My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Allergies and intolerances

Excema, i NEED some advice please!

72 replies

Angeliz · 12/01/2007 13:41

Hello all.
Yet more advice wanted.
DS, aged nearly 5 months has really dry skin and the Doctor said a few weeks ago it was excema. I have tried oilatum which made it an angry red. Then i tried aqueous cream which didn't help. The latesy one is a soya oil but it hadsn't worked and also it has perfume in (?)
Behing ds's knees is swollen, red and i can't get it dry, it looks very sore and makes me ache for him. Any advice whatsoever would be hugely appreciated. Can i use talc (simple one) there to dry it? I think it even smells!
I can't get an appointment till Monday!
I know nothing at all about this so any help at all would be good.

OP posts:
Report
Angeliz · 12/01/2007 13:42

Forget to say, last night i used 'Simple' baby bath and 'Simple' baby cream which seemed to makew his skin softer but didn't affect behind his knees.

OP posts:
Report
belgo · 12/01/2007 13:43

I wouldn't put talc on it. It sounds like it might be infected, in which case you'd need a special cream for it. I was prescibed fucidin for my dd's infected eczema.

Report
prettymum · 12/01/2007 13:44

my 2 yr old dd has eczema which i was controlling with a cream from local shop but ive heard that it can bleach skin so now using doublebase which has been better than aqueous cream

Report
strawberry · 12/01/2007 13:45

Agree with belgo.
I use Aveeno cream. Don't be afraid to get steroid cream from the GP.

Report
misdee · 12/01/2007 13:45

is it wet? it sounds like its infected. you either fucidin H or fucibet for it.

ask the doctor for balneum for the bath and aveeno cream.

dd3 has a really stubborn patch under her chin, looking at it today i think it may have some fungal infection as well, so am trying to get a docs appointment for her.

Report
prettymum · 12/01/2007 13:46

my 6 month old son has dry skin too but aqueous cream has been helping his skin.

Report
belgo · 12/01/2007 13:47

I find Nivea's baby intensive care cream great for non infected eczema.

Report
belgo · 12/01/2007 13:48

pretty mum - what cream bleaches the skin?

Report
cab · 12/01/2007 13:49

Angeliz - Simple stuff tends not to go with eczema.
Would suggest plain emulsifying ointment rubbed onto skin in bath, with diprobase on the dry bits afterwards or 1 per cent hydrocortisone (get across the counter) for infected/red bits until you can see the gp.
No talc - you want to get moisture into the skin - not remove it.
Best of luck.
Try persil original non bio washing powder and no fabric softener.

Report
donnie · 12/01/2007 13:51

if the area is wet then it is definitely infected and needs fucidin or fucibet which are antibiotic creams and very effective.

Aveeno as an emmolient is excellent buit pricey - your GP will give you a prescription if you nag enough!

Report
Angeliz · 12/01/2007 13:53

Thanks all
I will definately try all these and find one to suit ds. It may be infected i just cant get it to dry. It's alwasy sticky because he's a chunky nany too and probably sweaty there.
Could the pharmacist give me something for the weekend do you think? Or will the creams (fucidin for example) all need prescriptions if it is infected?

OP posts:
Report
donnie · 12/01/2007 13:55

fucidin and fucibet would require a prescription AFAIK.

Report
Angeliz · 12/01/2007 13:55

Thanks again (posts crossed cab)
I will go out this afternoon and try to get something.
He is o.k in himself if a little grumpy so it's not an 'emergency' as such is it? I mean if i wait till Monday?

OP posts:
Report
Notquitesotiredmum · 12/01/2007 13:56

I wouldn't use talc either and I would avoid baths for a day or two.

My ds2 has suffered from excema for years. There are 3 stages of skin care:

antibiotics - fucidin prescribed - when the skin becomes infected, as your litte ones sounds to be.

steroid cream - 0.5% or 1% - for when the excema flares up - becomes red and angry.

general skin care - an aqueous cream or such like - to prevent the skin from drying out, keeping baths very cool, in fact keeping him very cool, and avoiding all soaps as they dry the skin out further. He washes in water only. I was also advised to avoid any soap other than fairy for washing his clothes and that did seem to help. Expensive, but worth it.

There are dozens of creams available - on prescription or over the counter. We worked out way through half a dozen before finding the ones that suited him best. They are more useful now that his excema is clearing up on its own (he's 3) than they were when it was bad. I never found one then that really made a difference.

If you can get to the sea this summer, the only natural thing that ever really helped our ds when he was covered in excema and a terrible state, was being dunked in the sea. It had an almost miraculous effect.

Best of luck. This is horrid to deal with, but at least he stands a chance of outgrowing it - the sooner they start, the sooner it is likely to clear.

Report
Angeliz · 12/01/2007 13:58

Thanks I live right on the doorstep of the North sea but obviously can't dunk him yet
Worth knowing for the summer thogh.


If i don't get back i'll check in later, (dd is needing me).
I knew i could rely on Mumsnetters, you're all fab!!

OP posts:
Report
Twinkie1 · 12/01/2007 14:00

Go to Boots and buy some Aveeno cream and use it over the weekend - DS had terrible excema and used to scratch till he bled - lots of people are allergic to Aqueous cream our doctor told me and they don't give it out anymore where we live but this Aveeno cream changed our lives - he had a topical cream to get rid of the infection in his excema and then we use Aveeno bath oil and cream and he has been clear ever since - if you can wait till Monday you can get it on prescription - it really did change our lives though and the lives of 3 mums that I have reccomended it to at school have said the same.

Report
belgo · 12/01/2007 14:00

If he is grumpy, then maybe it's because the eczema is painful. I don't know if that classifies for an emergency GP appointment, but if you can get him to the GP today, then I would do that.

Report
kittypants · 12/01/2007 14:09

we use dream cream and dream wash from lush,found its only thing that will work on ds.does sound infected though so id see doctor

Report
themildmanneredjanitor · 12/01/2007 14:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

anneme · 12/01/2007 14:21

I will probably repeat some of what others have said but hopefully some of this wil be useful.
DS is now 3 and has had excema since he was tiny - I have tried loads of things!
I used grapeseed oil in DS bath when he was v little - made him and the bath v slippery but seemed to help. Always pat rather than rub dry. Also I would avoid talc because I would assume that it would dry his skin out. I did use the hairdryer on a low setting when his bottom got sore!!
I did not find aqueous cream that helpful.

HAve ended up using aveeno (get it on prescription otherwise it is pricey) each day. Also fucidin when it gets infected. I also use hydrocortisone ointment (easier to apply than the cream). I was really worried about using too much chemical etc on his skin but decided that it was better to try and catch excema early and knock it on the head....

In the short term vaseline is good. You must make sure that the area is as clean as poss and then you can put it on - it was particularly helpful for me because DS got e round his mouth. Also (and I only discovered this last year) piriton syrup is great if they are v itcy (although you might have to wait until he is a year). If he is v itchy give him calpol or equivilant - the less he scratches and is uncomfortable the better.

Finally, it might be worth popping in to the pharmacy and asking if they think it is infected - if it is then go to the out of hours dr for some fucidin (which is a mix o hydrocortisone and antibiotic) which will knock it on the head - don't put yourself through a weekend with a miserable scratchy LO

good luck - it gets easier!

Report
Heartmum2Jamie · 12/01/2007 14:21

Definately sounds infected and would need a dr appt for ant-b's or a cream or powder to use. I would not wait until Monday, you would be suprised how quickly it goes from being "ok" to weeping, bleeding, oozing etc. As for creams, it is a case of trial and error. We tried oilatum and it made things 10 times worse. We did the aqueous cream, nothing, same with diprobase. In the end, we saw a dermatologist (helped that we were already under the hospital and had been admitted for something else)who prescribes Cetreben bath additive and emollient cream. We still use these to this day. His skin is well controlled right now as we have kept up a regime with a little break over the summer. Also, since we have taken him off his allergens, his skin has cleared up quite a bit.

Report
nwgreenmum · 12/01/2007 14:34

I agree that it sounds like you might need some of the antibiotic cream or ointment. One thing that I did find really helped with DS2 was soaking oats in his bath. Just ordinary porrige oats, about 1/2 a cup full, wrapped up into a ball a clean muslin or tea towel, dunk that ball in the bath so the oats get wet through the muslin and squeeze the water out again, repeat a few times. It makes the water really cloudy, but was great at calming his skin.

You might want to get rid of the infection first though, and I would ask for an emergency appointment (maybe call NHS direct and when they recommend that you see a GP today you can tell your docs that to persuade them, and it takes away any way for someone to think you are being pushy "NHS direct told me I should see a doctor today")

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

gingermonkey · 12/01/2007 15:02

Eczema is so easily infected, I have it and can't tell you the amount of times I have been to the docs when it gets infected! I am wary of antibiotics, because of overuse and the immunity you can develop to them, especially for kids. I have a cream called Ichthammol or special ointment no 1 and the dermotologist I see has prescribed me that because it is antisceptic but not antibiotic. It's really old fashioned and not used much anymore, but is a handy thing to have about the house.It seems to work too. Worth asking for. It's pronounced IK-THA-MOLL.

Report
gingermonkey · 12/01/2007 15:06

Another emollient that is good (and I swear by)is unguentum m, it's a lot thicker than aqueaus cream (less water) and I use that as a day to day greaser, along with the ichthammol when thing get worse and only use steroids when absolutely necessary. I'd go for a emergency appt just to be safe. I don't want to scare you but once an infection gets hold you can end up on a drip in hospital, it is quite frightening how quickly things can change from being a bit infected to dangerously so.

Report
nannynickers · 12/01/2007 15:08

A friends doctor reccomended that she dry her dd off with a hairdryer, no lotions or potions involved but it cleared up her excema a treat. She has continued to do it since even with dd2 from a couple of months.

My dd loves it, sends her to sleep every time too! I do always keep my hand infront of the nozzle so you can tell what the temperature is doing.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.