Friday, July 13, 2012

We interrupt this program

We will get to Kelly's Korner today to see all of the nicely decorated mantles, but before we do, I'm talking about my poor little Mason and his struggle with eczema.  He has had a terrible week.  I mean terrible!  

Please keep in mind, the opinions and comments in this post, and my blog as a whole, are that of my own.  I'm not a doctor nor do I approve or disapprove any of the products/medicines mentioned.  These are only my thoughts and feelings and a document of events for our family. 

We went to the movies Tuesday with our group and Mason wanted to leave as soon as the movie started.  He seemed fine that morning, but on the way home, he got sick in the car.  Once we were home I noticed he was very hot.  Took his temp and yep, 103!  I'm thinking, Again!?  Not sure what was wrong.  Then, later, we thought it may be his teeth, but he seems to have all of his teeth.  A 24 hour something?  Don't know. Meanwhile, his skin is looking worse and worse.


Finally, Thursday morning, I freaked out when he woke up like this....


Warning!  The photos are a bit graphic and I apologize for showing his pull up. 



It's a bit hard to see in the pictures, but there are hundreds of 'blister' like bumps all over his legs.  The appearance is similar to chicken pox. 



Wednesday night when Mason went to bed, his skin was red and irritated, but the blisters didn't appear until Thursday morning.
 




Thursday morning, first thing, I'm on the phone with his pediatrician who then refers us to a dermatologist.  I call the dermatologist office and guess what, they are not taking new patients.  What?!  I'm a desperate mother (I tell the lady on the other end of the phone).  If you can't get me in, I'll call every dermatologist in the city until I find one that can see us TODAY!  WOW!  It worked (or she felt sorry for me), either way, we're in! Thank the Lord!


I pack up all of the remedies that we have been using on Mason, call Grammy, because I need assistance and we're off.  WHEW!  I'm already feeling better, while Mason, on the other hand is feeling miserable.  




Sorry about the quality of this picture, but you can see the backs of his thighs here and his elbows.






We get to the dermatologists office and they were great.  Very welcoming, comforting, and good with Mason.  I was relieved to have help and guidance.

At the same time, I'm feeling terrible.  How could I have let this get out of control?  Apparently, once it starts spiraling downward, it can't be controlled with proper medication.  Not that this makes me feel better.  Also, another culprit may have been this... (again, my opinion)

This is an awesome cream/lotion for maintaining eczema (or generally dry skin), but not good when the skin is red, irritated, or inflamed.  One of the ingredients is Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) which made his skin worse, a lot worse.  This is also why Mason screamed when we put it on him.  Terrible!



We learned a lot at the doctor's office and I'm so thankful to have learned how to better care for our son's skin.

Diagnosis ~ Severe case of eczema outbreak with the possibility of staph or bacteria infection.  His blisters have been tested, but it may be Monday before we find out the results.  If there is another infection, he will also begin antibiotics.

We came home with lots of new remedies, a bag full of samples, and new prescriptions.  I'll spare you the details of the costs of the ointments.  YIKES!

One of the remedies is a bleach bath.  Yes! Bleach. 


The idea of the bleach is to eliminate the number of bacteria on the skin.  Since eczema patients carry extra bacteria, including staph, this will hopefully, reduce the need for antibiotics. 

Bath time used to be 15 minutes or so, depending on how long Mason wanted to play.  

Now, with our strict regimen, baths take about an hour.


Bleach bath for 10 minutes, rinse thoroughly.  Run a new tub of water, wash with CeraVe hydrating cleanser, rinse, and get out.  Don't sit in the water.  Pat dry, don't rub!


Apply Corticosteroid over infected areas.  Let dry for 15 minutes.

Apply antibiotic ointment to any cracked, bleeding areas to prevent further infection.


Apply a liberal amount of CeraVe cream.  Let dry for 15 minutes and then get dressed.


Needless to say, we have to give Mason Tylenol to endure the pain and of course he wiggles through the entire process.








It's hard to believe, Mason was never sick or had any problems at all until age 2 and since then, it has been one thing after another.


Don't get me wrong, he is a healthy child, and we are very lucky.  It could be much worse.  I'm grateful that we were able to get to the dermatologist before things became out of control.  I'm grateful for the doctor and the nurse that were excellent and I'm grateful for the knowledge we now have to hopefully get this under control.  

Mason will have a check up in 2 weeks and we should know by Monday if he will need to take an oral antibiotic.  We'll keep you all posted.

2 comments:

Amanda @fridaylovesong.net said...

Oh man. I feel your pain! My 6yr old has had eczema since birth -and your photos look all to familiar. He has really bad flair-ups constantly no matter how diligent we may be. We have been doing the bleach baths 3 days a week for a couple years now. There's just really no way to stop it once infection starts to set in.

The best thing I've found after trying everthing - is avacado butter. You can find it from skin care/natural care sources on line. Hope he's doing better!

Unknown said...

Thanks Amanda! He is doing much better. The bleach baths have really helped, along with the prescriptions. We also started using Cerave products and WOW!, what a difference. If you have not tried this brand, I highly recommend it for eczema.