I am a proud Mom. I love my kids dearly (as most mothers do) but my poor Daughter suffers from eczema and at times it drives me up the wall. She is 6 yrs old and has had this since birth, and I don't really think its accurate to say that only she suffers.
I am the one who has to get up in the middle of the night when I hear her scratching. Yep, you read that right. I can HEAR her scratching her skin in her room, which is down the hall from mine. So I get up, get the cream and slap it on her while trying to get her to stop scratching. Some nights She wake up and comes through to mine complaining that she is itchy. Its enough to break your heart.
During the day, I am sure I sound like a complete nag everytime I ask her not to scratch or rub. I am pretty sure I don't ask anymore... I Bark.
Apart from the steriod creams that we use when it gets really bad (which is now only occasionally) We have tried EVERY (crazy and normal) treatment going to try to help her, and this is what is working for us (for now):
We apply cream EVERY NIGHT. We used to do it twice or three times a day. But we seem to have gotten a handle on it so we do it once a day before she goes to bed or just after her bath. We have to rotate her creams though. What I use this month will not work next month for some weird reason.
Right now I use the creams that you can get in most pharmacies but these are the ones that really seem to work well at putting moisture back into her skin so that she isn't so itchy:
When I have money I get her a tube of La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP. This is a very rich cream that definitely does what it says on the tin. The only down side is that it stings like a sum-bitch if the skin is a bit broken. I know cos I had a papercut one night when I was using this on her and it stung, so I am really careful to avoid any obviously broken skin.
Its smells vaguely pharmaceutical and very clean, it is fragrance free though, but its not unpleasant and a few minutes after its absorbs into the skin the smell is gone. The formulation is thick but spreads easily and sinks in slowly. You really need to use a bit of elbow grease to rub this in. It is a bit greasy, which is good for her dry itchy skin, but not good on my hands when I have to answer the phone, or open the taps to wash my hands.
For your €16 you get 200mls of cream that spreads easily and does what it says on the bottle. It did seem to reduce the scratching, and really did make her skin feel more moisturised than normal. I can feel the difference on her skin when I dress her the following morning.
It comes out of the tube easily, and as long as the tube is left standing on its lid during the day there is no frustrating shaking to get the cream out. The only thing is that it stings on broken skin... and the bottle only lasts me about 3 weeks as I have to do her whole body. Otherwise she likes it and I like it.
The budget option that performs just as well as the expensive LRP is Aveeno's Skin Relief Moisturising Lotion, which comes in at €5.17 for 200 mls. It has shea butter in it (good for moisturising) and oats has played an integral part in her healing (we use porridge oats in a sock in the bath for her to wash with).
This is not a cream. Its a gel like lotion. Like water suspended in cream. It is lovely and moisturising with a very delicate oatey smell that disappears fast. It sinks in very quickly and doesn't leave a film on the skin.
A little bit goes a really really long way, and it spreads and absorbs like a dream. The only problem with this is that I do find some nights I have to re-apply to get the same result as the LRP so the 24hr Moisturising claim is laughable, but at a third of the price I can afford to re-apply. I also don't feel the need to hurry off and wash my hands straight afterwards. This also stings like a ... like a.... like a something that stings when it gets on broken skin.
This is what I have been using on her for the last two months and she seems to be scratching less and breaking out less frequently.
You would think that we would stick with this because it works. From previous experience as soon as I decide that something works, her skin kicks back and says "ah no lady... its never going to be that easy, I don't like this anymore" and the cream that we were using stops working. So the next one that I have lined up is a Eucerine one.
I have used both these lotions on my own skin and I love them too. The Aveeno gets more love from me than the LRP, but only cos its cheaper and lasts a bit longer. I am lucky enough though that I can use cheaper, fragranced products on my own skin and save the good stuff for my Daughter :)
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