We’ve embraced this warmer weather with open arms and POD loves spending time outdoors at the weekends and after pre-school. The increase in temperature hasn’t helped her eczema though and she’s often up in the early hours scratching. I had dreadful eczema as a child so I understand how uncomfortable it is and that it’s hard to stop scratching even though you know what damage it will cause.
POD’s troublesome areas include behind her legs, her armpits and the crease of her arms. Being at pre-school every day, she also has trouble with her hands and can, if left to her own devices, scratch her fingers until they bleed. It doesn’t stop her dressing up as Elsa obviously!
In the hope these warmer climes are here to stay, I’ve outlined below a few tips to manage eczema especially at bedtime when a flare up is most likely. One golden rule is to stay cool as heat makes eczema worse. We usually have a window open or a fan on in POD’s room so the temperature is just right.
Bathtime
Avoid bubble bath and soaps as they don’t help eczema and can irritate. We use Oilatum Junior in POD’s bath as it moisturises the skin, bath toys help her stay in longer so it soaks in although she loves baths so that’s not normally a problem. Her hair is long at the moment so we tie it up while she’s in the bath. We wash it afterwards while the bath water is draining away so it stays oil free and she has minimal contact with the shampoo. We also check POD’s nails at bathtime, they’re usually cut twice a week to minimise further damage to her skin.
Although too many baths dry out the skin, POD has one most nights. This is because she often comes into contact with products that irritate her skin at pre-school. Or she’s been lying in the sandpit making snow angels! Likewise if we’ve been to a swimming pool, we’ll give her a bath as chlorine is also an irritant.
Bedtime
Once out of the bath, we moisturise POD’s skin with Oilatum cream. Dryness causes the skin to itch so we try to ensure she has no dry patches – I check her body and her face too. We’ve tried to build this into her bedtime routine so she knows she’ll be creamed! We usually tackle the worst bits with Sudocrem or Dream Cream from Lush. Hydrocortisone creams are often necessary but we try to manage POD’s eczema with the other creams so we can use them sparingly.
After the bath she’s normally distracted by teeth cleaning so the creams can start to work their magic. Creams can be sticky for a time next to pyjamas and bed clothes but the benefits far outweigh the discomfort. If she’s already itchy, we give her liquid antihistamine so it kicks in before she goes to sleep. Her bedding is always 100% cotton and we only use non-biological washing powder. We didn’t once and she ended up in a Turkish doctors!
In the night
If POD’s eczema wakes her up, it’s usually in the early hours. Most important is stopping the itch so she doesn’t do herself damage. When I was a child I scratched so hard the gloves my parents put on me to stop me scratching had holes in them. Thankfully we’ve not had to resort to such measures with POD and I’m grateful her eczema thus far is not as bad as mine was. I like to think breastfeeding played a part in that as well as managing the condition as best we can.
We’ll usually give her antihistamine straight away if she’s really scratching and able to have another dose. It does take a while to work though so at times when she’s particularly itchy, we distract her with books or an episode or two of Peppa Pig. Anything to keep her occupied as the more she scratches, the more damage she does.
We’ll also re-apply the creams so they can help her skin while she’s asleep. Although it might take an hour or so for her to get off again, she’ll then have a good night and sleep through. In case you’re wondering, she often sleeps with a headband on although it’s not not usually this one!
If you have any further tips about your child’s eczema, feel free to share them in the comments below.
