Eczema and swimming

fleetwood

Fri, Jul 04 2008, 8:21 am

My 5 year old has eczema, and when she goes swimming it flares up very bad. At other times with certain probiotics it is under control. Her swim teacher said chlorine can cause this if you have eczema. Short of not letting her swim, does anyone have any ideas.

justanothermother

Fri, Jul 04 2008, 10:26 am

I have thae same problem with my son. I only let him go every few days so the flare ups have a chance to subside. I give him zyrtec in the morning which helps, and I am experimenting with different barriers on his trouble spots before he gets in the water. Vaseline helps a bit.

Do not use the steroid medication at all in the summer, it thins the skin and makes the chlorine have more of a negative effect. Only use Elidel or similar.

Also, wash him with soap as soon as he gets out of the pool to get the chlorine off.

MiracleMama

Fri, Jul 04 2008, 10:46 am

Interesting. My almost 2 yr old has bad eczema and has been in the pool a few times a week. I have noticed that his eczema has been worse in general over the past several weeks, but I don't see that it specifically flairs up right after being in the pool. I thought it was just the general heat and humidity of summer.

Hashem_Yaazor

Fri, Jul 04 2008, 10:47 am

fleetwood wrote:

Her swim teacher said chlorine can cause this if you have eczema.

That's very interesting, because someone just gave me an article from the NYT I believe which said a good treatment for eczema is half a cup of Clorox in a bathtub...

justanothermother

Fri, Jul 04 2008, 10:52 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

fleetwood wrote:

Her swim teacher said chlorine can cause this if you have eczema.

That's very interesting, because someone just gave me an article from the NYT I believe which said a good treatment for eczema is half a cup of Clorox in a bathtub...

As a former eczema sufferer myself, all I can say is ow, ow, ow just thinking about it. Please consult your dermatologist before trying that.

abismommy

Sat, Jul 05 2008, 11:17 pm

the link between eczema and staph is interesting to note; my 5-yr old ds with recurrent eczema was the 1st one in the house to get a staph infection (and then pased it to a few siblings, despite my best efforts at keeping everything disinfected - I'd find them sleeping in each other's beds...). mupirocin is bactroban - antibiotic cream - so I guess I should refill my prescription of that for when the flare-ups happen to keep the staph at bay. but the clorox? sounds REALLY odd, but I guess if it's diluted that much it son't hurt. makes sense though, if there is a link with stapph. when it flares next time, I will try it!

Thanks, HY.

Hashem_Yaazor

Sun, Jul 06 2008, 9:47 pm

My concern with trying this with my 18 monther is that he likes to drink the water from the tub. He thinks it's hilarious. Even half a cup of Clorox makes me nervous though Sad

Purplehair

Sun, Jul 06 2008, 10:45 pm

Funny, but my son's eczema always seems to clear up over the summer. (I attribute that to his being out in the open air, away from the dust that lurks in the house. His scratch test turned up a high sensitivity to dust and dust mites.) Also, he's never complained that the pool irritates his eczema in any way (and he's old enough to have complained to me should that be the case!) If anything, he looks forward to swimming every day.

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Jul 07 2008, 9:46 am

fleetwood wrote:

I feel bad about hijacking your thread, so I'll tell you what I'm currently slathering on my son.
Mixture of hydrocortisone and Bactroban in case it's fungal or bacterial.
Eucerin Anti-Itch lotion if he seems to be really suffering (as in, not how it looks, but if he's scratching away).
A layer of aquaphor on top to keep the moisture locked into the skin without letting in external water which can dry it out.
It seems to be getting a bit better, but we still have a long way to go.

girlchick

Mon, Jul 07 2008, 10:54 pm

My son also has very bad eczema in the summer. When he comes home from camp, he takes a short bath, then I cover him with a thick layer of either aquaphor or Vanicream. Vanicream is excellent. Then 100% cotton pajamas and sometimes he takes benedryl to keep from scratching. If I skip one day, he's really in agony.

I was also wondering if it's possible the sunscreen he has to wear in the summer is contributing to the eczema, even if it's the "best" sunscreen for eczema sufferers. Any thoughts about that?

mother of boys

Mon, Jul 07 2008, 11:34 pm

my 8 year old has terrible exzema and he says the chlorine in the pool burns him and makes him flare up. keep moisturizing the child right after bathing and the pool it should help a little hatzlacha

Purplehair

Tue, Jul 08 2008, 8:35 am

girlchick wrote:

I was also wondering if it's possible the sunscreen he has to wear in the summer is contributing to the eczema, even if it's the "best" sunscreen for eczema sufferers. Any thoughts about that?

Funny, I was beginning to wonder the exact opposite. I wondered if the sunscreen was helping my son.
Maybe your son is reacting to the sunscreening, despite it being "the best". Which sunscreen have you been using?

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Jul 08 2008, 11:21 am

Spoke to the ped today. I'm getting prescription hydrocortisone (stronger than OTC) to slather on his skin and then continue with the Aquaphor on top. He said Bactroban should be continued on areas he's scratched pretty deeply...Gonna check back with him in a week or so to see what's helping.

I don't think it's the sunscreen -- it's by his upper arms and legs, and not his stomach at all which gets a lot of sunscreen when he's in his swimming trunks, nor in his lower arms/legs.

girlchick

Wed, Jul 09 2008, 10:34 pm

I've only found Vanicream on line at drugstore.com and at Apthorp pharmacy on the upper west side of Manhattan (Broadway and 78th). It's a fantastic moisturizer. I use that sunscreen on my son as well. The moisturizer really helps with the eczema.

frumnurse

Tue, Jul 22 2008, 1:13 am

Interesting to hear all the comments. My son's eczma has improved over the summer b/c of all the swimming. His Dr said its b/c of the chlorine. ( I guess it does kill some of the fungus, bacteria etc). He also showed me the NYT article. I perosonally don't think chlorine in a bath tub is a good idea!

montrealmommy

Mon, Dec 22 2008, 6:04 pm

as a lifelong exema sufferer and having 2 kids with it - with regards to swimming, 1) try to find a non-chlorinated pool. They are becoming more popular and use a variety of salts (sodium based not chloride based) and whatnot to dissinfect rather than the chlorine

2) I use aquafore BEFORE going in the water - which sticks to the skin like oil, but does not wear offinto the water like oils do (tried that one too) - after swimming, I wipe off al lthe aquafore then shower thoroughly and apply a water based moisturizer with whatever other creams/ointments need applicaiton.