Eczema or Atopic Dematis
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Hi, parents,
My 5yr old gal can’t stop scratching herself leaving alot of scar on her body.
Anyone parents can adv / share on how to stop her itchiness and scratching w/o applying steroid cream too often that can thin her skin in long run. -
Are you using the “non-soap” kind of soap? The kind that will not strip her skin of natural oils and will moisturise more than the usual toiletries meant for children? No steroids in them, as far as I know.
Also, avoid taking hot baths and using hot water to shower. Lukewarm is fine. Hot water will make the skin drier. Can’t remember where I read that though.
Personally, me and my family don’t have eczema but I have very dry skin on my legs. I just use some super thick and creamy body lotion after showers everyday. I think it’s by Vaseline and it contains cocoa butter. -
Hi,
Thanks for your advise…
My gal is using the Non-soap shower cream being advised by Doc (to maintain the PH balance at 5.5)
I also make sure the bath water is lukesome warm.
But she still scratch herself non-stop even while she is sleeping!!
Sometime really at a lost what to do!
Understand long term use on steriod cream (which the doc only prescribe) will have side effect so I am really reluctant to apply on her.
Wonder any parents have similar problem like me and able to substain and prevent the kid from scratching. Scratching is the main cause of the skin inflammation and scars. -
Have you tried any non-steroid creams on her with positive results?
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Tried California baby Calendula cream…is ok as mild preventive cream but not so helpful when she has bites or when her eczema flag up.
Do u hv any recommended non-steriod cream? -
Hello! I’m just going to shoot a list of things that I know of regarding skin itches in relation to heat rash and bites. Not sure if any will help as I have no experience with eczema specifically.
- Keep skin cool overnight. If night is very hot, like recently, consider air con, though you have to balance its use since air con is very drying.
- see if changing the detergent used on her clothes help.
- See if changing her mattress helps, esp. if current mattress traps a lot of heat.
- any possibility of bed bugs? Sun the mattress/mattress cover, wash or soak cover in very hot water. I just read online that bed bugs can exacerbate eczema.
- try calamine lotion.
- teach your daughter to scratch by rubbing with palm/fingers, rather than by using her nails. Also, scratch with clothing in between, and not directly on the skin. -
How about Cetaphil ? This was recommended by dd’s PD. Easily available at Guardian.
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Where do you live? At West Mall (Bt. Batok), currently there is a toiletries sale at the atrium by this shop called Beauty Language. They have branches elsewhere too. Yesterday, when I was at the sale, one of the sales staff recommended a cream and oil to me for dry skin. She said that it can help with very dry skin, cracked skin and scars, etc. It’s supposedly quite popular. I’ve seen it elsewhere too but I can’t remember the brand name.
Maybe if you live near one of their branches, you can go ask them. They should carry it in every branch.
I didn’t buy it not cos of the price but more that I feel I don’t really need it since my case isn’t so severe.
I can check tonight on my way home. -
Thanks Schellen, ScoobyDoo, Sashimi on your advises.
I used Cetaphil shower gel on her for quite awhile…its kind of mild preventive moisture balance gel. I switch between doc’s recommended shower cream and Cetaphil gel…
There is one beauty language shop near my house…i will also find out their recommendation. BTW, I stay in NE (Kovan) area.
I will keep in mind Sashimi’s messages and start checking out her mattress![/code] -
My ds is enzymic as well. I use Cetaphil shower as well as Cetaphil moisturing cream. The best advice i had when he had rashes was to bathe him in/with ABC Guiness Stout beer. No kidding, it works!
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Hi ngchris,
Do u mix the beer with the bath water or simply pour the beer onto the body and rinse with lukewarm water ? How many days do u need to that? -
ngchris:
...The best advice i had when he had rashes was to bathe him in/with ABC Guiness Stout beer. No kidding, it works!
:!: :faint: -
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. -
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: -
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. -
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. -
Hi
Thanks for all the feedback. As suggested, will get my gal to check at Skin Cente. -
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? -
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. -
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…