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Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:26 pm  |
My son is 4, and he has awful eczema pretty much all over his body. I've had him tested for allergies (environmental), and he's seen two different dermatologists. When he was a baby I switched to fragrance free laundry products, and I've been using Dove or Aveeno for sensitive skin body wash for his bath, and Eucerin cream afterwards.
The doctors keep prescribing steroids and frankly I'm sick of it and they don't seem to help. The next step is having him tested for food allergies and we have an appointment for that in November. (it takes a while to see this specialist from Children's Hospital)
So I'm at my wits end and I'm tired of trying new products only to find that nothing helps. Have any of you experienced this and found a particular body wash or lotion to be beneficial?
I've also started having him soak in epsom salts in a lukewarm bath every other night, with no soap. |
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Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:48 pm |
Hi I have 3 year old twin boys and one of them has it also. Try Dr Hauschka lavender bath in his bath water. Also there is a UK brand called essentially yours which are organic and have a range for eczema, called the 'theraputic range'(I think).
I bought a different kit (not the ezcema one) it was just the baby kit, but full of lovely stuff, very gentle, for the boys and it has been fine on their skin. You can find them at
www.nontoxicmatters.co.uk
(this site has the products half price at the moment, and the postage is free for your first order if you are in the uk)
or
http://www.essentially-yours.co.uk
Also I have a friend whose son had terrible ezcema and she didn't want to use the horrible creams from the doctor. She uses a homeapath (excuse my spelling) and he doesn't have any break outs any more. Hope this helps |
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Wed Oct 08, 2008 5:28 pm |
Hi! I have a daughter who has been suffering from it as well since she was about 1. The doctor told me she might simply outgrow it and she is now 7 and it has basically cleared except for her feet. Her feet are a mess, especially once she gets back at school and has to wear shoes and socks all day. Her feet even end up cracking and bleeding.
I have not yet found anything that works  She didn't even get any great relief from the creams prescribed from my doctor. (He keeps telling me to use baby oil??? USELESS!!).
I would be interested to hear if anything related to food helps.
There is a cream (paste) I haven't tried yet called SKINFIX at skinfix.ca (They sell it at Sobeys, Pharmasave and Pharmachoice apparently). I just found out about it and haven't tracked any down yet to try..... |
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Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:30 pm |
I would not be surprised at all if it is food allergies. I am wondering why they tested him for environmental allergies and not food. My DS had bad eczema at one month old and after doing tons of research and finding out that eczema is usually triggered by an allergy, I went all out and eliminated foods from my diet (I was breastfeeding him) and did what you are doing; fragrance free laundry detergent, mild soaps, lots of creams (and I think we tried them all). Over the next couple of months I determined that it was caused by the milk he was getting through my breast milk. If I even drank one glass of milk the eczema would flare up. He is highly contact reactive to his allergens and even had an anaphylactic reaction to a small sip of milk. He later tested positive to numerous foods. As long as we keep the triggers out of his diet then he has pretty clear skin. His cheeks and arms have small bumps on them which flare red when he is exposed to his allergens and he will scratch these areas raw.
For creams we found the one that worked well for him was Derma E psorzema cream which we buy at a health food store. Because of his age at the time, the doctor was unwilling to use cortisone cream and after reading that it thins the skin, I am reluctant to use it even now. http://www.cdnf.com/item3003.htm Recently I've tried the Spectro Kid's Eczema Care cream. I don't think it would work for severe eczema but it's a nice thick cream that I apply on his cheeks when they are dry. They also have a body wash which we use occasionally. |
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Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:39 pm |
| You might also want to check out this thread on eczema tips from Kids with Food Allergies forum. There is tons of info on kids eczema if you do a search. This forum has been a life saver for me. Mel's eczema instructions |
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Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:19 pm |
| sahmisme wrote: |
My son is 4, and he has awful eczema pretty much all over his body. I've had him tested for allergies (environmental), and he's seen two different dermatologists. When he was a baby I switched to fragrance free laundry products, and I've been using Dove or Aveeno for sensitive skin body wash for his bath, and Eucerin cream afterwards.
The doctors keep prescribing steroids and frankly I'm sick of it and they don't seem to help. The next step is having him tested for food allergies and we have an appointment for that in November. (it takes a while to see this specialist from Children's Hospital)
So I'm at my wits end and I'm tired of trying new products only to find that nothing helps. Have any of you experienced this and found a particular body wash or lotion to be beneficial?
I've also started having him soak in epsom salts in a lukewarm bath every other night, with no soap. |
A couple of people over at the 302 thread have reported good results with the Recovery Plus lotion. But there are other additional products that can be used for the eczema as well. Go to page 56 of the thread and read Havana8's, Sal-Star's and my post about eczema. The products are natural and gentle enough for kids. Nemo!AtTheDisco is an 302 distributor/esthetician and can help you get the products if you are interested.
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=28855&start=1375 |
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Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:10 am |
Thanks so much everyone for all the suggestions. I'm going to research everything you suggested and I too believe we will find that eliminating certain foods (once we find out which ones) will help his skin. It has been SO frustrating!!
Thanks again! |
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Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:13 pm |
Years ago my good friend had two daughters, one of whom had the same terrible issue with her skin. The doctor she saw at the time took her off dairy (pasteurized anything) and wheat. She cleared up amazingly!
Good luck! |
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Thu Oct 09, 2008 3:29 pm |
I suffered from eczema from early childhood. It went so totally bonkers when I was in my teens (so much for "growing out of it") that my Dr. added cortisone shots to my topical corticosteroids. The side effects can be unpleasant, and cumulative, so the more you can avoid steroids, the better off your son will be. That said, drugs are better than suffering. Stress can cause eczema breakouts and definitely makes them worse, and scratching and misery are very stressful. Also, try to stay calm. Your anxiety can rub off on your son.
You totally need to avoid whatever appears to trigger flareups, be it foods or other irritants. In my case, the triggers included detergents, cleaning products, and newsprint, but there are planty of others. If it looks like it bothers your son, take it away.
Also, Neem cream, shampoos, etc. are worth a try. Neem is an Indian plant used for skin diseases in Ayurvedic medicine. I discovered this too late to be helpful for me (the eczema basically went away when I was in my late 40's), but it's very helpful on my dog. She has sensitive albino-type skin (she's white), and was always itching and chewing herself raw. The Neem products definitely work on her. |
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Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:33 pm |
My son is very much the same. I do believe he is reacting to foods as he breaks out after certain ones. And he had skin tests done as well.
One doctor recommended Neutrogena hand cream to me recently. I only put it on affected parts, it works for me. initially, I was not sure but use it now when my son needs it. 
http://www.savvyskin.com/neutrogena-hand-cream-fabulous-for-dry-skin
Another thing I just read about and tried is tea tree oil. You can put a few drops in a bath or mix it with a cream you are using for the skin. It does work as well.
Apparently, stress plays vital part as well in eczema. And I stay away from washing powder/liquid that are chemically laden. |
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Tue Nov 04, 2008 7:08 pm |
Hi Sahmisme,
Your poor son, I so empathize - as my sister suffered from eczema when she was little. (Lucky me, I only got psorasis! :P)
Anyway - I think there are probably a lot of new products that work better - but I do know that my mom had great success with using Purpose soap (it's a superfatted soap - so not really a detergent) and having a humidifier on constantly in the drier months.
Here are some links that might be of some help?
http://www.eczemavoice.com/sections/hints/hints2.html
http://www.eczemaforum.info/ |
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Wed Nov 05, 2008 3:49 am |
Ages ago, during a nasty flare-up, I had good success with Penzim Lotion, which I believe originated in Scandinavia. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be difficult to get hold of.
Here is a link to the product - please note that I have not used the site concerned before so cannot specifically recommend it: http://www.goodhealthnaturally.com/pd_penzim.cfm |
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