scabs for 8 months.
    A word of warning to everyone whose kids are on hydrocortisone – our eldest got chicken pox while this one was on the cream. So when he caught it the hydrocortisone fed the chicken pox and he got it really bad and has lots of scars all over from it. The dermotologist had not seen chicken pox so bad before. Stop using the cream as soon as chicken pox pops up in your kids contact group.
    Good luck!
    Chuck me an email if you want a chat.

    Edit: any urea based soaps seemed to help and the best cream we found was Eucerin. We now us Epaderm on any small patches.

    talulah
    Free Member

    I had a flare up of eczema/psoriasis, both are very closely related, several years ago really out of the blue. It was head to toe and the most uncomfortable thing I have ever experienced – never had it as a child but several members of my family have had it. I didn’t go down the orthodox route tried and tested a lot of creams and balms including an olive oil rub actually made for babies by waitrose and an organic balm with lavender in made by a local lady. Both relieved the itching alot. If they still do ithe waitrose one at least you could always try a bit on a small area first perhaps? It is slightly easier to apply than olive oil but almost as pure. I remember not being able to stand the feel of anything touching my skin and had to shower my legs with cold water throughout the night. Even resorted to going and standing in the sea at times! Eventually with a series of acupuncture sessions and some very good advice from my acupuncturist re my diet etc it went as quickly as it appeared. My son also has had slight sebborhic dermatitis on his face also closely related to psoriasis. An occasional wash with nizoral shampoo (on his face!) as suggested by the dermatologist has done the trick. We avoided all the steroid creams etc in favour of that. Maybe some of that would help. I wish you and baby all the very best.

    chipsngravy
    Free Member

    Had the same happen to my daughter at the same age. Doc prescribed a whole host of creams. After checking out the ingredients I wasn’t too keen to use them. Too many petrochemicals.

    Opted for lavender skin creams (there are plenty to choose from) + lavendar bubble bath. Plus the obvious sensitive skin non bio washing powder etc etc. This seemed to do the trick.

    6 years on she has the odd flare up. Usually pretty mild. Nothing like when she was baby. Triggers are:
    Mainstream sun cream. (Instead use paraben free natural sun cream. Eg Jåsön).
    Tinned fish. It definitely triggers the eczema. Don’t ask why,
    Too much dairy.

    Good luck.

    hora
    Free Member

    Switch washing powder/detergants?

    It might actually be allergy? You never know

    nickhart
    Free Member

    as many have said there are loads of people suffering through what some see as just an itch. our eldest has it terribly and has had since an early age. gp’s are just that general practitioners, you may find a good one now and again but most don’t know what to do with youngsters with it.
    George is now nearly 12 and puts cream on every morning and every evening. if she doesn’t it flairs up and gets infected. it’s better when we’ve had holidays with loads of time in the sea. she has a dust mite allergy (was tested by the childrens) but this doesn’t seem relevant as the place we stay can often be a building site as they’re renovating but it still gets better.
    You’re in Sheffield aren’t you? as are we, when we got referred tot he childrens life got a lot better. we got the proper creams, not just steroid and anti biotic, a care plan, information and in some instances just the fact they didn’t fob us off was a good feeling too.
    as for your lad, try to keep his finger nails as short as possible (difficult but I found the scissor on a leatherman the best for doing this) keep him cool, this heat wave has been hard on George as when she’s hot she scratches more.
    we’ve tried loads of different things, the olive oil soap is a new one on me and I’ll mention it to the wife.
    good luck and patience, it’s scant help but you’ll get through it.
    oh we also wash all of Georgia’s bedding and clothing far more regularly than some would and it does help.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    We found porridge in the bath (swish some about in a muslin) and dream cream (from Lush – I think the main ingredient is porridge) helped a lot. For a bad flare up though we’d use steroid cream short term.

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