We have been having skin problems with Violet for a while now but they have been rapidly getting worse the last couple of weeks. Violet spends her days constantly scratching her body, constantly trying to inflict pain on herself, constantly trying to find a way to scratch the itch. It’s a relentless battle and most certainly is not getting any easier.
Last week I took her to our gp {who is the nicest guy on the planet} and he looked at her body and wrote me a script for steroid cream. I wanted to scream That’s it. That’s all you can do. But instead I picked up the script and walked away.
Last night we couldn’t settle Violet. We tried every trick in the book and nothing worked. She scratched at her body like a wild animal. She screamed when we pulled her hands away. Her body was red raw and we were both at our witts ends so after a quick call to 13 health I made the decision to take her to the hospital.
Having nobody close by to mind the kids I packed her bag and left Luigi to mind the kids. I drove towards the hospital holding my emotions intact, I couldn’t afford to crumble now or I would never make it.
We made it to the hospital and I parked on the street close by and headed for the ER. Violet was so exhausted that she actually managed to sleep while we waited. If anything that was the only bonus of coming to the hospital {so far} Two hours later we were seen by the doctor. It was like her was reading from a script. He said the same things as our gp and offered the same advice.
I sat there thinking this feels like deju’vu. I know this picture. I have been here before. This is exactly what happened with my husband. Countless trips to the doctors and then specialist all playing pass the parcel and handing out different forms of drugs, steroid creams, anti hist ermines. We’d been down this road before and I wouldn’t couldn’t do it again. Thousands of dollars and no answers and then out of the blue a stroke of luck and my husband sees a doctor who diagnoses him with cancer.
I know this isn’t the same. I know Violet has dermatitis and a severe case of eczema but it feels the same. Doctors who don’t have the answers. Doctors who tell you one thing and are literally just taking a stab in the dark because whats the chances they will ever see you again.
I was told to keep doing exactly what I was doing and Violet was given some drugs to help her sleep. We arrived home an hour later and collapsed in bed. Violet didn’t wake until 9:30 this morning. I kept Effie home from school until then. I was too afraid to wake Violet, too worried about interrupting her sleep.
Right now Violet is sleeping. She looks exhausted and I’m sure she feels bloody exhausted just as I am. I’m sitting here fighting the temptation to sleep, too afraid If I sleep I won’t wake up to pick Effie up from school.
I really hope for the short term these drugs make Violet feel better and give her a bit of relief. That they give her skin a chance to recover and perhaps heal its self. But today all I pray for is rest. Lots and lots of rest.
Rhi @ Hummingbird's Song
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:17 pm:
Oh love
I know how hard it can be, Carter was just like it. For him, it was food related and once we cut out gluten it improved by about 90%. We still have the steroid cream for the warm weather (which can bring it back). Thinking of you all xx
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Katie
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:18 pm:
Oh hun that's awful. Hope you can find something that will make her better xx
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jody
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:20 pm:
Oh the poor little thing, it must be heartbreaking. I hope you all get some much needed rest and she gets better quickly. xx
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Natalie
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:21 pm:
Big squishy hugs to u an your girls. I hope it settles and I hope tonight is a wonderful night of sleep for you.
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Amy
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:24 pm:
How frustrating. I know what you mean about being fobbed off by various doctors, it's the most infurating thing and makes me feel belittled as a mother.
Glad little Vi is getting so sleep, hope you can get a little bit of rest as well, praying for you guys.
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Leah
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:30 pm:
Hi Dani,
I suffered from somethinig similar a few months ago. I dont know if this cream is suitable for babies, but it is called 'Chickweed' and is available at Health Food Shops. It smells like coals from a fire but works! Instantly putting it onto my skin would calm the redness and itchiness.
I also found QV body washes and also hoping into the bath and wetting my skin, and then putting QV oil into the water helped. By wetting my skin first it allows for the skin to absorb the oil along with the water.
Hope this helps, but chickweed was life saver for me.
[Reply]
Cat
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:31 pm:
Bebito's eczema gets that painful too and it's just awful to see them suffering so. It's particularly frustrating cos so much of this is totally out of our control and NO ONE makes it better. It may not help at all but it could be worth trying to get in to a good naturopath to see if she's got any special triggers? We switched to A2 milk and found a brand of skin care that helped too. It still plays up and I think spring actually makes it worse. Thinking of you very much lovely. xxxxxx
[Reply]
BabyMac
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:34 pm:
Oh do I know this too well! Poor Harper was the same at Violet's age and after FINALLY getting her onto a good pead we were able to treat her with cortisone only now and then. The GV bath ranges are great, as are the really super thick moisturisers. That's what we ended up with in the end, looking at her diet etc. Hang in there – I feel your pain. Hope she gets some rest soon x
[Reply]
CRAP Mamma
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:47 pm:
Oh you poor bugger! It can be really bloody frustrating dealing with those hospital doctors (we've had our fair share of hospital visits). I hope for all of your sake she starts healing up soon and you all get some rest. But love if you're not happy with what's being done and the advice you've been given just keep trying and hassling. You know your little girl better than anyone.
[Reply]
Kathryn
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:48 pm:
Oh, poor baby Violet
One of my cousins had chronic excema and dermatitis as a baby and young child, her parents had to cut out all dairy and gluten from her diet until she was about 10.
I hope you find a solution that works for you all. xxxx
[Reply]
Hayley
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 2:49 pm:
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Miss Mandy
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 3:00 pm:
I know this sounds feral, but we had a little girl at playgroup last year who was red raw. her doctor told her mum to bathe her in bleach. Her mum resisted for ages cause lets face it, everything about that sounds wrong. But it worked, it was the best thing, after loads and loads of creams and ointments. I don't know quantities or anything else, but worth probing. Seriously she was a different kid within weeks. after months and months of pain.
[Reply]
Alice
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 3:05 pm:
Thinking of you Dani & precious little Vi! I have had excema all my life & it was particularly bad as a child, including hospital visits. Real progress only came at the end of high school. Hope & pray you can find something that can help you deal with it & that you get some much deserved rest. Currently trying a natural honey product on a little spot on my hand. Hellohoney.com.au. A mum at school is selling it so let me know it you're interested in getting some. You are an amazing mum & you know whats best for little Vi, in fact for all your precious girls
a all my life & it was particularly bad as a child, including hospital visits. Real progress only came at the end of high school. Hope & pray you can find something that can help you deal with it & that you get some much deserved rest. Currently trying a natural honey product on a little spot on my hand. Hellohoney.com.au. A mum at school is selling it so let me know it you're interested in getting some. You are an amazing mum & you know whats best for little Vi, in fact for all your precious girls 
[Reply]
Anonymous
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 3:13 pm:
maybe this person can help. She's helped my friend tremendously and it too was a gluten intolerence
http://www.naturopath-brisbane.com.au/Naturopath_Home.html
[Reply]
Danimezza
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 3:34 pm:
That's terrible
poor Vi x
Hope you get a rest when Ef comes home, wish I was there to help out
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Casey Staar
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 4:13 pm:
Poor girl. Try a bath with rolled oats. Put them in a stockingband put in the bath. It will help nourish her skin.
Also look at her diet. Try cutting out the dairy.
I had the something similar and it comes back whenever I have dairy – milk, butter, cream, cheese
Good luck
Xx
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Sass
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 6:01 pm:
oh lovely, that's no good at all.
We need to catch up soon for a coffee.
Let me know when you are free xx
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Mrs BC
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 6:04 pm:
Oh Dani, what a terrible thing to go through – for poor Violet & yourself. The Gentleman had severe excema as a baby & it turned out he was allergic to dairy, soy & wheat. So he had a very restriced diet until he grew out of it at about 3 yrs old & now he has beautiful skin..Hang in there, & stay strong, you will find the right docter.
Give me a buzz if I can be of any help.
x
[Reply]
Ames
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 6:10 pm:
Oh poor Vi and poor you.
If you end up at the hospital again try the Mater, they have been really helpful each time we've gone there. Tell them your concerns and don't let them dismiss you.
Other than that I have nothing, I wish I could help. I hope relief comes really soon.
xxx
[Reply]
Anonymous
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 9:05 pm:
That sounds really horrible what you've been through. Doctors don't have a clue. Please go and see a naturopath as she may have an allergy or as you said, a skin reaction (dermatitis). They will treat the whole person, not just the symptoms.
[Reply]
Glowless @ Where's My Glow
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 10:05 pm:
Poor Violet and poor you, too! Eczema sucks. Tricks has it bad and if his skin is not covered (long pants and socks) he scratches until he bleeds. The few times he's managed to get a sock off during the night he has gouged chunks of skin out of his ankles. It's so terrible.
We have no answers for you, sadly. We've just started an elimination diet, but it runs in his Dad's family so it might just be his genes.
Stick it out and trust your mama gut that you need more than just bandaid solutions. Allergy testing is really expensive but worth it.
xxx
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Melissa *Suger Coat It*
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 10:26 pm:
Hugs. Big squishy ones. xo
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Razmataz
on Sep 5th, 2011
@ 11:44 pm:
My daughter now 24 still suffers like this as she did as a young child. Was her clothes in unscented laundry soap, no fabric softener and wash the skin with Cetaphil soap. Use Eucerin cream as a barrier cream. I don;t know if Eucerin is sold there, but you can ask the pharmacist for it. It is the base that they mix the steroid creams in. This has worked wonders for her and anyone I know whose child has the same issues.
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third room studio
on Sep 6th, 2011
@ 1:15 pm:
Ohhhh that sucks! My nephew and niece both have the same thing (thankfully my kids are unaffected). For my nephew, it was cow's milk, while for my niece it turned out to be wheat (gluten) intolerance. I think some comments above have mentioned the same things, but QV bath oil brings relief until you can get it under control as well. Hope you're resting well.
[Reply]
Sophie
on Sep 6th, 2011
@ 1:42 pm:
Addison is intolerant to salyicilates, amines and lactose. Any of these can cause his eczema to get worse. He will also get rashes on his face, above his lip, his eyes and face in general gets swollen. It's awful. Especially when pretty much everything has salyicilates or amines in it.
He has soy milk, ice cream and yoghurt.
So many fruits and veg he just cant have, and the ones that are low in salyicilates or amines have to be double peeled or cooked less then 5mins.
It might be worth exploring anyway.
Hope you can sort it out for her, poor little thing.
[Reply]
ElsieMay
on Sep 6th, 2011
@ 2:40 pm:
Same as others wrote – food allergies is what causes mine – I also find paw paw cream helps -buy it at target. Lots of water and this help to soothe the itch but it takes a bit to kick in some days. Also had to stop using a lot of the soaps until I got it under control.
[Reply]
Kylie @ The Rockgarden
on Sep 6th, 2011
@ 11:37 pm:
I have no words of advice, but hope that you get somewhere with this soon, poor Violet
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MummaMoments
on Sep 8th, 2011
@ 12:41 am:
Eczema is my world too! It is so hard with doctors, a doctor friend of mine told me how they tend to 'treat the symptoms' over getting to the cause as it can be so challenging! Everyone reacts to different triggers. I just blogged about eczema, and hope to do more as I have been given some amazing (and some awful!)advice over the years, and I have learnt a few tricks worth sharing. It is Eczema awareness week this week too!!! I kid you not!
http://www.eczema.org.au/
My biggest tip is get the plainest gentlest moisturiser (aveena is good but pricey) you can get your hands on and just apply as often as possible, as much as possible! Wet wrapping is pure magic too. I am going to get some more videos and links up soon. Best of luck, and I hope her eczema is short lived. xxx
[Reply]
MostlyFlumxdArt
on Sep 10th, 2011
@ 3:05 am:
Do you have in stored breastmilk? Put some on her spots if you do. It works wonders (burns, scrapes, rashes, pink-eye,etc.) Also oatmeal baths.
[Reply]
Sunny side up « Hello Owl
on Dec 9th, 2011
@ 10:26 am:
[...] of you may remember this post where I spoke about baby Violet and her sensitive skin. Well it’s been a few months since [...]