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MarilynW
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Eczema in children and adults has come up in several posts recently.
I would love to hear your ideas for managing this chronic condition.
Things that worked for us
1) Food allergy testing - and avoiding the triggers
2) Encasing bedding
3) Taking flax oil
4) Healthy eating
5) Removing all strong chemical and antibacterial cleaners from the house
6) Changing upholstry to leather
7) Putting in roller blinds - no curtains or dust catcher blinds
8) Using good quality skin products - Renew by Melaluca worked. Also fragrance free Aveeno and Vanicream
9) Taking a probiotic
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SusanJ
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My ds has pretty bad eczema on his face. I'm pretty sure his would be vastly improved if we could get him to stop picking at it, but I assume you are mature enough not to have that problem 
Sunshine does wonders for my ds. One picnic outdoors in our spring weather this week worked wonders. Also, everyone I've talked to has touted the benefits of Evening Primrose Oil both topically and internally. We didn't notice any great improvement for my ds but you might try it. EPO is supposed to be good for women to take, right (why is that, anyway?)?
We've also anecdotally heard great reviews of Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap and this did seem to clear things up for us last spring.
Good luck!
Susan
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stefoodie
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I'd love to give you some words of wisdom, Marilyn, but we're in the same boat. Some days/weeks are really good, some are really bad. We've tried almost everything on your list, though #3 and #6 are new to me and I'm putting it on my list of things to do/consider. DH is *not* a leather fan.
We just do the best we can with what we have, I guess. Try to eat organic/natural/local as much as possible, limit junk food, no processed food. I *could* keep the house in better shape dust-wise, though.  One of my Lenten resolutions.
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Erin
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Marilyn
Sounds like you already have a really good idea of it all. Are you definitely certain that the vanicream products are fine? I just ask because when I used to use Vitamin E cream I flared worse, it wasn't until I realised that I was reacting to the lanolin in it I worked out my problem.
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MarilynW
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Erin wrote:
Marilyn
Sounds like you already have a really good idea of it all. Are you definitely certain that the vanicream products are fine? I just ask because when I used to use Vitamin E cream I flared worse, it wasn't until I realised that I was reacting to the lanolin in it I worked out my problem. |
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You know Erin - I wonder about it too - but every derm says this is the safest product - I do not know what else to use - the Vanicream is fragrance/lanolin/paraben free - it does have petrolatum and it does have propylene glycol. But I have no other ideas for moisturizing.
The natural products bring worse reactions. I would welcome any suggestions.
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MarilynW
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| Posted: March 07 2008 at 3:56pm | IP Logged
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stefoodie wrote:
I'd love to give you some words of wisdom, Marilyn, but we're in the same boat. Some days/weeks are really good, some are really bad. We've tried almost everything on your list, though #3 and #6 are new to me and I'm putting it on my list of things to do/consider. DH is *not* a leather fan.
We just do the best we can with what we have, I guess. Try to eat organic/natural/local as much as possible, limit junk food, no processed food. I *could* keep the house in better shape dust-wise, though. One of my Lenten resolutions. |
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A word of caution Stef - I am not doing flax oil - I am convinced I reacted badly - and so I am doing fish instead. DD is allergic to fish so has to do flax.
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NavyMom
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Eucerin cream worked for us. Also we got a prescription for Elidel creme, which worked great.
But we found, milk was our trigger for both kids, so prevention works best by not allowing them to have too much milk.
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Mackfam
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Marilyn,
I'm so glad you started this thread!!! My dd has dealt with this in various forms all her life on and off, but now she has it on her eyelids which is causing much angst as you can imagine.
I was glad to see your tactics above, they're helpful. I haven't had my dd allergy tested, so maybe I'll pursue that. Also, hadn't thought of the probiotic. We do eat yogurt a good bit, but not regularly. Do you do more than yogurt there, acidophilus supplements???
Here are a couple of things that definitely DIDN'T work for her:
1. vitamin E (really made her eczema worse!!)
2. Elidel (we tried a small tube at the peditrician's suggestion, also aggravated her eczema.)
3. Almost any cream I've tried - eucerin, lubriderm, etc.
Seems any topical treatment aggravates (so far...maybe I'm trying all the wrong things.) The only time I've noticed a natural subsiding of her eczema is when I am really, really, really careful about what we eat - our own bread, natural, organic, fresh foods only. Needless to say, I haven't been really good at that lately out of more necessity for convenience, but I have every intention to get back to that sort of structure in our diet.
After reading all of your posts, it sounds like eczema has a trigger - I didn't know that - I need to find her trigger!
Following this thread closely!
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KackyK
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Aloe vera gel and also calendula has helped when it has really flared up for my dd (3yo). Also she always wears 100% cotton clothes and we try to wear long pants and long sleeves. We are in VA, so come warm weather time, we do eventually go to shorts and short sleeves, but that is a guarantee she'll be scratching (she can get at it).
We left Eucerin because I found the Vaseline works just as well...is cheaper and doesn't have all the chemicals. A friend of mine did Elidel until she heard about the warning that it's not for 2yos or younger because it can cause cancer, so she doesn't use it on anyone.
Oh and I second the sun too. But that's such a catch-22, you have to put sunscreen on (my dd is SO fair) and that irritates it a lot. This may be odd, but when she spends a whole afternoon out in the sandbox in nice weather, for some reason, that seems to help!  We don't do pools much, but a friend of mine whose older dd has psoriasis, said that her dd does great in the summer because they have a pool and the chlorine seems to "kill it".
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MacBeth
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I am glad of this thread, and everyone's suggestions. Libby has a sensitivity to nickel, and the metal on the chinrest of her violin is made of just that. She has a huge patch of eczema on her neck. I'll try some suggestions. It does clear up in the summer, if she is swimming in a pool or the ocean, but all winter it is so itchy!!
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NavyMom
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[QUOTE=KackyK] A friend of mine did Elidel until she heard about the warning that it's not for 2yos or younger because it can cause cancer, so she doesn't use it on anyone.
QUOTE]
I was worried about this a couple of years ago when this came up, but I looked into it and the study was inconclusive. I talked to my doctor and many others in the medical community and was advised that with the tiny amount you use (just a drop) there is very little to no risk. Also it is important to note that you only use ELidel during flare ups not every day. My husband is in the medical community and we discussed this at length and decided it was not an issue to be concerned with. If I can find those studies I will link them in a bit, right now I have to run...
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MarilynW
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NavyMom wrote:
[QUOTE=KackyK] A friend of mine did Elidel until she heard about the warning that it's not for 2yos or younger because it can cause cancer, so she doesn't use it on anyone.
QUOTE]
I was worried about this a couple of years ago when this came up, but I looked into it and the study was inconclusive. I talked to my doctor and many others in the medical community and was advised that with the tiny amount you use (just a drop) there is very little to no risk. Also it is important to note that you only use ELidel during flare ups not every day. My husband is in the medical community and we discussed this at length and decided it was not an issue to be concerned with. If I can find those studies I will link them in a bit, right now I have to run... |
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None of the doctors I have seen will prescribe Elidel or Protopic. Apparently many will make you sign a waiver if you request it. I only know of one dermatologist in No Va who will prescribe it - and from what I hear only for people whose eczema will not respond to steroids.
I do not know anything about them - but I would have thought they were safer than steroids for things like eyelid eczema.
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MarilynW
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Mackfam wrote:
Marilyn,
I'm so glad you started this thread!!! My dd has dealt with this in various forms all her life on and off, but now she has it on her eyelids which is causing much angst as you can imagine.
Following this thread closely! |
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O Jennifer I feel so bad for your dd. I also have eyelid eczema for the first time ever - and it is so uncomfortable and awful - the only thing that work is a very mild steroid ointment called Desonide - I have tried everything and even gentle moisturizers hurt my eyes. The derm and eye doctor told me Aveeno, Vanicream or Vaseline - I find Vaseline is the best.
You may want to try allergy testing - I am terribly allergic to cats, dust etc. Also shampoos - use something very mild - I use Free and Clear. Touching the eyes makes it so much worse and increases the chances of contact allergies. I will pray for her.
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KackyK
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At one time my ds was on protopic too, but we stopped it too. Heidi is right, you use a really small amount of it. Of course there are folks who don't, who slather stuff on, and that's a fear, at least that is what my doctor said. But since we have had other stuff work, we just go with that and cut out any worry.
I am seeing that it sounds like most folks have it worse in winter and better in the summer. My dd is the opposite. Right now she looks good, except for the underside of her wrists and neck...where she can get to with her hands. It's in the summer when she doesn't have so many clothes on that she just claws at herself (legs especially and arms too). So I always wonder, does she "have" the itch all year, and it just flares in the summer because she can itch it really hard, or is the itch less in winter and worse in summer. I don't know!
Oh I forgot to mention too, a good friend of mine who has always had eczema really likes Sarna to relieve her itching.
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JennGM
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Our eczema is mild here, but when it comes Aquaphor is our mainstay. "Goop" is the nickname. Absorbs better than Vaseline. We use it on both our boys.
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My son has it, but it's not half as bad as what some of you are describing. He does flare up more when he's eaten more dairy products, and definitely more in the winter than other times of the year. He is now off of all allergy medications (we're trying something), but the eczema was definitely calmer when he was on the meds (he was on three) - and now is worse than ever so it's definitely allergy related.
The main thing that works for him (98% of the time) is Aveeno Baby Lotion - just the one with the light blue cap, but sometimes we splurge and get the smaller bottle with the dark blue cap that is even labelled for eczema - nothing else really seems to work for him, topically speaking.
I look forward to reading other responses.
ETA: We do not use any soap on his skin except maybe once a week or less often than that as soap always makes him flare up - no matter the type of soap. He just gets plan water baths every night with some lotion right afterward - if we stick to that, he seems fine.
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aussieannie
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Marilyn, you are getting lots of advice for treatment but one I thought I'd mention from a spiritual prespective is praying to Leonie Martin (St Therese's sister) she suffered a very bad case of eczema on and off throughout her whole life, she would have a lot of heavenly empathy!
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Pamin OZ
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In Australia there is more and more information about intolerances being a problem as well as allergies. Many of the problems people have can be an intolerance and not an allergic reaction. I can't remember the differences but if you have an intolerance to something, it won't show up in a skin test for example but the effects are just as uncomfortable as an allergy.(Though not life threatening like some allergic responses can be.)
Google Sue Dengate, Failsafe diet, Fed up with additives or RPA elimination diet and see what you can find out. Salicylates, amines, msg, colourings, preservatives and other additives can have a big effect yet allergy tests will show nothing because it is a different response from the body.
You can also look at the Feingold Diet information which isn't as strict in the long run and may be enough.
Stress can exacerbate (sp?) conditions which might have previously been under control, too.
Pam
who's family has been enormously helped by learning about this but who still collectively mourn being able to eat anything they liked...
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Mackfam
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We've talked a good bit about brands of lotions, shampoos and otherwise that may be useful for eczema. I was reading on Alice Cantrell's blog - A Number of Things today, and she links to a great site called Skin Deep that I found to be very helpful. You can plug in a particular brand of soap, shampoo, lotion, cosmetic, etc. and it will rate that product based on the ingredients contained in it, and their irritability potential.
I thought some of you might be interested in this informational site.
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Pamin OZ
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PS to my post above:
If you do go with Feingold, stay on the stricter part for longer than they say. You may need longer to detox and get an accurate picture of what you can tolerate and not tolerate.
Pam
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: Managing Eczema
