Itchy eczema allergic toddler - not settling after 6 months. Ideas? (long)

DS's has always been the blisters, rather than dry skin (he's either symptom-free or a mess of blisters and scratches, but nothing in between). When the blisters happen we use elocon for a couple of days and they go away - but they rarely go away without the elocon.
Has he started something that makes him sweatier or more abraded - kindy sandpit for example?

Bella - has this period of recurring eczema coincided with xander becoming independently toilet trained? And is he washing his own hands - and maybe not rinsing very well, and then putting soap residue where it can irritate? Especially if FDC has non-eczema-friendly soap.

It was spring :lol: and this summer hasn't been it's normal self.


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Well we had an interesting appointment with the dermatologist today. NOW I think i get it.

I have a boy with food allergies, MILD eczema, PLUS chronic hives and dermatagraphia (I have this last one myself too). So that explains all the itching, and when the itching is bad enough, it exacerbates the eczema. And triggers-wise, well yes, he talked about all the usual stuff - overheating, environmental triggers but also explained that he might easily get worse due to a virus or a food sensitivity. He wasn't saying that we need to do an elimination diet per se, but suggested we keep an eye on the really acidic things, plus the sulfites, nitrates, nitrites, salicylates and amines (which I'm watching out for with hubby anyway). And interestingly my son will not eat pizza for love or money and I reckon it's the tomato paste. Plus he does tend to get a bit of eczema just under his bottom lip which is very indicative of something bothering him intolerance-wise. So I think I will definitely do some playing around with that. The dr also suggested a cotton mattress protector rather than rubber backed one, I'm going to try a different doona (the asthma foundation says feather is great but mightn't be good from a skin perspective).

So I'm thinking of either artificial type one (that sounds awful, but you know - those allergenic ones), cotton or bamboo... thoughts on that? I can't stand wool myself so I'm really disinclined to go near that. And my DD will need a doona soon enough anyway, so I don't mind buying a second one).

And the good old moisturise, moisturise, moisturise. And keep him on Zyrtec for as long as we have to - that the 3-6mths timeframe provided by my allergist has no real relevance. It makes the food challenges a bit trickier but fundamentally it makes me feel quite validated to keep him on it to keep him more comfortable. He said for every year he's taking it, he'll be 50% likely to have to do another year. So hopefully he'll grow out of it, but in the meantime he doesn't have to keep suffering as much with the itching. He's also upped the dose too. Interestingly he didn't think my lipstick or skin care products would be playing a part. Hmm I'm still not sure about that. And suggested that if we need an asthma preventer we should go for singulair as it both does that and is an antihistamine as well - might consider it for winter.

Kmn - kindy sandpit and soap residue could definitely be a factor, however he hasn't seemed to be that much worse since starting kindy this year (and toilet training was only in Jan) - he's been worse since sept last year at which point nothing really had changed (that I can remember!). RE the dishes, well we tend to eat things that are dish-independant IYKWIM (muesli bar etc) or I make things in my Thermomix but I nearly always (but not 100%!!!!) handwash dishes that I've cooked allergens in - so I might continue doing that. And oh... toenails! He's never done that one. Ouch!

Jackrose - I'm so glad you commented about the sulfites cos we know my DH doesn't do so well with them, so makes sense they could be a trigger... and TOTALLY agree with what you said about Pholi's comments, it was really informative.

Leckert - pls don't apologist for hijacking at all, if it helps us then that's fantastic. I wished I'd posted earlier because I've found the entire discussion very interesting, thought provoking and informative.

Lenny - where did you get hte silk duvet inner from? That's another interesting possibility for us.

Pholi - seriously I'm looking for the *bow down* emoticon, AWESOME post, thank you so much. IT's funny sometimes I've felt guilty, do I use the steroid creams too much, do I dose him on antihistamines too much. Felt totally validated that I AM trying to help minimise his suffering. It's funny he's such a cruisey little dude, a great sleeper - which is really a miracle for an itchy kid I think. This is a 3yo who happily puts himself to bed when he's tired! Or maybe he suffered so much he could deal with anything now?

Does anyone else find their kids get flared up massively in different places? I can't take him down to Tassie without him looking terrible (my family is there), so now I know, so I always just get preventative - full zyrtec and constant moisturising to keep it more controlled before it can flare up.

We're lucky in that we've not had to deal with wet wrapping or bandaids - he doesn't get that bad. And when he does scratch himself till he bleeds it's usually my sign to cut his nails so he can't damage himself too much. Ah, it's heartbreaking stuff isn't it. Well onwards & upwards. SEnding non-itchy vibes too all.

Well the anti fungal part of the cream seems to be working wonders here - arms are looking near normal and clear after 4 applications AND he's not scratched his elbows even though there's been no bandage on them as well :leap:
Still waiting on new mattress to be delivered. Have rolled up mat but DH wants one to put down still :wall: mainly for the new addition soon - I'm telling him a blanket/quilt will be fine and we don't need a new mat


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that's great Leckert! Let us know how you go with the mattress.

Kmn - just had another thought. Our kindy teacher has a child herself who is anaphylactic, so thus far she's been really great with allergy issues, so I think the soap is probably fine. Plus his hands haven't gotten any worse since starting (and he tends to get eczema on his thumb-sucking thumb - only place he's had infected eczema actually), so I think if it was a problem, we would have noticed.

Incidentally I was just looking at the eczema association of aus website and they don't recommend wool for bedding. They also say "Use non-biological soap powders and detergents." I don't understand what they mean by that?? Does it make sense to anyone else?

That's great you have some answers Belfie, It's really all trial and error. Regarding your products, I had to get dh to change everything he uses to natural products as I was reacting to everything he used including shaving cream. Also with the moisturising, I found that to be really helpful especially when I smothered on the cream and put a wet dressing over it (this was incredibly relieving for the itch as well), however my chines herbal medicine therapist said that my eczema is a 'damp' condition (as in it weeps) so keeping it dry is better than moisturising. I've been testing this the theory over the last couple of months but the jury is still out.

oh that's interesting. Would you still moisturise when wet? I know we've always tried to do that - the old "seal the damp skin" theory which does seem to help him.

Now i'm confused. The eczema foundation says:

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"The importance of house-dust mites has long been considered a factor for asthma sufferers, but for many years it was not appreciated that people with eczema could also be affected by the mites. However, more research has shown that for some people these little mites do trigger flare-ups of eczema.... Buy duvets and pillows that are made from man-made fibres rather than feathers."

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So they definitely think the dustmites in the bedding plays a part.

But the asthma foundation says:

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Feather bedding may be a better bedding option as it has substantially lower house dust mite allergen levels. Tightly woven (impermeable) covers should be used for mattresses, quilts and pillows but they must enclose the whole item for best effect.

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And that's the bit they both agree on - that the covers should be used. So I'm thinking I'll invest in some. I also need to fix my washing machine which has only washed on cold for quite some time lol.

And just some more detail from the national asthma foundation:

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What type of bedding is best?
For some time it was recommended that people who have asthma (or who are more likely to develop asthma) avoid feather bedding and choose synthetic materials (eg foam, polyester or dacron) as they withstand frequent washing. This is now not thought to be the case. ew studies have shown that not only does synthetic bedding have higher levels of house dust mites and their allergens than feather bedding, it may also increase the risk of infants developing wheeze.
This may be because the synthetic materials give off substances that irritate the airways and make them more susceptible to allergens. Again, this is an area where we have much to learn.
In the meantime, it seems sensible to use low allergen bedding for infants and children at high risk of allergy or asthma. Where possible, use encasings for mattresses, pillows and doonas, rather than plastic covers.
Low allergen bedding should be used. Feather bedding pillows and quilts have substantially lower mite allergen levels than synthetic bedding. The use of bulky items such as pillows and quilts (feather or synthetic) is not recommended for infants under 12 months because of the increased risk of SIDS.

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They mean that enzymes in soap powders can irritate some people, and also that sometimes plant-sourced ingredients can be more allergenic than chemical ones which can be purified so that they only contain the appropriate chemical.
We do OK with the omo sensitive stuff here - but we only put 1/4 of the recommended dose in each wash.

Bel all these chicks are such a help but i thought of something that may help as well is the Bosistos eucalyptus dust mite wash. My chemist sells it, it's a liquid laundry detergent that kills mites in linennand bedding and safeway sell the powder. I use it here as the euc kills germs, it's bio friendly etc.and didn't sentiment flare up Izzys eczema.

Got the silk inner from an online store called cocoon (?) i think. There are other retailers, but this was a Melb one.
It's light, and thin. We have it one our bed for eczema DH too. There is a but - you can't launder it.

I haven't personally tried this but I was interested in it because there has been some success with psoriasis which I suffer from. I dont have eczema but it was what the "posters child" (on another tip forum I am on) suffered from and many others tried it most I think with some success.

A tablespoon of molasses once a day. It has to be pure molasses which you can get from many health food shops or even some coles and woolies sell it. Be careful though as there is an sweet or and unsweet type. It doesnt matter which one but the unsweetened is very hard to get down.
The "poster" stirred it through a glass of chocolate milk for her daughter and said within a week it was gone and this was from been covered. A aboriginal elder had told her the tip and she was very skeptical but thought what have I got to loose I have tried everything?!

Many others also gave it a go and many of them couldnt thank her enough for such an easy solution to something they had been fighting with for years.

As I said I havent tried it but I have been on this other site for years and have discovered many useful and handy tips and ideas so I thought I would let you know.

This is all so hard & confusing. My DD3 was diagnosed with eczema at 5 weeks old & suffered a constant rash on her neck/chest right up til we moved to the other side of the country! I have not had to treat her eczema once since we moved to WA. We were in a humid coastal area before though. Its alot dryer here.

I stopped using washing powders etc straight away. Never really did, but I think a couple of her singlets mixed in with our washing & that triggered that first flare up. I never have used bath products on her, except goats milk. I used to just leave the cake in the bath so the water was white for her to soak in it. That was the only way to clear it up without cortisone cream. (I really didn't want to use cortisone on such a teeny tiny baby).

I now only use the Eco store products. I have no idea if it was them, or the move, or both, but her skin is amazing now :) It was not at the extreme extent of some of yours, except that first break out. & just that stubborn rash that she had for well over 12 months.

I also have an asthmatic allergic to mites & mould, so I really try to be strict on keeping them at bay.

Hi there belfie, I thought of you today when my hands were sore, inflamed/swollen and ITCHY!!! I soaked some oats and then put my hands in the mixture and it was heaven! I put the mix in the fridge and I have just done it again... The mix is even better cold. It really takes the redness out and the swelling and I can just move my hands so much more now. Just something for you to try :) Happy easter.

Either the hazel wood necklace (from all about amber) or the steroid cream being applied 2x day (stronger on than previous - thanks DH for not applying when getting ds1 dressed :wall: ) or the 3 quarters of a footy match (was happy there and not sooking for DH so wasn't going to take him out) soaking in Epsom salted bath seems to nearly have cleared up the eczema again!!!!
Ds1's face flared up due to a throat infection. His face hadn't flared up since we first cleared it up early on. Hoping that another Epsom salt bath tonight will help with the last bits behind his knees will have to try this again if it comes up again next spring.


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