We are eternally grateful that the NHS provides the creams and ointments for MIB’s skin for free. This post is a look at the ‘hidden’ costs of having a child with eczema in the house. Some things are fairly obvious to outsiders: like having to pay for ‘free from’ foods that trigger his skin, but some of the others are not so obvious:
Curtains – probably our fault for having long curtains in MIB’s room, but I am thankful that no outsiders see the state of them. The bottom halves are covered in cream smears where he has run off mid-application at bedtime.
Clothes – ours. At bedtime, the thick Epaderm gets onto your clothes and takes a lot of washes to get out. Some things don’t like high temperatures and others suffer from so much washing, others never recover and have a greasy stain forever.
Pants elastic – I have mentioned this before, but the Epaderm erodes the elastic in MIB’s underpants and trousers. This means we get through more than normal. Sadly it also means we can’t pass or sell trousers on. We do try to get his trousers from charity shops and second hand sales where we can to make this less of a cost and find that Tesco do good, cheap underpants.
Pyjamas – mainly the cost of scouring the shops for fully cotton ones. Most on the high street have a pattern on the front backed with polyester. Also, since copious amounts of ointment mean they need hot washes after each use and the elastic gets eroded by the emollient, several pairs are required.
Furniture – the armchair cover we have in MIB’s room is covered in layer upon layer of ointment and may never get clean. It is kind of sticky to the touch. We keep him away from all other furniture as a result.
Books – Books get smeared with cream too and have greasy stains on them. This does encourage us to buy second hand books though, so I guess we are saving money there.
Bath toys – not many bath toys can withstand the Oilatum baths for long until they go horridly black with mould.
Antacid tablets for the stress it sometimes causes me!
Allergic Kids says
Hi,
I like this post-there are definitely lots of costs around caring for a child with eczema and/or allergies and although some stuff is free on the NHS, like you mention, there are plenty other costs to cover!
We used to use Epaderm but if you try it on your own skin when the weather is warm you’ll notice it feels like your skin’s being wrapped in cling film which is a pretty uncomfortable feeling! It also makes your skin sweat more. I’ve read too that one of the ingredients of emollient creams actually weakens and thins the skin out, making it much less able to cope without creams, ironically enough. Essentially, emollients don’t actually nourish your skin in any way and most contain parabens which are being phased out by many major cosmetic companies due to their suspected links with cancer.
My boy has eczema too so I began using a mix of jojoba, olive, hemp and vegetable oils on his skin but found it didn’t really do much to help his eczema patches. So I started experimenting with making a salve or body butter and have finally come up with a recipe that works for both of us. Its very rich but absorbs easily and definitely helps soothe his flared up eczema. We haven’t had to use a steroid cream for over a week now which for us is a bit of a record! Best of all its so natural you can eat it! http://allergickids.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/home-made-body-butter/
Am enjoying checking out your blog and look forward to more posts!
Olga
http://allergickids.wordpress.com
MyItchyBoy says
You’re right, we do find the Epaderm heavy in the summer.
I will have a look at your cream, although I am not sure how good I’d be at homemade.