Advice needed with baby's treatment

[Annamaria]

Hi Everyone
Im new to this site, my little boy seems to have had ezcema for about 6 week now.
Im a little bit confused as it first started out by one day his whole body was covered in tiny little red bumpy dots, we went to the gp who said that it was ezcema and didn't seem know much about what he should suggest for treatment so i mentioned that my other boy had a little patch of ezcema on the side of his face for a few month and that we used hydromol for that but i don't know if he grew out if it or if the cream had actually helped at all.
Anyway, we got hydromol ointment, cream, bath oil.i used the cream for about a week and didn't make any difference, then went back to gp who gave us hydrocorison which after 2 application had completely cleared it up.
It's never under the nappy. is that any kind of suggestion that it's an allergic reaction to washing powder etc??
Ever since it comes and goes but even when there is not rash at all, his skin is very flaky, escpecially on his tummy.
I've been using the hydromol ointment for about 3 times a day and also tried to soak his top in the cream and it was so greasy that his car seat has soaked through yet his tummy is still flaky???
When the light reflects on his skin, the once was red dots , now just look flat shiny dots on his skin, does anyone recognises this, is it eczema or something else?
Also can you advise me about the use of the emmolients.
I have just bought a tub of aveeno cream and will give it a try but it's very difficult to imagine that an increadibly greasy substance didn't help with the dry skin and this milky looking cream will???
with regards to the hydrocortisone, should i use it over a period of time or stop as soon as the skin seems healed as it always does after about 2 application and so i always then stop but then after about 4 days, the spots come back but only on small areas, like around his neck where his top neck is.
i've just bought the simply pure washing tablets as i read that they are better than surecare (as no optical brighteners)
Should i get a referral to the dermatology department? Would they do any test to find out what he might be allergic to or at this age, they wouldn't really.
I do realise my Lo's ezcema is not as bad as a lot of yours on this forum but it's just a constant worry in my head about what else is coming.
He was also born with clubfoot and he's been in boots and bar for 23 hrs a day for 3 month now and have had loads of problems with that and also just recovered from bronchitis after a hospital filled xmas so hoping for a better 2012 now

Sorry for going on for so long but i don't feel i can ask all these questions of my gp as he doesn't seem to have all the knowledge

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[AnnaB]

Hi
My son was covered in every area of his body except under his nappy, I even contacted the nappy manufacturers but they would not tell me the balm they used. I decided the skin was prevented from drying out from the nappy but I do know that there is an eczema cream which contains urea so who knows?? My children both have many different moisturisers. Aveeno is one of the better ones so yes it really can help. But I often juggle which moisturiser I use between morning and night and from day to day depending on the condition of the skin. Hydromol, Cetraben, Emollin and aveeno are the main ones we use. Emollin spray is an amazing spray which the kids love and beg for.

If your doctor is struggling to control the eczema then please ask for a referal to a dermatologist, they from there can point you in the direction of any tests or better routines/creams to use x

[Jems]

Hi Annamaria

Sounds like you are having a bad time at the moment, AnnaB is right about the lack of eczema under the nappy, it's because of the urea, some of the creams including some versions of the Hydromol have urea in.

My daughter has had eczema from the age of 5 months to date (she is 26 months now), the creams and potions we currently use are:-

Balneum in her bath
Cortisone Cream 1% - used very sparingly during bad outbreaks
Aveeno Cream - contains oatmeal and is actually quite effective for such a thin cream
50/50 - can't remember the correct name for it, but it is a thick vaseline like cream that is great in the Winter when the skin gets really dry.
Sudocream - soothes broken skin once the flare-up passes.

We have also tried the Hydromol, but I have trouble getting hold of it and sometimes it seems to burn my daughters skin.

I don't think my daughter's eczema is as bad as other people's on this site either, but as a mother it's still hard to see your child in pain or uncomfortable and feel there is nothing you can do about it, especially in those first months of diagnosis.

Other things I did to feel like I was getting somewhere in the early months was to keep going back to doctors until I had a set of creams that was working for my daughter. It meant trying a couple of doctors before I found one that was willing to prescribe all the creams and lotions I wanted, I would also recommend trying to get a prescription for Aveeno, it's a bit pricey!

I also got a referral to an allergist, where they did blood tests and we found out what was causing the allergy, dairy and egg, and that was when the eczema finally started getting under control.

Sorry for the long reply - I hope you have a much better 2012!

Jems

[Annamaria]

Thanks for both of your replies
For some reason he gets eczema on his torso and face and the rest of the body is very very dry so it seems that they only thing that greasy enough, is hydromol ointment which i thinks is just paraffin
i tried the hydromol cream and the aveeno as well but 2hrs after i used them, his skin just started to flare up due to dryness so i quickly went back to the hydromol ointment.
Is that usual that some kids don't get it on the usual area, e.g creases , instead they get it places like on the chest?
Right now i feel that it's somehow under controll but not sure what exactly the skin should look like, i mean should i carry with searching for more creams as his skin is not smooth but it hasn't got rash, well only on very small areas is that as good as it's going to get or is it worth trying out more creams to see if it can get even better
i am also a bit worried about the weaning stage
does this mean, he's more likely to have food allergy and is there anything i should watch out for when weaning?

[crossmyfingers]

Hi,

I think what works for one child is not always the same for another.
But I think you should get a referral to see a Paed Allergist. I saw one today and he was really helpful with any question I had to ask.

My son got eczema when he was 2mths old (now 6mths) which started off as a rash in his neck area and then he started to get the tiny red bumps you mentioned on his chest. He now has it basically everywhere except the nappy area (i think this is typically of eczema).

So what i think is that as long as you keep him moisturized at least 4 times a day (i do it with every nappy change) would really help the skin keep up the barrier that it lacks and not get it inflamed.
Once it's red, you should use the steriod to keep it under control. I didn't like the idea of steriods so I delayed it, which inturn my boy suffered and get really itchy

I found that after course of sterioids, the skin went from red and angry, to flaking skin, then to nice, soft smooth skin. Maybe its just the cycle it goes through??
Also try to avoid overheating and I was told to use a light moisturizer and a heavier one for the night. So my new plan:

Bleach bath with QV bath oil
1% Hydrocortisone on inflamed areas until the redness is gone
Moisturize day with Hydraderm, night with Dermeze

Hope that helps!

[Annamaria]

Thanks very much , it really does help
I have tried just to use the cream version of the hydromol but find that as it's not greasy enough, as soon as i put it on, his skin just soaks it in and then it goes dry and that red spots start to come out.So the only thing that seems to do the trick is the ointment but it means that everything is swimming in grease including me.
Im not sure if i should try out any more creams or just stick with the ointment.
I spoke to someone who said that they used aveeno for her boy's ezcema but they only had the crease kind of ezcema and his whole body wasn't particularly dry.
When i feel a bit more adventurous, i will try and use the aveeno for during the day but right now i just constantly feel anxious when i take his clothes off, not knowing what to expect. i'd love for him to be able to wear clothes that are not soaking in ointment and also hope that his cradlecap will clear up soon and won't become eczema.
Thanks again for your replies

[MarcieMom]

Hi! I'm Mei, blog with talkhealth http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/blog/author/mei_m/ & also my blog for parents with eczema children, http://eczemablues.com

Sorry to hear of so many trials and errors & stress, totally understand - can I tackle the first post by Anna Maria

1. Never under the nappy - does not equal to washing detergent; eczema is caused by dry skin, so the nappy area is often moist and thus, for some babies, less prone to eczema. Also, given that eczema skin is more porous and 'broken', it's important to minimize irritant - so use a washing detergent that's baby friendly
(link on this: http://eczemablues.com/2011/09/what-and ... th-eczema/)

2. Comes and goes - nature of eczema; don't read too much and stress yourself with the come and go - maintain moisturizing all the time, even when no rash

3. Hydromol - never tried cos I'm in Singapore - I use Physiogel AI when eczema gets bad, of course on top of steroid cream (don't undertreat the eczema, research has shown no long term thinning of skin) http://eczemablues.com/2011/04/is-steroid-cream-safe/

4. How to choose moisturizers - Learn to read label - avoid top allergens - fragrance, preservative, paraben, proplyene glycol; personally, I'm not one for natural, go instead for hypoallergenic and from companies that are established and have conducted testing for their products
http://eczemablues.com/2012/01/sensitiv ... llergenic/
http://eczemablues.com/2011/04/help-wha ... zema-baby/

5. Tub vs tube - choose creams in tube form, even if more expensive - avoids contamination as our fingers are also not very clean (and you know how often and hurried we sometimes have to do moisturizing for our child)

6. Steroid Use - Apply only when active inflammation i.e red; use chlorhexidine to clean the patch before applying. This is to kill the staph bacteria that makes it even more difficult for your skin to repair itself http://eczemablues.com/2011/10/4-part-s ... ema-staph/

7. Allergy testing - Skin prick test can be done from 6 months, do get your baby tested - I always recommend this cos it's accurate to predict what's not allergic to, so you can stop worrying about those triggers! http://eczemablues.com/tag/skin-prick-test/

Hope my reply helps, got to run! Catch up soon!

[Annamaria]

Thanks for the info
Can someone clarify something for me please?!
Are there different kind of ezcemas?
What my little boy seems to have , 2 different kind
one is on the 2 sides of his face in a circle(i would call it a traditional eczema from what i know), and it's just dry and when it gets bad, it just becomes a hard skin (and red broken when he itches it)
the other kind could be anywhere on his body( arm , legs , chest, tummy) tiny little red spots that start of quite far apart then if not treated, it become so many that they just look like swollen patches on his skin.
Also a bit confused now as his skin seems very very smooth for the first time since this whole skin problem started (about 8 weeks ago) , i started using aveeno during the day and hydromol ointment at night
Not sure if this works or if it looks smooth because the skin doesn't have the layer of protection for the tonns of greasy ointment that i used to put on. the tiny little red spots have appeared again thoug on a very small area so really don't know if i should go back greasing him all the time as the skin really doesn't look very dry right now so i find it difficult to belive that the red spots come out because the skin is dehydrated
my gp has agreed to refer us to the dermatologist.
i am very excited about finally (maybe) getting some expert opinion and advice or is this a bit too hopeful??? those of you who have already been ??
so should i really only use hydrocortison when the skin is all red and as soon as it's calmed down, stop the cream?
i read somewhere that we should use hydrocortison until it's red +2 days?
Anyway i do go on so sorry...

Spotless day to everyone

[Annamaria]

sorry i forgot to ask something else...
I have heard the these spot kind of rashes are more likely to be from some sort of allregy.
this rash started when he was 8 weeks old, is it possible that he is allergic to his formula and took 8 weeks for it come out or it is the milk, it would have come out earlier and also would have had diarrhoea and other symptoms????

[AnnaB]

Yes there are many forms of eczema. As soon as any areas start to come up treat with the hydrocortizone, it will respond quicker if it is new eczema do not allow it to become thick eczema before treating. I would let your childs skin tell you what it needs and change between the 2 your using as you feel suits the skin. Also when the eczema has calmed down carry on using the Hydrocortizone for a day or 2 longer so that the under layers of skin have healed and not just the surface. What a great GP to have refered you so soon, many of us here had to battle for years. Wean slowly and keep a food diary if your suspecting food allergies. The specialists will be interested in what you have tried and if any direct reactions accured. My son was allergic to egg and reacted with hives, my daughter was allergic to milk and her eczema flared and she would be in a great deal of pain and be sick. Observe and respond is a good way forward. What bath products are you using for washing baby?
Anna