cortizone cream?

[lovinmybub]

Hi everyone:wave:
My nearly 7 month old has what the doctor originally said was just dry skin but everyone else thinks is eczema. I was told to use QV bath oil and sorbolene, but it's just become worse and worse. Various things have worked on some areas some of the time - pawpaw ointment, Alpha keri oil and lotion, zinc & castor oil, ect.

I went to the dr again today because its really bad behind his knees and he told me to use cortizone (sp?) cream. I really didn't want to resort to this, but I can't keep experimenting on my baby with more natural things while he suffers!

I just wanted to know does anyone use the cortizone and think its ok/good to do so? A bit of positive-ness about the product might help me!! Other suggestions would also be lovely, but right now I'd like him to feel better as it's been bad for a while already while I've avoided the cortizone!

Thankyou!

[bigglet]

Sometimes as much as we don't like to use steroid cream on young ones sometimes it's best to basically hit the nail on the hammer once (so to speak) rather than have days, weeks, months of suffering.

I've personally found steroid/cortisone cream to work wonders - they fix the problem within a day or so whereas other natural remedies just don't do anything or take weeks to even see a difference - everyone has different experience to what works - sometimes what works with one may not work on another person and I've tried practically every natural item for eczema on the market from chemists to health stores and in the end one dose of the steroid cream cleared it up.

Whatever works for you/bub is the best remedy - steroid cream is only of a concern if you are using it for long periods of time.

[pinkandblue]

I recommend the cortizone creams too. We use sigmacort 1% and it works wonders.

[leane7]

I am using Hydrozole on my bubba. Its worked really well for him, within a day or 2 the eczema was basically gone. Its a cream that is suitable for sensitive skin. You will need to talk to the DR about it first though as it says not to applied to under 2 y/o without speaking to DR first. My sons Eczema comes back every now & again & I just put on this cream for a couple of days & it goes away. It also contains some anti-fungal stuff. I recommend this product as I have had a good experience with it.

Good Luck

PS- Its a Pharmacist only medicine & its about $15 for a 30g tube.

[pookiesossige]

You want positive stories, ok!
I put it on behind Ronan's knees and elbows, after a bath when they are thoroughly dry. And the next day it is either MUCH better or totally gone for the time being! So I put it on every second evening, that seems to keep the redness and irritation at bay altogether :thumbsup:

My mum had terrible eczema as a baby, and while I fully support the quest to find effective natural treatments, she was denied any at all because they couldn't find anything other then cortisone that worked :thumbsdown: She has so much scarring on her feet, legs and arms and horrible memories of itching, bleeding, sweating and crying from the pain and irritation :crying:

You can get mild cortisone creams over the counter at the pharmacy without a script :)

[Little_Toad]

See if you can get a script for Elidel before trying cotisone,

Fantastic non steroid excema cream.

Cortizone is very effective but can thin the skin if used too much.

[pookiesossige]

Cortizone is very effective but can thin the skin if used too much.

True, it's good to have breaks from it every now and then. Actually, I have some MediHoney I'm going to use tonight and see how that goes :thumbsup: But I will never put away that Sigmacourt, it really does the job for us!

I'd like to try out that Elidel too- thanks for the recommendation LT :yes:

[punkbaby]

POstive here as well too! Usually if dds is just mild i will just use your over the counter cremes mainly to stop the itching, sadly though 90% of the time its really bad and i have to use her prescription creme (ecolin or elocin sp??) it clears it up quiet quickly and its alot more comforting for her as well too which is all that matters. I tend to only use it if i really have too though, dont abuse it i guess.

Whats medihoney? where do i get that from is it good?

[Little_Toad]

I'd like to try out that Elidel too- thanks for the recommendation LT :yes:

Fantastic cream altough there is a slightly better one called Protopic which is on trial at westmead (has been for about 5 years). Very similar to Elidel so I dont know why they are still trialing it when it has been approved everywhere else in the world,

i get mine from overseas. My dad also sends me free samples.
it isn't cheap but one 30g tube will last me about 4 - 5 months, I only use it on my face twice a day)

[Can I?]

What's in the Elidel?

[Little_Toad]

non steroid excema cream.
great if you get excema on your face casue you cant use steroids on your face.


or.. protopic.com

lots of useful information n there.

[Mummaof2]

Have you tried Almond Oil and/or Goats Milk Soap. My 19mth DS gets eczema on his face and behind his knees so i just massage almond oil into his skin and it works wonders.

I got the Almond oil from a health store

[bindiloo]

Well basically i could give you encouraging new by saying that cortisone may very well appear to fix you young ones problem However it probably wont in the long run. Cortisone simply pushes the problem back into the body hiding it so it will appear to have healed the problem but it will re-appear weeks or months down the track as the problem is still there.
Usually if you start from scratch removing most wheat products from your childs diet ,which isnt as hard as it sounds then u may start to see some improvements and what i did for my dd was i got drops from the homeopath which works in removing the problem from their body not just hiding it. I also got fish oil drops from my homeopath which i put in her bottle twice a day and this worked wonderfully. Usually when rashes appear it is the problem within the body trying to get out and so it rises to the surface and forms a excema type rash. Its a matter of helping it expel itself altogether and also pinpointing what types of food or products your using are creating the problem.

[Can I?]

Please be careful with almond oil. I was using to massage my DS and his skin was shocking. It turns out he was allergic to nuts. Poor little guy. I switched to olive oil and he hasn't looked back.

I've found that anything with petrochemicals really irritates my eczema rather than helps it heal. That's why I wondered what was in the Elidel cream.

I would definately try the cortizone cream if you need to. It works like magic for me, and I only use a tiny smear for about 2-3 days in a row, and it clears up any sore spots.

[Toffee apple]

Hands up here to for positive story ,we were using Sigmacort(which can be used on the face as it is low dose) & then when to a slightly stronger one (recommend when we had a day stay at the royal childrens) DD also used to have nasty patches behind her nees & on the tops of her ankles.
Our bodies make cortizone naturally & if used correctly then thinning of the skin is not an issue , it is far better to clear up the problem than to let it get infected & go on, i was wary of using a stronger dose on DD but to be honest her skin looks amazing & i think i have only needed to use it a handfull of times & it it clears it pretty much o/night, so therefor we don't have days of pilling lotions & potions on her ( i too have been through a range of naturall products) .
Every bath she still has QV oil & we moisturise within 3 mins of her getting out of the bath to lock in moisture.
Never over heat(don't have the ducted heating/normal heater blasting away, Ezcema bubs tend to be hotter bubs & don't need as much rugging up.
Last of all my Doc gave my a trial tube of ELIDEL to try it sounded great ....till i came home & googled:eek:

[lovinmybub]

Thanks to everyone who told me their positive stories, as I said, that was what I was wanting to hear!!!

As I also mentioned, I really didn't want to use the cortisone, as I do know the negatives, but how many weeks can you try other things while your baby gets more and more uncomfortable before you just go for something known to work quickly? While I do welcome other suggestions, I will be saving them for next time the rash is mild, and not using ds as a guinea pig anymore this time!!

My baby is nearly 7 months old, and he doesn't have any wheat products in his diet. He mainly still eats fruit and vegies I puree for him, so wheat can't be the problem.

Everything else I tried cleared up the rash at first and then it came back even worse, so if that is all the cortisone does, I'm no worse off! (I saw 3 doctors for advice before I finally gave in to it.)

I put the cortisone on last night and again this morning... I feel so relieved because behind his knees doesn't look so sore anymore!!

Thanks again ladies for the support, that's what bub hub is all about!

[Toffee apple]

:thumbsup: it is nice hear that you little one has had some improvement overnight.

[Can I?]

Glad to hear your little guy is feeling a bit better this morning!

Just googled Elidel....ummmmm.....that is a bit scary really :eek:

[Mummy2R&K]

I had it terrible when i was a baby and still get a bit now - and a cortizone cream called Aritsicort? (spelling) worked wonders for me, cleared up after a day or two!

Also, I've heard of a product called Goats Milk Soap (i think!!) that you can get in most health shops and is apparently great to use on babies etc and clears it up.

[bindiloo]

:) Glad to hear its giving him some relief.
Wasnt trying to put a dampener on it i was just trying to give u an insight as to how cortisone does its job as doctors tend to prescribe these things so loosely without actually bothering to explain these interesting facts.:thumbsup:

[youngones]

Pro cortisone user here too - we use 1% dermaid soft. DD has severe eczema from head to toe, so we have to use it every other day at least, sometimes every day. We go through a tube about every month.

The allergist we have been to has assured us that over the counter cortisone won't damage her skin and not treating it will just lead to scratching, scabbing and eventually, scarring.

Elidel works by blocking the immune response and the active ingredient is called something like pimecrolimus. It is meant to be an intervention to use to prevent the need to go to stronger, prescription-only cortisone. Elidel is for short term treatment only and we use it on DD's face and head, as we don't want to use cortisone there. I generally only need to use it once or twice in any 2 or 3 week period and only when she flares up. Fortunately, her face seems to stay good when we keep up the cortisone to the rest of her body.

I have tried every 'miracle' eczema cream on the market and can say that absolutely none of them work as well as cortisone. I have friends in their 40s who have used topical hydrocortisone on their bodies and even their faces since early childhood.

My DD's hands are really bad at the moment, as she is teething and has been chewing on them a lot. They are red raw and she's taken quite a bit of skin off. At night, I'm using the dermaid 1% on them, then the QV intensive we cover her with, then putting socks on her hands - partially to stop her scratching and chewing them, but also because you don't want to get cortisone or Elidel in bub's eyes or mouth.

Good luck!

[Little_Toad]

,we were using Sigmacort(which can be used on the face as it is low dose)

Ant type of cortiosone even low doses is very bad for on the face.

[lovinmybub]

Thanks bindiloo. It's just frustrating when i know its not great for him but it's really the last resort. I've been to the doctor 3 times before I finally gave in to the cortisone! When it's cleared up I'll try some new things to keep it away, I just couldn't let it get any worse!

It's looking so much better behind his knees, and he's sleeping again!! Poor little bub was waking up every hour during the night for a week and a half, I thought it was teeth but now I think his knees where just so sore!

Thanks again for all the positive stories, I really don't think doctors want to hurt our babies. I'd use the cortisone again in a heartbeat if the eczema got bad!

[Toffee apple]

Ant type of cortiosone even low doses is very bad for on the face.
Sigmacort is fine to use on the face, I am not sure where you get this information from?