phew right you sitting down??

Excema is a real puzzle and what suits one kid wont suit another, but we have tried many potions with luca and have a routine that does work.

First of all.
Has she always had dry-ish skin in these areas or is a more recent thing?

What worked for us:
Food:
Luca is currently on no / very minimal dairy, he is cows milk intolerant, so drinks Oat Milk, has soya yogurts etc and takes a little normal cheese.
Things to take out of diet that can aggravate excema:
Kiwi fruit
strawberries ( although Luca is fine with them)
tomatoes
these are all big aggravators so if she has perhaps had ore of these recently they might be the cause.

Factors:
weather can play a huge part, central heating dries out the skin so when its cold its worse, summer is better as skin is happier in the sun etc.

Clothing - I try and keep luca in 100% cotton and try to avoid long sleeved tops that cover the elbow thus increasing the sweatiness there and aggravates the skin.

Creams and potions:
First of all cut out bath stuff - and switch to an oat bath, thats the thing that works a treat with him, get a pair of old tights or muslin tie an knot in them, fill a bit with some porridge oats and run the hot tap through it when running her bath, then use the little bag like a cloth and the oats calm the skin.

Cream:
We use Aveeno which is an Oat based moisturiser - you should be able to get it to try from minor ailments at the pharmacy ( without paying for it- do you have that in england?) otherwise its about £7 a tube. Its a lovely moisturiser and its smooths on nice and gets absorbed so ideal for using throughout the day if necessary.

When Luca's skin flares ( gets red) we use a steroid OINTMENT not cream as this is much better and isnt water based so is absorbed better. We use a tiny amount and then use the aveeno to keep the skin supple. Once its no longer red we stop using the steroid.

Creams that didnt work for us but that are always given by GP.
diprobase
epaderm
oilatum ( made it loads worse )
dermabase
e45
and many other concoctions that I cant remember.

Its trial and error but if you can identify when it started or got worse this might help to stop it.

Luca went through 3 months of 24/7 bandaging as when his started we couldnt get it under control at all.

its very hard getting something that works, but the best thing is to try to avoid itching it which is easier said than done, I would give her Piriton to take the itch out if it gets really bad.

good luck
dani

phew right you sitting down??

Excema is a real puzzle and what suits one kid wont suit another, but we have tried many potions with luca and have a routine that does work.

First of all.
Has she always had dry-ish skin in these areas or is a more recent thing?

What worked for us:
Food:
Luca is currently on no / very minimal dairy, he is cows milk intolerant, so drinks Oat Milk, has soya yogurts etc and takes a little normal cheese.
Things to take out of diet that can aggravate excema:
Kiwi fruit
strawberries ( although Luca is fine with them)
tomatoes
these are all big aggravators so if she has perhaps had ore of these recently they might be the cause.

Factors:
weather can play a huge part, central heating dries out the skin so when its cold its worse, summer is better as skin is happier in the sun etc.

Clothing - I try and keep luca in 100% cotton and try to avoid long sleeved tops that cover the elbow thus increasing the sweatiness there and aggravates the skin.

Creams and potions:
First of all cut out bath stuff - and switch to an oat bath, thats the thing that works a treat with him, get a pair of old tights or muslin tie an knot in them, fill a bit with some porridge oats and run the hot tap through it when running her bath, then use the little bag like a cloth and the oats calm the skin.

Cream:
We use Aveeno which is an Oat based moisturiser - you should be able to get it to try from minor ailments at the pharmacy ( without paying for it- do you have that in england?) otherwise its about £7 a tube. Its a lovely moisturiser and its smooths on nice and gets absorbed so ideal for using throughout the day if necessary.

When Luca's skin flares ( gets red) we use a steroid OINTMENT not cream as this is much better and isnt water based so is absorbed better. We use a tiny amount and then use the aveeno to keep the skin supple. Once its no longer red we stop using the steroid.( usually 2 days max)

Once you have got it so that its no longer red, you shoudl be able to switch to just moisturiser to soften the dried out skin again,.,


Creams that didnt work for us but that are always given by GP.
diprobase
epaderm
oilatum ( made it loads worse )
dermabase
e45
and many other concoctions that I cant remember.

Its trial and error but if you can identify when it started or got worse this might help to stop it.

Luca went through 3 months of 24/7 bandaging as when his started we couldnt get it under control at all.

its very hard getting something that works, but the best thing is to try to avoid itching it which is easier said than done, I would give her Piriton to take the itch out if it gets really bad.

good luck
dani

Thanks Dani - poor Luca, give him a gentle hug from us.

Strawberries - yes, dairy - yes ... argh, I will try some of these things systematically and see if, after making her comfortable, we can try to find a cause ...

It has started up in the last few weeks - perhaps two months but the only thing I can think of that is new is a vitamin supplement that contains omega supplements ... although she often has fish such as salmon and sardines.

Thanks again for the advice.
x

Thanks Dani

Poor Luca, I hope he is okay.

Carys has had the inner elbow problem quite recently, certainly in the last few weeks, although it has become worse over the last two weeks. She does have things like strawberries and tomatoes ... more so in recent weeks, although she has always had tomato in the form of tinned and puree.

It was DiproBase that the Pharmacist gave us. It has helped soften the skin and it is slightly less inflamed but it is still bothering her.

I think, from these posts, the first thing to consider is bath time and making her comfortable, then trying to find a cause. I can cut out things like strawberries for a bit ...

The only other thing I can think of that is new in the last month or so is a vitamin supplement.

That was it! Diprobase cream, it's brilliant stuff and I used to get it in a pump dispenser! Now I can cancel the system scan and go to sleep. Nitey night.

I know it is hard with little ones but bathing itself can make excema worse. I cut right down with my three when they were tiny and that really helped too. Different products work with different children. We were given an emollient which we used as a cream and as a wash mixed with water in the bath, it was fab but I can't rememebr the name!

Good luck and don't get too panicked as most kids seem to grow out of excema as they get older. Also be aware that excema can be linked with a tendency to have asthma. The child can be said to be atopic and prone to allergies/excema/asthma.....Mine were but all have been signed off now!