What is Eczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the upper layers of the skin. The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent or recurring skin rashes characterized ...
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My daughter is 17 months old now and has been dealing with eczema since she was 2 or 3 months old. We take her to a dermatologist and have managed the condition through a combination of Aveeno and Aquafor (plus prescription strength hydrocortizone for bad outbursts) and loose, cotton clothes.
Although her skin is improved, she is still often scabbed or flaky. And if we don't watch her carefully, she WILL scratch, especially if she is hungry, tired, or has a wet diaper. But we can manage the days. What I can hardly handle is the nights. Because she scratches when she wakes up at night, we moved her to our bed, where she still sleeps. And because we tend to her right away (which includes last night bottles and changes), she still wakes up several times a night. At least 2-4 times. I want to take her off the bottle completely. I want to move her to her own bed. I want to let her cry it out and learn to sleep through the night. But my husband is unwilling to do this because of the scratching (even with clipped or filed nails, she can easily draw blood). I tried socks on her hands, but she pulled her them. I tried some homemade mittens, but she scratched through the mittens. Did anyone else have a similiar problem? Does anyone have any ideas for solutions? Posted on 09/08/09, 04:09 pm |
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Yeah, we had the same problem and did the same thing - let him sleep in bed with us. On the one hand it made life so much easier, on the other he's 3 1/2 and is still in my bed (we don't mind anymore, but if we ever decided to kick him out I'm sure it would be a hell of a fight...). What also helped for us was wet and dry bandages. So we would moisturise, then add the prescription creams, then one layer of wet bandages (warm water) then a layer of dry on top. We used tubular bandages. The good thing about that is not only is the skin getting intensely moisturised which aids healing, he couldn't scratch. The head was still a problem but there are little head covers you can buy to protect the head from scratching (try a company called Cotton Comfort - online, they are based in the UK though). They also sell sleep suits, the cotton (organic) is pretty thick but loose fitting, the feet are covered and there are mittens which can be attached. I think there is another company called the Natural Clothing Company that sells similar products, also UK as far as I recall.
It can be pretty exhausting huh? I had to wait about 3 years to get a full night's sleep and even now he still has itchy wiggly nights. Sometimes the lack of sleep with just make me want to collapse and cry. Oh, and my son is still on the bottle and probably will be until he's 5. He has to be because his allergies and intolerances are so bad that he relies on his prescription formula for most of his nutrition. It tastes pretty ick, so the bottle is the only way. People think its odd, but I don't pay any attention. Best of luck with it, let us know how you go. KC 
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