Dealing with Eczema

Since my daughter was 18 months old she has had eczema on her wrists, and the backs of her legs. She is now nearly four and her arms rarely have a day when they are not red all the way up to her elbows.

She has good days, and she has very itchy days.

We have been to allergy doctors and various dermatologist, made tons of tests, etc.

But it all boils down with living with eczema and learning to deal with it.

The nasty stuff has also decided to plague me, and having always had hands sensitive to too much soap and dish washing I am not also suffering from eczema all over the back of my right hand. The dermatologist also tell me it is an allergy.

What we use:

- Zinc cream. (This is something we can use often and freely, and so we do just that. I put a good coat on her arms every evening when she goes to be along with the other prescription cream she uses- which we use very sparingly).

-Bepanthen. (When we saw the last and best dermatologist she had me mix 3 things together to create a "perfect" cream for my girl. She had us mix this, with zinc cream and the prescription cream). I still mix this with the zinc at times to make it more spreadable.

-Coconut oil. (I use this after her baths to lock in moisture and it soaks in immediately. We also use it at other times, but not as much as the zinc).

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-Avene Cicalfate- is what I use on my hand for my eczema.


What we do :

-Keep nails short.

-Use a special bath oil soap. BABE oil soap.

-Limit sugar, candy, and artificial color intakes (juice, etc).

-Since our girl at one time had a sensitivity to eggs we limit her egg intake.

-Change her bedding often. (She is also allergic to dust mites).

-Let her stay cool. Don't make her wear socks or a sweater if she says she is warm enough. Here in LV kids are kept warm. But being too warm makes irritated skin itch more.
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-My eczema is very much triggered by water, washing dishes, working with acidic fruits and veges (lemons, tomatoes, etc. ) Because of this I try to wear gloves while washing dishes, and limit soap usage (even gentle soaps).



Living with eczema is very hard, annoying and tricky. Emotions trigger my daughter to start scratching and raving about itching. It is sometimes hard to tell if she is pretending and using her this or if really is true.

I feel badly for her and hope that as she grows older she will outgrow this. And learn how best to live with it and deal with it.

If you have ever dealt with extreme eczema how did you treat it?