Eczema or Atopic Dematis

[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.

[jam.028832008]

Just want to share my experience.

My 5 year old had this skin itchiness problem , I think since about 2 years old. Every night, she would be scratching her head , arms, legs so hard, I felt heartache just looking at it.

But somehow, the itchiness stopped since about 5 months ago.

I had not done anything differently, except that I stopped giving her milk made from cow milk. In place of that, she has been drinking organic oat milk.

[Jennifer]

My elder boy has this skin peeling condition on and off on his fingers, palms, toes and soles since nursery level till now. We did a blood test when he was in K2, no health prob. The prob seems more often now that he eats lunches in school. Is there sth missing out in his diet? Are there special blood tests that can ascertain deficiency in his diet that leads to this consistent skin peeling prob? TIA your advices.

[mathsparks]

My girl has eczema on her hands which is worsened when she uses the wrong type of soap. Only mild cleanser for her.


And it was worsened in her Primary school years when she was eating her favorite fake sharks’ fin soup in the canteen.

Her problem disappeared for a while when she joined the sailing team. Could be the sea water?