Matilda's Eczema

After battling with Matilda's eczema for well over a year now I have decided to keep a diary on the products we use and advice we are given and it's effectiveness.

Matilda has had eczema since she was six months old. At first she had a few small patches on the backs of her knees and the tops of her arms. This quickly spread to her back, shoulders and tummy. I made a doctors appointment and Matilda (like so many others suffering with eczema) was prescribed hydrocortisone cream. I was reluctant to use steroid cream on a baby considering the below side effects and the fact it can only be used for three consecutive days (for babies/toddlers)

• drying or cracking of the skin
• acne
• itching
• burning
• change in skin colour and thinning of skin

Doctors seem to offer little to no advice and will only prescribe a cocktail of creams. Over the course of a year we tried eliminating dairy from Matilda's diet and switching to soy formula. We have switched all our washing detergents to Eczema Society approved products. We have increased the amount of omega-3 in her diet. We have tried a whole host of creams and lotions. Aveeno and coconut oil were great to use as moisturisers but the main problem was the itching. Even when flare ups and dry patches subside Matilda will still be constantly scratching. There have been times when I go to get her up in the morning and she has been covered in blood. Below is a photo of her tummy after she managed to remove her scratch mitts during an afternoon nap. It's heartbreaking and extremely frustrating. It takes two of us to change and bath her. One to hold her hands while the other changes/washes. 

Recently we have been using Diprobase and Cetraben (a bath emollient) upon our doctors advice and after weeks of use have not noticed an improvement. After yet another evening researching eczema and skin conditions last night, a considerable amount of eczema sufferers actually have a reaction to paraffin which is present in almost all prescription emollients. So this morning instead of generously applying Diprobase I switched to cold pressed coconut oil and have already noticed that Matilda has been scratching far less. I have also ordered some unrefined shea butter after a recommendation by @birthyogagmama on instagram and yet more research. I will post again after it's arrived to update on its effectiveness. Fingers crossed!  

I am still waiting on a call from the health visitor to see if she can make a referral to a dermatologist so we can get Matilda allergy tested. Jason has asthma, which is why we think Matilda has eczema, but it still has triggers. For Jason this is cats and dust mites to name a couple, so there must be something that triggers Matilda's eczema flare ups. It might seem like a minor problem but it effects our lives on a daily basis. At 20 months of age she has still not been swimming because of the chemicals in swimming pools would damage her skin further. She couldn't wear any short sleeved dresses over summer without us pulling her hands away from scratching herself every two minutes. 

Matilda now has to wear scratch sleeves or mitts almost all of the time. It breaks my heart. She rarely complains and I just pray we can get to the bottom of it soon. If you have or have had eczema and found something that has worked, or found something to help with the itching please drop me an email - emmalcday@gmail.com. If you have a little one that is also suffering I'd love to hear from you!

This was all written slightly frantically between feeding our newborn (he's almost always hungry!) so I hope there aren't too many mistakes. I plan to do another post again in a few days with another update and some of my research sources. 

Thanks for reading x