Itchy, achy and cranky
Anyone who's reading this out there, if you have any good treatments for dealing with eczema I'd be most grateful. I have a break out on my left arm that started before Xmas and has just gotten worse and worse. I saw the dermatologist last Thursday and have been using a pretty strong steroid on it and it's not only not gotten better, it's spread alot. It started just around the elbow but now goes up and down both the upper and lower arm. I've been taking an antihistamine at night which helps a little, but otherwise the itching is just so awful. I swear I would rip my arm off at this point if I could. I'm supposed to see the dermatologist again next week, but at this point I have no faith in this steroid and am willing to try anything. TIA for any suggestions.
At least my neck strain is improving a little. It's amazing how you can do something as innocuous as sitting on the floor and lean on the ottoman with your head in your hand and sit up and pull something so badly in your neck. It's much better during the day, only really hurting if I turn my head unexpectedly, but hard to sleep at night except on my back, which I really can't do. Then again with the ungodly itching and the boy child deciding that it's fun the chat and play all night, who am I kidding about the sleep?
At least my neck strain is improving a little. It's amazing how you can do something as innocuous as sitting on the floor and lean on the ottoman with your head in your hand and sit up and pull something so badly in your neck. It's much better during the day, only really hurting if I turn my head unexpectedly, but hard to sleep at night except on my back, which I really can't do. Then again with the ungodly itching and the boy child deciding that it's fun the chat and play all night, who am I kidding about the sleep?
posted by Laura @ 1/12/2006 09:09:00 PM
3 Comments:
At 1/13/2006 12:30 AM,
Anonymous said…
Laura,
I've had friends have good luck with this with their kids - hope it helps! Have you been running a humidifier? We've had some luck with that. Claire has a very slight outbreak at the moment but it's very persistent, so we are thinking of trying this this weekend when the weather is supposed to be warmer. Moisturizing immediately (like w/in 1 min) of getting out of the bath or shower usually helps with her skin too.
HTH, good luck!
Jennifer
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A "Wet wrap" or Wet pajama" treatment may be prescribed by your doctor. After applying a topical ointment or steroid to the affected area, wet down older pajamas with warm water, wring them thoroughly, put them on under another pair of dry pajamas, and go to bed. A treatment for smaller areas may be used by applying gauze bandages (wrists, elbow creases, or behinds the knees), wet socks, or wet gloves (hands or feet) to affected areas. Use warm water to wet the first layers of gauze and follow with a dry layer. Be sure not to wrap to tightly. These treatments are very effective in putting moisture back into the skin and easing symptoms. These treatments may be used until improvement is seen. Wet treatments are not indicated with an already existing skin infection.
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At 1/13/2006 11:27 AM,
Care said…
Hi Laura. Wish I knew the magic answer for eczema, but if I did I wouldn't have an itchy mess of a kiddo myself. What I do for Ethan...he has 5 different strengths of topical steroids, Protopic, (Elidel did nothing for him), Triamcinolone - this stuff is good, and cheap (it is Rx) - I use it for wet wraps, Aquaphor/Vasoline, (yes, sometimes all of the above at once). Wet wraps are really good - do them 4-5 times a day if you can. I use socks with the toes cut out to cover if I am doing his arms or legs. Used to use high doses of Atarax for the itching until he bacame allergic to it, now ususally just use Benedryl, and lots of it. No fragrence in anything, Tide Free for laundry, no fabric softner, no soap at all. I use Cetaphil cleanser, and when his scalp is bad I use the Cetaphil for his hair too. Humidity is important - I try to keep it between 40-45% humidity in the house, esp during the winter it is critical. Still, Ethan ends up on oral steroids for almost a week every single month to get it back under control. I really hope you find a way to get yours in hand - it must be miserable! {{Hugs}} ~CarolynG
At 1/13/2006 11:40 AM,
seasonalkat said…
Oh Laura, I'm so sorry you're so miserable!! I hope you're feeling better and soon!
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