Why is she still scratching?

[emmaeford]

Hello, Im hoping someone who has more insider knowledge can help me! My daughter (9months) has eczema. Between 2 and 5 months her eczema was very red and raw however i have now got it under control with cotton clothing, surcare washing liquid and a good emollient. Her legs are gorgeous, well not so scaley anymore and nearly resembling baby soft skin BUT she is still scratching. There are no red patches on her legs. Her back is having a break out and so are her arms but its her legs that she just has to violently scratch whether it is with her hands or what ever she can rub them on. Its a constant battle trying to prevent her nails from getting to her skin. She wears double layers all the time i.e. tights under leggings or trousers as if there is just one layer she gets through. Does anyone have any ideas for me going into summer as she will boil (we do have scratch sleeves but if there is another way I could help her without her loosing the use of her hands all summer that would be great)? Also perhaps someone with eczema could tell me if skin is itchy even if there are no outward signs. Basically any help would be very gratefully received. Thank you

[Annamaria]

hi
my little boy 6 month old and has exactly the same kind of eczema. little red spots flare up on his lower arms, tummy and his back. every time i take his clothes off, he scrathes his tummy even if at that moment, there is nothing visible there. i don't understand it either but i've heard that sometimes, even if the red spots are not visible on the surface, under the skin the eczema is still there and so it's still itching, or something like that...
if someone else knows the answer for this, i'd love to know too.
i found that keeping him cool, helps, apparently they don't need any more clothing than us so when you feel warm, make sure that you don't overdress her.
sorry i couldn't really give any prductive advice
good luck

[emmaeford]

Thanks for your reply. Can I just ask what you put your lo in as I tend to have to double layer all her clothes so she doesnt cut her skin with scratching. Im a bit bemused as to how I can keep her cool (less clothes) without allowing her to get through to her skin.
Thanks

[Annamaria]

hi
i try to cut his nails as much as i can, i think as he is only 6 month old, his cordination is not that good so he doesn't really scratch, it's more like a grabbing motion he is doing with this hands/finders and so he doesn't really cut his skin just leaves a red mark so i don't dress him in double layer so sorry i can't really help you with that...
was she doing this when she was 6 month i mean that cutting skin or is this just a recenty found skill?

[emmaeford]

Unfortunately she has always been very co-ordinated and was scratching proficiently from 3 months! My mum didn't believe me when I said how she scratched with intent at that age but even she had to admit I was right. She is also great at finding rough surfaces to scratch on so not even her nails are necessary for scratching