I started to notice some scaly patches on his legs a few months ago. Slowly the patches moved up his legs, onto his arms and they are now on his shoulders, cheeks, stomach and back. I really thought I could get rid of them with the standard measures that I have done with Owen. Eucerin and Vaseline right after baths. That is not even phasing it.
Eczema is hereditary. I know at least one reason why he has it. But it can be exacerbated by numerous things including food allergies, dry winter air and environmental triggers (dyes, mites, pet dander etc.) or for no reason at all. The trick is finding out what the triggers are. That is the hard part. Knowing this I started doing one thing after another. I started by changing his and my laundry detergent to Dreft. I have tried Eucerin, Vaseline, calming creme, Lanolin, shea butter and Aquaphor on him. He is so lubed up he practically shimmers. He is getting wet wraps in his oatmeal baths. It is not phasing it. When it is really bad I will put a tiny amount of cortisone on his patches, but I hate using steroids on him at all.
I stripped his room of everything that might possibly hold a dust mite and put a humidifier in his room. I have even resorted to cutting out dairy in my diet to see if that helps him. I read that the following things can trigger eczema: dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, citrus, nuts. Hello? What does one eat then? Sticks and twigs?
I think the most frustrating thing is that everything you do to try to reduce the eczema takes at least two weeks to take effect. That means that by the time he is 18 I may be able to figure out what is causing it, if it is actually something instead of just the hereditary thing. I will get to a point where I think I have it under control and then he flares up again.
I took him to a dermatologist today to see what if anything else I could do for him. Unfortunately everything that he told me I already knew. He just gave me 2 prescriptions for some outrageously expensive medications that may help. And one of them is a cortisone medication that I will use very sparingly.
As far as food allergies he said those are very hard to determine. Yep knew that too. So now I am wondering if I should continue with my dairy free diet for a few more weeks to see if it helps. Consuming no dairy is definitely testing my dedication to nursing. The only hope is that I will lose a few pounds. :)
It breaks my heart to see scabs all over his face and legs from itching.
7 comments:
Poor kid! All my kids have had it at one point and I have it too, no fun. When we got a water softner it helped a lot, so I don't know if you have one, but if you don't you could may be look into it. It sure helped our skin. Also using Dove soap has helped a lot for us too if your not using it already.
Poor baby, and poor mama. It's hard watching little ones hurt. Here's hoping you find the trigger and that it's something easy to fix, like an allergy to legos.
Poor Chase. I am so sad, just looking at his rashes. Amy has pretty scaly skin now and Aquaphor has helped, but Chase's looks really, really bad. I wish I could help somehow. I wonder if there's something in the water out here?
Here is a link to the Merck Manual. Dr.'s use it when they need more information or reference on something. I'll link you to the Dermatology section. I think they call eczema, dermatitis.
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec10.html
My niece had terrible eczema when she was a baby that made a bad itchy rash. She's 8 now and is extremely allergic to red food dye.
I wonder if Benadryl would help?
Poor guy! I have it bad on my hands and it appears Matsen is getting my genes too. His cheeks look like Chase's too, but get worse when he's out in the cold for awhile. I have this prescription called Mupirocin that I had for Jazlyn that works alright.
That's rough, dear. I hope that it will just up and decide to go away, as suddenly as it came. In the mean time, good luck.
Sorry Tiera. All the kids have it to a degree as well. Will's side of the family has it. It was really bad in Utah when they were little, but when we moved here where it is humid, it has greatly helped me keep it under controll with Eucerine. But I will second the water softner. When they had patches and we were at Will's parents who have a softner, the scabs and scaly patches semed to get better. That may be your next step. Also some insurance companies may help with the expense of putting it in if the Dr. says it would help. I know with Isaac's asthma we get our insurance to help pay for the slip covers for the beds and pillow to keep the dust mites out.
So I just went to the doctor and she prescribed some hydrocortisone 2.5% for Matsen's exzema and it's really helped a lot after only using it once. The over the counter stuff is only 1% so it's not as strong.
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