SEVERE eczema

Sarah68

I really think that you should take her to see an ND (Naturopathic Doctor) and try the alternatives in this case. They practice homepathy, herbal medicine and acupuncture.

At this age, kid are very responsive to homepathy and it can really work very well in eliminating cases of eczema. I think you have nothing at all to lose by trying it and especially if the conventional meds that you have tried really do not seem to be working.

You can find an ND by looking in the phone book or on the Internet.

Good luck

kippy6

Have you tried prescription strength steroid cream?

Also, if the problem is that bad, maybe you could try liquid prescription prednisone (or a derivative). I know it won't solve the problem permanantly, but it might give her and you guys a little break. Then maybe you could apply the high-strength steroid cream before she starts getting too bad??

Also, if you bug the same doctor over and over again, surely he/she will let you try something else. It's not right to let her go on like this if anything can be done. I'm sure you've told the docs about her waking up in the middle of the night crying, and scratching her skin off, scarring, etc...

My daughter used to have excema too. Hope she gets better soon. Sounds like hers is really a bad case.

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Sarah68

Unfortunately, as you said yourself, steroid creams and steroids are not the answer to treating eczema.

Steroids suppress symptoms and stop them coming out on the skin, but they DO NOT CURE. They will suppress and in later life a child with eczema that has been suppressed could end up with asthma. This happens because steroids suppress and send the disease deeper into the system. When the steroid cream is applied it will disappear from the skin but will go much deeper down and asthma is more of a threat to life than eczema is. Eczema maybe unsightly and irritating at times, but it is not life threatening.

Go and see an ND and get it treated with the alternatives which will cure rather than just suppressing it. Kids are very responsive to alternatives at this age and it works very effectively with them.

Good luck

princessputter

my son has the same issues ..altho its not as severe.... i use eucerin lotion when its not flared up to prevent it and the steroid cream when his rashes are bad...is this child on milk?? if so u mite wanna try subbing soy for a while and see if that clears it.. i heard milk and excema dont mix... good luck!

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RedHead86

thanks guys although i don't think steroids are a good idea because of the suppression thing. i will talk to her mom about seeing a ND for sure. she has been doing "okay" but the past week she has flared up and last night was especially bad(i ended up just sleeping with her and waking up to her crying and putting on eucerin lotion where she is itching) i feel so terrible for her. we previously tried using soy with no noticable change( we had allergy tests done and they told us she cant get near animals). we also think that maybe she is allergic to something outside in the grass cuz her little toes get really irritated everytime she goes out to play. benadryl seems to be doing a ok job at making her itch a bit less, but we ran out yesterday (hence the late night last night) if anybody has ANY other ideas i would be GREATLY appreciative. good thing though she isn't scrathing her face up like she used to (her face used to be scabbed and red all around her lips and her eyes) but thankfullly she doesn't itch there as much. now just to rid the itching on the rest of her body.

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DLGuzy

The eczema could be caused by allergies. You said that she is on allergy medication but have you had her tested? If not I would highly recommend it because it could possibly be a food allergy that is causing the eczema and if that is the case then the food can simply be avoided.

She is very young and skin testing maybe rather difficult on her so ask about blood testing. There is an allergy blood test out called ImmunoCAP where they simply draw a little bit of blood and then in 2-3 days the results are back and the results show how allergic she would be to the specific food. Hope this helps.

jboon

RedHead,

I was allergic to cow's milk as a child, and used to break out in terrible eczema behind my elbows and knees. I don't know what my mother used to treat it, but I do remember wearing gloves some nights to prevent scratching myself raw. When I got older, I was prescribed fluocinonide cream. I don't know if it is a steroid cream or not, but it works wonders. I get occasional flareups on my shins and fingers, and the cream works within a day. Good luck with your niece.

nelldance

My little sister (5 yrs. old) has severe eczema, it sounds a lot like your neice. She also has asthma. She is on singulair, flovent, zyrtec, and prednizone. One of her doctors said that sunlight/ UV rays helps the itching. So, once or twice a week, she goes to a tannng bed and keeps a crop top and biker shorts on, and stays in for 5-7 minutes. Afterward, she applies aveeno lotion. Her eczema has cleared up a lot, and she hardly ever wakes up itching anymore, and no more bleeding.

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Sarah68

Unfortunately, it is wrong to say that having your 16 months old son on steroids will not damage him.

Steroids, even in cream form cause suppression. This will suppress the eruption of eczema and your son could end up with asthma in later life due to this. By suppressing skin eruptions, it pushes the disease further into the body and this then causes more life threatning symptoms such as eczema.

I suggest that you treat this more naturally and this could help and prevent further problems later.

Good luck

angievtay

My 3 year old sister has eczema very bad and has since she was only a few months old. My mother uses Curel, and it works great. And its over the counter lotion. My 7 month old son has always had very rough dry skin and we started using the curel and it clears it all up within days. Good luck!

kslittledevil

With my 3 year old, she has had eczema patches in the past and will break out and she has also had respiratory problems especially bronchitis. We found out that Adrie has severe allergies especially seasonal and she is currently on Singular and Zyrtec for the allergies. When the eczema shows up, her dr as prescribed hydrocortisone valerate cream which we use until the patches go away and then we use cocoa butter lotion on her, Palmers has been really good. Unfortunately there is no cure for eczema, but a good dermatologist will be able to help her mother to help her when these outbreaks happen. From what was explained to us by Adrie's dr., the use of the hydrocortisone valerate cream will thin the skin on the infected area to the point it sloughs off and brings out new skin. I don't like using steroids especially oral ones for too long because of the risks, in fact prednisone should never be used more than a week at a time, but we never use this cream for longer than a week anyway. As I probably mentioned before, my daughter's is not severe, but any adult hates to see a child suffering. I hope you and her mother find something to work on your niece.

kslittledevil

Another thing I wanted to tell you is to research everything. I did this with the hydrocortyisone valerate cream ( also known as Westcort ) and it doesn't cause suppression.

Sarah68

Sorry, but you are wrong. Any steroid, whether it is taken orally or put on the skin most certainly DOES CAUSE SUPPRESSION.

The skin is a good place for discharges to go and anything on the skin is the body's way of getting rid of it. If you have a child who has a skin rash and you put a steroid cream on it, then it will go away, however it goes away, but will go deeper within the body, which is why so many kids with eczema that has been suppressed with steroid creams go onto develop asthma in later life. It just pushes the problem further into the body and lets face it, eczema may look unsightly, but in the end it is not life threatening in quite the same way as asthma is.

So, yes, any steroid suppresses whether you take it orally or put it on your skin.

Steroids do not cure disease, but only treat symptoms that will return or go to a deeper level within the body.




[This message has been edited by Sarah68 (edited 09-26-2003).]

kslittledevil

Steroids ( Prednisone is given for severe asthmatics in a response to a crisis )I have been given this one for a severe allergic reaction to Sulfur and again with Morphine. Steroids has there other downfalls , raising bloodsugar, fluid retention, sodium retention, thinning of the skin and several other problems, respiratory is NOT one of them. I always research meds that are given to my child and me for potential problems.