Childhood Eczema

We have asthma, eczema and allergies coming down through my family. To name but a few. I have had eczema and a lot of allergic reactions to various skin creams.

I have been told by several doctors that these things are definitely genetic.

The doctor who said it was not hereditary, but tended to run in families, remind me of a doctor I dealt with who said an elderly lady didn't have dementia but some people got like she was (demented) in old age.

my granddaughter had Eczema as a baby so badly at one point she was red raw every cream they gave my daughter made it worse I can’t remember what she eventually used it was 17 years ago but like susiecb she does have a dairy intolerance and uses soya etc so that could play a part also lots of creams have lanolin in them which can cause problems My granddaughter rarely gets eczema now but does have lots of allergies and intolerancies

HELP! My 3 and a half month old baby has severe eczema all over. I have tried zero cream - stripped and made her skin lighter and epaderm - made her face sore. We are now using breast milk in everything in the hope that it helps but we can't see any significant improvements. She wears scratch mittens but is always pulling them off and is always scratching her face and scalp, especially at night. PLEASE HELP US!I really don't know what else to do.

On the recommendation of a friend I bought Foderma serum for my grandson who suffers with extreme Eczema. This serum has been a wonderful product and it helps give him a relief when he has an outbreak. Because it is a serum he can apply it himself (age 8) whenever he needs it. In addition I also bought CeraVe lotion for between breakouts. He loves the combination and finds it really helps.

Dale Pinnock was on the Alan Titchmarsh Show yesterday, cooking curries and soups designed to reduce inflammation and congestion, and generally give a feeling of physical wellbeing.

What happened to Nannygetspaid?
Did the parents go to the Leeds Hospital - did it help?
Would love to know if they suggested eliminating dairy from the Mum's diet (if she is breastfeeding) or from the diet of the baby? (as per some of our suggestions in these posts).

I have just bought a book called Medicinal Cookery by Dale Pinnock from Amazon - a wonderful book on how food heals and acts as medicine, with some lovely, easy and cheap recipes. Would recommend it to everyone - it only costs £4.89 from Amazon.

I have just read an article in this months professional journal about new research on use of Aqueous Cream.,

' Aqueous Cream has long been routinely prescribed for eczema sufferers.
Recent published research from London University demonstrates for the first time that applying Aqueous cream can make the condition worse,thinning the skin and increasing the peeling and inflammation .The action of the detergent sodium lauryl sulphate is a cause of many of the issues identified.'

My sister is recovering from a serious operation that has meant she has been tube fed with prescribed nutritional drinks for the last 5 months. Her eczema has disappeared completely and her skin and scalp now look as if she has never had a problem. Dairy has been eradicated from her diet in this time, and it is likely that her eczema has gone because of this.

Message deleted by Gransnet.

Good luck! All DH's family suffer from asthma and eczema (DH worst of all now) and I was relieved that none of our 3 DDs suffer although one gets a little now and again, next has rosacea and youngest has 2 bad patches of psoriasis fortunately under her fringe and on a leg.
I would counsel strongly against Chinese herbs after horrror stories about liver damage a few years ago, echo what others have said about dairy (even in breastfeeding mothers - our 1/2 Chinese niece got it when her mother ate dairy produce)) and also warn against the too ready prescription of steroids by doctors.
Almond oil makes an excellent moisturiser and sleepsuits with mitts to prevent scratching (BIL had to be bandaged head to toe with tar paste as a baby 60 years ago - so at least we have moved on) Use Aqueous cream instead of soap, and while Johnston's baby shampoo was ok, avoid their all-in-one bath care - it is very much a case of trial and error and also one product which does not exacerbate it this month, may do so next!
I do hope you get all the help you need from Leeds General - there are also good support groups if you haven't already googled and found them.

An update and a thank you to all for your advice about our grandsons excema. susiecb I emailed Great Ormond street for advice. They suggested a specialist near to us and said if we had no success to get back to them. We insisted that he was referred and our DIL has just rung to say we have an appointment at Leeds General Infirmary on Monday. It has given us some hope of an effective treatment being found. Thank you again. Will let you know.

My youngest Granddaughter has severe eczema. My daughter found trying to find relevant articles on the internet very time consuming so she set up her own web site called everything for eczema. As well as creams ect there is an active forum with news and members from around the world. Some of the work from Japan we have found particularly interesting.
Supported by the local Authorities she also runs a support group for toddlers with eczema and their carers here in Brighton. If there isn't one in your own area why not look into setting one up. Supporting one another often helps a lot to ease the burden. The Dermatological nurses are often particularly helpful with hints to help you get started. I hope this proves of some help as we know only to well what a struggle having a child with eczema can be.

My daughter in law and three and of my grandchildren all have eczema/asthma. The main culprit seems to be dairy. So if your DIL is breastfeeding she must not eat any dairy as this will be passed to the baby through the milk - and if the baby is on formula, then you should change to soya or goat's milk. Make sure that there is no latex( check the mattress in the cot etc) in the house as this is a real aggravator, and also any pets? Make sure there are none allowed in the house - sorry - if they have any - they have to go!

We have found that once all these areas have been put under control - the eczema gets much better and/or disappears. One of the grandchildren was "covered" with eczema at five months as well, and as soon as all the "contributors" were eliminated - he has hardly had any at all - only when he has visited other houses when the "aggravators" are present.

The fish oils, ground linseeds and evening primrose oils all help as well.

The asthma seems much better as well - just gets a little worse when they have colds or are in a damp environment.

Good Luck!

My sister suffered with eczema as a child and my brother had asthma. One thing that really worked for her was swimming in the sea. She's in her forties now and although she still has very dry skin it's nothing like when she was a child.

I am really sorry to hear that about your eldest son nannysgetpaid. I think sometimes people don't realise how dangerous asthma can be!

Thank you everyone. I have printed these out so that we can look into all your advice. There is a family history of this and asthma. Our eldest son died from asthma so we are always wary of both these conditions. Our pediatrician told us years ago that these two are connected, not hereditary but tend to run in families!!!!! We seem to have been fighting the system ever since. Our youngest son had both severe asthma and eczema but his eczema went when he was two
And after years of severe asthma it improved later in life and at 30 is under reasonable control.

Great Ormond Street Hospital is a centre of excellence for the teatment of childhood eczema so you might get some information from their work. My daughter was also similarly affected and carries on as an adult - her excema worsens with the ingestion of all dairy products you could try alternatives like soya or goats milk? Moisturising the skin is the key as I understand it to topical treatments so aqueous cream instead of soap and whatever the latest topical treatment from the GP. Hope it gets better soon I know its miserable.

Just a comment and something you should definitely not try on babies or children, but ok for adults, my son is 28 and by accident has realised that his eczema clears up within a day if he uses johnsons sun glow .. the stuff with the slight tanning in it.. He has been really bad since a tiny baby, and this works perfectly, have told a couple of people and they now use it too.. I dont know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, but can almost guarantee it works for adults.. But I would definitely not advise children or babies to use it.. cos who knows what is in it.. but always worth one try..

My daughter had eczema, often it would be quite severe, plus she suffered from asthma. I found fish oil which contains Omega 3 really helped keep her skin clear. When she was around fourteen years old her asthma seemed to disappear but she developed severe eczema on her face that was so bad that her face would become swollen and her eyes looked like slits. She also had eczema on other parts of her body. We found at that time that she was allergic to dairy products and it wasn't until she was 27 years old and pregnant with her first child that the allergy went away. Which meant for 13 years she couldn't eat any dairy products at all.

Another friend's son suffered so severely from eczema that he would scratch at night until he bled. Over the years until he was around 17 he saw many skin specialist and nothing worked. Until my friend started her son on Evening Primrose Oil and that worked really well for him.

I think it might often be something to do with what people are lacking in their diet or maybe what they are allergic to, and that is why some things work for some people and not others!

Now two of my grandchildren have eczema and their mothers don't use soap on them at all.

A friend of mine with very bad eczema told my recommendation of the site essential-care.co.uk had been very useful and she had been able to stop using steroidal creams. I use their shampoo. All British too.

my dear GD had this.
we got Epaderm a very gungy vaseline like ungent not a steroid and it worked a treat and you can buy it over the counter at the chemist it is however quite dear

My son has suffered with eczema since he was a year old and he is 40, only the steroid creams help him. My DH developed dermatitis on his legs and someone suggested that I make an infusion of redbush tea and allow it to cool and then bathe the skin with it. It was very soothing but obviously not a cure.
Good luck nannysgetpaid it is very distressing to see little ones suffer. I used to work on a skin ward when I was young and the babies used to get so greasy with the ointments that I constantly worried they would shoot out of my hands.

Not sure at what age you can start taking it, but I know someone who had bad exzema as a child but now swears by aloe vera juice. It's such a distressing condition; I hope you find something that helps.

I have a leaflet ngp about a cream called Hope's Relief. It's a natural product, with no steroids etc. The company is www.planetblueshop.com It may be worth a look.
Have you considered Chinese medicine? My brother had severe eczema on his legs, they were red raw. Tried everything available on prescription and over the counter, to no avail. He was prescribed a bag of what he described as crushed twigs by a Chinese medical practitioner. Hot water poured on the twigs, then legs bathed in the resuling infusion. The eczema disappeared.
Good luck.

ngp I read an article in a magazine about a lady whose little boy had the same condition and faced the same problem's with the medical profession she in the end made her own cream and was successful in treating the baby I am so sorry that I cannot remember the magazine or the lady's name but am sure you will find it on the internet somewhere,here's hoping you are successful in your search and your little man get's some improvement.