My 3 yr old has it behind his ears and under his arms, my 6 yr old has it all over the backs of his hands (and it hurts him), and I have it between my fingers.

I'm, obviously, not impressed with steroid creams, and elidel sounds quite scary. What would or do you use?

I use a herbal healing balm that I make myself. It's comfrey leaf infused in olive oil, mostly. It works wonders.

I can get you the recipe if you're interested.

Does it take away the itch and pain or does it actually help the eczema go away?

i ordered some excema cream to test for chris/momof3tots. not arrived yet, but you might want to contact her to see if she's mkaing more for testers?

Originally posted by tikva18
Does it take away the itch and pain or does it actually help the eczema go away?

It clears up the eczema completely.

I think that i'd be interested in the recipe. I'd have to find out where to get comfrey leaf...

OH, and Momof3tots' mailbox is full...I'll have to try her again later.

Only let him eat lettuce (lots) for 6 weeks and it will all clear up as well as his weight issue

Wait! am I supposed to check the lettuce for bugs first? or are they considered part of the nutritional value?

I would definately say leave the bugs in, afterall he has to get his protein in somewhere

I used to make my own when I had my biz, and recommend starting with pure shea butter and adding sooting oils to that.

If you're interested, my former biz is www.Mamasfavorites.com and is now owned by another Amity mom (thrrrnbush/crystal); I recommend the skin soother :)

Kristi

Rivka,

If you would like the recipe, please pm me and I'll get it to you.

I didn't offer to make it for sale because I don't have any containers, but if anyone is interested I could make a batch since I have all the ingredients.

Gail/Gessence/Gentle Spirit makes a Dream;s Cream that is fantastic...also I think she has a cream specifically for Eczemaand Psoriasis. I used the Dream's cream on mine and it worked wonderfully.

Also-adding Essential Fatty acids to your diet really helps. black Currant Oil is the best-so is Borage oil. Evening Primrose is good and so is flax. (in decending order)

You need to add the Essential fatty acids for 6 weeks to see a difference..they are really great for your helth in general.

Also-no trans fats-no fried foods or Hydrogenated oils. Only cold pressed oils in the diet. Olive oil is great!

And...stress is a big factor. Just ask me ; )

Hope it clears up soon!!!

Thanks Gail for your food advice. We try very hard to not eat trans-fatty foods - although it is a work in process. Fried food is a no way around here...
Dietary changes are being made slowly - my dh is against any changes...

We give our girls 2tsp of organic 100% pure grapeseed oil 1-3xs a day for their eczema and constipation. Our oldest dd went from being covered all over her torso in the rash to nothing within a month. :) She's also "regular" now ;). We also cut out the overkill of dairy she was consuming.

my 13yo suffered for years. finally he gave up dairy---much improved but it did not show real signs of disappearing he added the Omegas to his diet and now it is almost enritrely gone.

:)

Sometimes it is a sign of a food allergy. Dr. Sears reccomends an elimination diet to check for allergies.

If it's dairy, then I'm doomed. My youngest, Rashi, lives - I mean LIVES- on yoghurt. He goes through a 32 oz. container in a matter of days. My middle, Yehuda Nachman, lives - I mean lives on milk. He could drink a gallon in two days. Obviously, I set limits to how much milk drinking he does. His nutrition is beyond poor - I'd safely call it horrendous. Mama2many calls him Ethiopia's Poster Child - such skin and bones. I offer choices which are healthful and tasty, but he just doesn't eat. I don't believe that he recognizes when he is hungry; he just assumes he is thirsty instead - hence the milk.
He does like goat's milk, but I have to convice dh that we should get it. Dh is definitely NOT going for any 'wacked-out cuckoo nuts' ideas' namely my ideas for improving our diet. I know I'm treading on thin ice: we just found out that my oldest will drink kefir - which is great, because he won't drink regular milk at all.
Wooh, I got really long-winded. Like I said, if it's dairy, I'm doomed (ironically, I don't even particularly care for dairy - I can go without and be just fine).

I've had eczema since about 7th grade. I only get it on my legs, but it itches like crazy and i scratch it like crazy. it drives me nuts! when i'm trying to sleep is the worst. I have been gived cream by the dr---didn't work. My dr suggested Eurcerin (sp?) cream it helps sometimes. it's kinda greasy, but makes your skin hydrated. it's also quite expensive. Any mama's w/ creams or oils on their websites spam me, so I can look and see what you got. I've been looking for something to clear this up forever. I never knew it was an allergy/stress related thing. I'll guarentee its from the stress. it also seemed to get bad when the seasons changed, something in the air i guess.

notyetamam~
When my oldest gets a breakout (even with no dairy and her omega fatties-grapseed), especially during season changes, we use Elidel (http://www.elidel.com/index.jsp?checked=y) . We only use it when all else has failed. Even the smallest spot (now, at her worst, she'll get a spot the size of my pinky finger) can irritate her beyond belief... well, you know! It clears it up completely in days. We keep a tube just in case. It's non-steroidal too.

I heard that Elidel burns and that it can be painful for the child. Has your daughter found this to be the case?

rivka-
eating lots of one kind of food can definitely be a sign of a food allergy...it sounds like you might be doomed...

i hope you find a simple solution!!!

Linda(nak)

ps-when i was diagnosed with ezcema...my dermatologist told me to get rid of my cats...i divorced my husband instead-and my eczema went away-still have the cats and no eczema-rotflmbo!

I have bad eczema. I actually have it on my fingers right now.

I use either Vanicream or Aquaphor. I have used Elidel and it didn't burn. I've used it on Lily as well and didn't seem to bother her at all. I tried to use a comfrey leaf cream and it made the eczema 100 times worse (she's allergic to it), so that's when she ended up with the Elidel.

I'd also ask what kind of bath soap and shampoo you are using. I find that makes a huge difference for us. Certain brands & ingredients are off limits. We even have to watch which soaps we have in the bathroom and kitchen to wash our hands with, laundry detergent, toilet paper, & fabric content in clothing, towels, socks, gloves, etc.

I have been using a Dr. Christopher's chickweed cream that is great for anything that itches. I thought I would throw this in since although it doesn't help the excema at least it is a safe way to stop them from itching what they do have. I was also told that chlorine is another big no no. I have just been bathing ds less LOL.

We have an appointment for next Thursday at the allergist for ds 2 (the one who lives on milk). We are going to discuss the potential possibility that he has asthma as well as get him tested for allergies.

Question: If he has a food allergy, and it shows up as eczema, will that show up on the allergy testing results? Ds #1 was tested over the summer and all of the food results came back as negative - even though I have found that his ears get bright red hot, etc (the dr. doesn't buy into that theory and the tests didn't reflect it).

Say, Rochel Leah, I think that you could solve Eli's eczema problems if instead of bathing him less frequently, you bathed him in the fish oil which he spills on himself anyway:D ( he was scratching himself a TON today - I haven't seen it that bad on him in a long time).

Most ecxema is allergy-related. It can start at any time but especially after consuming large quantities of one type of food. Due to high cholesterol I barely ate dairy, but when I was pg/nursing I ate tons. I quickly developed this excema at the corners of my mouth, my dermatologist gave me a cream (non-steroid and then a sterois) but said nothing about allergies. For almost 2 years this went on, coming and going, but as I went back slowly to my low-fat diet (which took some time as I stopped nursing due to very low supply when my twins were 6 months old) noticed it was getting better. Now if I have the smallest amount of dairy it comes back.

I heard that Elidel burns and that it can be painful for the child. Has your daughter found this to be the case?

Sometimes, yes. I take showers with my girls and I can't have the water too warm after she's had an application (usually the first day or two). She'll tell me it's too hot, even though it feels just warm to me. I make it lukwarm and she's ok. That's her only complaint.

As far as the asthma.. milk is also an asthmatic trigger. It is in me, and my girls. Sounds like you're going to have to cut out the milk :( . Is you child also constipated frequently?

Is your child also constipated frequently?

You know what? I have no idea. He's in school all day and even when he is at home, I'm not paying attention to his toileting needs. I don't think that he is, though - he rarely complains.

Alot of people who have eczema, associated with a milk allergy, become constipated if they do drink milk regularly (as well as other intestinal issues). Just thought I'd mention it :)... it was one of the ways we determined our dd should'nt have milk.

Originally posted by queenbeaver
I use a herbal healing balm that I make myself. It's comfrey leaf infused in olive oil, mostly. It works wonders.

I can get you the recipe if you're interested.

Could you send me the recipe? My dh is covered all over!

I've had eczema all my life.

I've never seen a more individualized 'disorder' before. There are so many things that can trigger it and everyone reacts differently to treatments. You really need to try lots of stuff and see what works. Oh, and often you build up immunity to things and what has been working will often stop after a while.

So - here are some things to avoid: (Oh, check for allergies first)
- avoid products with fragrances and dyes
- no fabric softener in the laundry - try vinegar instead
- avoid chemicals and cleaners
- avoid harsh soaps
- avoid lanolin. Coco butter is also a common irritant. I'm irritated by Sweet Almond Oil, which is common to many high end lotions that people recommend for eczema.

Some stuff to try:
- keep the skin moisturized. Keep lotion all over the house and apply all the time
- you needn't avoid bathing, just avoid really hot water. Pat dry and moisturize. Or try adding something soothing to the bath water - I love powdered milk in the bath, oatmeal is good too.

I do make an eczema cream. It helps me as much as Elidil or hydrocortisone did. It contains essential oils that help relieve itch and heal skin and treat eczema. It also has carrier oils that do the same. I do make a balm also, but I don't have it listed on my site right now. The balm is not as good IMO since it doesn't moisturize (no balms do - they don't contain water). But some of my testers loved it.

Anyway - you have to try stuff and find maybe 3 products that help you and rotate them to avoid immunity problems. Also, find a nice unscented lotion to use all over to prevent flare-ups.

Melinda