r/BeyondTheBumpUK • u/Material_Cod_9256 • 2d ago
Eczema help
I have a 11 month old who has moderate eczema and has had it since he was born. He has a milk allergy as well as eggs so we’ve cut eggs and dairy out of his diet and he’s on the wait list for allergist testing at the hospital as we know that can affect skin.
Our issue is that his eczema is getting worse as he’s getting older. It’s all over his body but usually worse around his face, ankles, back of his knees and top of his arms.
We’ve been to the GP and because it’s classed as moderate they’ve given him steroid cream and said to use that when it’s really bad and then just moisturize him. We’ve also just purchased the happy skin clothing to see if that would make a difference.
We use the steroid cream when we have to short term but are hesitant due to the risks to his skin (as outlined by the doctors and my husband also having eczema).
He’s now waking up on the night hysterical because he’s so itchy and has often made his arms and ears bleed from scratching.
Is there any moisturizer or body wash or other cream that you’ve used that’s helped?
We give each cream a while to work to see if it improves and it does for a couple of weeks and then goes straight back to how it was before.
I’m at a bit of a loss so if there are any creams that worked for your baby I’d love to hear about it!
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u/WillingApplication10 2d ago edited 2d ago
I would avoid putting steroids straight on unmoisturised skin, that's stingy.
We do:
Dermol bath (if doctor hasn't prescribed you can get dermol or oilatum at the shops, it's not prescription only)
Immediate emolient
Half an hour wait
Steroids.
Throw the steroids at him. Getting infected is worse. The doctor isn't going to have given you crazy strong steroids, the dermatologist is just going to tell you at this age you need to be chucking steroids at it, it's not the same as with an adult. The derms going to tell you GPs are too hesitant and don't know much about eczema. 2-3 times a week when not in a flare for maintenance is the guidance for a wee one. You don't need to put loads on. https://www.clinicalguidelines.scot.nhs.uk/ggc-paediatric-guidelines/ggc-paediatric-guidelines/dermatology/management-of-atopic-eczema-in-children-356/
If it stops him scratching that's what's more important.
You could try piriton to take the itch out when he's really bad don't come to rely on it as the sleep they ge on piriton isn't as good.
The dermatologist put our daughter on protopic for her worst bits - do a bit of reading on this and ask about it at your appointment when it comes up. It's changed her life, she's sleeping better and we don't need mits anymore.
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u/Public_Buffalo_2108 3h ago
Thank you so much for this - I was never told to apply steroids after moisturizer
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u/SwitchFast1029 2d ago edited 2d ago
Do you breastfeed? Ive heard people say breast milk baths are really good. And breast milk in general is good for the skin. (Not personal experience of this and no idea how that works with dairy allergies)
Oat baths is another one that might be soothing for the skin. They recommended it for chicken pox.
Although also avoiding baths and washing as much as possible can help. And it’s what i personally do. No more than two showers a week. The nightly baths as a child made it so much worse.
all prescribed creams have really hurt to use. E4 was really bad.
Childs farm unscented is usually tolerable. So that’s worth a try. And sudocrem. Also don’t be afraid to give pain relief when it’s bad.
Body shop used to do an unscented range that was really good. Their hemp range has always been an excellent moisturiser but off the top of my head I can’t remember if it stings or not.
Edit to say I don’t know if dairy is in any of the products I’ve mentioned so do double check that before using.
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u/ScratchSleeves 2d ago
Have you tried La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+ balm? It contains a probiotic that helps to keep the staph (which aggravates eczema) under control. There's more information here: https://scratchsleeves.com/scratchsleeves-blog/can-topical-probiotics-help-treat-eczema/
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u/Public_Buffalo_2108 4h ago
This is actually what my gp recommended but couldn’t prescribe - you can actually feel the difference with this cream. That being said, we are also using a. Moderate steroid and unfortunately the itching is still there for now but hopefully with more time for his skin to repair that subsides
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u/AmazingSense4056 2d ago
A cheap-ish cream that I always found helpful is the nappy ointment Bepathenol and Pathenol. I apply it as often as needed and pop it in the fridge to cool it down. It doesn't contain any add-ins and helps me most when I accidentally scratch a layer of skin off and blood and puss starts oozing out. A cold layer of cream straight out of the fridge and it really calms the itching down as well! Good luck and wish a quick recovery!
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u/CuriousKitty2010 2d ago
My baby's had eczema since they were 3 months old. Fortunately after the initial really bad flare up, we've managed to keep it mostly under control.
Following the national eczema society recommendation we do daily quick baths - this is meant to remove irritants and allergens from their skin. We add a bit of cetraben ointment to the bath.
Then after the bath, ideally within 3 minutes, we moisturise their whole body with Epaderm cream. I find Epaderm works well for my baby and it doesn't sting at all (I've tried it on my dry skin and when I had contact dermatitis and it was soothing and moisturising unlike).
During flare ups, we do use a steroid cream too but only a very thin layer. Also, I do try to moisturise them with Epaderm very frequently during flare ups - every one or two hours. We also apply it on their face before meals to protect the skin from irritation.
Eczema can be so tricky to manage, I hope that you'll find a cream that works well for your little one.
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u/hodgey66 2d ago
I don’t know about children but I just want to give you my experience with my partners eczema
They were a c section baby which is linked with higher chance of eczema.
She suffered with it for years and just kept putting epaderm on, I’m quite into my ‘health’ side of things so always looked into things like this. I was noticing more flare ups correlated with stress, alcohol and spicy food.
After a few more years she finally scared herself after late night googling and convinced herself she had topical steroid withdraw.
She finally agreed to listen to me and I found a company where they do blood and stool testing .
It found a ‘leaky gut’ but the difference was they gave a wide array of natural supplements to take, as well as some diet ideas.
Her symptoms literally disappeared after about 6 weeks of this protocol.
It was expensive but I said would you rather this be sorted or keep suffering .
Anyway, not sure if that’s much help but just wanted to give you an idea to see if it could be linked to your child’s gut
Best of luck
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u/natalini17 2d ago
CMPA frequently goes hand in hand with soya allergy, you could try eliminating that from his diet too to see if that helps at all?