eczema please help

[asalya]

Hi, I have 4 yo boy he was diagnosed with eczema, for last 4-5 month i tried everything from hydrocortizone to shea butter it seems to get better at some point but coming back more itchy and he scratches it till blood. It's mostly at the back of his knees, and front of elbow, lately also his face getting very dry but its not red and itchy as other part. Has anyone had smth like that and do they really grow out of it?????
Is there any kind of diet we should follow????

[momtoTnT]

My DS also has eczema. It sucks. I feel so badly for him. You can outgrow it, but we haven't seen any sign that he's outgrowing it (he's 6).

Has he had any allergy testing done? Eczema is a sign of allergy.

What we do currently is: frequent baths (every day, in the winter/during flare ups sometimes 2x day) without any soaps. frequent moisturizing - there are lots of different things you can try - we like aquaphor at our house - it doesn't sting/hurt which is a big one for my ds. We've tried aveeno, eucerin, arbonne baby oil...pretty much any "eczema" cream I could find. During his really bad flares, we do use a prescription steroid cream. He also takes zyrtec if he's extra itchy, or if we know he's going to be around cats (he's allergic) which helps to calm the itch, but doesn't do much for the eczema.

For my DS it's important that we keep him cool - if he gets too warm/sweaty, he gets extra itchy.

We are also looking at starting the feingold diet - we haven't started it yet, but have heard good things about it in regard to behavior (why we're really trying it) issues, and as a bonus, it's supposed to help with eczema.

Good luck!

[lyra1977]

This is timely for me as I just noticed today that my DD has a rash on the inside of her elbow, back of her neck and around her mouth, and my googling says it's probably eczema. I'll follow this thread for more advice...

[Okapi]

DD had a bit of eczema, and it cleared up w/ Aveeno rather quickly.

I, however, had *bad* eczema, the patches would crack and bleed even w/o scratching. Before I realized what it was, I was just using lotion, and it didn't help at all. My mom found this really awesome stuff (just called "Nature's Remedies" that fixed it almost completely after just a couple of days, totally natural (e.g. tea tree oil, peppermint oil, beeswax, etc - no steroids or anything). I love it. Unfortunately, their website doesn't appear to be working, but the mall where their physical store is still lists them in the online directory, so if you want, I can post the info where you can get their number. Every time I went in, they were super helpful, I'm sure they would mail it. A co-worker who I recommended it to for her daughter said it didn't help the rash for her, but it was the most soothing thing they found for the itching/pain, so I guess like anything, it works better for some then others. I didn't use it on DD b/c she was so young I worried about her getting it in her eyes w/ the peppermint oil.

Also, most people I talk to who seem to know about it say that eczema is related to dairy allergies. Again, YMMV.

Oh, and when I was in the store looking for something for DD, a woman overheard me talking to the clerk, and later told me that she uses mango extract and it works really well for her.

[5gifts]

Yes definately check into alergy. Not just blood draw allergy testing. For us it took finding someone that can so muscle testing for food intolerences, and some allergy ellimination, too. It was so hard to pin point it on our own with a couple of the kids. Because it would flare up from something from a day ago, but once the skin was sooo tore-up, it would take forever to heal - even though they weren't having any more of the ofending food. So it was hard to tell if they were still being exposed to something or not. It could have been something we didn't realize they had with HFCS at church or a picnic (2 are allergic to anything corn) Then we are left scratching our heads a few days later, and trying to heal up for a couple of weeks. At one point, one of them just never healed up one summer, even with absolutely no more corn....until we were at the beach one week. The sun & salt water did something...his skin had never been so smooth.

[MamaHaven]

My take on the allergy thing...

Most of the actual science that I've found on classic eczema relates it more to topical allergens - dust, heat, soap & detergents and stress. The dairy thing I've heard, but I've eliminated it from DD's diet completely (in fact she didn't have it all until 9 mos and she had eczema from birth) and it didn't help. Same for gluten. That's not to say foods are not a culprit but with classic eczema it really seems to be other factors.

I echo what Okapi said with baths (without soap and not too hot water) and moisturizing within 2 minutes of getting out of the bath. I use Alba Botanical "Non Petroleum" Jelly (it's like Aquafor but without parabens aka petrochemicals) after the bath to seal in moisture and then during all diaper and pajama changes I use the very wonderful most awesome Shi Kai's Dry Skin Therapy for Children with Borage Oil (some studies have shown borage oil to be very effective on eczema) and it has really just helped to keep the skin hydrated.
http://www.shikai.com/products/borage.htm

The problem with cortisones and steroids is that while they control itching and infection, they actually burn through the dermis - maintaining the conditions on which eczema seems to thrive. So just think hydration hydration hydration. And this means internally too - make sure your child drinks water AND most importantly try a supplement oil - I giver her a cold one with flax, fish oil and BORAGE and this does wonders for her. When we skip it, I see flare ups.

For the parts of the skin starting to look really red and like they're getting infected I use a natural first aid salve.

The other major thing is soaps and detergents. Under microscopes, the molecules are actually sharp ended and they pierce the dermis. Scary stuff!! Normal skin can handle it mostly but sensitive? Forget it.

For laundry, I use Bio Kleen and put the washer on 2 rinses. I totally avoid all fabric softeners and dryer sheets etc. Some people swear by washer balls that wash clothes without anything but I've never tried them. Also I wash all new and new/used clothes before she wears them.

Then there's hand and body soap - I never use it on her. Studies show that soap and glycerin do NOT 'kill' bacteria. They are merely agents for the water and most importantly the rubbing that removes the bacteria. Rubbing with just water for 2 rounds of Happy Birthday has been proven to in fact remove the same amount of bacteria as Hand Sanitizers!!!! Anyway, I use a foaming cleanser (Oregon Soap Company's "Sunflower Suds") that is entirely made of veg and mineral oils and has no glyercin or castille soap, or essential oils (which irritate her). I also use it on her skin in the bath as I don't really want to rub her down every bath poor thing! I don't even use shampoo cause it gets in the water and makes the eczema flare up.

And dust - follow allergy sites advice for lowering that in your house a bit and it should help somewhat.

Also, yes sun (without sunscreen) in moderation is said to really help, and salt water too. I know people (adults) who do sea salt baths when they have flare ups and they say it works great. I haven't tried it though...

I guess my final bit of advice is that you have to be incredibly vigilant with the moisturizing though. While avoiding soap and cortisones etc help the skin from reacting, it's keeping the skin moist and therefore less hospitable to the eczema that seems to really be the key.

Sorry for the long winded reply, but I hope that my experience might offer you some tips and help. I hope it gets better!!

[lyra1977]

MamaHaven, how do you give the oil supplement to your DD? In a smoothie perhaps?

[swd12422]

NO CORTISONE!!!

I've had eczema my whole life, just as you're describing it. Cortisone never worked particularly well for me, but that's what all the doctors said to use. Last year, I mentioned to my allergist that I'm still getting an occasional patch just when the weather gets really dry. He told me that under no circumstances should I ever use cortisone b/c it actually sensitizes the skin and ultimately worsens the condition (hence the warnings on the tube to not use for extended periods of time).

He wrote me a prescription for something that's supposed to be better/safer, but I'm at the point now where I prefer not to use any drugs if I don't have to. I have no idea what it was, but I can call the office and find out if you really want to know.

What I did this past winter was to put tea tree oil on the patch and then use virgin coconut oil as a moisturizer. On really dry patches, I use vegetable glycerin, too. It's not an instant fix, but the patches definitely go away much faster with this than they ever did with cortisone or any other creams I tried. (The itching goes down in a day or two, and the patch is barely noticeable in couple of weeks. YMMV, of course, and maybe it works faster if you do it more than once a day -- I'm lazy....)

[asalya]

Thank you all for advice, just made app for allergy tests, I dont know why dr didn't offer it before.
5 gifts I think is right salt water is the best thing i guess, i am using dead sea scrub with no alc, it helps the best so far. I stopped using any chemical creams, soaps, just using natural oils.
Mamahaven thanks for link, going to try BORAGE oil seems good.

Thank you

[MamaHaven]

Originally Posted by lyra1977

MamaHaven, how do you give the oil supplement to your DD? In a smoothie perhaps?

She actually just takes it from a spoon (it has a slight citrus taste) - she seems to like it. But before I figured that out I was putting it onto a spoon that had applesauce or some fruit puree.