Both my boys have suffered with Eczema throughout their lives.  This is something that we have had to manage as a family and they go through phases when it is worse than normal, but thankfully we mostly have it under control as a family.  Yes I say as a family, as looking after their eczema is a family affair and has affected the whole household.

When Maxi was a baby we went though lots of product and sought out lots of advise to try and understand his eczema and learn what worked for him and us.  Now at nine his eczema is pretty much under control and as long as we catch his flair ups early we manage it pretty well.

Tips for controlling eczema

Learn that steroid cream is not as scary as you might think.  There is a lot of “noise” about them making skin thinner and being dangerous, however, modern steroids when used as prescribed work incredibly well.  We found when we used them as instructed they worked well for us and shortened the flair up time considerably.

Find the right maintenance regime and stick to it.  It took some time but we found out which products worked for us and which ones didn’t and we made sure that we stuck to them.

No SLS, SLA or Parabens.  This was a big one for us.  We found by removing products with these in the boys were less likely to flair up.  Yes it means that we have to look at ingredients and that A LOT of cosmetics including bubble bath were out, but it has been worth it.  More and more products are now paraben free, so this is getting easier to do. We even make sure shampoo is paraben free as when you rinse it goes on the skin. Love Boo products are a favorite of Maxi and MadDad who both adore the scent and the hair detangler is a hero product for my curly haired boy.  Mini loves Childs Farm and the Quick Dip for after swimming is an essential in our swim bags now.

I also have a reaction to parabens, so dont use any products with it in and have been really enjoying Aromatherapy Associates and even better the boys can use it too.

Look for triggers.  We kept a diary and soon realised what triggered Maxi’s breakouts.  This included being generally unwell, central heating, parabens, certain washing powders, cold weather and wind and also lack of sleep!

Wearing natural and breathable clothing without seams that irritate was key for Maxi.  He found lables  and certain fabrics made his eczema worse.  We discovered LovemySmalls.com who provide amazing vests and base layers made from merino wool that are lable free and Maxi wears his all the time.  They have just got softer over time and yes you can really wear them for a whole week without them going smelly!

Moisturise.  When you find a moisturiser that suits your child skin then use it often and generously.  Especially after bathing and washing.  We use Aveeno on prescription, lotion for most of the body and cream for the dryer patches.  We also use Aveeno oil in the bath and do not use soap.

Disclosure: We have received some of these products as samples and some we have bought.  The ones we received as samples and have blogged about have been repurchased and used!