confused and angry

I don't know what to do next! I'll try not to vent much and I would really appreciate any advise!
The pedi told us Iris has excema when she was 5 months. she had red areas on her face, neck, behind her kness and would itch during the night and not sleep. she gave us a list of what to use in her bath, on her skin (cortisone creams), moisturizer and an antihistamine. ( I won't mention brands because I'm in Greece and they're totally different than in the US). We used these and she was better but when we would stop the cortisone creams she would flare up again. So we went to a dermatologist hoping a specialist would make the different. Again a list of what to use. similar to the one from the pedi but different brands. We used them and same result- things were fine when they were used and as soon as we would stop she would flare up. the only thing i did not use as perscribed was the antihistamine- i only give that at night if she is really not able to stop scratching and sleep. i do not want a drowsy child during the day.
At 6 months we added solids and she flared up after some foods (carrots, peas, kiwi, sheep yogurt). After reading a post here from someone whose child was allergic to rice the lightbulb in my head went on! I stopped the rice for two days and she cleared up so nicely so quickly. Slept well was happy no scratching!
The second day without rice she happened to have an appointment with an allergy specialist. she did a skin test and she is level 5 allergic to egg white level 3 to egg yolk. We're waiting for the blood tests for other allergies. So this dr gave a new list of products- strong antihistamine and lots of it, zyrtec, cortisone creams, moisturizers the works. We decided since she was doing so well we wouldn't change anything and just used the bath oil the dr recommended. In a matter of minutes after the bath the poor girl was beat red, crying, scratching. I felt so bad. All night she was a mess. I kept holding her and caressing her and she would fall asleep. I put water on her face, vaseline, and she was calmer. The minute I would put her in her crib she would cry and cry. When she was done at about 4am her sister started crying till 6am. I was amazed she didn't wake up earlier with all the noise. I wish I would have thought it through and not tried anything new and in the morning just pout a little of the oil on her elbow to see what she does.
Today she's much better but still not as good as she was before the oil.
I feel so confused with all the different medicine these drs are suggesting. I hate all this medicine. i hate to see my baby suffer. I feel so powerless and wish I knew more.
So what do you make of this? I still haven't understood the connection between allergies and excema. Is it possible if we identify the triggers she will no longer have it? What should I be careful of? When she's flaring up who can I make her feel better?
Thanks in advance

 

Hmmm....this stinks and mine doesn't have it as bad as yours. I haven't found that food triggers it as of now. It does seem for us that the lotion and bath soap has made the difference. Each child is different and finding out what your child's trigger is going to be trial and error. Go with your gut and do what you think is best and take one step at a time from there would be my suggestion. As for flare ups...I would use the cortizone cream for the short term.

 

Oh my gosh that poor baby! And poor mommy. I have never dealt with excema, so I am not sure what to tell you besides don't ever use that bath oil again! I have heard of babies taking the Zyrtec with no problem. :hug99:

 

We have the same issue here. I went thru every lotion and bath wash possible. Finally ended up with the dermatologist who told us to use plain Dove white soap. It's much, much better right now, but something will come along and cause him to flare. Peas cause flareups for us. A lot of the bath oils also cause Morgan to break out. Right now we are using plain ol' Dove white soap and the Huggies Extra Sensitive lotion. I also love the Mustela Stelapohia (sp?) line. It's made especially for peds with derm problems. It's pricey, but you can order it online. That's what we used to get us thru the latest bout, and then we were able to switch to the Huggies Extra Sensitive.

I really think it's trial and error unfortunately. We always try new foods first thing in the morning, so I can see a reaction during the day. Same with lotions. Don't try anything at night. You never know if she'll have a reaction, and night time is definitely not the time to find out. I'd wait to hear from the allergist. And, just start keeping a list of things that she is reacting to. Try small amounts of lotions or oils (always fragrance free of course) and when you find one that she's okay with stick with it!

I'm not a lot of help, but just know you are not alone! It sucks to have uncomfortable kids and you can't do anything about it. Shannon

 

I totally feel your frustration. Our girls get excema too and we've been recommended hydrocortisone cream (1%) to use, then it goes down, then we stop, then it flares up again. Because it's strongest around their chin, was told it was spit-up caused and to wipe clean the area and apply mosturiser. Then told maybe it's allergies, despite the fact it started about when they were 1 month old and they didn't start solids till they were 4 and half months old....

I like the idea of trying new foods in the morning, we've been doing it at the 3pm feed so have no idea....

 

My Olivia has eczema also. Our pediatric dermatologist told us to bathe one time a week only, use non-soap cleanser, we use Cetaphil, & apply Eladil (prescription cream) mixed with aveeno 24 hour lotion. We did not give solids until she was older also, just in case seh had food allergies, which she did & they went away as she got older. I would not use bath oil since it most likely contains mineral oil, & is known to cause redness & irritation to skin in persons with allergies. I use Neutragena bath oil, it contains 100% sesame oil, spareingly AFTER baths. I hope you can figure out what helps, remember less is more, try new products for a while before introducing an y others. Good luck