At my wits end!!!

[wendys]

DS6 woke up this morning with weeping eczema all up and down his arms. I've give him a bath with dermaveen bath oil, covered him in strong steriod (advantan) with sigmacort on his face then locked it in with emulsyfying oinment with coal tar and he's now in a wet wrap. I will do this 2 more times today.

I'm sooooo over this!! What am I doing wrong?? I have tried EVERYTHING and it all goes well for a couple of weeks then one morning he wakes up covered!! ARRGGHHHHH Poor boy! He's at the age where the kids in his class are starting to notice somethings difference. He came home one day saying some of the other boys don't want to be his partner because his hands are always creamy from putting on his cream in class :( It's only gonna get worse....

I bought him some multivitamins today because he's allergic to dairy and not getting any calcium. I've also heard magnesium and vitamin D are good for eczema and people with eczema usually have a deficiency in these.

He's also on double doses of fish oil, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil and cod liver oil to help him become oily from the inside out. Poor boy has to swallow about 10 tablets a day. Plus an antihistamine I give him.

Sorry for the whinge. :( Does ANYONE know of anything else I can try??

[Pregnor]

I think zinc is also supposed to be good for it.

Poor little guy, it must be really hard for him, and you too of course

Have you tried keeping a diary to see if there is a food that is setting it off? Something like strawberries can often be the culprit. A food seems to be more logical to me, because its his whole body breaking out I assume, rather than a small area from contact with an irritant?

ETA: Sorry just re-read its on his arms. Could it be something like him washing himself with a soap at school after painting, or something they are using at school?

[mum of 3]

my dd also gets realy bad weeping eczema i have used every cortisone/steroid cream you can get and they do squat for her she has been hospitalised a few times now cos it got so bad she had staph from head to toe and needed iv antibiotics when she flairs up now all i use is dermeeze wet dressings 2hrly and prednisalone and it helps

[wendys]

Thanks Guys

I'm feeling a bit better about it today after spending the whole day yesterday suffocating him in steroids! :( I really wish I didn't have to do that because the effects are starting to show around his eyes (they are all wrinkly) and his skin is super thin now and very scarred.

But at least its not weeping any more and now his skin is soft. The chemist suggested changing his creams & oils for a while and then change again in a couple of weeks so he doesn't get immune to them.

So I'm using Deraveen bath oil instead of Billy Goat Soap (which used to work really well but not anymore) and the coal tar which the dermatologist made for us instead of just emulsifying ointment. So far so good.

Pregnor - Do you mean zinc orally or topically? I think his new multivitamin contains some. Would that be enough?
I've kept many eczema diaries before which is how i determined the milk allergy but I haven't been able to pinpoint anything else.
Also when I said just his arms were weeping I forgot to mention that the rest of his body was covered also but he had just been scratching his arms over night. I don't think it is contact because he was wearing long sleeves??

Also has anyone tried probiotics with any success?

[spagbog]

We had success with our dd with cutting out wheat and dairy. We tried everything first to no avail. Now we just use elidel on her face.

[Ruby Sneakers]

I wonder if it's a cotton or fabric allergy??? I know my eczma patches flare up if I'm wearing a cheap fabric..... U have probably already looked into that so I'm sorry I'm not much help but just wanted to send big hugs!!!

My other thoughts was have u tried moogoo eczma cream??? I found it's the only thing that actually got rid of mine (steroids did nothing for me) but with his dairy allergy does that extend to his skin???

Big hugs to u and ur DS xoxoxox

[Pregnor]

Yeah, oral zinc should help.

I think a lot of probiotics have dairy in them? not sure tho

[JabberJaw]

I was exactly the same as your DS as a child, so i am sure my mum could have posted this same thread years ago, she always tells me she would have been a millionaire had it not been for my skin.

I agree with the zinc, i take it and can tell the difference if i dont. The other wacky do new think i am taking is olive leaf extract 3 times a day, it helps with a lot of things, but has been shown to help with skin problems, you can just mix it in with a drink for younger ones as the after taste is rather gross.

The weather also messes with me, any change and i dry out, in summer i sweat so itch like crazy, in winter i am just a big pile of dry skin.

Things that set me of a dairy and also chocolate and citus fruit (oranges/juice etc) my mum kept food diary's when i was little and i have tested it and its still happens :( i love both chocolate and oranges! After years of just eating them anyway, i have given up because it isnt worth it to me anymore, i would rather go without.

Have you tried dermaeze? Its in a big tub and its a very vaseline like consistency. I use it when i am really dried out as it lock the moisture in without the need to wet wrap. I allpy thinly in the day (because its so greasy) but at night i apply it thick and cover myself in cotton PJ's

I agree with the chemist, because i have to change what i use regularly. I cant use goats milk,moo goo or sorbolene. Nor can my son. It makes us much worse.

I have used steriod creams on my face all my life, and my skin is fine. I was told that because we recieve enough vit D in Australia, this help counteract the effects of the steroids on the skin.

My Gp usually puts me on a short course of antibiotics and oral steroids if i get all weepy and itchy. And when on those i forgo the creams, and just slather myself in moisturiser. It seems to get it under control much faster than creams and it is manageable for longer. ( i get antibiotics because i often get infections from sleep scratching, i also get horrific bruising while scratching in my sleep, looks like someone has taken to me with a stick) The oral steroids help with the itch too so i dont need to take antihistamine to get a decent nights sleep.

Oh the other thing i just thought of was washing powder....have you changed it lately? I know something i have used for a long time is now different since they made the new concentrated formulas. We use amolin liquid at half dose and i always double rinse. I also often just wash in vinegar to strip the clothes/sheets/towels of any washing powder build up.

Best of luck. Its horrible, not only for you but for your DS.

[Elliemac]

Have you seen a pediatric allergist? I can't really tell from your posts, sorry if you already have, but that was the thing which gave me the most help. My dd was allergic to eggs & dairy (which I suspected) but also soy & nut, dust, dog & cat hair & feathers. Apparently 50% of children allergic to dairy will be allergic to soy as well, so might be worth checking.

Also, if it's pet hair, he could be getting exposure from a child in his class who may have pet hair on their clothes?

Just a couple of thoughts. Good luck!

[MamaBleech]

Sadly I don't have the knowledge that my mother has but I suffered severe eczema as a child too.

Like you, Mum worked out that dairy was a huge culprit. Other ways of dealing with it (that I know of)

No soaps or chemicals on skin EVER, no shampoos, washing powders, moisturisers etc
All cotton clothing, no synthetics or polyesters.
Homeopathics - you would need to see a homeopath to find out which ones.
I have pretty much grown out of it and only break out on my hands if I use cleaning chemicals or similar without gloves. I still make sure that my skin care products are as natural as possible too.

I would strongly suggest going to see a naturopath for alternative treatments. All the steroids etc can't be good long term and if they are not working anyway it might be useful to try a different approach.

Hope this helps a bit, it must really suck! :hugs:

[Amara]

Both my cousin and my son get from bananas. My son only mild but really nasty with my cousin. Just thought I would mention it just in case its a trigger for your son.

[wendys]

Just wanted to say first Thank You everyone for giving me your advice! It nice to know there is such a lot of support out there from people going through the same thing!

Amara - I will definitely watch him around bananas. When he was a baby I noticed bananas caused a flare up but for some reason I'd forgotten all about them.

Mamableech - I agree with the no chemicals thing. We definately don't use any sort of shampoo or soap or anything around him and clean our house chemically free! We've been to a naturopath who helped up originally with the food diary and vitamins and we continue to see her about once a year. We also visited a Homeopath but had results from him.

Elliemac - Yep seen an allergist. He discovered that Hunter was allergic to Cat, Dog, Grass, Dust, and Mould! We took him to get desensitization shots every week for 3 months then monthly after that for a year. Didn't work :( Also we don't give him soy because I suspect that he reacts to that as well because when we were trying out alternatives to cows milk we tried soy and his skin was terrible then!

Jabberjaw - Hunter is the same with the weather. Sweating and itchy in the summer and dry and flaky in the winter. We use a humidifyer in his room at night to combat the heater which drys out the air!
I think I will give him more vitamin D & zinc and see if he improves that way.
As for washing powder we don't use any on any clothes or towels or anything. We use vinegar in every wash.
We tried Dermeze but it was summer when we did and it just made him sweat more because of the greasyness and made him redder and itchier. The hospital gave it us when he was admitted for infection a couple of years back. We found the emulsifying ointment better because it was the same as dermeze but with wax added to make it less greasy. But we won't use that again for a while to "change it up". Maybe we will try Dermeze again!
hmmm "olive leaf extract"!! I remember having it once when I couldn't shake my winter cold. It was gross! I think I still have some... I will start giving it to him and see if he likes it. I will have to come up with something to disguise it in though because all he drinks is water. maybe I could do some juicing!

Pinupsez - I haven't thought about "cheap fabric"! Thats a good thought! I do try to put him in cotten as much as possible but I don't really think about it when I buy his clothes. Also I tried Moo Goo eczema cream a few months ago and he had a bad reaction to it. I use it now on my face just so it doesn't go to waste and I've noticed that now my face (which wasn't dry before) is now dry until I put it on??? Not really impressed with it at all! Glad it works for you though! :)