Eczema Support Group

Ok, well I am the same way wen I get in to the sun. put plenty of sun Screen on him when he goes out. Um......try giving him a shower to cool him of but make sure the shower is jest in the middle not to hot or to cool. It will really cool down his skin and keep him from itching for a while. Another way if he cant get a shower is to get a cloth and jest pat it on the spots that are flaming up. Good luck I hope it helps. Good luck!!

I understand your frustration. I've gone through all of the allergists and dermatologists in my city and several other respected medical centers throughout the U.S. I found precious little help from any of them. Through years of trial and error I have found a pretty system that works better than anything else I've tried.

Try going with the perspective of your skin being your largest organ of elimination. It's important to keep your digestive system on track and stay very well-hydrated. I find it helps keep my allergies at bay, too.

If I'm reacting to an allergen/trigger, diluting it with water and getting rid of it as quickly as possible ultimately reduces my exposure to it. Anything that assists your kidneys and liver is beneficial, too - like vinegar. I know I need to detox a bit when I start craving pickled beets or pickles. If I react to that craving immediately with several cups of water, the beets, maybe extra fiber and probiotic pearls, and stay away from as many allergens/triggers as much as possible, I can prevent a major breakout. This was a major breakthrough I discovered just a couple years ago.

I know that the only things that work for me if/when I'm in the state in which it sounds like your son is, is a 10-min. lukewarm Aveeno bath (which may hurt) followed immediately by Sarna or the Aveeno cream with menthol (to numb a bit) then sealed by a generous layer of Aquaphor (Vaseline works, but this is SO MUCH BETTER). Then, it was thin, soft cotton long-sleeved pajamas, cotton gloves, the cool breeze of a fan in my face (my worst area, oftentimes) and some Benadryl.

It's so very hard not to itch, I know. I'm not a huge fan of pills and prescriptions, but they serve their purposes. I don't know about what's appropriate at age six. Hydroxyzine works for me (as an adult).

In the morning, I might take another short lukewarm Aveeno bath followed with the same creams.

I think it is most important to get as much sleep as possible. That requires one to do some serious calming down. Sometimes, when I was young, it was just my mom stroking my hair. A cool, damp washcloth on the "hot" areas works - when it warms up, just fan it in the air for a minute and it's cool again. (You'll probably have to reapply the cream or Aquaphor eventually.) I also used those frozen gelpacks in a pillowcase (wrapped around it a few times so as not to freeze and damage the skin). That frozen pillow got me through my junior high and high school years.

Herbal tea is so good - especially chamomile or licorice root (which both happen to be good for the liver and have natural, calming effects). It also gives one something else to focus on - distraction can be calming, too! Lavender is also good - I have an essential oil diffuser that plugs into the wall and it helps me relax (and smells nice, too).

But, when things are really bad, I just turn to Elocon which is a strong steroid. I use it sparingly when needed - sometimes you just have to feel better no matter what potentially damaging effects of steroids might exist. Mental health counts for something, too!

The sun doesn't work well for me, either. I tried the UVA lights (I think that's what they were) at the dermatologist's office. I went three times a week for two months w/o success. (I am also *very* fair and burn *very* easily.)

Good luck to you in the course of finding what works for you and your son. Stay strong and positive. It *will* get easier once you've found The Recipe for you.

Hope I've helped!
~Samantha

By the way - be sure to sign up to receive the National Eczema Association for Science & Education (NEASE) quarterly newsletter. It contains lots of encouraging news, stories and tips. And a lot of them are about children.

Thank you for posting this! I was just going to! My poor son has eczema and I am going thru hell trying to find things to help him. I find the sun irrates him and the heat, but when he swims in our chlorinated pool for the day, his eczema is a bit better.
He scratches a lot too and I don't know how to stop him. we do put cream on his hands at nite with socks, but by morning they're off and he has scratched.
I just don't know how to help him get better. We have tried EVERY cream possible. I even tried a cream from the UK. UGH!!!!

Thank you so much to everyone. It is nice to connect with people who have lived through this. So many helpful hints to try.

Aveeno hurts his skin and he refuses to have anything to do with it. The Osteopath we are seeing told us to put Epson salt and baking soda in his bath. He jumped out within a minute saying it burned. So I called her today.

We have upped his Atarax...which is a prescription taken orally..it is the only thing that keeps him from itching. Tonight I put sea salt in his bath and he loved it. Then when he got out I put organic olive oil on his skin. He said that he felt great, not greasy...and he has not itched at all. This is most likely due to the Atarax...but this is the first bath combo he has not complained about. And we used Dr. Bronner's Baby Soap...which he said felt great.

The allergists always just sent us away with a bunch of scripts and he never got better. Going to the Osteopath using SRT we have cleared all his food allergies and he no longer has asthma. So I do have that to be thankful for.

It is the outdoor and indoor allergens that are hard to conquer with this method. It has been explained to me that much like the flu bug...we get a new strain of outdoor allergens which affects the indoor every month. Uggh!

My only concern with Aquaphor is that it is so thick. He hates it and it doesn't seem to help. The skin being the largest elimination organ I always wondered if we were holding in what the skin was trying to eliminate.

It is so hard being the mom. It is one thing if I was trying this and that on myself. But he puts his complete trust in me...and when I try something and it burns his skin...it literally brings me to tears.

I will stay strong. I told him no matter what I will never give up. He had a complete breakdown the other night about it. He is just getting to the age where this is really affecting him mentally...and it breaks my heart.

Thanks again. I will try many of the suggestions. I really liked the ice pack idea...I never thought of that.

try showering a few times a day. after shower, dry him off and apply cream all over his body. Don't just apply the cream on the eczema apply all over for 2 weeks.

Hi

I understand exactly what you mean, all the itching, and the sun, it doesnt halp at all, not in my case. I'm sure know you have tried organic stuff, but this one, did wonder for me, it's in UK though: http://www.eczema-creams.co.uk/

hope that helps.

Our 4 yr old daughter has multiple food allergies, eczema and asthma since she was a baby. We have just returned from a 10 day stay at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, CO. Here is a link to their web site regarding eczema http://www.nationaljewish.org/dise...

Here is the link to their website for pediatric day progarm we attended. http://www.nationaljewish.org/pati...

Here is a link to another web site that may provide you some help in regards to diet and eczema http://www.nutramed.com/alpha/inde...

We use Aquaphor and Vanicream on our daughters skin. We are using topical steriods as well depending on what state her eczema flare is in. Right now she is in a mild range. Meaning we don't use any steorids, we just use Aquaphor or Vanicream.

God Bless and please let me know if you want more detailed information.

Laurie

Hi, I am a new member. I have had eczema for 10 years. (adult onset) Over the years I have tried many products and have seen seven doctors. I do have the blisters and open places with cracking and bleeding. At times I have been able to get it under control where it does not bother me. The products that work for me are: Cetaphil cream (it does not burn me) make sure you get the plain not the one with shea butter in it. I buy it by the jar, a little goes a long way for me. (I have eczema on my hands and arms up to my elbows, legs below my knees, and sometimes on the bottom of my feet) I also use clobetasol prescription, I do have to take breaks from the clobetasol. I see a improvement over night with it. I also use oil of olay age defying bar soap not the liquid. It is the only soap I found I could use. For shampoo I use dove shampoo and conditioner. I can not take showers everyday it seems to dry my skin out more. I use cold water to wash my hands and never hot or warm. For showers luke warm not hot. At night I use the cetaphil and if needed the clobetasol and put cotton gloves on to sleep and wrap the other places with cotton wraps or and cotton socks. If really bad will wrap my feet with plastic wrap and then put cotton socks on. I have tried aveno products which did not work for me. Also, aquaphor which burned and really did not work as well. My friends son tried the cetaphil cream and liked it because it did not burn him like the other creams did. I also like the cetaphil because it is not greasy and makes your skin feel like silk. I hope some of this helps.

Thanks so much to everyone. You have given me a lot of ideas to try. I will order the cream from the UK....and the ice pack came in very helpful last night.

Hi JJJK.
You can control the itching with Tea Tree Cream, Nelsons is the best.
The cause of the eczema is allergic responses to food and drink, read all about it at www.freedomfromexcema.com and use their free facilities.
Regards, nasalbone.