Elidil or benadryl-any experiences?

[BusyMommy]

My 2 y.o.'s eczema just flared out of control last week. Just miserable and horrible. We do use all sorts of supplements and usually it's quite manageable, but we were on vacation for a week.

So, to stop it before it got too much worse, we went to the dr. and she prescribed elidil which, to me, sounds like a topical antihistamine and pretty safe. She also said to use Benadryl at night when it's bad. I didn't last night and he just woke up clawing at himself several times.

SO...my Q...anyone know of any negative side effects of Elidil? Benadryl?

Thanks!!

[BusyMommy]

bump
Anyone?

Stuff seems to work great.:

[Sara29]

have you ever tried a constitutional remedy by a classically trained homeopath? I have read parents posting success with homeopathy.I don't know about eledil,but benadryl just supresses.Best wishes!
sara

[greenluv]

Do you mean Elidel?

We used Elidel for a while then began to have side effects that wouldn't go away even tho our Dr insisted that they would.

Listening to that guy nearly had dd admitted into the hospital-I know, OT.

It worked really well for us in the beginning, then as time went on it just wasn't enough to control the outbreaks.

Unfortunately, we are on prednisone, Singulair and Zyrtec and (one in a while codeine for pain) in addition to triamcinolone cream- in order for dd to get any long lasting relief. Singulair is being used on dd not for asthma, but as off lable use for eczema.

One of the side effects of Elidel is swollen lymph nodes, which dd ended up with as well as stinging and burning that didn't stop. I did a search on Web MD for the side effects and could pick out way more side effects than I listed here, it may be worth checking into just for future reference.

We did try homeopathy and didn't make any headway that way, either.

[BusyMommy]

One of the side effects of Elidel is swollen lymph nodes, which dd ended up with as well as stinging and burning that didn't stop

could you tell me more please
sorry-lap full of kids now
thx

[greenluv]

When I was searching for this info for ourselves some of the basic info was that Elidel can leave the person using it more prone to skin infections like herpes and chicken pox or even shingles and warts. I guess this would make sense since this medicine is an immunosupressent even tho it acts directly on the skin and -from what I understand-isn't a systemic immunosupressent.

Originally I had found all of this info on one site, but now as I was searching for a link for you all I can find is press releases from Novartis about this medicine. Novartis does have a site that lists a few of the possible side effects at www.elidel.com

As for the stinging and burning dd experienced, the info I found tonight says that it usually happens when the cream is first used and lasts a week or so. That isn't what happened for us, we used it for 9-12 months before this began to happen. When we would apply the cream, we could feel heat coming from the surface of area's it had been applied to. This is a side effect, of course -but I thought it was interesting that it didn't happen in the beginning of treatment.

I tend to think that the swollen lymph nodes have to do with the risk of infections and/or the body resisting some type of infection when using this cream, tho I can't point to a site that backs up my thoughts on it right now.

Bummer, it figures I wouldn't be able to find that site now that I opened my big mouth

[BusyMommy]

: such a bummer. I was hoping to justify selling out.

Back to the naturopath tomorrow to ask yet more questions about probiotics-can you take every day?
EPO-is it really safe? forever?

and we'll continue w/vit c and CLO

geez

I know that if you treat something topically it just pushes it internally, but...I was hoping for a quick fix...

[greenluv]

I understand you were hoping to find something to fix this quickly. I know having my dd on all the prescriptions I listed above makes me feel HORRIBLE. Some people might be more critical, but heck, we can only do our best to help these poor little kids. All medications have side effects but at the moment I'm feeling like we've gone from the frying pan into the fire.

Has a Dr ever mentioned allergy testing for your 2yro? We just had RAST testing done, and much to our surprise only had one allergy show up. Now we have to get dd off the oral steroid and be able to keep her skin clear enough to under go skin testing. NOT looking forward to that ordeal

Here's hoping you find a way out of this for your poor baby

[Missy]

We have used Elidel on ds (now 11 mos) with greatly decreasing frequency since November. His eczema was a result of severe food allergies (dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, etc...) and for several months resulted in severe rashes across his entire body. Now, his limbs and chest are very dry, but rarely broken out. His cheeks break out consistently, but nothing like in the fall before we found the cause. Now we use Elidel on his cheeks when they are broken out--no side effects yet. It burned with the initial use--I could tell from his reaction--and I made my husband put it on the second time with the promise that, if it still burned, we would discontinue use immediately. No problems at all since that first time. The question of immunities is a definite concern, especially since we're not vaxing, but, except for one very minor ear infection, he has never been ill beyond the effects of the allergies.

Other meds? We tried first benedryl--not effective. Then, zyrtec--not bad. The best? Periactin. It really helped with the scratching. A nice side effect is that it increases his appetite (very important for our tiny babe). He also receives both flax seed oil and olive oil in all of his food, and I add the extra oils to my own food so he gets it in the breastmilk. Huge difference in his skin! We have tried lotion after lotion and have always returned to Vaseline. It's been the only thing that has kept his skin moist, even with repeated application of other highly recommended lotions and oils.

Good luck!
Missy

[Runtita]

What worked for my son was eliminating dairy and using an herbal salve with St. John's Wort, calendula, and plantain in an olive oil/beeswax base. (Elidel wasn't out at the time and DS's ped. didn't believe that babies could have allergies- DUH!)

Good luck to you!

[BusyMommy]

Well, FYI,
he has 2 theories.

Primary is a latex allergy even though he's not in contact w/any latex. We're going to avoid all latex foods (long list ) such as bananas and tomatoes, etc. for 2 weeks.

This has weakened his system to allow a yeast infection in. Even though, he has only ever had antiobiotics 3x. Guessing it's present in his foods.

Changing to free range meets.
Change probiotic brand.
Hold off on CLO for 2 weeks

We'll see...:

[malamamama]

In an article I found info about dealing with eczema naturally. To help heal skin and reduce inflammation, Mark Stengler, ND advises foods rich in essential fatty acids, such as salmon and other cold-water fish, flaxseed oil, nuts, and seeds. Red Meat, dairy products, and spicy foods increase inflammation. He also promoted Vitamin-C (200mg a day for a 2 year old) and 10 mg of zinc daily for age 2 and older. And oatmeal baths to help reduce itching. Hope this info is helpful.....

[BusyMommy]

thank you

[BusyMommy]

O.M.G. I just did a search for triamcinolone and found this thread. O.M.G. My son has eczema for 2 weeks every year and this is PROOF more. WOW I just didn't know it back in June 03. We've come a looong way.

But, I was asking the same exact questions 2 weeks ago. So, we did beat the eczema but had trouble gettign him to stop itching. The sulpher from the ND seemed to have killed the systemic but still had the residual rash. Honey stopped the raw bleeding a few days ago. Just started triamcinolone today and hopeful that will clear the skin quickly.

And, then back here next June!