June 1997 Eczema Mailing List Archive

I have had eczema since I was 13. Started small - on the outside ankles - now everywhere but my face and breasts and upper back. Hands are usually pretty bad, but worst spots are on legs. I have never noticed a flare with particular foods, but my eczema is like a barometer for stress. I have noticed it also coincided a lot with my hormonal moods. First started when I started my periods, cleared up with birth control pills. Got bad during pregnancy and really bad with miscarriages. Now I am in menopause and it is the absolute worst! 

Stress makes it even more so - particularly on hands which tend to blister, break, weep, get infected and then crack. My doctor wants me to do PUVA treatments and she is VERY sure this will work. Anybody have any luck with PUVA? It sounds really scary to me because of all the precautions one has to take. I had been under a LOT of stress for the past 8 years. I want to try to see if maybe now that I don't have this stress, it may clear on its own. 

About the really dry skin feeling - my derm. told me to put the lotions or moisturizers on IMMEDIATELY after bathing or showering so it would retain the moisture. This seemed to help. Currently I have been alternating oatmeal baths with tar oil baths and it helps. The more I sleep, the better it gets- but of course, you can't sleep all the time. 

When my son was just over a year old, he got to a cup of tea I'd left on a high unit in my kitchen and scolded his chest and arm. Once the wound was no longer raw, we were given such a pad made of silicon gel, but we were told by the skin specialist that the use of this was not to retain water, but simply to apply a constant pressure on the wound so that it didn't bubble or pucker up on healing. However, the pad didn't allow Rees's skin to breathe and he sweated terribly under it, which made the surface of the skin *very* red and *very* itchy, so we stopped using it. At the time, his eczema wasn't too well established, although he had always been prone to rashes and obviously had very sensitive skin.

I know the opinions regarding stress and eczema vary, but I believe strongly that stress factors into eczema. Not everyone, of course, finds their skin to be affected by stress. But let me tell you, my skin is VERY much affected by my state of mind. Because I am prone to depression, I am taking Zoloft, an anti-depressant. When I first started taking it, my skin cleared up soon thereafter. It remained in good condition until I moved. Perhaps, in combination with different allergens, different lifestyle, stress played a role in the next wave of chronic eczema. I can not say for sure what caused it, but increasing my dose of Zoloft has helped. It has not been a panacea, but at least when my skin sucks, I don't hide in bed for days any more. Not letting my skin govern my life is important to me.

After about 38 years of eczema, many problems with rashy eyes and a naive use of steriods on face (same betamethasone prescription refilled by pharmacist without any renewal for 12 years), I was told I have glaucoma and significant peripheral vision loss about a year and a half ago. This loss of vision has made considerable impacts on my life... poor quality vision, can't safely play hockey anymore or follow a golf ball's flight, difficulty reading signs and books, just poor acuity and visual range!!!! However, I was told by the derm and ophthalmologist at the time, that it is rare although possible to have developed this condition due to steriod usage. I have since found out an aunt and uncle also have glaucoma. There may have been a disposition that was exacerbated by steriod use. I am only 40 years of age and considered young to have this condition.

I would be very cautious regarding steroid use around eyes or face for that matter. After many years of steroid use, skin thinning occurs. My derm indicated that with thinnned skin, even steroids on distant facial parts can migrate to the eye areas subdermally and cause problems. Who knows? I would suggest avoidance. 

I went back to work last week and, I must admit I was very hesitant and anxious of how my eczema was going to react.

Anyway what did I learn from my break... 

First of all I realised I was not going to be cured in any way. I knew that already. I am pleased however how I have progressed in controlling my eczema. The most obvious difference is that my skin is under control on most areas. especially my face. I have also decreased dramatically the use of steroids.

I take vitamin and herb tablets. I drink at least two litres of water a day. I make sure any toxic waste in my body is flushed out daily... i.e going to the toilet regurlarly. I eat five small meals a day so as not to overload the digestive system. All my food is dairy and wheat free. I think my face has cleared because I am totalling avoiding dairy products.

I now use Jojoba oil on my face. This does not irritate and leaves no greasy marks. Beleive me my face is hyper irritant so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this product.

I now shower once every three days AND make sure it is luke warm water. If I use hot water (which I was addicted to) it causes my skin to heat up, go red and then dry out. I am surprised if I stick to this my skin stays supple. This has never happened before. I use to use moisturisers galore in the beleif they were helping. How wrong I was. I now let the body dry itself and BREATH. It is now healing itself and producing it's own oils.

Stress - This is the hardest to control. I do not take and have never taken anti-depressants. Instead I now exercise and try to stay calm.

I now know of the things that really irritate my skin. They are:

• House Dust mites - I have the usual protective covers on my bedding which help. I also need to clean my flat daily... I'm failing miserably here. I am getting wooden floors in then I will employ a cleaner to thoroughly clean my place.
• Sweat - This aggravates my skin terribly. This is the only time I will shower within the three day rule. It will be very brief and slightly cooler, If I don't shower the toxic gumpf that has come thru my skin will start to work on my skin and then it's too late.
• The Sun - Unfortunately over the years I have become very sensitive to the sun. I believe this is due to my prolonged use of steroids, though some people have disagreed with me. If I can wean myself off steroids I believe my skin will become desensitized to the Sun. I hope so. It makes my skin very itchy and it comes up with hives.
• Air conditioning - This is such a bane to me working in an office. This is tied in with the dustmite thing.
• Stress - The hardest and most important to control. I wont take drugs but am reading about meditation and how the brain works.

I have had a couple of set backs in the past few weeks. But rather than getting depressed about it I now sit down and try to figure out why such and such a thing happened. If I work it out then I feel I am one step closer to controlling my eczema.

I have become very motivated in living a better life and having fun again.

I wouldn't recommend cutting out all moisturizers, at least not until your super dry skin on your face is under control. Wait until your skin is in a healthy cycle.

For my face, I use Neutrogena face lotion for sensitive skin. Then in the really dry areas, I put aquaphor on. I can relate to what you are feeling -your face is like a plant that needs to be watered constantly. And still, even that doesn't really help. When you are at home, you might even consider putting a super thin application of Auaphor on your face. If putting things like that on your face irritates it, then this advice won't be of much help.

Sometimes the amount of whatever you're putting on must be reduced for the skin to absorb it without reacting. I use Aquaphor ointment for dryness around the mouth. If I put too much on, the skin can't breathe (at least that's how it feels) so I have learned over time how much is enough. I suggest reducing the amount of whatever you try before giving up on it.

When the skin is cracking, anything you use is going to burn. At least, that's my experience. And it means that the skin is open to infection. I use antibacterial Cleocin-T, which has alcohol and burns more, but to me, that means it's going into the cracks where it's needed. To me, burning is an unavoidable part of having eczema. I try to use it as a signal that action must be taken to avoid infection, and so far, that approach has worked well for me.

I was recently starting to wonder if bananas were an aggravation to my eczema. When I eat more than 1 a day (and sometimes only after 1), I find my forearms getting very itchy. Also, before eczema became a problem, I noticed that if I let a banana touch my lips while I eat it, my lips will get itchy and swell, but if I break it into small pieces and bypass my lips, I'm fine. Sounds like I should give them up for a while and see if things improve. Too bad it's my favorite fruit. 

Bananas are a common allergen.

I have used emulsifying ointment (with a drop of chamomile oil in) and jojoba the last couple of days and it feels better and I have been using water too which is at times out of the question as it can act as skin remover.

In the UK the standard emollients are:

• Aqueous Cream: liquid paraffin, white soft paraffin, purified water, emulsifying wax, chlorocresol (? 0.1%)
• Emulsifying Ointment: emulsifying wax, liquid paraffin, white soft paraffin.

The "dry" skin is not really dry skin, most likely. It probably is just healing skin. It is much like the peeling that follows a sunburn. The skin needs time to heal. The peeling will subside. In the meantime, keeping to the diet, and keeping the skin moist, with whatever lubricant agrees with you, is needed.

In a cool shower use a wash cloth to gently remove the excess dry flaking skin. Use NO SOAP. Before toweling off apply your lubricant. Most people find vaseline helpul. If you can use it, put a gob on your hands and then pat your areas until the gob is gone. Gently spread the vaseline while your skin is damp. Give yourself a GENTLE massage in this state. Dry off with a towel or let yourself dry. Allow the vaseline to absorb for an hour or so, then wipe any the excess if you like or leave it on. You will find a big big improvement.

Repeat at least once daily. Twice may be in order, depending on your state.

At some active severe allergic stages of eczema, and with the effects of certain allergens, and with active scratching this burning does happen, true. It is also true if the skin is broken many things will cause a burning sensation. But burning is not a part of all eczema. If something burns then I think it MOST OFTEN means the cause of the burning should be avoided.

As a rule of thumb, I think, burning of the skin is a danger sign: certainly with soaps. The cause of the burning should be put on the danger list and only retried later if one feels one has to, and after consulting with a doctor.

When you're raw, anything burns.

I had a severe bout of hand eczema when I was under a lot of stress at work, which was also increasing my blood pressure. (Everytime my doctor asked me if I was under stress I had one of those gritting teeth looks that said don't even ask!). I had the opportunity to go on a retreat and while it was a physically tiring retreat, it took me away from stress of home and work, and I had a great improvement on my hands. Now I can tell when I get stressed, my hands break out.

Anybody heard about the use of colloidal silver as a replacement for antibiotics? It used to be used for bacteria, viruses, fungi before the 1930's or 40's until the antibiotic revolution. It is supposed to be able to kill 650 disease causing microbes. I read a lot of literature about its effectiveness so was thinking of trying it to help clean out my gut-I suspect I may have a leaky gut problem due to my years of antibiotic use for acne, as my allergy to milk coincided with my start of antibiotics. For anyone who doesn't know what colloidal silver is check out this informative website http://www.colloidal-silver.com/antibiotic2.html

My 2 year old daughter has severe eczema all over her body (except what her diaper covers, oddly?), as well as asthma and many of the allergies that have been mentioned here. I have been struggling with/tried many of the things I see discussed here. I have 2 questions:

I really struggle with keeping her from scratching herself bloody. Usually during her waking hours I can distract her if she gets real itchy, but I can't do anything at night. She is a real Houdini about getting out of whatever combination of clothing I put her in to sleep and then she scratches herself raw. I try to keep her room cool, even using a fan if it is warm, I have tried cool mist humidifiers in her room (but worry about mold problems), I give her Atarax full dose (which doesn't seem to do anything anymore), I keep her fingernails incredibly short - yet still most mornings she has managed to get out of her clothes and gouge her skin to pieces. I just want to cry for her - I have never had eczema so I cannot imagine how awful it must be to itch so much that it is a relief to scratch until it bleeds!! Any suggestions?

We have been trying the National Jewish Hospital eczema bathing regime for the past few months and have more success with this than anything we have tried over the past two years (except eliminating allergens). Is anyone else doing this? If so, what results are people having, long term? 

About glaucoma and steroid use around the eyes, check out this web site: http://www.dermnet.org.nz/dna.topical.steroids/info.html

It lists the rate of absorption of topical steroids on various places. Note that the rate of absorption on the eyelids is 30%! Long-term use of oral (prednisone) and inhaled (beconase AQ) steroids can contribute to glaucoma, too.

From the web site: Forearm absorbs 1% Armpit absorbs 4% Face absorbs 7% Eyelids and genitals absorb 30% Palm absorbs 0.1% Sole absorbs 0.05%

The rest of this site is extremely useful. 

There are two other web sites I would like to recommend:

http://www.dermnet.org.nz/dna.puva/puva.html This discusses PUVA and its side effects. It gave me more information than my derm did, and in fact, contradicted some of what I was told! I'm glad I stopped PUVA!

http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vumcdept/derm/contact/ The is the contact dermatitis homepage. It includes descriptions of the four brands of patch tests, including what each tests for, AND, the best part, a list of allergens, their synonyms, cross reactions, and bibliographies.

The burning I experience comes from general everyday scratching that tears open my skin. Afterwards, anything that touches or enters the wounds burns. The substance that touches or enters the wound does not cause the burning, it is the scratching that has caused the problem. For me, scratching is the major inescapable feature of having eczema. Obviously we all try to control our scratching but the fact is that it cannot be completely avoided. That's why I said that for me, burning is part of having eczema.

For me, burning has nothing to do with allergens. If I get an allergic reaction, I get swelling and redness and sometimes hives. If I don't scratch, I don't get burning. If you usually only get burning from allergens that you can avoid, you are lucky.

I want to reiterate that anything I post refers to my own condition. I am not implying that anyone else's experience is (or should be) the same. I post simply as information for those who are curious about others' experiences. There's no right or wrong here. We all have different situations. 

I spent my entire infancy and childhood doing exactly what you say your child does: tearing off all her clothes and scratching herself raw in the night. My parents couldn't figure out what to do either. They tied up my hands, which just made me more frustrated and made me scratch even harder when I got out, not to mention the psychological damage it did.

There could be lots of factors and combinations of factors involved. The suggestions below may do nothing but they're at least worth trying.

Put less clothes on her. Despite keeping the room cool, which is good, the clothes may be making her feel confined and overheated and the friction against her skin is also a problem. If you have put any cream or ointment on her skin before putting her to bed, that contributes to the overheating and friction problem with clothes. Experiment with different weights and types of pillows, sheets, and blankets too.

Give yourself the task of staying up one night and watching her process of going to sleep. Or set up a video camera and record her at night while she's in bed. You could learn a lot about what seems to be making her uncomfortable.

Could it be the position in which she is placed? Kids with eczema are restless. They need to be able to change their position frequently. If she doesn't have enough freedom to move around, that will cause frustration and scratching.

Teach her to hold something in her hands, something soft, like a piece of cloth, or whatever she seems to prefer holding. She needs to keep her hands occupied. She may drop it when the feelings are overwhelming, but it's a way to start off with a feeling of comfort. Try to get her to grab hold of something instead of her skin when she starts to scratch in the daytime and see if the habit can transfer to nighttime.

Try sleeping with her and holding her hands gently, say by the tip of a finger. Very light contact is sometimes needed to feel safe and at peace. Too much contact is disturbing. Experiment with different amounts of contact to see if any has an affect.

Try soothing sounds in the room, like a tape of the ocean waves. Assess the environment where she is sleeping. Dust and mold could be part of the problem. Experiment with different places for her to sleep where she might do better.

Having this condition is an overwhelming awful experience and your child is expressing her anger and frustration by scratching herself to pieces. Perhaps before putting her to bed, you can try giving her opportunities to relieve some of that rage and tension by banging something hard or hitting a pillow or letting her smash something between her hands, whatever gives the feeling of release using the hands.

Be patient. It's a long hard road. I've been struggling with it since birth. Nighttime is definitely the hardest part. 

I feel like I would be able to get a handle on things if I could just get some relief from the inflammation and dryness on my face. I too used to spend time trying to determine what behavior or food resulted in an outbread, but I found that unless there was an immediate reaction to something, this was an exercise in futility. I used to keep a daily journal of foods I ingested and a record on the scale of the severity of my eczema. What I've found is this condition often has an agenda all its own. I can speculate all I want to, but no matter what behavior I change or substance I try to eliminate, my eczema finds a reason to rear its ugly head. Then, suddenly it may practically disappear for a lengthy time for no apparent reason.

I have now gone to the other end of the spectrum and try to live my life in spite of eczema, not as a condition of eczema.

Also, I've decided to experiment with the " no moisturizer" posture, by eliminating it from a few major parts of my body to see if I can slowly be weaned. I too, have a big problem with the sun. I wear sunscreen on my face and a hat but the sun is so intense here, I'm unsure if these precautions are enough, as I do spend quite a bit of time outdoors. Lately, I've mostly been out at dusk. It's very serene and beautiful and great emotional therapy.

I think many of us may also need to at least know a device called "Electronic Itch Stopper". For information, you may want to visit

http://www.ItchStopper.com

The device helped me and my daughter greatly. To us, it has brought us into a new era in stopping itch. You may need this device for your daughter's itch or at least take some time to know that such a device is there. This is just a suggestion.

I have had eczema on and off throughout my life since I was born. There have been periods of some eczema, none, and onslaughts. I have tried PUVA which has not worked that well for me most of the time. One time it seemed to. What worked best for me is UV-B, but while much better than PUVA, it sometimes has no affect... other times, if I get it two days in a row, it sometimes helps quite a bit. The effect upon me is first characterised by severe itching for a day or two before I get relief. 

Along these lines, relaxation, especially salt water and sun has helped me. I take baths using bath oils (keri or equivalent), tar, oatmeal, sea salt, vinegar in some combination. They always seem to make my skin feel better, and, when it is especially bad (raw, oozing, etc), keep me going. I also make a paste of colloidal oatmeal before the bath to absorb and draw out whatever it can prior to the bath (like a mudpack). 

I have noticed hives "pop up" once or twice recently, and I wonder if I could keep that thread going. Alas, the "hives" have returned, and this time they're much more persistent... very itchy, raised welts that follow definite lines on the back of both legs. I have tried Benedryl for a few nights, and that certainly relieves the itching.

I have no idea if this is related to my eczema, or is a separate allergic reaction. I confess that I do not have a primary care physician, or a dematologist (no health insurance)... the waiting period for a first appointment is about six weeks right now, so any suggestions for relief would be most welcome.

I get hives and have my whole life. My eczema is adult-onset so I'm not sure they're related except they're both skin problems. Hives and the welts they raise will disappear if not scratched. Mine are generally gone within 30 minutes to an hour if I don't start bothering them. If you have problems ignoring the itch, try ice. 

Can anyone tell me if grapes can aggravate eczema? I bought a bottle of grape juice last night and drank half a glass of it. Some time later I noticed the area around my mouth began to itch and in the morning my face looked worse than usual. However, I did get some sulfites and milk in my diet a week ago and have had an aggravation of my eczema due to this so it may just be that I'm thinking. Do grapes have citric acid in them, I know orange juice gives me eczema sometimes. I thought I'd try some grape juice for the pycnogenol that it is supposed to have, but guess I'll just go to the local health food store and get some grape seed extract, anyway I don't like the taste of grape juice, it's too strong.

I began having eczema problems just about a year after I moved far away from family and friends. It began, though, in a very strange way. My fingertips began to crack and peel. This was neither painful nor bothersome, just wierd. My mom told me that the same thing happened to my father when he gets stressed (he has since been diagnosed with depression). About a year ago it started getting a lot worse (just as I started to get more and more stressed). Now I constantly have patches on my hands and while I am sure it is minimal compared to what some suffer (I cannot imagine having this all over my body, knock on wood), it is really annoying. I have had the usual annoying experiences with doctors who fail to really help.

Anyway, I have also wondered whether this is actually eczema or a fungal infection, and have read some things about that on this list. Generally, based on all the descriptions I've read, it sounds like eczema, but curiously enough, I also have one patch of it on ONE of my toes. I have been using vinyl gloves and jojoba oil occassionly on my hands, trying to avoid soap, et cetera. Although this relieves the problem somewhat, it always flares up again.

I guess my main questions for anyone out there are as follows:

1. Does eczema "spread"? If so, what can I do to avoid getting it on othe parts of my body?
2. Should I spend the money on a dermatologist? 

Our 9 month old daughter has eczema. We have been using Nutramigen for 5 months we now think this may be an allergen. She is highly allergic to milk protein. We are going to try goat's milk, but our doctor said it does not have enough nutrients, so we are going to supplement with vitamins. Does anyone have any other ideas, or has anyone tried the goats milk ?

I was thinking of trying goat's milk for a while since I have an allergy to cow's milk, but from a website, "The protein composition of cow and goat milk is fairly similar, although the typical major alpha-s-1- casein in cow milk is absent in goat milk.." I know I am allergic to casein b/c all those wonderfully truthful "milk-free" products that contain sodiom caseinate and casein never fail to give me a rash. However, it would be my luck to be allergic to other proteins as well which are similar in both cow and goat's milk. Does anyone know if it is possible to find out which protein component in milk one is allergic to? Yep, I'm dying to incorporate milk in my diet again.

An EXCELLENT resource for casein and milk allergy sufferers is http://www.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena/user/k/e/kevles/www/nomilk.html

I thought I'd also mention a website on cow's vs. goat's milk. The url is http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/AgrEnv/
ndd/goat/GOAT_MILK_VERSUS_COW_MILK.html

Like I mentioned before this site says that goat's milk protein is similar to cow's milk with the exception of casein, so unless you know exactly what you or your kid are allergic to in milk it may be risky to try it.

Another webpage that talks about supplementing cow's and goat's milk in kid's diets is http://www.pathfinder.com/@@1thHZgUAxsnXpbWk/
ParentTime/Growing/milkcls.html#part2

Duane mentioned that his doctor said goat's milk is not nutritious enough for kids but this site, written by two doctors, only says that it is lacking in folic acid, which you can supplement. This site also gives good high calcium alternatives to milk.

I recently had allergy test done on my 18-month old daughter, but left a bit discouraged. After visiting her pediatrician, then the derm. dr. (not liking either of them very much) I switched to another peid. (whom I love) and insisted I have allergy tests done (and he agreed). I had not noticed Hannah having any reactions to food, although she did not develop eczema until she turned 1 when I took her off her formula (Carnation Good start, which the pied. dr. said was probably good for her since the protein is broken down in that and makes it easier to digest) and started giving her whole milk instead. I did not make the connection until later though, and I wanted to know any food allergies and also any airborn allergies she may have. The only thing that showed up on this test was eggs and dust mites (not even milk!). I have elliminated eggs and milk from her diet and done my best to get rid of the dust mits and her skin looks OK right now, not great but definately an improvement. I would not say though that it was because of the diet changes, though. I have been doing a lot of things differently than I used to.

I also was very frustrated with this specific allergist. I explained to him why I was bringing Hannah in to have the tests, one reason being that I didn't want to keep using the topical steroids if I could combat the eczema another way. When I left the first visit he gave me an even stronger oral steroid to give her and her skin at the time was almost clear. That aggrevated me... 

I was interested by the person that mention not to have the prick test done on eczema people but to have the RAST test. I went in requesting the RAST test but the told me that it was terribly innacurate and they preformed the prick test on Hannah. Afterwards she did break out again but I thought maybe it was the stress of the ordeal, it was very hard on her (and me too). 

I was changed from cows milk to goats milk when I was an infant and it worked on me. Later, when my eczema reappeared at age 8 or 9, my mother tried to reintroduce goats milk, and even went so far as getting some goats. I ended up not drinking any milk as the doctors at the time said that one gets the same nutritional values elsewhere and I couldn't tolerate the thought of drinking something from those goats. 

I have also heard on radio talkshows (medical) that the human is the only animal who insists on drinking milk after it was intended (in other words, when infants, milk is produced by the mother in mammals and than children are weaned from it when it is no longer necessary). Therefore, one might say that continuing to drink it is an "unnatural act." 

We have used baking soda in our son's every-other-day or daily baths, and have seen a remarkable difference. We have also started putting evening primrose oil on his skin that scratches him a lot.

I guess the medication you referred to is an antihistamine? I never gave my son antihistamines before he went to sleep but was very tempted to do so. Now his skin has gotten much better. What does your doctor say?

I am planning on taking my 21 month old son into a chlorinated pool for the first time this summer. For all of you who vouch for this treatment: Do you moisturize yourself immediately afterward, or can you wait a while? 

My son is looking great with no corn or rice, baking soda baths at least everyother day, Aquaphor, and evening primrose oil on areas that are erupting.

Marilyn, My son has had the same problem too. It may have beent that we were putting cornstarch on his rash (with Aquaphor underneath) and, since we've taken him off of corn, his skin is much better. So we may have been putting something on him that he has a reaction to!

I am allergic to bananas. They make any skin which they touch sore. Even a small amount of banana hidden in food makes my throat and stomach sore. Whilst I was feeding banana to one of our children some years ago one of my eyes swelled up and half closed and my face went all red and blotchy. That was my last close contact with a banana. Now even the "fumes" from bananas make my eyes sore.

Naturally I avoid bananas all the time, so I doubt whether it contributes at all to my eczema.

I have been using a product called Alba botanical toner on my face for several years now. (My face is one of the few places where I've never had any eczema) I was looking at the bottle last night and noticed that it claimed to restore the proper pH balance to your skin. I think that this is related to witchhazel extract, which is the primary ingredient. 

I have been trying very hard not to use a lot of soap, and to cut out moisturizers all together, but my legs (where the eczema is concentrated) have been very dry as a result. So, last night I applied some of the toner to my legs with a cotton ball and amazingly, the dryness still has not returned (when I use regular moisturizers my skin usually feels dry again several hours later). So, my question is: has anyone else ever had any luck with products containing witchhazel? I looked witchhazel up in an herb dictionary I have but I couldn't really find anything to explain how it might alter skin's pH, although it has plenty of other medicinal uses.

As you probably know, there's no "cure" for eczema, and if you do go to a dermatologist, chances are he/she will only give you a prescription for a steroid cream to alleviate the symptoms. I'm no doctor and can't really tell you what to do, but without insurance, dermatologists cost a lot of money since they're specialists, and it has been my experience (from days when I had no insurance years ago) that creams are among the most costly of all medicines. I am fortunate that I can buy a tube of it for a $7 copay, but I wouldn't be surprised if it costs $50 and up. I guess it all depends on how bad your symptoms are and whether you need this medicine or not. While it will usually make the symptoms go away, there are drawbacks (like thinning skin and having it rebound once you stop). 

As I mentioned, I firmly believe that my eczema is exacerbated by my state of mind. When I used to get upset, I would break out in hives and the overall condition of my skin would then continue on a downward spiral. I tried to look on the internet for such articles. It was my dermatologist in Chicago that first mentioned the benefits of zoloft/antidepressants for people with eczema. My current derm is aware that I am on Zoloft and encourages me to continue taking it. 

As for whether or not you should spend the money to see a derm, I would highly recommend it. Just write down a list of questions you have. Get your money's worth. They are there to help you, even though they often need a little nudge to remember that. It may be that you don't have eczema at all. And if you do, you can learn how to deal with it. Peace of mind alone is worth it. Don't you think?

My son has had prick tests twice once at about 13 months and again when he was about 20 months. He tested positive to the control and cats. That was all. We have taken corn and dairy out of his diet and it has helped a lot. I read that prick test don't alway work until kids are about 5 years because their skin is still maturing. I wish I could have more positive info on the prick test, I have wondered why blood tests were not standard with young children due to the skin maturity question but I have never got a good answer.

My son typically would make it to about 2:00 a.m. and the scratching would start. I would go get him and he slept between us holding my hand and "probing" as my husband called it, (Kind of like in the movie ET) I learned to sleep with it and I can't imagine leaving him in his bed to scratch tell he bleed. Did I get enough sleep, NO, has it been a real long year, YES. Would I do it again, YES. Shelley wrote about her folks restraining sister and hearing her cry, it broke my heart and while the days can be real long with no sleep I can't think of another way to have handled it.

I'm with Sue about the derm. I have seen about four different derms in my area. I have not felt that they helped my condition. I had terrible full body eczema--and no insurance. I tried the derm, he gave me prednisone. When I came off it I got worse. The creams aren't effective for me anymore at all. I can't remember how bad you said your case is. I do suppose it is necessary in some cases to gain control over your eczema to use cortisone, but there are other options. However, if saving money is your aim, this is not the disease to have. One treatment may work for someone, but not for you. Or you find one that helps for awhile, then aggravates.

Right now I'm trying the jojoba oil, fewer baths, and grapeseed oil route. I haven't felt this soft and been almost free of redness for years. But my eczema wasn't in a very extreme state before I tried this. If I'd been flaring I don't think this would have worked the same.

I don't know if anyone else has ever had this reaction to Atarax, but one time I was sure it gave me a seizure. After that I've never taken it again. When I was little I remember taking the little green triangle pills to calm my itching, but when I took it again as an adult it seemed to make me crazy.

In my searches on the internet for info on eczema the Nat. Jewish Hospitals page seemed to suggest a bathing routine that I'd figured out on my own as something that worked. I was happy to find someone who was offering eczema information worth something. I get so tired of derms and docs that only see steroids as an option for helping eczema. Sorry to be negative, but this has been my experience. As far as long term help, I eventually switched to baking soda baths followed by aquaphor. Now I'm using fewer baths, only grapeseed or jojoba oil. This is working great for me.

>>I guess the medication you referred to is an antihistamine? << Yes, it is. I don't like doing it, but sometimes it is the only thing that helps her relax enough to sleep. Nights are the worst time for her eczema. The meds are definitely less effective the longer we use them. I am cutting down and hope to eliminate it. Do you know of any long-term negative problems?

My doctor pushes using more antihistimines and steroid creams to control the itching and was extremely dubious about the allergy tests until the results came back so strongly positive. I like her because, despite past resistance, she has come to respect my efforts and accept that I am determined to keep investigating until I am convinced I have done everything possible to help my daughter. She resisted allergy testing for months and months, but finally agreed as I did more research and became convinced of the role of allergens in eczema - how can it be that a physician could be uninformed on this? I am dumbfounded. I now see her as a partner in helping me help my daughter, a partner who has the credentials to get the lab work and write the prescriptions and to more easily than I get some of the medical literature I want to see. 

There are only a few allergists here and none of them will treat children under 7 years of age, which also mystifies me. I really want to get my daughter to the National Jewish Hospital's intensive program, but the $$ is prohibitive. I haven't yet heard of anyone else here who has gone there - is there anyone? They have a program that treats 'atopic' disease- the combination of eczema, allergies and asthma that my daughter has. We have been using as much of their program as possible here at home. It is featured in the current Life magazine.

Just had to tell you all how frustrated I am with eczema, dermatologists and everything else!

I had to use Betaval in order to recover from the irritating, drying effect of some other spray. I used it, in combination with jojoba oil, for three-four days, and my skin felt great. I could even wear a bra again, and my skin was soft. But, after maintaining that softness with jojoba oil, and only showering every 4th day, the eczema returned with a vengeance on my back, and now I'm as itchy as ever. Had to use the Betaval again.

I'm wondering if it was something I ate, because the area below my lip is itching as well. Then again, it could be the unseasonably cold weather, or the jojoba oil, or the mold in the walls, or anything else! This is what drives me crazy about eczema.

And my dermatologist... I had to talk him into recommending an allergist by interrupting him as many times as he interrupted me! Finally he said that maybe I should try an elimination diet, and I made an appt. with the allergist. Sometimes I think that the dermatologist just doesn't want to deal with eczema sufferers; it's easier just to send me away with another prescription. I'll bet that long-time sufferers on this list could have told me that before!

Anyway, I'm trying not to get too upset about this flare. It's hard, though, to accept the reality of it after having perfectly clear skin for almost a week. It reminded me of when I was younger, before this hell started!

I have a prescription for Buspar, which is an anti-anxiety plus anti-itching drug. I only take it occasionally as it's really expensive. But what's nice is that it's not addictive, so I can take it on a prn basis.

I have had the same response from our dermatologist regarding allergans as a cause for eczema. She would not say that that could be the case. She was uncomfortable discusssing dietary restrictions for our child. "Your need to speak to your pediatrician regarding any changes in his diet." I did, and I'm actually not cutting out foods that are terribly important to maintain a healthy food balance (rice and corn). If it were milk or wheat, which is consumed more in this society to provide calcium and carbs, respectively, the pediatrician would be more concerned. And doctors are very prescription drug happy. The only thing they've recommended that does not have drugs is Aquaphor and Crisco shortening for moisturizing.

Baking Soda - I put in 1/2 cup in a regular size bath. If your baby is getting mini-baths in your bathtub, then I would put 1/4 cup.

Evening Primrose Oil - Can't tell you why it works. We just take the oil out of the capsule and smear it all over. Believe it or not, my 1 1/2 year old asks to have it put on (or play with the pills; I don't know if that is the true alterior motive!).

Duane, I think you should reconsider your doctor's comment "our doctor said it does not have enough nutrients" regarding goat's milk. As far as I know (I have a 11-month old by the way) and have read, goat's milk is as close to breastmilk as you can get. Even if you had to give your daughter vitamins in addition to the goat's milk, I think that would be better than her having allergic reactions to wanna-be formula. Good luck, and hope you find what's right for your baby!

A while ago Steve wrote about reducing house dust mites, including replacing carpets with wooden floors. I wrote something about this at the time, and it subsequently occured to me that an air filter with ioniser might be a good idea. The ioniser makes dust particles adhere to surfaces instead of being airborne. There are a number of different models on the market.

For anti-allergy, anti-dustmite products of various types - bedding, anti-mite covers, filters, household cleaners & polishes etc, the company called "The Healthy House" produce a good catalogue, worth looking at for those in Britain. The address is: The Healthy House, Cold Harbour, Ruscombe, Stroud GL6 6DA. Tel 01453 752216 Fax 01543 753533.

Here's another elimination diet to add to the list.

One of the health professionals ( P.C. for quack) that I see thought that the cause of my eczema might be a salicylates/tartazine/sodium benzoate intolerance. Something about my digestive system not producing cynan ( sp? ).

So I am on what is called an A.S.A. elimination diet and I take vitamin B-6 supplements to stimulate my body to produce cynan ( sp? ).

Here's the list I have:

Substances to avoid: Salycylate: Anything with 'mint' or 'wintergreen' flavor. Tartrazine: anything with artificial 'color' or 'dye' like Kool-Aid. Sodium Benzoate: Preservative. Pretty common in commercial foods.

Many commercial sudry items such as prescribed medications, over-the-counter preperations, toothpastes, mouthwashes, cough drops, perfumes, suntan lotions and soaps may contain the offending substances.

Any medication that is not white or colorless may contain tartrazine.

Foods that contain natural salicylates: Vegatables: Tomatoes, cuccumbers, green peppers, tobasco peppers, Potatoes.

Beverages: Tea, cider, beer, diet drinks, chocolate malt, instant drinks.

Breads and Cereals: Flavored or colored cereals or commercial baked goods.

Meat: Prepared luncheon meats, BBQed self-basting poultry, dyed or colored fish.

Fruits and Nuts: Apples, apricots, black-berries, boysenberries, dew-berries, gooseberries, cherries, currants, citrus fruits, grapes, melons, nectarines, peaches, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, fruit drinks, almonds.

You will need to take Vit-C supplements and eat fresh greens. Fruits that are good substitutes for what you useally eat are pineapple ( pineapple juice is good ), bananas, pears and blueberries to mention a few.

Tomatoes are the hardest to avoid.

Anyone else ever heard of this diet? I haven't had a nasty flare since I have been on this diet. Food for thought.

Can anyone suggest some form of exercise to me that doesn't involve sweating? I'm not trying to lose weight or anything, so it doesn't have to be strenuous or aerobic. Sweat makes my eczema go crazy, so it's out of the question (and yes, I do drink a ton of water). Do yoga or tai chi make one sweat?

Has anyone found that even minimal exposure to sun a major irritant to their eczema? I'm not talking about prolonged sitting in the sun while reading a book or eating lunch outside. I'm talking 5 minutes in the morning between 8 and 9 walking to the subway station, maybe a few short trips during the day to do errands, and 5 minutes between 3 and 4 getting back home. My eczema has been pretty good lately on my body (although still on my face and neck), so I decided to try wearing shorts (something I haven't done in 4 years!) and t-shirts for the last week. Now I have eczema on all my exposed parts, arms and legs. Guess I will have to wear pants and long sleeves over summer, which I find too hot, which makes me sweat, creating other problems with my skin.

Does anybody find that their eczema areas are hotter than relatively clear patches of skin? Also, does anyone find they are always hot even when everyone else is perfectly comfortable? In winter I never turn on my heat, and when I have lived in buildings where I can't control the heat, I've been known to open windows in the dead of winter. Summer is horrendous because the heat drives me bonkers and my sweat makes it worse.

Yes! My type of eczema (widespread among teens and young adults) is caused by sun. Today was the first real hot day right? well, eczema galore for me the first time this year.

FYI, antidepressants are not addictive either. The only psychotropic drugs that are addictive are the benzodiazepines, which are anti-anxiety drugs, including Xanax, valium, ativan (not to be confused with atarax, which can help with anxiety also but is not addictive), klonopin, tranzene. Buspar is the exception, as noted above. It's not a benzodiazepine.

Antidepressants generally don't work if only taken "as needed", but then, that would be when treating depression. I don't know if that would be the same if using it for eczema.

Karen, What about some light weight training? There is a program that does quite a bit of that on public tv--Homestretch. She also does a lot of other types of workouts that really make me sweat, but the programs where she does a lot of reps with light weights still feel good. I don't have eczema (my little guy does) so I don't know how much sweat is too much or what exercise is good for each person.

In the US there is the National Allergy Supply Inc. 1-800-522-1448. I haven't bought anything yet, but their catalog seems to have reasonable prices on filters, dust-mite covers, etc.

Here's the address of the eczema page from Nat. Jewish. http://www.njc.org/MFhtml/EcZ_MF.html

Their information about hydration I found to be similar to what I'd discovered after years of having dermatologists tell me not to bathe very often (which now seems to help ironically) and to use cortisone creams--what bothers me is that they didn't help me with a bathing, hydration routine that would help me stay sane.

So, I guess that my bathing routine has evolved a bit. The baking soda started when a nurse suggested I use it for folliculitis--I had huge yellow pustules all, all over my body, was pregnant, it was Saturday (has to be the weekend when your health gets worse) and I didn't know what to do about the itching and sorry state of my skin. After that episode I changed from what I'd been doing. I used Julius Roth Foundation's treatment for about six months during my pregnancy and then stopped that was what I do now.

I also cannot tolerate sweating!!! Ughh. It drives me crazy because I used to be very active--especially enjoyed dance. Anyway, both yoga and tai chi are good alternatives to "regular" exercise. They both move you slowly enough that any sweat produced is negligible. I have a yoga tape from Ali Macgraw (I think that's her last name) that is quite enjoyable--although a bit overloaded on the leg stretches) and I got a tai chi video for Christmas that I've watched once. It just didn't grab me. Maybe I'll try it again someday.

I have always felt too "hot". And yes, I do get it in the winter. I think it is worse in winter, but it always feels like crap! Any good tips on how to get through the summer? How are your friends about doing stuff that doesn't involve a lot of heat or sun? Most people I know love to sit outside and bake in the noonday sun (I guess because winter is so long and cold here). This sometimes makes finding someone to eat lunch with not that easy and participation in sports outside pretty tough. What do you usually wear in summer?

Karen, How about swimming? When I did some "bioconditioning" which included yoga and taichi it was a lot of stretching and positional stuff that wasn't strenuous but made me sweat to hold the positions very long. Afterwards I felt so good, though, so relaxed, like I had had a gin and tonic! 

Scratching FEELS GOOD BUT SO DO OTHER BAD THINGS. SCRATCHING IS BAD. There is no doubt. If they can understand, kids should know. that. Scratching damages the skin, sometimes permanently scarring the skin. Scratching causes infections which could cause very serious problems. Infections caused by scratching may be allergens. Kids should know how much damage a little scratching does.

Don't scold them for scratching. Help them find relief. Show kids how to use ice held in a wash cloth. Show kids how to apply a wet thin cotten cloth to the itchy area.

There is an armada of weapons to use. Help kids to learn these weapons. Every kid should have a long checklist of things to do/try when they feel they have to scratch. The list should be easy to read and/or easy to remember. 

RE: Evening primrose oil: I got some capsules of EPO, cut one open, and rubbed it on my hands. It smelled so terrible that I had to wash my hands several times, and that didn't eliminate the smell, just lessened it a bit. Is it just the brand I bought, or does all EPO smell like this?

I also bought a book about EPO. It says it must be taken with vitamin E to avoid oxidation in the body.

RE: derms. When I first got medical attention for a small itchy, bleeding spot between two fingers of my left hand, I was given *latex*! gloves to wear at night and referred to the derm nurse. When I *finally* got into to see the nurse, she thought it was contact dermatitis and recommended allergy testing, but couldn't authorize it herself. After treating me unsuccessfully for several months and suggesting Eucerin, the eczema spread to both hands. She then referred me to the two derm docs in my HMO. When I *finally* got in to see the derm docs, they urged me to use Eucerin even more, and the eczema spread to my whole body. PUVA added to this dried my skin out completely. Two and half years after I originally requested allergy testing, they finally did patch testing. I discovered I was allergic to Eucerin. My eczema is now almost completely limited to my left hand again and I no longer see the derm docs.

My advice: take what a derm doc says with a grain of salt. They will latch onto anything you say you come into contact with and say that that's what causing the eczema. They will do *anything* to avoid allergy testing. I should add that they authorized the patch test ONLY after I demanded a referral to an outside derm. I was told that "They haven't done all they can do for me." Well, WHY HADN'T THEY DONE IT? Two and a half years of misery because they dragged their feet.

RE: heat & sweat: I also am intolerant to heat- which is one reason I quit PUVA. It was *too hot* in that box! In winter, I wear a light jacket and then only so people don't stare at me. Otherwise, I could go without one altogether. I'm always hot when others are comfortable or cold. I have been told that sweat irritates the skin, which leads to itching. I work out a lot and very intensely. Somehow I've managed to resist itching when I'm sweating.

Sounds like you got a rancid bottle of EPO, return and don't buy it again but get Borage, don't waste your money any more.

Ethan, now 18 months, is the youngest of six and the first to have eczema. We have been on this e-list since he was about 8 months and able to accurately scratch. The list was invaluable for us to develop wisdom and discernment in helping our little guy recover from the misery of eczema. We found these things to be true for EJ:

His eczema on his ankles, wrists, and behind the knees was ABSOLUTELY food allergy related and directly tied in with MY diet (he is breastfed) and the solids we tried. Many specialists renounced the possibility, but they were in error.

In treating his skin, we discovered that Aquaphor worked very well initially in the first month. Then a severe pore-clogging phenomenon occured which caused us to try many skin lotions. The best, hands-down was Lac-Hydrin 5%, which can be bought over the counter. (The larger the container, the better the value... ) We grease him up at all offending points EVERY time we change his diaper. If we forget, his eczema goes ballistic!

EJ has weaned down to one-two feeds a day, now. With every feeding he dropped, he seemed a tad more content and rested better at night. (I did NOT have the self-control to avoid all the things to which he was allergic and-BOY!-could you tell when I strayed!) He slept ALL night again last night. In the early months of his eczema, he would get up two and three times a night.

EJ can still not tolerate any glutens in any form. +sigh+ He does steamed fruits and veggies, water and some pure juices, plain turkey and organic chicken, and simple baby foods without flour, milk, etc. He can occasionally tolerate beef, but not two days in a row.

We plan our days around avoiding constipation since EJ truly loves potatoes and bananas in all forms and has no grains for fibers. He couldn't eat raw veggies and fruits until his molars had sufficiently erupted at 16 months.

If he does get plugged up, he will have small BMs on the hour and seriously irritate his anus (small trickles of blood around sores at each diaper change.) When we have been careless, we have to give him a ped. enema. That has happened about four times, now.

I tried flaxseed oil by mouth, but his eczema became unmanageable.

His drinking skills are great, but he is my first child to shun cup, bottle, straw, etc. He is not wild about water OR juices. He is merrily weaning himself, so continuing his fluids in that manner won't be practical. (Drinking a lot can help reduce constipation!)

EJ was born into the 100% of weight at 10 lbs. 3 oz. and has recently settled out at the 25% . We dropped to the 15% there for a while. He is very active and bright, just smaller than any of my other children.

Well, this is our semi-annual report for now. So nice to touch base with you folks again and not need to talk with you all DAILY! Good luck, moms and dads-- there IS life after eczema for our children!

As a child, one of the quack doctors my desperate mother consulted instructed her to allow me to wear only white clothes and have contact with only white things. I don't remember having to eat only white foods, but that would have been consistent with his theory.

I still wear all white on days when my skin is the worst. It doesn't improve my skin, it just makes me feel better mentally. It's a psychological thing for me. 

I personally get very easily overheated and must avoid the sun. I wear lightweight long sleeves and pants year round. Where I live the weather is very mild, about 60 degrees year round. Our hottest times of year are generally May and September/October, when it will occasionally be in the 70s and 80s. I live near the ocean which is the coolest area, getting fog and ocean breezes. But I still have to make sure to walk on the shady side of the streets, and not sit in seats where the sun is shining on me, even through a window, and certainly never "sunbathe" outside! I must avoid sweating and just walk in the shady park for exercise.

When it's sunny, after even just walking in my neighborhood for local errands, I must take off my clothes and cool down with fans, or ice, or a cool washcloth, or else I have a scratching frenzy.

Regarding the Salycilates diet:... Wow that looks like a tough diet to follow!!

I just bought some of the Johnson's Baby Cream yesterday and have used it twice on Daniel. He has not cried at all while putting it on, and he does not get red and bubbly like with Vaseline. I like this stuff. We used it last night after his bath and he slept clear til 4 am, though he has been doing better at night lately anyway... thank goodness!

I recently met with a nutritionist for my son's food allergies and was amazed at all the terms used for ingredient labels. There are so many things to look for. The one that stuck out in my mind was citric acid -- it's corn based. It's in pears and some of the other baby foods. Looks like I need to start making my own baby food from fresh fruits. When I gave Brian pears the other night, his mouth got all red and puffy, so I read the label -- pears, citric acid, and Vit. C. When I mentioned this to the nutritionist, she said citric acid has corn in it, which Brian is highly allergic to.

Also, when I went to buy a new bottle of Benedryl for nighttime sleeping, I read the label and sure enough, one of the first things listed is citric acid. Also common in liquid medicines is corn syrup (Tylenol Elixir has it) so beware of that if you have corn allergies. Now I don't know which is worse, the itching from the medicine (Benedryl), or giving him the med. so he'll sleep somewhat better.

I see the fun of having a food allergy child is just beginning, UGGGH!

I've found that when Brian is very itchy, sometimes he just wants cuddled and will go right back to sleep. He was up twice last night and just cuddling him or bringing him to bed with us one time to comfort him was just what he needed and was back to sleep in about 5 min. He didn't even want his bottle, he just wanted held/loved. I think it's a very good idea that other moms might want to try.

Citric acid is corn based???

It is true that most of the time Daniel just wants to be snuggled at night, maybe a water bottle refill. But, it is hard to sleep with him in our bed because he likes to sleep on my chest, full body, while lying down. I can hardly breathe like that! But, we do what it takes to get sleep! Usually, we bring him in, he falls asleep on my chest then I slide out from underneath him slowly, then he most likely sleeps through until morning. I just hope he outgrows this before he gets too much heavier or becomes a teen... ha ha ha... 

Night time used to be so long and exhausting.

When Jodi was younger, I mean under a year old(she is almost 15 months now), we used to hold her sleeping in a way that her hands and legs couldn't scratch herself, not even when she woke up briefly twisting and turning through the night. Naturally I didn't get to sleep well but at least her skin was protected. These all changed one day when she wanted her own space and identity and learned to say 'no'.

You see, our bed time ritual includes bathing her and washing her hair. She would close her eyes when the luke warm water runs over her scalp while my fingers massage her scalp. I'll give her a bottle of water to suck just to keep her hands busy. I notice that only when her hands are busy would her fingers give her skin a break. I put her silky cotton mittens on as soon as I get her out of water, then put her on her silky cotton top and bottom. I tuck the front of her top into her pants but skip the back so air can be in direct contact with her skin; then a pair of elastic silky cotton socks on and tuck her pants into her socks to make it difficult for her to pull her pants up and scratch her legs. I realize that overalls are too warm for her and do not regulate body heat very well. With this attire, even if I am asleep when she wakes up, she would be scratching her skin through her mittens over her outfits and minimize any damage her scratching could otherwise do to her skin. [I also realize that 100% cotton clothes that resembles silk are much more breathable and most importantly, don't cause so much skin damage if she rubs against it. Plus, they are more durable and stay that way wash after wash.] Often, by the time I am done air drying her hair with my hand massaging her scalp, she would be sound asleep. I would then put her in bed right next to me.

Then came the day she discovered that mittens are not part of her and she could take them off. She was about 12 months old and was really eager to walk around holding on to anything she could get her hands onto and she hated her mittens. Mittens were pulled off her hands as soon as I put them on. One night, I fell asleep holding her in my arms while watching the late night local news. It had to be a real brief 5 to 10 minutes nap 'cos when I woke up, it was still local news. I was shocked to find her hands and clothes full of blood from her scratching her arms raw. I was so angry at myself for letting that happen I almost lost my mind. I blamed myself for not insistent about her mittens and I swore I would never let this happen to her again.

I took the advice from my day care provider who used to be a registered nurse and head of a pediatric ward using the 'pin her down' tactic. [You see, Drs would never know about these tricks.] I dress her in the same tops except slightly oversized. [Too oversized clothes allow her hands to get out of the sleeves altogether and therefore is a no no.] After she fell asleep, I put her in bed, put on her mittens and pull her sleeves down to cover her hands and pin the sleeves' opening with safety pins onto the area of her pants which is just above her knees. That way she would have the freedom to roll around, spread her legs, stretch her arms half way to her face and scratch herself on her arms and knees when she feels the itch, yet would not cause major damage to her skin. And when she wakes up in the morning, I unpin her, take away her mittens and ask her to clap her hands for me. And she'll start her day with the brightest smile I'll never get tired of. I know things will need to be changed again when she's older but this has worked for us since and we have had no accidents.

Lately, watching Jodi sleep is something I really enjoy doing these days. And I'm sleeping at least 4-5 hours every night now. I can have more of that.

I have an 9 month old daughter who has had eczema since she was 2 months old. At two months, I started doing elimination diets because I was breastfeeding her. I did this for approximatley two months, and I could not pinpoint exactly what was causing her to itch and break out, except for perfume and fabric softeners. The only foods I thought did it were milk, wheat, and corn. After a frustrating two months for me and her (try breast feeding on an elimination diet), I insisted that she have a RAST test done. My pediatrician said that it may give false negatives because she was less than one year old, but we could try it anyway. We went to an allergist and found out she was highly allergic to milk and peanut, moderate to egg white and wheat, and mildly to cheddar cheese.

My pediatrician suggested we put her on Nutramigen or Alimentum. At that time the RAST test showed no reaction to corn, but I thought she was still allergic to it. There is corn in Nutramigen. I put her on Nutramigen because she did not like the Alimentum. In about one month her skin was somewhat better. That was in March. Recently we tested for 12 other foods by RAST. She is now allergic to banana, oat, and corn moderately, and mildy to rice and soy. I was getting very frustrated with trying the solids, so I wanted the test. Now I realize the main reason she was still having the eczema was the corn in the Nutramigen formula. So now we have to probably go back to Alimentum.

So, to answer your question, Yes, you sometimes have to insist on testing. My pediatrician told me Nutramigen would be safe for my daughter. I guess not in her case. 

I am just heart-sick today. Since my 28 month old daughter tested allergic (RAST testing) to wheat and eggs and a slew of other things about 6 months ago I have been using applesauce and oat flour to bake for her (muffins, pancakes, etc). Today I got back more RAST results - allergic to oats, apples, garlic, watermelon, canteloupe, raspberries, house dust!! What do I do now?!?! So far, *everything* I have had her tested for has been positive.

I am afraid to test for rice because she is practically living on it and if I have to eliminate that, too, I don't know what we'll do. I know that doesn't make sense, but denial seems to be the only solution I can come up with at the moment, I am so depressed and angry that my little one has to put up with this. Why can't she have a normal life? The pediatrician is saying that since some of the tests only show a "mild" allergic reaction I should not worry about those things, just focus on the "strong" ones. This doesn't seem right to me - if I can eliminate enough of these things doesn't that help the eczema? And I keep hearing that the best opportunity she has for outgrowing allergies is if ALL exposure is limited. Is this true? And does anyone know how to interpret these RAST tests - or have a reference source for me which might help? Can/should 'mild' results be ignored?

Her eczema has improved since I eliminated all the stuff she tested positive for the last time. Should I just ask for RAST testing for *everything* so I can at least have a baseline? I guess I'll have to mortgage the house to do so if that is what it takes...

People always comment that my daughter's fine motor skills are very advanced - which they think is wonderful, but I don't because I know it is because she will do anything to get to her skin and has become very adept at getting out of whatever combination of snaps/buttons/zippers I can come up with for her sleep-wear. If I put her in bed with me, she will not sleep - she can stay awake for HOURS to play, sing, bounce, open my eyelids and grin at me if I pretend sleep, etc. I tried this off and on for months. 

You would think exhaustion would kick in, but it never did. She used to cry and whimper in her crib when she scratched at night, so I would go in and put her clothes back on and rock her, which she fought heartily. Now she has learned to not cry or whimper, just scratch silently, so I don't hear and come interrupt - I know this is true because sometimes I tiptoe in in the middle of the night, thinking she is asleep, and discover her scratching insanely - and perfectly quietly. She hates it when I find her because I cover her back up - she doesn't want to be comforted, she is angry that I stop her scratching. She is having a really rough time right now because of the summer heat. Ugh. But she is a completely charming, happy child most of the time - I don't know how she manages it. I get really sad when I think that she's coping so well because she has never known anything but this misery, and maybe thinks it is normal. 

Don't laugh at this one. One of the stories in a reader in a classroom I taught, had a story about puppies. Their sleep was aided by a ticking clock which was wrapped in a blanket. It replicated the heartbeat of the mother. Perhaps the next statements are a corollary. I know several people who sleep to music. There are many electronic devices which play soothing sounds of the ocean. They sell well apparently. You will not be surprised to hear that I usually sleep to music. There is a local FM station which plays very relaxing music. But sometimes I just need absolute quiet. I think absolute fatigue and the music don't go together, but if I retire with TV, then switch to FM music, then perhaps nothing, I can get to sleep. A friend of mine played music constantly during his wife's first pregnancy. The child is very calm. But maybe would have been so otherwise. It is just food for thought. Tick Tock.

A couple of days back we took my 8 month old son to see a ped derm at the hospital and this is what the derm recommended for the next 2 weeks before she sees him again.

• put him on a steroid for a few days to clear him up of the redness (this of course did not get us too excited) and a prescription strength antihistamine twice a day to help him cope with the itch.
• take him off all commercial cremes and lotions. I bathe him twice a day. So now I have been asked to use a polytar bar for bathing and apply vegetable shortening (Crisco) on his wet skin after bath and then towel dry the excess fat. This I thought was very unique. I have never heard anyone suggest this!!!
• take him off all solids for about 4 days to just keep him on his soy formula. Then reintroduce solids in the order of cereal, fruits and veggie, each for a week's length. But this time it is a completely new set of solids - barley cereal, peach and peas or beans.

So far, he seems to be a happier child - but it is too early to say whether this method of treatment is going to work. As far as allergy tests go, the derm was not too keen on it, as she felt that it is produces a lot of false negatives and false positives.

I'd like to offer some encouragement. When my daughter was quite small, it occured to ME that her constant problems could be allergy related. I talked with her ped about seeing an allergist, and got the same response I'm hearing from all of you now. Too young, won't work, outgrow, give it time, etc and etc. As I was unable to get his blessing much less a referral, I found a ped. allergist about 150 miles away - the closest one. I'm glad I did. I told her ped. what I'd done, and he wasn't happy, but he wasn't in charge of her well-being either; I was. He continued to be her primary care physician and except for this, I was always pleased with his care. The moral of this story is that sometimes you have to buck the system to get what you need for your kid. 

I've been told normal IgE level is up to 30 (u/ml).

I've been bathing my 15 month old in baking soda for the last couple weeks and it really seems to help the degree of itching and the look of the rash immediately. 

When our daughter was 7-12 months old she had her worst symptoms. Yet her disposition was always remarkably pretty good. I attribute it to just having a sunny dispostion. She did, however, have her most difficult disposition at THAT time. She was clingy, whiney, didn't want to be out of my sight. Yet, when she wasn't itchy (or suffering from what appeared to have been stomach cramps) she went off and played quite independently... smiled a lot, etc. Everyone remarked that it seemed odd that a baby who was plagued with this awful thing could still be so happy (her face looked like a burn victim). She ate poorly, was not interested in eating, gained very little weight, slept very poorly... However, the week she started walking (at 11 1/2 mos.) she cleared up the most she ever had. Also, she began walking the day of her first chiro. visit. I've often wondered about the crawling factor contributing to it because she crawled from 7 to 12 months and that was her worst time. Once the eczema calmed down, she started sleeping better, gained 2 lbs in 6 weeks, and was much more outgoing with strangers.

She is now 16 months and doing MUCH better. She's still flaring though from teething and all kinds of foods as she won't eat the foods that are good for her. But she's nowhere near as bad as she was.

Once I finally got mad---screaming my head off while alone in the house, crying, hitting pillows, etc one day---This release somehow helped; I had truly had enough! I finally took control of the reins instead of feeling a little victimized and sorry for myself. I realized that while I had been doing many things in the right direction and being patient, I could've done a lot more. Once I got truly serious (and accept some responsibility for being able to educate myself even more and make more dietary sacrifices) big changes for the better began to happen. Since disease just often gets afflicted on to us, it's easy to get caught up in the victimization thing--even subtly. I'm sure I probably still do it, but not as badly. 

Antihistamine is more than just for helping the itch it also helps stop an outbreak.

Just a question for you all... I'm curious to know, how many of you come from a family with lots of autoimmune diseases, especially those of you with eczema that does not appear to be inherited?

Our 16 month old daughter has severe eczema and no one on either side has any known food allergies or eczema yet we do have lots of other stuff... Two of those people hate milk, always have, even as a baby his bottles were filled with Apple juice. I love milk, thought I couldn't live without dairy--but that was 9 months ago of being dairy free! Seems like it could be significant in light of the notion that we usually either crave or are repulsed by what we are allergic to.

What I'm wondereing about is the connection between autoimmune disease & eczema (eczema also considered to be an autoimmune disease by many). Which comes first? Is SOME inherited thing causing all these autoimmune complications--different manifestations (being different diseases) in different people? For families in which the eczema is inherited, it seems to make sense for them that the eczema is the inherited thing, but what about all the cases (30% I think) in which no one in the two families have it? Could it be some faulty immunoglobin levels or something, for example, that effects any aspect of the immune system?... IgE is the one often looked at for eczema but there's a bunch of them: IgA, IgM, IgD, etc.

I am glad you still have a since of humor. I find mine lacking when I don't get enough sleep. Do you get the "natural baby catolog"? The owner writes a letter every new issue and her last soap box lecture was how good it was to sleep with your kids, gives them security etc.. I loved, validation for life style. However, this will have to change if we want another child as they don't happen when three are in a bed.

Someone asked: Citric acid is corn based???

Maybe I'm wrong that it's corn based -- all I know is that it was on the list of things to avoid for a corn elimination diet.

Thank you very much to the person who advised me to use a thin layer of vaseline on wet skin. This has helped enormously, my skin feels almost normal and looks pale (it still has lots of lines) and this has proved the most non-irritating and long lasting 'moisturiser' I have used. (I would not advise using vaseline on very irritated skin - I had tried this once years ago and it just blocks the healing and itches terribly).

The jojoba oil does not keep in the moisture for nearly as long, it also is not as comfortable on the skin.

I have not only used this method after bathing, but as my problem area is on my face I have been splashing on water and applying another thin layer several times a day. It is a bit shiny but thats a small price for the incredible relief.

This was also the method mentioned earlier this week by somebody else and listed in the Jewish Medical Research Centre http://www.njc.org/MFhtml/EcZ_MF.html

My skin is a lot better since following an elimination diet for the past 3.5 weeks - I have now got to commence the re-introduction of the suspect foods to see which I can tolerate.

Citric acid has been part of my corn elimination diet that I have been on for years.

Robin: Your description of your daughter sounds like myself at that age. I hardly ever slept, just scratched all night long, escaping all confinements that my parents devised.

Stop covering her up and putting her clothes back on, she's just going to tear them off. Overheating may be triggering her scratching attacks. Experiment with the lightest weight clothes and bedcoverings. Don't enclose her entire body, her skin needs air to breathe. Try having some part of her body exposed, while the rest is covered. My internal thermostat is all messed up. I often need to wear a hat to bed yet have one leg exposed. Maybe she needs a similar strange arrangement. Experiment with windows open or closed, etc. Carefully observe her position when you do find her asleep. How has she made herself comfortable? Is she propped up on pillows, away from all covers, on her side, or what? She may require a very specific combination of elements to feel comfortable.

If she's angry and doesn't want to be comforted, then teach her to express that anger. Give her clay to squeeze, pillows to punch, teach her to make a fist and hit or rub with it. She's obviously a very smart little girl. Her intelligence will help her survive if she is taught some tools. Give her things to hold during the night. Sometimes I just hold the end of the blanket or the edge of my pillow, but as a child I grasped handkerchiefs and small rubber balls. Pinching, slapping, shaking, etc. are alternatives and she should be encouraged to be creative and come up with her own ideas.

As a child, I came up with the idea of slowly pressing my fingertips together, thumb to thumb, first finger to first finger, down the row of fingers, then separating them one by one, and pressing them together again, over and over, while deep breathing, and this became a meditation! This was the first thing I'd ever done that gave me a sense of itchless peace and calm that I'd never experienced before. So perhaps teaching her deep breathing in connection to some slow physical action, which could be anything, like holding the hands up in the air for a slow count of three and lowering them.

The basic idea is to show her how to SLOW things down. Her insides are going too fast. Everything is agitated for her. Scratching is normal to her. She doesn't understand why you are stopping her from doing what seems necessary and normal. She needs to learn there is a different pace at which scratching doesn't need to happen. At least, that was what I needed to learn. Your daughter may be entirely different. It's just a suggestion.

I was allergic to practically all foods as a child too, but in addition to avoiding them, I had to learn alternatives to scratching, which had became an uncontrollable habit regardless of allergens. I am now 40 years old so I'm living proof that someone can survive this disease from birth. I wouldn't say I've had a "normal" life, but on the other hand, from what I've heard about normal lives, they don't seem very appealing anyway. Sour Grapes, perhaps. But when you have this condition from birth and never know any other way of being in the world, you don't really know what you're missing. 

There are no other people in my family with eczema. My grandmother was sensitive to the ink in newspapers (she wore gloves to read the paper), and my dad and I have mild springtime allergies, but I'm the only one with eczema.

Interestingly enough, when I was *much* younger (8-9 years before the eczema started), I used to get facial rashes from sleeping on my grandmother's old feather pillows. I also couldn't tolerate the polyester lace that is used to trim most little girls' nightgowns and underwear; it made me scratch.

There's a little arthritis and diabetes on my mother's side of the family, BTW.

HAS ANYONE TRIED ZONE A DIRECTLY TO THE SKIN WHAT KIND OF RESULTS

Robin, I know how desperate you feel about not being able to feed your child and I to am scared that one day my son will be allergic to everything.His skin tests have certainly not been as detailed and I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing. I don't have anything concrete to offer other than to say go with what you feel is right . I really feel for you!! 

Each lab has its own scale of "normal ranges" based on results from the patient population it serves... 

My lab reference for IGE was up to 220... mine was astronomical and greater than 13,000... Hyper IGE is common in eczema, my allergist was not impressed!

Our daughter's derm told us basically the same thing your son's did, even the Crisco part. Only his suggestions never really helped that much. He wasn't too keen on the idea of allergy testing either, but we did it anyway, without his permission.

Turns out she was allergic to soy, which we had been feeding her because we were pretty sure of a milk allergy (that too). Soon as we stopped the soy and started the allergist's treatment regimen, her skin started clearing up. It's the clearest it has ever been.

Of course, she still has occasional flares if she's exposed to an allergen, but it's nothing like it was just 6 months ago. So you may want to consider allergy testing without the dermatologist's blessings.

Patsy is soooooo right! Our family doc didn't think our daughter needed to see a derm, but I took her anyway. The derm didn't think allergy testing was necessary, but I took her anyway.

We found out the specific problems--all of them. Now it's no more guess-work and following a simple routine of creams and oral meds, and her skin pretty much stays clear!

I'm sooooo glad a friend talked me into having my daughter tested! By the way, she was 2-1/2 when tested. I understand tests can be done on a child as young as 6 months. So what if her allergies change and we have to have her retested in a year or two? We'll do it. The cost of all the $$ wasted on derm visits and treatments that didn't work more than paid for the allergy testing.

As our allergist explained to us, the higher the number on the test, the more severe the allergy. At least that's the way it is with the prick test. Did they give you a sheet listing all the allergies and the severity of each? Our allergist also told us not to be overly concerned with the less severe allergies. For example, she tested a 2 on wheat and yeast, but we still let her eat bread. After keeping her off the "biggies" for a few days, you should notice a huge difference in her eczema and in the scratching.

Which leads to that subject... My daughter, too, learned at a very young age to undress herself during the night and scratch. It was horrible. She still does some but not nearly as badly now. Did you tell the doc about this? Did he give her any meds for scratching? My daughter has taken liquid Atarax at bedtime.

Nancy, I understand totally your frustration at the seemlessly never ending battle against the causes of eczema. In the past I have also gone down the route of living my life the way I want to, regardless of my eczema. But I'm afraid my eczema did not like being ignored and soon reared its ugly head with a vengeance.

I try to compromise. I try and do the things I want but ensure I take proper steps to keep it at bay.

In my religion, Islam, there are two main sources of knowledge we have, the main one is from our religious text - the Quran - and the other is from the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. There is one saying, or hadith, that recommends the use of squash (loukee for those of you if there are any who speak urdu) for skin diseases. Well, I finally got hold of some yesterday (light green in color and oblong) at my cousin's house and smeared a slice of it all over my face which was extremely red, itchy and rashy after playing with a friend's cat, and this morning when I awoke my face looked better than it had in a long time. My rash was totally gone and I had used no Zyrtec or anything else. There was hardly any bumpiness, dryness, and redness left. I was really amazed, I am going to look for some in my grocery store and try it again to give it the true acid test.

I am an eczema sufferer of some 34 years but only now do I feel like I'm getting somewhere. Here's a little testimony... excuse all the active constituents mentioned but not knowing what they are and the unique domestic terms of some products may not help anyone. I haven't had a bout of eczema since I was in my early twenties, but now am in my mid thirties where my eczema reocurred some three years ago. In my resignation to it never going away I used the strangest variations of creams and oils, from Rudducks Cattle ointment zinc oxide, boric acid (very popular here with psoriasis sufferers but not fda approved, hence the "cattle" term... used for cow's teats and udders and cracks and sores) and the regulation oils. 

Two weeks ago a doctor prescribed diprosone cream (first time to a doctor re: eczema in years)..betamethasone/chlorocresol. It's amazing!... having not used cortisone for years it appears my body is reacting well to it. However, the same doctor suggested upon my eczema clearing..and with my first tube of diprosone now finished to apply urederm (high potency 10% urea cream) liquid paraffin, glycerol, carbomer 934, Triethanolamine, Methyl Propyl & butyl hydroxybenzoates, waxes, alcohol and distilled water. Within hours all the good the diprosone had done was eliminated with an itching episode that night to beat all others. 

Returning to the diprosone upon my repeat prescription all is well again. My right leg, formerly covered in eczema is now nearly completely healed. I guess the doctor used a precedent in prescribing for eczema. I do not believe we are supposed to feel ostracised or made to feel very ordinary because of our eczema. 

Carol, The more I use almost nothing on my scalp the better it gets. I start an evening wash in warm water and finish in cold water. In the morning I put on Vaseline and massage it in. During the day I brush my hair/scalp, when I used to scratch it. The longer I do this "Nothing" the better my scalp becomes.

Anjum, Do you know what kind of squash that was? Sounds like a Japanese variety that my mother-in-law grows.

I am surrounded by 200 miles of corn fields on all sides. I've never had worse allergies in my life than I've had here. I tested positive for a food allergy to corn... I wonder if that translates into a problem with airborne corn as well?

I am asking the same question but I have not seen a flare up in the summer during taseling time (which is what I would expect). Let me know if you see changes in yourself over the summer and we will do the same. Are you not eating corn too? This whole concept really gets me because last year when we were putting up corn, my dad let my son have some on the cob which had just been blanched. I figured that he would go crazy but it seemed to have no reaction. However, it appears that if he eats foods with corn meal or corn sweeteners we have a big problem. This are things faced by all who try elimination diets. Things don't always make sense.

Well, I am sure your corn is higher than ours now, typical is about three inches out of the ground (we had a really dry spring).

Dear Robin, Each post I read on here from eczema moms is heartbreaking! Last night I was crying again over Brian (10 mo.) because he was so itchy and miserable and just couldn't relax to take a nap. It took awhile, but he finally went to sleep. It was probably one of the worst episodes he's ever had of itching/rubbing his face, fighting his sleep, etc. As you said, this is normal to him but it's so frustrating at times for his loved ones. It's so hard to see him suffer. Then I came to work and read the posts this morning, and I want to cry for you too! Please know that we care and you're not alone.

I've just had a horrible reaction to Neutrogena Healthy Scalp shampoo. My scalp is OK but my entire forehead, neck, and skin around my ears is bright red and irritated. I bought it because it didn't have any lauryl/laureth sulfates, but it just shows that substitutes for those compounds can also be a problem. Damn. Another $7 wasted.

I've continued to do well using the Sativa Critical Care lotion and thought I would post the ingredients for anyone interested. It's promoted for the use of oats, but I thought it was interesting that it also contains borage oil.

Deionized water, Oat Extracts, Oat Beta Glucan, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Glycerine, Cetyl Palmitate, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Mixed Glycerides, Deodorized Borage Oil, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Dimethicone Copolyol, Barquat MB-80, DMDM Hydantoin, Iodoprophynyl Butylcarbamate, Tocopherol, Retinyl Palmitate.

Anyway, who knows how long it will work for me, but so far, so good.

I was just diagnosed with nummular eczema a few weeks ago. I am currently trying to get it under control with steroid cream ( Lidex) and lots of Eucerin. I am looking for others who have this type of eczema. I would like to know what other treatments are that have worked and how difficult or easy it is to keep this under control. I had it under control until I went to where it is hot and sweaty. Anyway, any help and information would be appreciated. Also I have no family history of this. Any ideas what causes this type? 

Robin, is the heat of the covers aggravating the symptoms? Is the child's body heat warming up the bed "nest" enough to kick of a scratching frenzy? Also, when you pick up the child and rock, your own body heat may not be comforting? Also from the point of view of the scratcher, anyone interrupting and stopping the scratching would not be welcome.

Try having something cool with you when you pick up the child to comfort in the night. (i.e. ice pack in a towel). Also, I know from experience that when a person is reacting strongly to one allergen that they become sensitive to almost everything. When/If you ever get it under control the body will not react to the same things.

Just keep plugging away.

Karen wrote how she finds eczema area hotter than unaffected areas. I find that also. This makes it difficult to sleep a night through for me because of what I call the "nest effect." As my body heats up the mattress, pillow and sheets I get HOT and itchy. My solution has been to sleep with 4 gel packs that I have kept in the refrigerator (not the freezer). This is the type of pack that would be put on an injury in the emergency room to reduce swelling. I bought them from a wholesale company that sells massage and chiropractic supplies. I put them in be for a few minutes then tuck them in a pillow case or T-shirt.

I also am very sensitive to the sun. It is the UV rays since they can affect me even on cloudy days with white clouds. Sun screens are not a lot of help as SPF-15 is 15 times nothing equal almost nothing. Months when the sun hits the area with a low angle of incidence is much better. I Love spring and fall. Summer is hell.

Donna, Read the label on Slim Fast, it is mostly refined sugar. I am told to keep my son away from refined sugar as this aggravates the eczema. Also you are loading your body up with empty calories, in the long run it will do you no good. Want to loose weight fast? Exercise and eat non- processed foods.

Kim, Although I am not a doctor, the irony with Tums is the sugar counter balances the calcium so you end up with no calcium at all! Dr. Bob is right, find the calcium elsewhere.

Robin, A few of us have already been there, believe it or not the 6-12 month stage will be the worst. It will get much better, our thoughts are with you too.

After hearing so many of you discuss food allergies that are affecting your eczema, I decided to make an appointment with an allergist, especially after noticing flareups after eating particular foods. Are there any particular tests that I should ask them to do that have been helpful to some of you, but might not be in the normal realm of testing for allergies? Has an allergist been particularly helpful in alleviating eczema flareups? 

I am new to the whole kosher thing and I bought a box of dark chocolates that say VKC parve. The girl on the phone said that meant that it was dairy-free. However, I got a little rash after eating them and a look at the ingredients showed that it contained a non-dairy creamer and natural ingredients. I am suspecting that it probably contains casein as most non-dairy creamers have this. The people at the store were not very helpful, so I was wondering if any of you out there know the kosher lingo, like what exactly VKC and parve means-does parve mean totally dairy free?

I had already discounted TUMS as they have corn starch in them.

Hi, Gayle brought up an interesting point earlier, and I'd like to talk about it some more. Like a lot of us, she says heat drives her nuts and her eczema spots are hotter than the rest of her. I've been wondering if any research has been done about this idea. Is excessive body heat a symptom or a cause of our problems? In other words, I'm wondering if anyone has looked at why or how our internal thermostat has gotten out of kilter. With this in mind, would eczema moms & dads be more likely to get some sleep at night if they kept their kid's room cooler? Instead of trying to find ways to keep the kid from reaching the itchy spots, what if the room was so cool, the kid didn't itch? Feedback? 

My skin has been acting very strange lately. Perhaps, a new phase in my eczema. My skin is so dry it feels and looks like rubber. When I stand up after sitting for a while, my knees look all crinkley. I switched from Eucerin to Aquaphor as my main body cream hoping to improve the situation. Alas, it has not proven to be succesful. When I scratch, lots of skin comes off and then it gets oozy. It feels pretty gross and unpleasant. When I wake up in the morning, I'm peeling everywhere. I leave a trail of skin wherever I go and I hate it. I'm really feeling defeated/ frustrated/ angry/ depressed. Any suggestions? Any miracle moisturizers? HELP!

I'm going on vacation in a week. Obviously, I'm pleased as punch. But I'm also dreading the sting of the salt water, being blotchy, etc for the first week. I was hoping to get my skin in a bit better shape before going, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Your suggestions would be welcomed with a red carpet.

As you all know, my son Brian has severe eczema, and he also has scalp eczema. The derm gave me a special shampoo to use alternating one day with it and one day with Head & Shoulders. His neck and skin around ears is always red and irritated (and forehead somewhat) as Shelley said. It makes sense that it's too strong, especially on baby skin. So I don't know what to do. A couple weeks ago I took Christine's advise to just wash with warm water and use shampoo only 1-2 times per week. I tried it and only went 2 days without using shampoo and his head was more flaky than before. However, when I think about it, I don't thik his scalp was as dry, but flakes of skin were coming off more easily -- maybe new skin growing underneath??? Anyhow, we just returned to the shampooing daily but maybe we should give it a try again. Any insight/testimonies would be helpful (especially for effects of shampoo on babies).

I tried the baking soda in Brian's bath last night and what a difference it made! A regular bath always did soothe him, but nothing like this. He seemed so much more relaxed after the bath -no longer rubbing his feet together constantly to scratch them and he just laid and drank his bottle without scratching!

So, thanks for the tip. Does anyone know if it's safe to use the baking soda daily in a bath or are there any harmful effects?

I've found that Aloe Vera Gel (100% fragrance free) is a soothing anti-itch solution. This works especially well in the summer. All you have to do is apply it to the irritated areas. The best thing of all is that it usually cost less than $3.00 a tube.

Sue, I started exhibiting eczema as an infant. I've had three sets of skin scratch tests and a rast test from the time I was a toddler til I was an adolescent. The very early tests showed allergic reactions to peanuts, eggs, and mildly to a few other foods, as well has various grasses, molds and mildew.

My understanding is that the allergy shots I received for years in childhood was supposed to prevent escalation of allergic conditions, such as asthma. At the age of 12 I had my first asthma attack. The eczema was present sporadically and in various levels of intensity throughout this whole process. In my opinion, all the years of allergy shots were useless.

As a college student, I once again began allergy shots for periodic flare ups of eczema because that is what the allergist recommended. I never saw any improvement. A couple of years later, during a trip to another allergist, I was taken down the hall to the office of a derm for the first time and was told that chronic eczema was not an allergic response but something related, but instrinsic. I was given various doses of cortisone creams (which had already been prescribed for years) to control it.

One more time, in my early thirties I sought help for what had become excruciating full body eczema. My family doctor referred me to an allergist. I explained my history and told him that if he intended to use allergy shots as a remedy, we were wasting one anothers time because I had been down that road unsucessfully and was unwilling to expend the money or time on a therapy that was expensive, time consuming and ineffective. He I became a bit indignant about which of us was the doctor professional and insisted on doing some allergy test saying we'd cross that treatment bridge when we knew what we were dealing with. Sure enough, $300 + later I sat in his office incredulous as he recommended allergy shots as a course of treatent. I became furious. I confronted him with the fact that he was knowingly recommending treatment that was ineffective for me, because when it came right down to it, that was the *only* treatment he knew of, regardless of its efficacy. I also confronted him with the fact that I had recently read that up to 30% of patients who are given allergy shots are unresponsive, and that knowing my history, he already knew that I was in this percentage . He conceded every point I had made, and then incredibly still recommended the allergy shots. This was in 1989 and I swore I would never subject myself to this kind of pompous, arrogant attitude from any so called medical professional again.

The severity of my helath, eczema and asthma had hadsuch a huge impact on my life, that I moved house in a desperate attempt to a return to some semblance of normalcy. That worked- for about 2 years. Then the full body eczema returned. Since then, I've run the gamut from being almost free of eczema, to full body eczema.

I do want to emphasize, that *my* experience may not have any resemblance to yours. Just beware. Often medical professionals prescribe a treatment because it's all they know to do, regardless of efficacy or individual circumstances. Personally, I would like to hear some success stories.

Many of us have taken different roads to reach this point in our lives. Last year at this time I had full body eczema. I was red as a lobster from head to toe and expoliating skin like there was no tomorrow. I was finally admitted to a hospital. They did steroid wraps for 3 days and that calmed me down to where I was not very red except my face.

About 6 months ago, after a long battle with my HMO, I got on a medication called interferon which an immunologist had recommended while I was in the hospital. No derm dr had recommended it at the time cuz it was not widely used for eczema. I was on the alpha interferon for a couple of months but showed no improvement and I asked to get on the gamma (more pure form and more expensive) and it was approved. I have been on it for 2 months and am doing a lot better. I am entirely cleared up below my head. My face still gets red from time to time but that goes away once I cool down.

I've been using baking soda for almost a year now--usually on a daily basis. (I have had eczema since I was little.) I use it for bathing my 7 month old. It's great. I recently have tried every other day bathing. Less shampoo has helped my hair and scalp quite a bit. I use Jason's Tea Tree oil shampoo. I don't love it, but it doesn't irritate or smell too much. My skin has been so great lately (except for the past couple days-- I ate lots of chocolate.) I've been using GRAPESEED OIL as my moisturizer. I don't like the jojoba too much. This grapeseed oil feels great. I feel so soft.

Regarding lotions in general--especially ones made for people with sensitive skin--WHY HAVEN'T COMPANIES FIGURED OUT THAT FRAGRANCE IS NO GOOD FOR US???!!! Sorry to yell. I am just so tired of finding good lotions ruined by the fragrance. It just makes them unusable for me.

Two months ago I decided, among many other things, to stop drinking coffee at work. Today I had a cup and WOW what a reaction. Within minutes my arms started itching which was no surprise but I wasn't prepared for the next hour. I became very agitated and snapped at two colleagues for no reason whatsoever. My heartbeat increased also for no reason.

I have actually had this experience before when I was tested for potatoes. Again, I became agitated and actually swore at the nurse who was giving me tests.

I'm certainly giving coffee I miss. Has anyone else experienced this kind of reaction from food before?

Rachel, When my skin was flaking off all over a friend gave me a bottle of eucerin plus--this has alpha hydroxy in it, which in other lotions has almost always burned me, but this one is soothing and creamy. I used about a bottle a day when I first got it because my skin was so flaky. It helped. I don't know if it will help you. I hope so. It costs about seven dollars and I can only find it at certain grocery/drug stores. For me it was a miracle moisturizer--for a while. I feel for you, on one my vacations in the car I brought along a little vacuum to get up my flakes--I feel like Pig Pen from "Peanuts" sometimes.

I'm not very flaky these days. I use grapeseed oil and baking soda baths. Hope you find something that works for you. Have a great trip.

I went for the allergy shots, but after about 3 months I couldn't take it anymore... my face was falling off! My skin was not reacting well to the allergens.

Knowing what to avoid has been helpful. I'm not especially good at avoiding everything I should, but at least I know what not to fill up on. I tend to be ok with just a few of the things I shouldn't touch, i.e. milk and wheat, corn, sugar, chocolate.

Now things are better for me. It may have been a move to a new home. Urine shots! which are supposed to work better than allergy shots. Or maybe it was the vitamin and mineral routine. I did use some cortisone and prednisone in my worst state. I'm still working hard each day to keep my e. at bay. Now I use grapeseed oil, baking soda baths. No cortisone, no prednisone. And I try to stay relaxed and grateful to the Lord for allowing me to come through this trial with my faith still intact--and grown stronger.

John, I am somewhat familiar with interferon since I am very close to someone who suffers from hepatitis C virus, that being virtually the only recommended treatment and only marginally effective at that.even then in proportionately few cases. From what I know of it, it can inflict different people with many side effects that range from minimal to severe nausea, fatigue, headaches etc. Also there is (in these hep cases) a danger of what is referred to as a rebound effect, that is, once the treatment is dicontinued, the condition comes back even stronger than before treatment. Many of us have experienced this effect when weaning off prednisone. I'm guessing that you are on a much lower dose than those with life threatening illness.

My questions to you are, how long have you been taking it (and in what form)?

• How long and how frequently do you have to continue taking it?
• Are you experiencing any side effects?
• Are there any permanent consequences from long term use?
• Might you be subject to a rebound effect when you discontinue treatment?
• Is this considered a stop gap measure by your doc until the eczema is more controllable with other treatments?

Steve, I am always VERY careful when at the dentist's to be certain that any time he uses Novocaine on me that he uses the version without Epinephrine in it. Epinephrine does the same thing to me that coffee just did to you. And I have since discovered (the hard way, I might add) that any local anaesthetic that is used in minor surgeries will often have Epinephrine added to it; after I had a mole removed from my back, my husband practically had to scrape me off the ceiling. My husband reacts similarly to it -- after his wisdom teeth were extracted (before which he EXPLICITLY told the surgeon not to use Epinephrine!) he came quite close to biting the heads off the nurses in the recovery room. Come to find out the doctor had forgotten his request and had used Epinephrine after all.

If you have that strong a reaction to the caffeine in coffee, you might want to be careful with Epinephrine, too -- it's significantly stronger than caffeine... 

I'm not sure if Daniel has scalp eczema--it is flaky but not red and bumpy like the rest of his skin.

We use Johnson's Sensitive Baby shampoo (not sure of the exact name right now) and a generic form of Head and Shoulders and a lot of the time just run water over his head with no shampoo.

He scratches mostly his legs and arms, sometimes his face, seldom his head.

Do you think that babies with eczema have less patience than babies without? Just wondering..

Johnson & Johnson has a new product of babies called Ultra sensitive baby cream. No fragrance and no lanolin. It is working good for us.

My skin is known as super hypersensitive by docs and that's putting it mildly and the only product I can can use topically currently is Neutrogena Emulsion fragrance free but I mix it with Glycerine but the point is that I don't react to the Neutrogena, stated above, any other product by Neutrogena, I react to.

Another interferon anecdotal story: In 1986 my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer (which had metasticized to his brain) and given 4 months to live. He had surgery to remove the affected kidney and the brain tumor and then started an "experimental" course of interferon and his cancer was cured. In 1995 he developed a form of leukemia which his doc said was likely a result of the interferon. Three months ago he passed away from complications of the leukemia. For him, it was an acceptable trade - he got 11 years of mostly good quality life thanks to the interferon, but, please be aware that this is potent stuff. 

Nummular means coin shaped- so my eczema looks like small circles on my arm and legs. They are anywhere from the size of a dime to a quarter and unfortunately look like ringworm. In fact, my first two doctors spent two months treating me for ringworm that I didn't have. I don't have any family history of this. It just appeared at the end of January. I have had a lot of stress lately. I wondered too if anyone had found any associations between stress and eczema. 

Anyway, as I said before, I am interested in how others got this stuff to clear up and kept or are keeping it under control. My dermatologist acted like it would go away, but when I called back and said it had flared up again, her physician's assistant said that it would just come and go. Also, I wondered about trying to become pregnant and steroid creams? I wondered how much danger if any was involved - I am not using too much Lidex, but I would like to eliminate any risks.

Hi Rachel, I'll bet that Kelly's right about contact dermatitis; at least, when my hands get super-itchy and dry, it's usually after I've been rooting around under dusty furniture, retrieving cat toys or storage boxes :-)

Have you been doing anything differently lately? Working in a dusty place, using new detergent or cleanser? My mom used to itch from filing old documents (paper lice, which aren't like human lice but can make you itch just the same, hang out in old books and papers).

I've found that I can relieve the itchiness by washing my hands (plain H2O) & using Sarna lotion (OTC anti-itch cream -- but read the ingredients before you use it). When my body itches, I take a 20 min. (tar) bath. Now, my derm. Dr. wants me to put on cortisone and a plastic bag after I bathe, but I prefer just to put on the moisturizer of my choice (usually Eucerin and/or Vaseline, but sometimes jojoba oil; depends on the part of the body) and a nice soft robe.

Aaahhhh... I feel better just thinking about it. I hope your vacation works wonders.

Jodi used to have bad eczema scalp but ever since I wash her hair everyday with luke warm water (shampooing 2-3 times a week) and then air dry it afterwards with my fingers, she never has eczema on her scalp anymore. I think by air drying her hair with my fingers, the natural oil from her scalp was massaged evenly back on her scalp. I also noticed that when I scraped off the dry and flaky skin on her scalp when it was wet, the eczema spots turned raw but healed better the next day. Eventually, they never return. Of cause I link that also to her elimination of dairy and stuffs and my cooking from scratch and a lot of other things I did. Brian may react differently but thought I throw it in for you anyway.

You might consider adding the plastic bag (Saran Wrap was my choice though) wrap at night. Eczema can't survive in a moist, non-oxygen environment but it can be hell to sleep cuz when you moved you'll make noise and I tend to wake-up.

Before anyone starts saying that the moistness will irritate their eczema, you have to oxygen starve it to work.

I think the Drs hide behind the "stress" issue. Was there a cologne, food, environment her husband regularly exposed her to? I think it is an easy out for the medical community.

I tried goats milk with no fear of the vitamin issue, my brother was raised on it as well as my niece. IT MUST BE RAW GOATS MILK. My son was on it for several months then tested allergic to it. He now drinks alimentum.

Hi, Coffee is a highly addictive drug. When I stopped drinking it I was irritable for several days. A good alternative is green tea, which (according to a homeopath I went to) gives you the pep without all the toxins. On the bright side, since I quit drinking coffee on a regular basis I find it easier to get up in the morning and I am much more pleasant in the mornings than I used to be.

Well, I don't know about calling it "less patience" - but perhaps lack of impulse control (if babies have any! <G>)... which leads me again to wondering if it's true that there is a correlation between ADHD and eczema (both of which my daughter has) - by the way, she does seem to be responding well to the Ritalin - even she notices the difference in how people react to her now! Her eczema is *very slowly* improving, although her legs are still pretty bad... the dermatologist still thinks cortisone cream will do the trick if we keep using it for a while after her nightly Aveeno baths.

I've really vowed I must never again let her eczema go as far as it did without aggressive treatment... we just ignored it for several weeks. I guess we were paying too much attention to her ADHD testing - I'm also wondering whether the whole testing process was a stress for Becca, even though the testing mostly took the form of "games" with adults, and she loves to be the center of attention, especially from adults... 

Nancy, Thank you for your personal story about the allergist. I went to an allergist several years ago because of horrific hayfever. They did a lot of skin testing and decided that I was pretty much allergic to everything under the sun. However, the brief food allergy testing they did showed nothing (at the time). She recommended allergy shots too, and I did a lot of research on them and found out, as you did, that many people do it for years and have no results. So I decided I'd take my chances and not have the shots. So I already know that no matter what they tell me, I will not take shots. I just want to have more comprehensive food testing done, as I know allergies can change. I am told that as an infant I was allergic to milk, eggs and wheat. I "grew out of" those allergies, but am wondering if they've come back (causing my eczema to go out of control), and I eat a lot of all 3 of those things. I'm sorry you had to pay $300 to find out your doctor was an idiot. 

I am having a similar problem with my hand eczema on two fingers. It started being so dry that I couldn't bend the finger, and now it's in this annoying stage. I haven't been able to get it to go away with oils or moisturizers, but when it gets blistery and oozing, I find that Aveeno anti-itch cream helps it. It makes it even more wet at first, but then it seems to dry up the wet spots and make it stop itching temporarily. The Sativa hand cream (the stuff in the bottle, not the lotion) seems to help in the short term with the flaking skin, but not for very long. I just wish I could find a way to make it go away! I asked my dermatologist about it to see if it might be infected, but she just wrote me a prescription for some tape that has cortisone in it to wear at night. Haven't tried it though. 

Dear Folks, I need an opinion and I feel this is the right place to ask. My derm is being very insistent about me taking PUVA treatments. It's almost as though she is giving up on me if I don't do them. They scare me. The pills are supposed to make you VERY sun sensitive so that the UVA will - for all intents and purposes, burn the eczema out. I am already on Prozac for a long-standing depression problem that is under control and the Prozac already makes me light sensitive. 

Some of you mentioned that it seems even a small amount of sunlight aggravates your eczema. I find this too. If I forget and hang my elbow out the car window in the summer, my left elbow area goes nuts with itch and redness. All summer long, I have a permanent patch of eczema around my neck - even with sunscreen. For some reason, however, it doesn't affect me when I am swimming - maybe its the chlorine. I am very fair, but don't burn. 

Any