Elidel Prescription/excema

Instead of jumping directly to Elidel (which does work for eczema), why not try some simple things first: gentle bathing with tepid water, no harsh soaps or fragrance, eliminate dryer sheets in the laundry, lots of moisturizer or even just vaseline after the bath, etc. Also try over the counter hydrocortisone cream on the areas as well to clear them up. If those things don't work, consider a prescription cream. Elidel works on the immune system, which works wonders for those with severe eczema, but I would try those other simple measures first!

Eczema is usually a 'representation' of the body's inability to handle something (food, allergens, etc.).

My daughter has always had a bit of a gastrointestinal reaction to dairy (tummy feels bloated, etc.), but it was never bad enough that I took her off her all-time favorite source of food. It started around age 3. I always knew it wasn't good for her. In the last year (she is now 7), she had developed a nickel-sized patch of eczema right under her bottom lip. I took her off of dairy, and within 5 days it was faded significantly. I continued and added fish oil (Nordic Naturals) and within days it was gone. She started up on the dairy around the holidays again, and the eczema was back.
Eczema is basically a type of allergic reaction to something, and more often than not...it is a food. You really should try an elimination diet of sorts. If it is too hjard to only feed your little guy white rice and apples (and other non-allergen fruits/veggies like lettuce, carrot, etc.)...maybe just eliminate one food at a time. i know this is not ideal, but with children a complete 'elimination diet' (taking everything out and then adding one new food every 4-5 days) is pretty difficult. Personaly, I would eliminate dairy for a week and see what happens. Dairy and eczema often go hand-in-hand. If that doesn't start to show improvement, next I would keep the dairy stopped and stop gluten (this is togh because it is almost all breads, pastas and cereals/crackers). As a given, I would stay away from all nuts.
You can try to treat eczema...but the more logical thing to do would be to try to figure out why it is happening/where it is coming from so that you may not have to 'treat' it.
Good luck J.!

Hi J.,We used elidel on our 7year old twins for 6months.It was heaven sent.However i heard if it gets in there blood stream it can cause a major reaction.Basically if you use the medicine make sure he does not have an open stracth..My twins were a year old when we stater it. Then i read about the reaction that scared me.So we did stop using it! Then by the age two in a half,we found out they were allergic to tomato produtsand also peanuts family.There excema was mostly on there cheeks and the joints,(inside there arm or inside the outer knees)I hope that helped.

Hi J.,
My kids all have food allergies/sensitivies. One of my boys has ezcema that flares up when i eat egg (i am nursing). The best way to identify a food allergy/sensitivity is to take all the top allergy foods out of the diet for a few weeks and watch the symptoms (top foods include wheat, soy, dairy, egg, seafood, nuts, and for some kids corn). You are going to need to read labels very carefully, because many of these items are in foods you wouldn't expect and are disguised by other names on the labels. Then start to introduce the foods one at a time and watch his symptoms. I know it can be overwhelming to think about what the heck they are going to eat. If you need any additional support from someone who has been through this, please let me know. I have resources :) Good luck - L.

Hi:
I heard this about Elidel as well. My son has had Eczema since about 6 months old and we found out that he has a load of food allergies so we have the greatest allergist in the world (Harvey Leo, Allergy and Immunology Associates)and my son looks so good. We use Protopic (steroid cream) in moderation underneath a heavy coat of Aquaphor cream. We also bathe him in Aquaphor baby wash, was his clothes in dye free perfume free All and use a humidifier. Elidel may not be worth it. I would start with an allergist and pediatric dermatologist (Tor Shwayder, Henry Ford) first. Steroids are bad for long term use but they definitely get the situation under control quickly.

Hi, J.!
I have suffered with eczema since childhood. Eczema is linked to asthma. I have both. I also have many allergies. I use a product called diprolene ointment on my eczema. It is miraculous! Ask your doc about it.

Good luck,
:)

My son used Elidel when he was a toddler. The study said that mice/rats contracted cancer when they ingested Elidel. (Hopefully humans aren't ingesting Elidel.) It has a black box label warning because of that. Still, I took him off of it even though it worked well. I now mix Aveeno, with a tube of hydrocortisone and a tube of neosporin with my hand mixer. It works wonders!!

Good luck!

C.

Yes I heard this a couple years go and my husband decided to stop using it afterward.

My daugher also gets eczema our dr prescribes hydrocortizone ointment,along with advising us that Eucerin(spelling?) creme-not lotion helps, and it does its so thick. I "baste" her with it at night and it really helps. Im sure you already know but stay away from lotions and soaps with fragrance,also using dreft or a mild laundry soap will help. Good luck!!

My kids both suffer from it as well and plain vaseline works well too. It is similar to the Aquafor by Eucirine(sp) but alot less expensive. I slather my son up every day and use it on my daughter if she gets a breakout. Good luck.

Yes elidil is linked to cancer in children..

check the fda website... (fda.gov) or google it..

There may be better creams out there for your son... YOu coudl take him to a dermatoligist for a prescription for a different cream.

If he is really suffering with his skin. you can certainly try to change his diet. try eliminating eggs first athat one is pretty easy... then try milk (much harder) wheat gluten woudl be extremely difficult to eliminate.

my sons excema is worse in teh summer when he is outside .. so I think it is grass pollen trees that are his problem..

IN the winter he only has problems with his excema on his cheeks-- of course we have to wash he face every time he eats.. so he is constantly getting chapped cheeks from the washing..

Yes, Elidel does have the potential to cause cancer. This treatment should be used after all other treatments have failed. I have had eczema most of my life, my toddler son as suffers from eczema (he's two). I urge you to contact an arbonne consultant, I believe one posted on your response. There products are pure and have helped my son and I. I used the ABC sunscreen on both of us because of our ezcema. Also, I recommend getting a chewable acidophlius (sp) pill, which is a probiotic from your local vitamin store. I use herbalife's florafiber (which is the acidophilus and fiber), but the fiber is hard on my son system at such a young age. You can also get allergy testing done by a blood test to determine if there are food allergies causing the problem. Check out www.phadia.com In addition, sugar is very bad with ezcema, so look at your child's level of sugar. My son gets limited bananas, grapes, and watermelon because those fruits have the highest level of sugars. Good Luck - Just telling you what I've had good luck with in in treatments for ezcema. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions - ____@____.com

K.

My daughter gets excema when she drinks regular milk - when I give her milk free of antibiotics, hormones and steroids, she is fine. That is what I buy. I noticed that when she drinks the regular milk in school, that's when she breaks out. It took me years to make the connection!

My nephew had excema on his face until my sister read that fish tanks in the child's room can help - the constant moisture. Since he was 4 she's had a little aquarium in his room and he hasn't had the excema since, except when he stayed in a hotel for a few days without the fish tank. It's much better than him constantly being on a topical drug.

My daughter has on and off Eczema. This year I found a great body wash..Eucerin Body Oil ...it smells at first yet washed clean and it has Omega's in it. I also run a humidifier to keep her room moist, along with body lotion. Unfortunatly, the lotions always are changing(that I use) but that wash has been GREAT!!

California baby makes an excema cream...it is awesome.

My 8 year old son has used Elidel since he was just walking. Grass on his bare feet would make his skin literally peel off. It did wonders for him. He is slowly growing out of this and doesn't need it much anymore.

Look into a Clinical Nutritionist. go to www.ahccenter.com read the tetimonials. Theis group is great for just what you are describing.

Do not give him pills!! The risk is way too high to put your son at risk for cancer!!! There has not been long enough trials for most medicines they prescribe nowadays and you do not want your son to be a test subject for your doctors new line of pills, God forbid!!

Go to this site:
www.beewild.com

There is an infant excema cream that has no steroids as well!! If you want to know how to fight this, think naturally!!

Look up excema online but type in "natural excema treatments for children" or something like it??

Hope this helps!!

My husband swears that the flax oil he has been giving them is what is making a big difference.
Its expensive, but it has so many other benefits, that we tried it just to see.

Hello J., All 3 of my children have had severe allergies. Testing is the best way to narrow down the foods if food diaries don't work. My middle child had hives, with swelling of her hands, feet, and face. I had her on what I thought was an egg free diet, so when the allergist issisted that she was reacting to them, I disagreed. Well guess what, the diet I had her on wasn't good enough. There is egg in breads, cookies, cakes, etc.. When she was tested it came up positive, and when we put her on the much more restrictive diet her hives went away. Once she got very sick, and I narrowed it down to her having ate chicken noodle soup at a friends. (Egg noodles!!) Another time she was given a cassorole by a friend, with yolk free noodles, but egg whites have just as much egg protien as the yolks. It is the protien that caused the allergy. Go to a pediactric allergist. By the way, Noxema was created to "nox" out excema!! It works pretty well. Don't use the off brands, I don't get the same results with them. Good luck.

Sorry to hear your son has a skin condition, but it sounds like you are being pro-active about helping him. Have you ever heard of Arbonne? It's a swiss skin care company, pure, safe & beneficial. (no mineral oil, chemical, fragrances- just herbs & botanicals) I am a consultant and am confident we have products that would help your son. Let me know if you are interested. My website is www.barbsheets.myarbonne.com.

Hey J.,

Yes, Elidel has been actually black labeled I believe in California only, however my Derm will not prescribe it for me any further due to this. Please do not use.

I now use Fluocinonide Cream & Betamethasone Dipropionate Ointment. Either of these will work just as well.

Grab "Is This Your Child?" by Doris Rapp MD from the library -- she explains an elimination diet and rotation (rotary) diet in her book. Don't use the Elidel-- try removing milk or eggs first. What does he eat the MOST? You could also remove THAT one first.

Google Elimination Diet for allergies. My son had a blood test that showed he was a possible allergic to wheat, dairy and eggs. So, we did the elimination diet with those three. Turned out he was allergic to all three. If possible I would get in to see an allergist. They can give you a lot of information on the diet and help guide you through it.

HI J.
Yes excema can be caused by a gluten allergy, or intolerance, as well as dairy. And lots of people who are gluten intolerant don't do well with dairy. It runs in the family, and the Irish are more sensitive to gluten as well. I suggest reading "The Gluten Connection: How Gluten Sensitivity May Be Sabotaging Your Health--And What You Can Do to Take Control Now..."
by Lieberman, Shari
It changed my family's lives. My husband had been getting hives for a few years. I'd had a lot of inflammation in my wrist, and a lot of discomfort in my guts but had grown up that way and thought it was normal. My daughter started getting gas when she'd eat bread. And then started getting hives just like her dad, same time and place even.
It was pure dumb luck at first, I eliminated wheat from our diet. But you can buy wheat free, it's all gluten free. And it made a big difference for me right away. IN the first week it took less time to wake up in the morning. And I felt more with it as well, more awake than ever. The week after that I could think clearer and had dropped a pant size because I wasn't bloated. It just keeps getting better till I felt great all the time.

In my daughter I see a big difference in her behavior. When she gets gluten mixed into her diet she swings to extremes, mostly very weepy and clingy, but also the sassiest shes ever been. She gets hives that can cover her whole body, and itch like crazy. Is sensitive to UI infection after gluten exposure. The list goes on, and it all just popped in from out of the blue. We were all fine just 3 years ago (she's almost 6 now). Now we have to watch everything that goes into our bodies.

On one hand it's a lot to constantly plan ahead for food and family events where ever we go. Can't eat out much (can't afford it) but our favorite foods are to hard to find gluten free.

One the other hand I love cooking, and making our own food we are healthier than we've ever been, and feel better than most everyone we know. So it's so worth the effort.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/inde...

Good luck and I hope it clears up fast. A. H