Know a good eczema emollient?

[KittysMum]

Thanks so much Kelly (and thanks for the encouragement too, clh - sweet of you).

I'm feeling a bit unsure, as yesterday I was really relieved to be thinking, "this is it for us - we just need to live with it" It felt a huge relief to stop feeling so anxious; my happiness had become dependent on the state of her skin. The medics all seem so sure that it's just hereditary eczema and may or may not be allergy related, so we just need to accept it and live with it.

But today, I'm worrying that there might be an answer under our noses (a food we're missing, the cat, dust, whatever) and in not trying more, we're putting Kitty through more discomfort than she could have, if that makes sense.

On the one hand, it's dispiriting, keep searching for the culprit in her diet, cutting this out, eliminating that, looking for hidden ingredients (I've even checked her toothpaste tube, that's how crazed I've got over this) and then not seeing any improvement. But I feel like I'm doing something; trying to work the problem out. (The downside of that is, your hopes soar when you spot a possible problem food, then plummet again when eliminating it makes no difference...)

On the other hand, if it is just something that we need to accept, then that's easier in a way; I can relax more. Just get on with plastering her in her creams, try not to make a big deal of her scratching sessions and try to make her days as fun as possible in spite of her skin.

But having seen such a 100% improvement when we stopped dairy, it's hard to stop thinking that it might be food related and could all clear up again overnight if we just found out what the problem was.

What state is James' skin when the eczema is under control, Kelly? Only, Kitty has been 100% peachy in the past, but the last few months, at her very best she's still been pink, pimply and dry.

Someone told me something they'd read in one of the papers about soft/hard water being a solution too, did you hear about that?

Can I list her typical daily diet, Kelly, see if you can spot any possible problems?

[Jimbob]

In some ways it is easier just to accept it and treat the eczema as best as possible. We did try this route when James was bad but it just became that bad that James was not having fun as he was so incredibly itchy. I felt I had to try my best to figure out what triggers James' eczema as he just did not have a good quality of life with the way it was. I know that James' eczema is hereditary but I also know that it is food allergies amongst other things that trigger it.

Have you tried wet wraps at all? I can't remember if you have or not. They did help James a lot at one stage. The health visitor can prescribe them as well as GP's and specialists.

When James' skin is at its best it is still very dry. James also has the odd few patches of eczema that don't ever seem to completely clear no matter what we do.

I have heard about hard water being harsh on the skin and I have read a few articles related to eczema being  by hard water. We live in a soft water area so I have not really looked too far into it to be honest.

Of course you can list her daily diet. I will see if I can see anything that could be an obvious trigger. Of course what is a trigger for one person may not be for another but of course you will know that. It is so hard to work these things out and sometimes you don't ever get to the bottom of flares.

I just wanted to say what a great mummy you are being to Kitty. I know its hard when all you want is a child that is happy and content and not driven crazy by the intense itch. I found it hard to go out anywhere as James wouldjsut want to scratch constantly and it was just such hard work walking down the road pushing the pram whilst trying to prevent him from scratching. Car journeys meant that I would have to sit in the back of the car so I could try and entertain James whilst stopping him from scratching. This would often lead to tears as he didi not want to be stopped.

Kelly

[KittysMum]

Thanks Kelly, and for the encouragement too - it's just what I need. It's hard work, isn't it? And you feel awful for thinking that you have problems, when loads of babies have real physical disabilities.

Okay - see if anything jumps out at you here. Here are our thoughts regarding possible triggers, as well as her daily diet (which is literally the same every day at the moment, as I don't think she's well enough to introduce anything new yet)

* The cat. BUT she doesn't have any other symptoms at all, and her skin has been clear in the past when he's still been here the whole time.

* The in-laws. My husband used to have such bad allergies when he lived at home that he had to have an op to remove the lining of his nose, it got so irritated. (His allergies cleared up as soon as he went to Uni). His mum does use a heck of a lot of products around the house. We see them every Saturday, and she usually flares most Sunday nights/Monday mornings.

* We've already worked out that she has a problem with latex, avocados & bananas - all the same rubber plant family apparently. In the family is also coconut (an ingredient of Neocate) and potato (her main carb staple...) I'm thinking of making her lamb mix with rice and trying that for a while. The dietician is very reluctant for us to stop the Neocate, as it covers her nutritional needs so well.

* Diet:

Breakfast: millet porridge made with water, a lump of PURE (dairy and soya free spread), syrup and Neocate stirred in at the end; Neocate to drink

Snack: mashed cooked pear; Neocate to drink

Lunch: mashed mix of lamb, potato, parsnip and carrot; pear or rice pudding for pudding (ground rice, water, Neocate, Pure & syrup); water to drink

Snack: Neocate

Dinner: as above

Neocate before bedtime

Thank you so much Kelly. I really appreciate your help with this.

[Spectra]

Hi, I just wanted to jump in and ask how you cook pear?  My son loves pear, and I usually peel and mash it, but it's so hard.  Does cooking it make it easier?

As for everything else, do your in-laws have pets?  Have you looked to see what your in-laws use to clean the house?  Perhaps suggest something safer for your girl.  Poor thing, hope she feels better.

[KittysMum]

Thanks Spectra, that's a good idea. But how to suggest it without causing offence... hmm.

Yes, Kitty loves pears too. I just peel and roughly chop them, then boil them in water for a few minutes to soften them. Then I mash them roughly with a potato masher. For finger food practise, I cook thick sticks of pear, then put them on a plate - bit slippery, but one or two sometimes reach their target!

Pear's been our fruit 'staple' from the start, after I read Tracy's recommendation that it was the least allergenic food to start weaning with.

[Spectra]

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I started with pear too!  Now he eats apples and pommegranite lol.

I guess it depends on how the in-laws are.  You know them best.  If it was mine I know she'd be willing to show me and perhaps I'd offer to buy her the same cleaners that we'd use.  I know she wouldn't be offended, but I don't know how your in-laws would react.

Maybe say, "I notice she flares up a day or two after she's been over here.  Would you mind if I took a peek at your cleaners as there may be something in those cleaners?"   Or maybe get your husband to broach the subject, since he may have more leeway with them.

[Jimbob]

First of al with the coconut in the neocate. It is fractionated coconut oil which means it has been broken down extensively. From what I have read most people with coconut allergies are fine with this. Most babies/children do fine with neocate or equivalent formulas it has a very high success rate.

I know James used to react terribly when at my in laws house. At the time it was full of plug in air frsheners, mother in law had perfume on all the time, used fabric softeners on her clothes etc. There were lots of things that contributed. I slowly got her to realise what things were flaring him and we worked on alternatives foor many things.

Have to go as James has just woken due to itchies.

Kelly

[Jimbob]

I am back.

I think on the whole Kitty' diet looks pretty good. I would possibly try changing the potato to rice for a few weeks and see if that helps. If that does not make any difference then I think I would take the pure out of Kitt' porridge. James was not able to have pure at one point though he can tolerate a little now. If that makes know difference after a few weeks then I would take parsnip out of the lamb mix and see if that helps. After each food is removed if it makes know difference then I would reintroduce it before you eliminate the next. I have heard of people being allergic to pears even though it is supposed to be one of the least allergenic foods so that is a possibility though would not be one of my first suspects. I am also wondering about the syrup. What kind is it?

Kelly

[Jimbob]

Another thing I just thought of is the millet porridge produced on shared lines? Does the same factory produce products that contain nuts, dairy or egg etc?

Kelly

[bovi]

Kyttismum,

I have been following this thread for a while. My DS has eczema too, specially on the face. I know it has genetic background, but I still would like to send you many hugs and encouragement for trying to find out what can really make it come up or disappear. Let me  share with you my example, hope you dont mind. I had eczema for 10 years and it really meant a lot of discomfort. It was sometimes better sometimes worse. I saw some 15 dermatologists they all said to study to live with it( and gave me very strong creams). Well I didn't, one day when I got older, I just decided I am gonna try every single alternative therapy that is out there, and the first one worked!! It was an extremely strict diet, I lost loads of weight and my eczema disappeared, completely and did not come back for four years! Sometimes I still have it but never really bad as before and it is all my fault because I can not always resist food I should not eat.  All those dermatologists! never suggested me trying a diet!

I personally believe that it is possible to find how to get rid of eczema (of course it is not food for everyone but many times it is). It can mean years or it can be just the next thing you try tomorrow.  just dont give up! It makes such a huge difference in life, I really felt when it disappeared that I got a new life.
For my DS now (EBF) I started to do a strict diet, it does not work yet and I just keep looking around and trying this and that, new creams,getting rid of anything that might have wool in it, buying new cloths only with light colors etc. etc.
I also read about the hard/light water  and we are buying a whatever called machine that makes water lighter

Never give up never surrender! You are great that you are trying everything you can! (If only my mother would have thought of the diet, would have saved years of suffering for me )

[Jimbob]

I just wanted to say that I feel like I have picked holes in Kitty' diet and that really is not my intention. I am just trying to think of every possibility. I got to the point where I would suspect a food and then think I was crazy to even think of suspecting it and you know sometimes it would turn out to be a trigger.

Kelly

[KittysMum]

No, thank you so so much Kelly. You were only saying the very things I've been wondering about - you can start to suspect every single thing, can't you? But, no, your posts were really helpful.

And thank you, bovi, for your story. That's really helpful too, as I was wondering whether to just accept the situation or keep pushing on with the diet thing. Tbh, the thought of not having hope, not being able to try something was so depressing that I'd already decided to keep looking at her diet. Thank you for your story and best of luck with your efforts with your lo. Let us know how you get on with the water thingie etc.

Well, we're thinking along the same lines Kelly. I made up a batch of potato-free food yesterday (with rice instead of potato) so will see how that affects things over the next couple of weeks. I was wondering about the carrot? (Trouble is, you google pretty much anything and an allergy comes up...)

The millet porridge says it's 'packed in an environment where nuts and sesame seeds may be present'. But don't they have to put that to cover their backs and actually there's very little chance of any being in the product itself?

The Pure's an interesting one. I think we'll do exactly what you recommend and start with the spuds, then move on if that doesn't help things. We're avoiding the in-laws house for a few weeks, so that should be that one out of the running. (Like yours, my MIL is a great one for 'products'; air fresheners, perfume etc. And we always put Kitty down on the carpet; I was wondering if she uses some sort of Shake 'n' Vac type product..?)

We went to the GP yesterday, as I'd run out of Eumovate, and he did raise his eyebrows at hearing we'd been using it for 6 weeks without a break. But he prescribed me some more nonetheless, so I'm hoping we can get the current flare under control again.

I'm just dreading summer. I can cope with her scratching when I can tuck her sleeves and trousers into socks (though it's not going to be long before she works out how to untuck those) but how I'll manage when it's hot (and more itchy) and she's in short sleeves is anyone's guess.

[KittysMum]

Just had to post, as just one day free from potatoes, she's so improved, you wouldn't believe it. I'm so excited and hopeful; can hardly bear to believe that we might have found the problem food, after all this time...

Kelly - does James eat potatoes? I don't want to suggest that it might be a problem for him too, but might be worth a look at if he does eat them.

When you google latex intolerance, several websites list foodstuffs that are apparently related to the rubber tree, including avocados, bananas and potatoes (as well as most tropical fruits)

I'm quietly hopeful... her skin's gone from being a 3 or 4 (5 being the worst it's ever been) to a 1 or 2, literally overnight. Will post back soon with more (hopefully good!) news... 

[Spectra]

I hope the goodness continues!  That would be awesome if you found the culprit!

[Jimbob]

James does eat potato actually. I have thought it could be a suspect on and off to be honest. It will be difficult to eliminate from James' diet though as it is one of the things he actually tends to like, and at the moment I need to be really sure before I take a food away due to his food aversion. James is 4 years old and eats only 3 different food consistently, potato being 1 of them. James is now just starting to try other foods but it is a very slow process and usually results in him gagging and being sick.

Thank you very much for suggesting it though and it does give me something to consider. I hope Kitty continues to do well, it is what you and Kitty deserve.

Kelly