Eczema help?

Feisty_Red

I didnt know the proper place to put this question...but thought I would try at least somewhere!

7 year old has terrible eczema...arms/ back of legs...back of ears..Docs and Dermo just throw creams at me left and right..nothing seems to help her..


Just thought someone out there might have seen something that works? It doesn't appear to be food related..unless we start at the beginning with wheat...etc..I have never pulled food intake like that severe.....but have watched the common triggers...strawberries...peanuts..etc..


any tips??

dontgiveupjustdoit

I've heard that salt is good for eczema - perhaps get her to have salt baths? Other than that, apparently oatmeal lotion is good too... I personally just use the ointment prescribed to me by the doctor (celestone) and when I use it properly I have visible results after a few days. Other than that I personally have no idea, I hate having it too

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Coconut oil.

http://www.nationaleczema.org/living-with-eczema/ask-the-doctor/coconut-oil

TheVimFuego

Coconut oil.

http://www.nationaleczema.org/living-with-eczema/ask-the-doctor/coconut-oil

I use coconut oil on some dry patches of skin that flare up occasionally, works great.

Feisty_Red

I've never tried Coconut oil! I'm getting some!!!!!! Thank you!!!

I dont know about the salt though...she normally(the poor little lamb) has open cuts from scratching and I fear that would burn..most lotions burn when I apply :sad:

Mceastes

My son had terrible eczema and I finally found a website that mentioned food dyes, specifically yellow #5. When we completely eliminated yellow #5 from his diet it totally stopped. The other food colors don't do it, it's just the yellow (known as tartrazine) He suffered for years before I figured it out. Eczema is medically called atopic dermatitis and it specifically mentions the link between that and yellow #5 in many articles I've read. Even small amounts set off a flare. Good luck - I know how hard it is to watch them suffer!

http://allergies.about.com/od/specifceliminationdiets/a/tartrazine.htm

Feisty_Red

I've never heard about watching out for that...I tried to keep them clean eaters..but some stuff slips! more to be aware of...thank you!!

emilymjones

Hi! I've had eczema my entire life and this is what generally works for me: keep skin hydrated meaning use loation everyday and especially after shower/baths. Never use loation/soap/laundry degetergent/anything/etc with dyes, perfumes or scents (it irritates skin). Do not use fabric sofener. If skin is irritated/itchy anti-itch creams like cortizone tend to help alot. Also if skin is super itchy, icing it actually helps (it numbs the skin and then you don't feel the itch.)
Don't use super hot water on skin but just warm water. Things that tend to irritate my skin alot: salt water (basically any water thats not fresh including pool or ocean water), any grasses/plants/etc on bare skin, fur (cats, dogs, etc). Taking a shower after coming into contact with these things helps it alot.
Avoid certain foods like strawberries or tomattoes. I personally try and use steriod cream as little as possible but they certainly do help alot when needed. I tend to use them when I have a flair-up and try to lower the dosage/stop them when it gets better (with the blessing of my doctor.) Also, I at least scratch alot when I'm asleep (you cant really help it) so wearing gloves to bed helps (if it doesnt bother you). I also don't know what doctor you go to or whether you have access to one but I go to a doctor who specializes in asthma and allergies (those go hand in hand with eczema) so she is very knowlegable about it. Hopefully this helps you a little bit.

johnsnana

My dermatologist prescribed Ultravate years back & it was the only cream that ever worked. It is strong though & can cause wrinkles in the skin so it is not for the face. (I had it on my hands in between my fingers) from stress.

LiviLou2011

I've never heard about watching out for that...I tried to keep them clean eaters..but some stuff slips! more to be aware of...thank you!!

Epsom salts in the bath water wont hurt her scrapes and stuff, it can actually help heal them, and prevent infection...and i also suffer from eczema on my hands and legs, its not fun at all im suffering from it as we speak it itches horrible..im gonna try the coconut oil also.

NoAdditives

Do you use natural laundry detergents and soaps? I like stuff from The Honest Company and BabyGanics. My baby has eczema and I use the healing balm from The Honest Company and the eczema lotion from BabyGanics.

Feisty_Red

Always use natural..no fabric softeners..etc...I try to stay away from steroid stuff because she is sooo young..and it's bound to get into her eyes or somewhere it shouldn't..

I'll try espoms salt though as well...

I've also heard about bleach baths...which sounds off to me..but its a bacteria thing that snaps it off ya..(or some have suggested) She just wont let me get it under control to make anything closed! last night was up putting cold washcloths on her

I put lotion on her...thick..and I barely even rub it in at night before bed.. She is just having a horrible break out that no matter how much hydrating I do...it is useless at night when she gets at it


Thank you everyone xoxo!

xdieselx

I did have ezcema when i was a teenager. I was drinking around 10 liters of orange juice per week. When i stopped drinking orange juice like a madman, my ezcema disappeared forever. Could be something like this for you too, we never know!

Jain

Bleach bath!:noway:

I suffer from eczema, stress related. I've found cutting dairy when I'm having an outbreak help. And I use organic Argon oil on my skin, not as oily as coconut oil and works just as well. I use it every day, even on my face.

amanda_ataraxia

I have eczema and rosacea. One month of using this $2.79 bar of soap and my symptoms are 99% cleared.

http://www.amazon.com/GRISI-Sulfur-Soap-with-Lanolin/dp/B001LP64D0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344198832&sr=8-2&keywords=sulfur+soap

I used to get prescription sulfur wipes through my insurance ($500 for 3 boxes!) and then my new insurance would not cover them. This bar of soap works just as well for less than $3.

shannonkk

I started taking fish oil and using kyocera lotion after trying everything else and for the last year, my hands are clear and free. I used to not be able to do alot with my hands because the skin looked like oil burns and felt like it too. If I even try to use household cleaners without gloves, it will flare up for a few days but always clears up. They have childrens chewable fish oil at the stores and I ordered the kyocera from the pharmacy for $15.00.

3laine75

Malki dead sea soap works wonders for my daughter - she only gets small patches behind her knees etc and this clears it up in a few days.

My brother's is much more extreme - he cannot eat any dairy or he breaks out, so if you haven't tried cutting out dairy you could mabey give that a go.

oh, and non-bio soap powder.

tourettte

St John's wort oil really helps (i think that's how it's called in english). My mom makes a home made oil - half 1l bottle of St John's wort and rest olive oil (fresh), leave it in the sun for 40 days filter it and it's ready to use.

If you're buying it it has to be dark red in color.
I had some sort of eczema on my face, nothing from conventional medicine helped then my mom gave me that oil and in two weeks I got huge improvement.

edit: I've googled other names for it - Tipton's weed, chase-devil, or Klamath weed

haylz247

used to have it really bad as a child. i was given steroid creams and aqueous cream.
that used to go in the bath to soften the water as well as applied directly to my skin.

i sometimes get flare ups, so get the steroid cream from the Dr. sorry i don't know the name of it!

when i have a lot of dairy, that can make it come back.
get it at least once a year but it's so much better. don't really do much. just use gentle products

good luck. i know how irritating it is!

paulaviki

I've read loads of places that a lot of people with eczema find avoiding dairy helps. I know that's not ideal for a child but it could bf worth trying dairy substitutes and seeing if it helps?

easycure

my 7 year old daughter has it horribly too. i won't use steriod creams on her anymore b/c of the side effects. I have hunted and researched for years! I did finally find something that works miracles on her! Its --Neosporin Eczema Essentials Daily Moisturizing Cream-- i put this on her legs and inside of elbows every night before bed. her legs are soft in a couple days of using it, and thats from cracked and bleeding. Its about 20 bucks per tube, but if you've struggled with it like i have and watched her cry, I know that the cost is nothing

i hope this helps!

amandamaren

sun exposure really cleared my son's eczema up. also make a mask out of water and fuller's clay, it soothes the skin realy well.

easycure

we have had allergy tests done on her. shes allergic to everything! we can't even begin to cut out everything. She is also extremely allergic to horses, and theres a farm of them behind our yard. an allergy test might help narrow things down for your daughter tho.

Justacoffeenut

bump. I know a 3 year old who is suffering really bad. Doctor keeps tossing creams and such. Half are sooo expensive and insurance wont cover it or even help. Parents are at their wits end. Poor baby. The dremo told them excema isn't food related. I wonder.

I know the parents have tried a handful of epsom salts in her baths. And they say she cries when they put the creams on her as well. They have also tries the Eucerin lotion on her after baths and everyday. Nothing seems to be helping the little angel.

DixiedoesMFP

My 4 year old has horrible eczema. We actually did get her allergy testing .... and she is allergic to cows milk. She was drinking a ton of it. Much improved since we switched to soy. Allergy testing may help.

Cetaphil makes a great body wash and lotion - they are expensive ($15!) but very helpful.

You need to stop the itch/scratchy cycle. So Zyrtec in the morning, Benadryl at night, and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. We have found that things like chlorine make her worse, so we are sure to rinse her off as soon as she gets out. Same when she plays in the grass.

Good luck! Also, steroid creams and Elidel might seem scary, but they can be a GREAT relief when she is absolutely miserable with the itching.

girlinahat

I find the less dairy (by that I mean cow products, amd fine with goat) I have the better, otherwise my skin feels dehydrated. The other thing to watch are wool products. A vast number of dry skin creams and lotions contain lanolin - It took me 28 years to figure out that was what set my skin off itching like crazy. And I tried all sorts of creams including Udder Cream (yep, exactly what you are thinking) before realising they had lanolin in.

jezzi16

i've also heard about bleach baths...which sounds off to me..but its a bacteria thing that snaps it off ya..(or some have suggested) She just wont let me get it under control to make anything closed! last night was up putting cold washcloths on her

---

This, I tried it on my toddler last winter and it was amazing, First year doc recommended it I scoffed. 2nd year I was at my wits end and decided to give it a try and and extremly bad breakout covering her entire back and within a week and two baths it was gone.100 % gone. I was so turned off by the idea of bleaching my baby but it is so diluted ( i think it was 1/2 cup to a full tub of warm water) that it didn't have any ill effects at all. It seems to just stop the production of the eczema cells and lets it clear up rather then using lotions and more lotions and I hate using the scripts that just peel layers of her skin away , that is clearing anything up just remmoving skin!

dhakiyya

what emollient does she have? Is it one that protects the skin's natural barrier? If not it's possible that your dermatologist is using out of date info. Both my kids have had severe eczema, and so have I. New research has shown that the treatment of eczema is about having the right kind of emollient. Steroid creams should be used short term to get it under control. This advice comes from the dermatologists that me and my kids have seen (about 4 altogether) and it's based on scientific research (i.e. conventional medicine)

the emollient my kids have is cetaphil, however there are others and it's quite individual which one is best, there are quite a few.

Also if you haven't already, look at allergens that come into contact with the skin, in most cases these are more significant than food allergies (although food allergies can still cause it). Anything that's in contact with the skin, clothing, bedding, towels, dust, washing powder, fabric conditioner, bath products, other cosmetics, could be affecting it. With my youngest daughter she actually has a problem with the local tap water and has to be bathed in bottled water (it's water from our local oasis (in Saudi) which has some weird minerals in it, that she's allergic to).

However one thing about the good emollient creams is that they help the skin's natural barrier to protect her against these things. What happens in eczema is that the skin's barrier is water soluble, due to a genetic defect (a particular protein is not made quite right) and so the skin is left completely open to the environment, which means many things irritate it and allergies develop. With a good emollient cream, one that actually sits on the skin (an emollient is not the same as a moisturiser) is it forms the barrier that the skin's natural barrier is supposed to. You need the steroid creams to reduce the inflammation and repair the damaged skin, but they should be used alongside a good emollient which will first protect the skin and then allow the skin's natural barrier to rebuild itself. Depending on the severity of the eczema, the emollient may need to be used for life, however it doesn't contain any actual drugs.

I hope you can find something that helps, and seeing a different dermatologist may help (my dermatologist explained all of the above to me, and gave me leaflets explaining it, and also explained how to use the steroid creams and when to stop using them, how to use the emollients to maintain the skin's protection etc) - this is after a lifetime of having eczema which varied from moderate to severe, and the same has worked on both my kids who have had severe eczema in the past, my youngest had it practically from when she was first born. All three of us have our eczema well under control now.

Michele7091

Coconut oil.

http://www.nationaleczema.org/living-with-eczema/ask-the-doctor/coconut-oil

I use coconut oil on some dry patches of skin that flare up occasionally, works great.

Ditto...I have HORRIBLE eczema on my hands and this is the only thing that helped me. Its expensive but its worth it.

LishaCole

These things have really helped me, and many people I know that have suffered with eczema and psoriasis .

- Get a high quality omega 3 oil from the health food store. Follow the directions and take the maximum dose. Kids tend to like the “nutrasea” brand because it tastes like green apple, or orange flavoured flax oil. This will not only help with the eczema but it will correct the EFA deficiency that often accompanies eczema. At your child’s age EFAs help with brain and eye development, so it’s a bonus .
- Get an oily salve, one intended for eczema or diaper rash, with ingredients like calendula, shea butter, beeswax. Lotions will only irritate the skin and the oil will protect the skins moisture barrier allowing for the rash to heal. Put on morning and night, especially after bath time.
- See if there is an external cause of the irritation. Sensitivity to laundry soap, bubble bath, shampoo. Or even food intolerances are common causes.

A soap sensitivity may be caused by perfume or sodium laurel sulfate (foaming agent) ingredient. The SLS may be stripping too much oil from the skin and causing the rash.
I actually heard, not sure if it’s true, that SLS is used in animal testing to give hairless rabbits eczema/dermatitis to test eczema and psoriasis treatments. .

Feisty_Red

A ton of info! Thank you soo much!!!!!