Weeping Excema

Hey ladies,

At what point would you take your bubba to the doctor re: excema?

Just when I thought Roo's skin was clearing up (and it has on his body) his face has totally flared up and is now weeping

I don't use soap, but do use Eco Store shampoo (trialed not using this and made no difference). I've tried aqueous cream which made his skin bright red, I've had some success with Eco Store bum cream (this is what cleared up the excema on his body) and now I've just bought a new cream which is suppose to be for sensitive skin and cost $$$ but isn't making any obvious improvements just yet.

Just wondering at what point we should try a mild hydrocortisone cream

I would definitely go to the doc. Best cream we've had is cetomacrogol with 10%glycerine. The chemist will have to make it up, but it's awesome! DD reacted to aqueous cream, and the fatty lemnis cream got all over her clothes too - that one was so greasy! If it's weepeing, you may also need to use a mild hydrocortisone (as you suggested - there is nothing wrong with using it to clear up the worst of it and 'break the cycle'), and also something antibacterial to make sure the skin doesn't get infected. Try a couple drops of tea tree oil in the bath? Our specialist would have put DD on antibiotics had her eczema been weeping, as the last thing you need is a secondary bacterial infection.

The big question is what is causing the eczema? I would also suggest starting to think about the process of figuring out if it's a food allergy etc. It is far far easier once you know what is causing it (if you can!), rather than having to deal with the end result! Not sure if GP's can request skin prick or RAST blood tests directly, or if that has to go through a specialist (as we went directly through the allergy specialist). Best of luck, eczema is a PITA!

Get your GP to request the skin pricks or the RAST. That is how I got mine done.

This is the frustrating thing.... it was clearing up and has gone from almost clear to all crusty and weeping in 48hrs!

Poor thing!

As others have said, take him to your GP and request allergy tests. Some GPs will do them, others won't. If yous won't, ask to be referred to a specialist. Our allergy specialist told me that eczema on the face in the first 6 months is almost always a food allergy.

It is less likely to be wheat/gluten and more likely to be something like nuts or eggs if not dairy (although many Mums disagree, apparently wheat and gluten do not go through BM).

Good luck!

OK just back from the doctor and he said it's very unlikely to be an allergy. He said I'm doing everything right and it'll clear up eventually. He's given me some antiseptic type cream to apply 2x a day on the nasty bits.

That MooGoo looks interesting $30 though!

Fingers crossed this cream helps the nasty bits.... just checked and it's called Foban.

poor baby and poor you!

I have to agree with blondy and wouldn't necessarily take your GPs word for it. Lots of GPs don't seem to acknowledge a link between food allergies and eczema

Don't know if it's bad to link to another forum on here but there is a great allergy forum on everybody.co.nz - the parents there have been so helpful answering all my questions about allergies & eczema.

Hope you manage to get it sorted - we had 7 months of a miserably itchy baby being up for hours in the night every night before we got it under control.

Cooper gets really bad ezcema on his cheeks from wheat. Dairy & soy are on other parts.

As an adult who suffered from excema as a kid I can tell you how it affected me. Mine was dairy allergy. I would start to itch within 1/2 an hour from eating cheese or yogurt. Longer with other dairy. Within a few hours it was weeping and gross. I also had patches. Back of neck, inside creases of elbows and knees and eyelids. As an adult I can now eat dairy but I have to keep myself moisterised. If I have a flare up I cut out dairy until it is under control again and then reintroduce.

I second what others say about getting allergy tests done. You can waste so much time and energy not to say money on trying things that in the end are only treating symptoms and not the main cause. It took 9 years back in the early 80's to figure out it was dairy and in this day and age drs should at least rule out allergy and be sure when the tests are available rather than make broad general statements.   I would be getting a second opinion.   The fact that it has gone to weeping so quickly reminds me of my allergy excema.   

ETA not trying to belittle your doctor as he has a medical degree and has been practising medicine. Just giving my uneducated opinion after having excema myself.   

Edited by kiwi2