Eczema -- what's next?

[pastrygirl]

I searched through older threads on toddler eczema and found some good info. I'm expecting a call back from my son's ped this morning and I want to have a plan.

My son just turned 2 and has had bad eczema flareups since he was 18 months old. He has bright red, crusty patches that he scratches until he bleeds. They keep sprouting up! For the first several months, I tried creams and lotions. Finally I gave in to hydrocortisone, which did nothing. Then I tried Desodine (steroid) and it works GREAT during the 3-week treatment, but as soon as I stop, it flares up again. My ped recommended a second round of Desodine, which we just finished. A day or two later, he's back to the big bad flareups.

Is the next step allergy testing? My ped has suggested that as a future thing, so I'm wondering if now is the time.

I've been using Wiseways Eczema Salve and Weleda Calendula lotion to try to calm it down; they work OK but don't get rid of it. I use Dr. Bronner's unscented baby soap and Ecos unscented detergent.

[Ophelia]

Yes, it may be wise to consider the allergy testing. Many times eczema is a sign of food allergy or intolerance. For my DS it was wheat/gluten.

I'm reading this right now: http://www.amazon.com/Healing-New-Ch...7946902&sr=8-1

and it explains well what the best way to test for food allergies is (blood test vs. prick test, etc).

Poor guy I hope he feels better soon You may even want to start an elimination diet now although it can take 2 weeks or even a few months to notice if it's making a difference. Wheat and dairy are the worst offenders.

I definitely would not want to be doing steroid treatments (even topical) for long periods of time.

Did he have any vaccinations around 15-18mo?

[Mama Mko]

If my son has corn, strawberries, or bananas his eczema flares. He's also allergic to milk (gets hives) and potato (throws up). Corn is a big one though. Corn starch & corn syrup is in so many things. His eczema is AWESOME now. For a long time it was horrible.

We use Aveeno Eczema Care lotion and that keeps his skin nice and smooth. His flare-ups are very irregular now, thank goodness.

I didn't do allergy testing because I heard it was unreliable, and I'd rather just test it myself with elimination diets.

[Surfer Rosa]

We were pretty sure (based on family history/allergies), that E's was food based. E had problems with eggs, corn and cow's milk until 2.5. We re-introduced eggs and corn without a problem recently, and it seems she's okay with yogurt and cheese (but not milk).
We found Aveeno made it worse, but that oatmeal baths (oats in a bag) helped to soothe. We also greased her up every time before swimming, after every water encounter (and if it was dry, cold, etc.) Onmce we got her skin into a decent state, it was easier to maintain. We used EPO and almond oil for the most part, and Vit E.
Do some research into allergy testing-it can be all kinds of things (pets, other allergens), and also that some kids just get eczema-not food related at all. E also has asthma, and sometimes these go hand in hand, and elimination diets, etc. do nothing!
Good luck!

[pastrygirl]

Thanks everyone! Do I need to get to a good starting point before starting an elimination diet, so that I know it's working or not working? Or will I just see it healing, if it's food-related? What should I start with? All of those things at once, or eliminate just one at a time so that I can isolate a potential culprit?

[flapjack]

I would remove everything, and reintroduce slowly. I'd also document every step of the 6 weeks with photographs- expect to see a flare-up at day 10 and one at 3 weeks, but his skin should look better at 6 weeks than it did before. If it does, reintroduce stuff. If not, keep it out and go and find an experienced homoeopath.

[lactivist]

I also would elimate the most common allergens and start adding back in slowly after he has healed. My ds is allergic to dairy (no testing) and gets eczema patches within hours of exposure. It takes about 2 weeks for the eczema to go away completely after an exposure. I use Calendula gel on his eczema patches (has alcohol and can sting but I blow on it and he doesn't mind) and they go away much quicker and don't itch him while they are healing. Good luck and I hope you can isolate the problem quickly.

Wendi

[khanni]

I know nothing about eczema, but mamas on another board I belong to were just having this conversation and said this cream worked better than the hydrocortisone or steroid creams: http://www.gentlenaturals.com/products/eczema_cream.cfm

Good luck!

[Owachi]

My ds had eczema and our ped sent us to a dermatologist which gave us creams which didn't work......finally I took my ds to an allergist last month on the advice of a family member and we started him on zyrtec and the next day it was all cleared up......amazing......I can actually put him in shorts and a tshirt now instead of pants and longsleeves when he was scratching......his allergy testing showed he was allergic to cats, dogs, and peanuts......which he isn't around so I'm not sure what it was that was causing his eczema but the allergy medicine worked......We think it was carpet because he wouldn't get eczema in the winter.......but yes, allergy testing and medicine are wonderful.......I'm surprised pediatricians don't refer you right to an allergist for eczema. No dr even mentioned it to me...

[lmkirche]

Yeah, my son has exzema, allergies(dairy, wheat, nuts, eggs), and asthma. I would have him tested - its pretty easy. Blood testing means getting poked, but skin testing gives immediate results with no pain.

[Buddhamom]

Sounds like it's time for some probiotics. That is what my daughter takes because she gets it bad from her foo allergies an it works woners! I use the Udo's Choice for Infants (she is 3). Good luck! Also, she sees a ped. allergist, not just a ped. He rew 6 tubes of blood at 6 mo. and we had answers to all allergies right away. We were very happy since she had an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts! Also, hyrocortizone thins the skin. We don't use that because DD is full AA and it would lighten her skin.

[earthmama369]

We found out last weekend, rather unfortunately, that there's a link between eczema, asthma, and a reaction to bug bites and/or bee stings. DD has had an eczema reaction to dairy in the past and is now reacting to either mosquito or gnat bites by swelling (a lot) and blistering at the bite site. Apparently these all involve a T cell reaction rather than an antibody reaction and people with one are more likely to develop symptoms of the other two. Just something to keep in mind.

[lactivist]

That makes a lot of sense. I had a ton of eczema as a kid but not so much as an adult but I am wickedly reactive to mosquito bites particularly if they are on my face. I can start to wheeze from too many on my face.

Wendi

[Ophelia]

Originally Posted by lmkirche

skin testing gives immediate results with no pain.

Are you sure?? I've had the skin testing done 3 times, twice when I was younger and one just recently, and none of them were pleasant to say the least. They almost made me sick. The latest one was done with some kind of push-pin and it hurt like heck. And I may have to have more done because they didnt' do food which is what I really needed to know.

Is this a different skin test that you are talking about where there is no prick or pin?

Pastrygirl, I should add that IF you are still breastfeeding, you'll also need to eliminate foods from your diet. I found out DS's sensitivity at about 2-3mo, way before he was even on solid food.

[pastrygirl]

Thanks for the product recommendations. I'd heard of that eczema cream and saw it at Target... now I wish I'd bought it!

As for the Udo's Choice for Infants -- it says I need to mix into into warm/hot liquid, is that right? Toby doesn't drink any hot liquids other than breastmilk straight from the source. What kind of drink would you put this in?

I am very allegeric to mosquito bites. I don't think Toby's gotten one yet (we hardly go outside because of my problem with mosquitos). But it feels like I have the flu in the spots where I get bitten. Achy, very swollen, ugh. I'm hoping he didn't inherit that.

I sadly realize that I'd need to eliminate the foods from my diet, too. Toby shows no interest in weaning whatsoever!

[lmkirche]

Originally Posted by Ophelia

Are you sure?? I've had the skin testing done 3 times, twice when I was younger and one just recently, and none of them were pleasant to say the least. They almost made me sick. The latest one was done with some kind of push-pin and it hurt like heck. And I may have to have more done because they didnt' do food which is what I really needed to know.

Is this a different skin test that you are talking about where there is no prick or pin?

Pastrygirl, I should add that IF you are still breastfeeding, you'll also need to eliminate foods from your diet. I found out DS's sensitivity at about 2-3mo, way before he was even on solid food.

The skin test that my allergy doctor did on my son did NOT involve pricking him with pins - ouch! The doctor swabbed different liquids from little vials onto the skin on the back. We waited 10-20 minutes and it was wiped off. My ds did not object at all to this - it did not seem to bother him at all - and it did not affect him through the rest of the day. The doctor did give him some benedryl after the testing.

[elmh23]

We did a prick test on our kids and neither really noticed. They cried but it was more because they both like their personal space.

OP, soy causes eczema in my daughter. Juniper blooming causes it in my son. I think it's worth getting him tested. Good luck.

[Masel]

My did had a lot of eczema as a baby. We had her tested at 15 months (liquid dab tests no pins) and within a couple week we could see a huge difference. Her hair finally started growing! We had tried to eliminate milk and eggs since she had reacted to milk and the Ped suggested that those allergic to milk also react to eggs. I would never have thought to eliminate peas but she's allergic to them too.

Lately she's been reacting to mosquitos. There seem to be some that live in our car that I can't get rid of. This is good to know about reactions. I may have to make herbal bug spray part of our morning ritual. DD had her second visit to the hospital for breathing issues. The first time was a year ago. I wonder now if mosquitos are the common demonimator.

[greenemami]

My dd had mild eczema-definitely not as bad as your son's-but the California Baby lotion (I think it is the super-sensitive one?) literally got rid of it in 2 applications. I definitely recommend it! I also have the body wash Good luck!

[eepster]

I cleared DS's eczema up completely simply by changing skin products. Though it might be food allergies, since it is a skin condition it has a greater chance of being caused by something that is in contact with the skin.

He reacts to any skin products with even tiny amounts of petroleum products in them. Many skin care products that are "natural" and "only use vegetable oils" use small amounts of petroleun products to process the natural vegetable oils.

Almost all products that are reccomended for eczema will cause DS to have a reaction.


If you do an elimination diet be careful that you LO is getting enough nutrition. There was a child at a preschool we visited. He had very bad eczema and his parents kept eliminating more and more foods trying to find the culprit food, but the more they eliminated the worse the eczema got. They finally saw an expert and it turned out the child's diet was nutritionally deficient. After reintroducing the foods they had eliminated, and adding in some other more nurishing foods his eczema cleared up.


Enviornmental allergens are also a possiblity.


When looking for what to eliminate first, look for patterns.

You said he first started having outbreaks at 18 mo. Did you switch laundry detergents at that time? Did you introduce a new food? Did you move him into his own bed with a new mattress?

When he has outbreaks or they seem to intensify is there any pattern to it. Does he seem worse after you've done X? Keeping a food, bathing, etc diary might help you in looking for a pattern.