Everything for Eczema

Sweet little Fraser has been continuing with his struggle with eczema.

 

Some days it is worse than others, for no apparent reason.

 

 

Despite how sore his skin is, his little personality remains as content and patient as ever.

 

 

 

 

 

Since the start of the year he has been seen weekly by dermatology while they try and get his eczema under control. Every time we go to the hospital he is full of smiles for the nurses and doctors. In fact, wherever we go he is full of smiles for people!

 

One of the most important things that helps him just now, apart from his creams and ointments, are little mitts. When the eczema itch starts it's hard enough to tell someone old enough to understand that they shouldn't scratch! The itchiness of eczema is such that no matter how much you scratch it, the itch doesn't go away. And the scratching just goes on and on until the skin bleeds. Then the risk of infection is greater, which makes the itch worse and it's just one big vicious circle.

 

Over our years of living with eczema we have tried out quite a few products. Recently I discovered the website Everything For Eczema. As well as selling lots of innovative products for those living with eczema they also have a blog with information, tips and links to help you out. It was set up by a mum of a little one with eczema and many of the products have also been developed by parents of children with eczema.

 

When James (14) was small I used to sew mitts onto his sleep suits to stop them falling off at night or him pulling them off. But it's not just at bed time that they are useful, especially on a baby. And I don't want to keep mitts on Fraser all day long as he loves to chew on his fingers and thumb.

 

 

 

 

I was offered the chance to try out these little mitts from Everything for Eczema called Guava Mitts.

 

 

They have little Velcro straps to help keep them from slipping off or being pulled off. The Velcro is a soft Velcro and so if it opens accidentally your wee one can't use it as an extra thing to scratch with! The mitts are made from a mix of bamboo and cotton, so no nasty fabrics involved, and have bright colourful patterns on them. The patterned bits also flip over to a different pattern if you fancy a change too.

 

I've been using these on Fraser for a couple of months now and find them very useful. I keep a pair in the nappy bag if we are going out anywhere and then if he gets itchy I pop them on him. They are also extremely handy for night time when he is wearing sleep suits that don't have fold over mitts on them.

 

I did find that the Velcro lost a bit of its stickiness but that was because it had gathered a few bits and pieces of fluff in it from the washing machine and tumble drier, and once I had cleaned the fluff out they were back to sticking together nicely again.

 

We were also sent some lovely Chickweed & Calendula Cream to try out.

 

It's made with all natural ingredients and, unlike so many of these sorts of creams that I've found in the past, it doesn't contain Almond Oil as it's base oil, which is great in our nut allergy house.

 

Alasdair (4) has really enjoyed putting this cream on his hands. He likes the smell of it and likes to put it on all by himself.

 

The cream is non greasy, absorbed really well into the skin and has a lovely subtle smell. Alasdair says that it doesn't sting his cuts and he likes the fact that it doesn't leave his hands all slimy like his other creams do! I like the fact that he will put it on himself (he's really not a fan of putting cream on throughout the day) and that it is made of such pure ingredients.

 

I've yet to persuade the older eczema boys to try it out. The though of a flowery cream seems to have put them off a bit but I'll persuade them yet. Or if I don't, then Alasdair will!

 

If you are living with eczema, especially if you have a child with it, then I highly recommend popping over to Everything for Eczema and having a look around. Once you start reading the information stories you might find yourself staying there for longer than planned, like I did! They have more for children than adults at the moment but are hoping to add to their range in the future.

 

And very appropriately for this post, I've written most of it with one hand, holding Fraser with the other arm as he rests up on my shoulder and rubbing his itchy face/head with my other hand.

 

 

 

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