Excema

[Energyboy]

Hi ED

Has anybody had any experience with prolonged excema? Having tried the normal routes of treatment we are not making much progress. Any help greatly appreciated

[Gooders79]

We gave experience with our 3 yo. He is on a strict daily regime of bath emollient, soap substitute nothing else in bath, v rarely shower. Twice daily top to toe doublebase dayleve cream and hydrocortisone (using fingertip units for quantity) for at least 5 days with flares. This generally keeps it under control. We saw the dermatology clinical nurse specialist at burbage road which made the most impact for us in tes of switching around regime. We also notice things can deteriorate v quickly again, swimming/water play, sun cream and minor illness all cause flares. We use piriton for itching too

[keane]

Hi there we ended up with a combo of epiderm & hydrocortisone ointment 0.5 % not cream as absorbs better. He also came off dairy yoghurt etc & had alpro soya from 1-3 but in our case he did grow out of it by 4 & we were lucky in that respect. He eats dairy now with no problems atall. But when it was bad I found the combo above worked best with a house of mistry neem oil shower gel u can get from health matters for the bath & shower. K

[etta166]

Definitely worth seeing the dermatologists at Burbage Road. They will advise on the options for your child. Similar to Gooders79 we used emolient twice a day (but in our case Epiderm ointment) and steroid for flare ups (betamethasone) and trimovate for persistent flare ups. Putting on the steroid for 2-3 days early as soon as you see the first sign of redness keeps it under control.

At 6, it is not an issue any more as long as we stay on top of it.

We also saw a consultant at Kings when it was at its worst, and she recommended the creams that we ended up using.

[PeckhamRyeAnne]

Hi Energyboy, How bad is the eczema? Is it dry or weeping? Has it been infected? Have the normal routes of treatment taken you to a paediatrician? There are various other options to consider (diet and others) if you want to discuss this in more detail feel free to PM me.

[Mariamadeit]

My 5yo has suffered with it for quite a long time now and the gp just kept giving us various emollient creams and low dose hydrocortisone. Before Xmas he had a big flare up and it got infected, we ended up in a&e after seeing a knowledgeable gp who sent us straight there. Once there we saw Dr Higgins (kings dermatology) and after a short stay and iv antibiotics, he was discharged with oral antibiotics and we haven't looked back, she prescribed a heavy duty range of creams to try and keep in the cupboard in case of a flare up. We are now at the point of not needing cream every day, we use aveeno in the bath, but don't bathe every day and his skin is unrecognisable.

[stacker285]

I was about to mention Aveeno. It seems to be a miracle cream for bad excema - anecdotally I have had many parents tell me that it revolutionised their childs excema care.

[KatsuQueen]

Yes we still use Aveeno (the cream) every day and when we started using it,we could see my son's eczema improve. Definitely try it. You can get it on prescription but also readily available at Boots. Go for the cream, not the lotion.

Having said that, it is a case of constant management I.e. cream twice daily all over, using soap very sparingly, keep an eye out for the start of any flare-ups. Good luck with it, it is an ongoing battle.

[Pam50]

http://www.eczema.org/

The NES saved my sanity many years ago when my daughter suffered with Eczema. Hope it helps you manage as well. Best Wishes, Pam

[midivydale]

I use Aveeno too for my son who is 3. His condition is not severe though but Aveeno has def helped.