Eczema...

My poor boy is suffering with his Eczema so much at the moment. Cheeky's Eczema first showed up when he was 6 weeks old, it was just a few red, dry patches on his face. I approached our health visitor who prescribed some Dipro base. It seemed to clear the eczema but made his face quite red. Cheeky's Eczema wasn't all that bad whilst he was a baby, the odd bit here and there, and one or two flare ups. It was as he got older that these flare ups were getting more and more frequent and each time not healing quite as well. We must have used every steroid cream there is and most Emollients and bath additives. Cheeky's Eczema was under control for quite a few months just adding Hydromol to his bath and hydrolmol ointment afterwards. He was always pretty greasy (lol) but i thought we had solved it, and gradually started to use the hydromol ointment less and less, whilst still always using the bath additive. However.... at Christmas last year he had a really bad flare up. I am still not exactly sure what it was or why it was so bad, we saw several different doctors, each saying something different, most importantly though we got some cream and some anti biotics and it began to heal, rather slowly. This did scar Cheeky's skin for a while, and sometimes if he gets too hot or too cold, you can still see it. After that we did gain control of his eczema for a short while, but unfortunately after that short episode of clear skin it has been visits to and from the doctors on a regular bases, using trial and error once again as a method of controlling his eczema. Nothing so far has completely cleared it again, and it really is having a huge affect on his life. Cheeky had recently started pre school, and was settling in really well, i was so pleased, as was he. This week however i have been called twice to collect him early as he just wouldn't settle. The pre school came to the conclusion that he wasn't ready (not impressed with this) i however was determined that there was no way he would settle just fine and suddenly hate it, and for them to give up entirely. I took him to the doctor yesterday and asked them to check him over, i knew something was not quite right, but i didn't know what it was. Initially i didn't consider that it could be his skin because we had been to the doctor just a few days earlier with it. I really thought it would be more likely to be his ear, he gets really hysterical if he has a poorly ear, and has had a few in his little life. Everything there was fine however, the doctor checked him over and said all seems well. At which point i mentioned his skin and asked if it could be that, he had already noted it and had a proper look, and then a look at what we were using at the moment. The doctor advised us that he does have a skin infection, cheeky scratches at his skin so much, hence the infection, he advised us this would absolutely affect his state of mind and the quality of sleep he was getting, advising he was probably exhausted. Cheeky has now been out on anti biotics again for 2 weeks and we have eumovate to apply twice a day. Cheeky took his meds and some piriton no problem yesterday and slept for 4 hours yesterday afternoon. Fingers crossed this will clear cheekys skin and he will return to pre school in 2 weeks, after an in depth conversation with his teacher, and try to settle him in again after this set back.

I do wish i knew the cause of his Eczema, and could figure out what sets it off.

x