Eczema or Atopic Dematis

[buds]

My P2 has eczema from birth.

K2 has post-disposition of it as well.
So far we use Gentrisone sparingly
only when she has it. Works very
well for them, until skin goes back
to normal smoothness. Esp when
the skin area is inflamed due to
any scratching or friction with
scratchy clothing.

Food also plays a part.
Eggs in P2’s case…
If excess eggs used in those
kaya toasts original recipe, or
in those kueh bahulu she’ll get
scratching away. Not only that,
she’ll slowly develop swelling
around thee eyes within the
day itself.

Air-con has been a must esp
when she sleeps thru the nite,
from when she was an infant.
She sweats sooo much. Till
today, she has sweaty palms
and feet.

Good child stores will sell this
product called - BABYSAFE.
It comes in the form of pillows
(contoured / flat ), mattresses,
bolsters, etc in some sort of
natural latex foam material
inside. The hole-y features
of their products provide
breathable effect hence lessening
the danger of cot-death in babies,
(where they choke on pillows when
they toss and turn in sleep). Boasts
free air flow to prevent trapping of
heat, sweat and any form of moisture,
washable and long lasting. Not cheap,
but has been a good investment for
my 2 kiddies. They’re still able to use
their pillows till today after multiple washes
since infancy. The cases for pillows and the
bedspreads are sold separately.

Sweat from P2’s neck area constantly gave
her bad reactions to eczema making it
eventually uncomfortable for her to sleep
peacefully thru the night… until i got her
pillow changed. Her mattress before was,
a kind that was filled with husks, also said
to have that breathable air flow and can be
handwashed and let to dry for as long as
possible… We used it for 4 years, until we
changed the baby cot cum toddler bed, to
a new single sized one.

Just sharing my experience, if it helps.

[jenniferjoey]

Hi Parents,


First of all, identify what is your child's skin problem and what is he really allergy to before you try out any traditional remedies or medical advices. All individual child has different allergies to different sort of food, environment, and even air... and have different allergy reactions.

My girl is allergy and only react to combination of few seafood being consume together. We are both allergy to fur, so when we get in contact to our throat get swollen and airway blocked instantly. (So no softtoys for us... )

Do not go to GP as they are not as specialised as Dermatologist. I went to a GP at Toa Payoh Central, and was given steriod injection and oral medication to hold onto my allergy reaction, unbearable Itchness. But the effect of the injection only last a week or two before I went for another injection again so that I can sleep better at night. But I was never cure and every few weeks I paid a few hundred bucks to him... till one fine day, I gave up, I went right into National Skin Centre and seek for HELP... They did blood and skin tests for me and found out that I am allergy to Industrial Chemical. And I have been taking overdose of steriod which made my whole body swollen for months and I might be killed for overdosing.

My neighbour's son went for several skin test, and found out he is allergy to particular fish. hmm... :idea:

Go to polyclinics (cheaper this way) and get referral to see senior Dermalogist and get your child's blood/skin test done. You may also find out other food he is allergy to, which can save your trouble next time.

Go to this website and find out more about Eczema..

http://www.nsc.gov.sg/showpage.asp?id=60
http://children.webmd.com/slideshow-baby-skin-care

Hope your child get better and benefits from all mummies' advices. :lol:

[schellen]

EatNonStop, the brand for the cream is Invite e. It has white and orange packaging with purple words. If you want to try it, get a small tube first and try to buy when Beauty Language have their sales cos the prices will be much cheaper.


Like what jenniferjoey said, have your child checked by a specialist. My DD suffered from hives very badly when she was a toddler. (She got it from me since it’s hereditary but hers is worse.) GPs only prescribed creams which didn’t do much. We also didn’t know that it was hives until much later. GPs also didn’t say.

I think my DH eventually made an appointment with National Skin Centre and my mom brought her there. Not cheap so do try to get a referral but it was very enlightening and helpful. Turns out that insect bites cause her to break out in hives so we carried out necessary measures to prevent her from getting bitten. We used the cream prescribed but not for long as we saw improvements soon after using it. So it helped that we finally knew what was the problem and its cause.

We were also told that children usually either outgrow this problem or that their bodies will become more tolerant. My DD and I have it under control now since we know the triggers.

I just recalled that my DD would break out in hives too after swimming due to the chlorine. We stopped her from going to the pool and she understood why even though she loves playing with water. Now, she is able to go swimming again with no adverse effects.

Does your child go swimming regularly? If yes, maybe you should stop the visits to the pool until the eczema is less severe or you have a very good after-swim/after-sun care plan.

[ksmama]

Hi lots of people commonly used eczema to mean atopic dermatitis and 70% of patients with atopic dermatitis have a family history of at least one of the 3 atopic diseases ie. asthma, allergic rhinitis and the skin presentation. Thus it is important to go into your family history. It is basically an inborn hypersensitive reaction and patients have inherently irritable skin in which scratching is responsible for many of the skin changes ranging from vesicular, scaling and crusting to dry thickened skin. Psychological eg stress, climactic eg too hot and immunological factors can modify these changes.

Excessive washing without appropriate skin lubrication is the most common irritant, as is repeated water exposure which degrades the skin’s barrier to external irritants and internal water loss. Important topical irritants include wool, synthetic fabrics, poorly fitting clothes, mineral oils, solvents, sand and excessive perspiration. Airborne particles like tobacco smoke, animal dander and house dust mites exacerbate disease in some patients, especially infants with severe dermatitis. secondary infection to bacteria may aggravate the condition. 85% of atopic patients have positive skin prick tests or RAST results in response to food or inhalant allergens BUT a relationship between allergen presence and skin disease has not been established. Allergies to milk, eggs, nuts, soyabean products, wheat and seafood have been implicated by some researchers but their true role in atopic dermatitis remains controversial.
Can it be cured- no but can control it by
avoid provoking factors- scrubbing, too frequent bathing, scented soaps etc
reduce dryness and itch by applying moisturisers. Urea and alpha- hydroxy acid containing products are especially effective
wear cotton clothing as much as possible
for acutely weepy and inflammed skin, use open wet- to- dry compresses cos they are soothing , coolingand hydrating
Topical steroids are mainstay of treatment but use less potent ones for kids
Oral antihistamine may help for its sedating effect at nite
There are non steroidal med for application but these are prescriptive too.
Other measures like ultra violet therapy are for the very severe.

[EatNonStop]

Hi


Thanks for all the feedback. As suggested, will get my gal to check at Skin Cente.

[chrislyf18]

Hi…my 18 months old daughter started developing eczema after a bout of stomach flu…I have been trying to monitor food triggers or weather conditions etc…so far nothing conclusive except that egg seems to make her itch more…and she cannot sweat a lot…


I am wondering whether swimming is a suitable exercise / sports? Any experiences on this to share?

[elle_yv.03429hotmail.03429com]

Hi chrislyf18,


My 8 yrs old girl hv eczema since 4 years old.

For my understanding, people with aczema are not suitable to go for swimming. As i noticed whenever my girl go to different pool for swimming, her skin inflammed may be due to the water of the pool.

But no choice coz she likes sports too much, I have to monitor on her skin whenever it got inflammed & have to remind her to apply moisturiser (bought it from skin centre) & the cream for eczema.

[chrislyf18]

Hi elle,


Thanks for sharing this…such a pity cos my gal is quite active in nature…
i guess we have to put in more effort in the moisturising…i took my gal to see a GP who specialise in dermotology and so far his medication has been quite effective…he did not give any mosituriser but recommend that I try those over-the-counter one that is suitable…so I am using Topicream moisturiser (which smell great also)…

but i try not to give her any medication and medicated cream unless necessary cos she is so young…basically is moisturising twice / thrice daily…more effort needed to take care of this gal compared to my elder son who luckily do not have any eczema till date…

[MLR]

I use Sudocream (from Mothercare). Its an antiseptic healing cream that is suitable for eczema, nappy rash, sores, etc. Its a very thick cream, so a little goes a long way and it also forms a protective layer over the sore. I use it for a very bad allergic reaction which leave weepy sores on my bb’s genital area and it heals in a couple of days. My DH uses it for his razor burns and any other rashes, we even use it on our dog when she had skin problems. Some friends uses it as a nappy cream for their bbs.


To add to ksmama’s list,
apply urea cream all over after every shower/bath. If u know what is the trigger, upon exposure take a anti-histamine like clarityne or Chlorpheniramine which is available over the counter at pharmacies will help reduce the itch. For swimming, always rinse off and shower immediately after each session, aloe vera gel helps for my case as a after sun skincare (bananaboat brand is my fav). Build up immune system also helps to reduce flare ups.

Heres an interesting case to share:
My friend of 20+ yrs had always thought that she has sinusitis for all her adult life and she had undergone about 3 ops to help with the conditions. During one holiday trip in US she had a very bad bout of it, everyone in her group was concern as they were in deep winter and a they were in a ski resort. After a week of suffering, she managed to seek treatment in a local hospital. The doctor there actually told her that she didn’t hv sinusitis, she is having a very bad case of allergic reaction. After a whole batteries of test, she was found to be allergic to wheat! All the common food items contain a certain amount of wheat: bread, biscuits, noodles, cereal, cake, pastries, etc. After switching to non wheat based diet, she hasn’t had any sniffles except when she is having a cold. To think that she had 3 ops for nothing, all the expensive meds, all the expensive visits to specialists…

Thanks for reading…

Do go for the allergies/triggers tests, they may not come to any conclusive results, but at least it eliminate what u may/may not be allergic to.

[hairuliza]

Hi

I’ve got eczema myself ever since a kid & my boy has sensitive skin but have managed to stave him off from it.
Do go to a dermatologist to find out the cause of the flare ups.
For mild flare ups, I use Sudocrem, big tubs available at Mothercare, small tubs at Cold Storage, baby section (together with nappy rash creams).
One thing about people who suffer from eczema is that we have to keep our skin hydrated & avoid harsh soaps.
Antibacterial soaps (very harsh on skin) so a no-no for me.
I used Cetaphil before… quite OK.
Eucerin’s good too.
Anything hypoallergenic is good.
Dust can cause flare-ups too… so need to be vigilant with the dusting.
So will perspiration… so have to dress in breezy clothing.
I use Johnson’s baby soothing naturals nourishing lotion on my boy.