Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

Hi guys, hoping someone can help :)

My friends little boy(5 yrs old) has awful excema(sp) and although she has various creams etc from the doctors, the hot weather is making him very sore and itchy.
Do any of you(Elaine??) make a specific excema cream/balm/lotion that I can point her in the direction of. The excema is bad, he gets it all over his body and he's getting very fed up. The cost isn't really an issue, so if you make something that's a little expensive she's willing to try it in order to help him.

Cheers guys

Beth xx

Beth - my daughter used to have really bad exzema (spelling?), and honestly, the only thing we ever found to help are anti-histamines, oral and topical ones (hayfever tablets and insect bite creams). The heat will be awful, especially as most prescribed exczema creams are vaseline based and will make him feel very hot underneath. Once the itching is under control, the skin can heal and it will be better all around. Sweat running into all the little cuts and open sores that come with the condition are going to make him truly miserable as well. If he is not allergic, oatmeal baths may be helpful, very cool baths.

I never made any balms for her, we went with commercial product at the time and it is a lot of trial and error, as the condition is so individual and what helps one sufferer may cause an itching fit in another, so I don't really want to say what combination of creams and lotions (apart from the anti-histamines) helped in the end. She grew out of it by the age of 12 anyway, so whatever we used may not have been any help, just growing up might have been the trick.

Good luck and I feel for your friend, it is terrible to watch

Oh, I really sympathise. About 20 years ago I broke out in eczema which drove me nuts and became infected under my arms. It was fine during the day but as soon as I had my shower it started to itch and carried on all night. I did not get a full night sleep for 6 months. As soon as a saw a dermatologist and he precribed the correct cream (metosin) it cleared up in a couple of weeks.

Can't help with a balm, but has your friend taken her son to a dermatologist rather than her GP? My GP gave me all kinds of things and it was costing a fortune. He even gave me a scabies medication!!

I've sent a PM.

As MP says the best bet could be antihistamines.

IIRC Corrie makes a Chickweed soap - not sure whether she does a balm also.

I'll have a look at Corries site too then Elaine :)

Friends son has had excema since birth, he's also lactose intollerant which doesn't help.

Not sure if she's seen a specialist rather than just the GP, will ask her when I see her next (have a feeling she's on her hols already as didn't see her this morning on the school run).

Thanks for the input guys :buttrf:

Hi Beth

I make a balm for night use on hands that is used by friends with excema with good effects. However, I would never sell it as an excema balm, simply because each case seems to be so different.

I've submitted the balm in the Recipes section, but it needs to be approved. When it's there, feel free to give it a try!

Lujos, thanks so much for that :buttrf:

Its there now (I didn't realise it was there until today)

http://www.fresholi.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=624&Itemid=75 (http://www.fresholi.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=624&Itemid=75)



A huge thanks for you kindness lujos  :buttrf: :buttrf: :buttrf:

thanks Helen :buttrf:

SD, where does the eczema flare, what parts of the body?

Eire

His main problem is on the trunk of the body, although he does have some small patches on his hands.

Is it definetly eczema? The worst of infantile eczema is usually cleared by that age, with heat or stress induced flare-ups affecting the torso (almost like an upside down T), crook of arms and behind knees. Check that it's not a form of urticaria. But as said, eczema is such an individual thing. Is it just now with the heat or all year round flare-ups?
Lujos has supplied a lovely simple recipe, just do a patch test, beeswax can trigger or aggravate eczema. For washing, a castile or goatsmilk/buttermilk castile (well aged) may help. If it is bad, tell her not to shy away from hydrocortisone creams to get it under control, you can them make oil blends with right fatty acid profiles to aid in repairing and conditioning of the skin. One of the main things is to keep area sweat free and cool as possible. Oatmeal and milk baths may help soothe the area too.

Eire

Yes Eire, it is definitely eczema. He was born wit it and was hospitalised as a young baby because of it becoming infected. It is a all year round problem, although he is suffering greatly with the heat.
I'll pass on the info, I'll see her tomorrow so will mention the oatmeal/milk baths :buttrf:

The poor thing  :(   :buttrf:

I make tea tree acne face products on my site. very effective and great sellers too ;D ;D

Shea butter - I have had really bad eczema on my hands lately - my fingertip split and was so sore. I realise pompholyx isn't the same as atopic eczema but I would try it.

I slathered it in shea for a day and it has cleared up.

Helen, you are spot on. Pretty much everyone's eczema is unique and GPs, and even dermatologists, don't understand how overheating makes things much worse.

Alternatively, I find coconut oil very cooling so that might help.

I love aromatherapy but I wouldn't put any eos on as they can make things worse.

Bathing with a cool sea salt, preferably dead sea salt, solution may help a lot. I find seawater miraculously effective.

I have been asked so many times at events for something that would help with eczema - I did a Pamper Evening on Thursday and there was a lad there helping his mum with her stall - he was in the middle of an awful outbreak, poor kid  :( all up his arms and on his legs.

And then the doctor tells them to put aqueous cream on it - a glorious mixture of SLS and petrochemicals. It makes me mad.

I second Shea butter - works for my daughter and worked for my nan, but not sure if it works anyone else.

Just one warning, no fragrance whatsoever! No EO, no FO, nothing!! Even Lavender stung like hell for my daughter. And she has also noticed that any creams that have any form of preservative in it make her Exzcema itch or sting. That one took us a long time to work out. She rarely gets it now, but when she does have an outbreak, I smother her in whipped shea until all cracks are healed (make sure it is whipped softly, you don't want to drag the skin) and then I make some lotion without EO and preservative (has to be kept in the fridge and used within 5 days) and that clears it up. I wouldn't even bother with the lotion, but DS gets tired of the heavy butter after a couple of days and she can put the lotion on in the morning before going to school, the shea butter makes her tights stick.

I find lavender really aggravates it as well and I suspect preservatives also make mine worse.

One time I put L'Occitane lavender hand cream on it and it got much worse. Shea is the best thing I've found so far.

Hello Beth,

I did not make my balm specifically for ecezma but from the feedback I've had–people have had success with reducing it when using my balm. If you would me to send you a tiny sample to test please let me know.

Eczema is basically an auto-immune problem so all we can do it help relieve the symptoms.  I have a product called Baby Butt Balm that sells more to people with eczema and psoriasis than for baby's butts :mwaha:

What's in it? I'm guessing the answer isn't baby butts. :D

Cocoa Butter, Zinc Oxide, Lanolin, a couple of other oils and essential oils.  Works really well....

Oh yeah and no babies butt's were harmed in the manufacture of the butt balm.... :angl:

 :mwaha:

Have to third a simple whipped shea , non scented with rice bran , my freind uses mine on her 2 kiddies and both combined with their prescrbed creams have virtually cleared up , I advertise it as an intensive moisturiser , nothing else. I wont put eos such as tea tree if its for kids due to possible alergic reaction , mainly as ecma sufferers have very sensitive skin.

Thanks guys. My friend's little boy still suffers terribly, it's much worse when he's stressed about something at school.

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I noticed that you said a couple of months ago that your friends boy still suffers terribly. My husband and 3 children have all suffered with very severe eczema, my husband has even had to spend a week in hospital a couple of years ago. So I really understand! I started selling my own products some are for eczema a few weks ago. I have also made a leaflet with my top tips for eczema, I wonder if this would be helpful.

Hiya Beth

I have had terrible eczema for years.  I would always recommend a dermatologist - I agree with a lot of the post here.  What works for one doesn't always work for another.  The only thing that has helped me is protopic, absolutely fantastic ointment & Shea bath melts I make myself.