Eczema

[scary mum]

My hairdresser recommends it for getting unwanted colour out of hair! Which makes me think it isn't terribly gentle.

[salsa]

What is he allergic to? My son is allergic to dust mites, so we need to carry his bed covers everywhere we go (mattress protector, pillow and duvet case). All his bedding has to be washed at 60 degrees.

I have been abroad and had to buy a sleeping bag and pillow as he was really waking up all swollen. He's discovered, however that if he uses thermals as pijamas that he doesn't itch.

We have tried all sort of creams, but he gets fed up with applying them. We do use aloe vera sometimes.

What really clear his skin is when we are on holiday and go to the beach. I don't know if it is the sea water, the sun or a combination of both.

Good luck!

Salsa

[doodles]

salsa I would say that it is probably a combination of everything but that sea water is really very therapeutic. My father suffered from psoriasis and this would almost completely disappear / improve immensely when we went on holiday and he went in the sea every day.

[KB]

Salsa
There are different kinds of salts you can buy to put in bath water, including some that supposedly replicate sea water. Have you tried them?

[salsa]

No, I didn’t. He’s got it under control now as long as he has his bed covers. If the itching is too much he does take an antihistamine.
Salsa

[sportsforall]

I have suffered most of my life, my experience is lifestyle plays a far greater role than specific allergens. Given how old your son is and that he is at University, do you know how much alcohol he drinks, how well he is eating and if he is drinking plenty of water? Alcohol wreaks havoc with my skin (particularly face with the heat rash you describe). If I have a stressful week at work, don't drink water or get enough sleep same again. So perhaps lifestyle might be impacting him?

[kenyancowgirl]

Interestingly the Head and Shoulders tip has been picked up in the press this week.

[MrsChubbs]

Might be worth asking one of the more sympathetic doctors whether it is worth trying a selenium sulfide lotion (active ingredient in H&S non standard formula). If it is seborrheic dermatitis rather than milder eczema, could be worth a try.

[heartmum]

As a sufferer of eczema all my life (now in my 40 cough cough years) I was as a child tested for all allegens - only my back was clear and used for the prick test, my arms and legs were covered with eczema. Over the years Doctors tried many steroid ointments - Betnovate etc., finally settling on Hydrocortisone which seemed to be the best and over 30++ years this was the only treatment offered to me. I then, in my teenage years developed eczema on my face/around mouth which was not what a teenage girl needed and did experience bullying .. a horrible time.

Roll on many years and continued steroid ointment use (having to use every three days due to flare ups) I then two years ago had to have medical treatment, E45 was recommended however I am allergic to that cream and so was recommended by a nurse (always grateful to her) to use Aqueous cream in shower and then Aveeno daily moisturising cream - I used it on my body and on my face. Initially it did not register but then, after a couple of months I realised my skin was clear and 18 months down the line (use both creams daily/evening routine) I have still not touched my steroid ointment. It could just be down to age and my skin would have improved anyway, however after 30++ years of continual steroid use (I dread to think of the damage that has caused) I cannot believe I have found a treatment other than steroid ointments that works for me.

As other posters have said, it is trial and error, you need to find the treatment that works best for you/your child and hopefully something less damaging to the skin as long term steroid use, which was the case for me.

My allergies will never go away and I am on permanent antihistamine treatment, but my eczema is in control and hopefully that dreadful tightening of the skin/sometimes unbearable itching a thing of the past X x x

[KS10]

You can’t really fully trust what DS says about his lifestyle. I don’t think he means to lie but he sees everything in a positive light. I know that his room is a tip though - he has admitted that much.

His skin was really good last week but this week it’s awful again. It looks like he has heat rash and he says it’s not eczema but an allergic reaction. It could be the in-laws’ cat or just the usual cycle. I forgot to add that we have a water softener, although not sure how effective that has been really.