Reczema, Eczema

Eczema, and eczema relief, is a very personal thing. What works for one has no guarantee of working for someone else.  We've been very lucky to have been able to try out a range of eczema products on Squeaky, rather than having to bother our doctor or pharmacist all the time in search of "the one".  With this in mind, we were offered the chance to try out Reczema, and weren't likely to say no.

Reczema is made in Sweden by Secuvie.  It's a natural product designed for use on skin problems such as eczema, irritations & rashes.  Amongst the ingredients, it contains Jojoba, Linseed, Castor and Olive Oils, and a few things I don't recognise & can't spell. According to their information it's tested for allergic reactions & is safe to use on things like insect bites as well because it stops itching.

First reactions - the pump action bottle is a good idea & one pump dispenses roughly one Squeaky-limb's worth of cream.  (That's a standard measure, you know!)  The cream is a slightly off-white & sort of medicinally thick - definitely cream rather than lotion.  I had a quick sniff, in order to give you a full review, and kind of wished I hadn't.  The best description I can give is that it's slightly reminiscent of PVA glue.  Squeaky wasn't that detailed, she just said it smelled yucky.  I couldn't bring myself to disagree.  Smell isn't everything though, and we gave the cream a try.

On her arms & torso, which aren't too bad for eczema at the moment, just a couple of slightly dry patches, we were fine.  The cream is absorbed easily, and doesn't leave the skin sticky or slippy.

Then we moved on to her legs.  Right now they're quite pink with eczema.  The skin's not badly broken or bleeding, but it's decidedly pink & itchy.  We got halfway down the first leg before she started to complain that the cream was hurting her "bruises" (she hasn't managed to differentiate between bruises & eczema patches).  I asked her to show me where, and noticed that the patches where I had applied the cream were already looking redder than those I hadn't yet got to.  I rinsed the cream off, calmed her down & applied some of our tried & tested boring cream from the GP to her legs, which she said stopped the stinging.

Sadly, based on that stinging, she's not let me try the cream on her since (we had a similar reaction to a calamine based cream last year on holiday, the tears are more than I can bear), so this one's not for us.  That's not to say it's not for you, as I said at the start, eczema & eczema relief is a very personal thing.

After trying out Reczema, I spoke to the company, and learned a couple of things that might help you out.  The distinctive smell is from Fulvic Acid, one of the other ingredients.  Basically, the more the smell, the more Fulvic Acid, and the greater chance that it will control the eczema.  As I said, while the smell is noticeable, it's one of those things you can get used to.  They also told me that the cream *does* sting on broken skin, an effect of the active ingredients which are working to soothe and calm the eczema symptoms.  For an adult this probably wouldn't present an issue, but for an impatient 3 year old, it's quite a challenge.  I wanted to include this information to provide you with some balance, and to twist the clichéd break-up line, "It's not Reczema, it's me"!

You can buy Reczema direct from Secuvie via their online store, where a 50ml tube costs £26.99.

Disclosure: We were provided with a tube of Reczema free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own. Links are provided for convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Winter Itch Relief with Grahams Skincare

I know I've written before about Squeaky's itchy skin.  She's following in my footsteps with eczema in the summer and winter - we get a little light relief in the spring & autumn, but not as much as she or I would like.  Well, the kind people at Grahams Skincare got in touch with me, and asked if Squeaky would like to try out a couple of their products to help her with her winter itchies.  What parent could say no?

We received the Eczema Cream and Bath Oil to try out.  Unlike most of the brands we've tried in the past, these are very natural products, which makes me much happier to use them on Squeaky's delicate skin.  The bath oil contains Olive Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, and the cream includes Colloidal Oatmeal, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter & Olive Oil.

Let's start with the Bath Oil.  Being an "oil" oil, rather than one with other stuff in it, it doesn't disperse very well in the water, and sits on the top.  That makes it cling to the skin really well - and the bath.  It's a definite case of clean the bath straight after, and be very careful as it's slippy.  The oil itself has very little scent, you'd barely know it was there, but it leaves Squeaky's skin feeling so soft & smooth, I'm tempted to try it out in my bath as well!

And the cream?  Well, honestly, I'm in love.  All that good stuff, and it smells of cocoa butter.  It's absorbed really easily, and somehow counteracts the slipperiness left by the bath oil, so she's not so greasy I can't catch her when she decides that running round naked as the day she was born is a really good game.  I'm definitely impressed, the cream's thick enough not to fall off your finger, but easy to rub in, and the squeezy tube is handy with a trainee escapologist in the house!

To give you some idea, I don't know the precise cause - it was either swimming pools or different washing powder, but Squeaky had a major eczema attack a fortnight ago, while we were away for a couple of days.  On returning home she was grouchy and itching like crazy on her arms, legs & back, all red & sore.  We broke out the Grahams, and while the patches haven't completely gone, I'm not being asked for scritches 24/7, she's not complaining about it, and the redness has gone away.

Grahams Skincare is available in the UK through their online shop.

Disclosure: I was provided with the products as detailed above free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.   Links are provided for convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

QV Review - National Eczema Week

As part of National Eczema Week (14-22 September), we've been lucky enough to try out a range of products from QV on Squeaky's skin.  I'll come clean here from the start, I love QV products, we've used them before, we had some samples when Squeaky was a tiny, and we've been prescribed them from the GP in the past, so my tiny heart skipped a beat when I was offered the chance to review them.

We received a whole host of goodies, including QV emollient bath oil, gentle wash, skin lotion, QV cream, and QV intensive ointment.  Something for everyone, whatever the level of their eczema or dry skin complaint.  We started off with the bath oil.  The oil disperses really well in the water, meaning Squeaky isn't too slippery when I try to persuade her out of the bath, but it gives a good covering to her skin.  You can actually use emollient bath oils instead of soaps & washes, the oil will cleanse the skin itself, which is good to know when skin is sore, or space is at a premium, holidays for example.

Next up the Gentle Wash.  Despite me just saying that the oil means you don't need to use soap, there are times when oils aren't appropriate.  After swimming, or stating somewhere that only has a shower, for instance.  The Gentle Wash is great for that, and with a pump action top, it's easily dispensed while holding on to an escaping 3 year old who really doesn't like showers!  And I can use it on me as well, one less item to pack!

The skin lotion is a light, thin moisturiser-style lotion, great for the patches of eczema Squeaky gets on her face in the colder weather, and again it's really useful as a whole-family product, I've used it on my face as well. It's easily applied and she loves the pump lid, and the creaming-up process is a breeze.

The tub of QV cream is great on bigger areas like arms & legs, and Squeaky happily joins in applying it to herself, even when I've all but finished, scooping out huge handfuls if I'm not watching her like a hawk. Argh!  No slippery pre-schooler though, again it sinks in to the skin easily, and it's soothed the patches behind her knees & elbows beautifully.

Finally, we have the Intensive Cream, for very dry skin conditions.  We haven't yet tried this one out, but I know we'll be in there before the end of the year. Squeaky's skin really reacts to extremes of weather, both hot & cold, so I'm glad to have this on hand in advance of the winter.

Sticker chart.

In amongst my pack of goodies, I also received a special sticker chart & stickers featuring Qool Vince, the QV polar bear, designed to encourage children to get involved in their creaming routine.  We're suckers for a sticker chart in this house, and it's taken over from the bedtime chart, as we've got dry nights sorted now.  Qool Vince is a very cool (or Qool) polar bear, who also has itchy skin, and likes to help children learn to deal with it.  Around 1 in 5 children in the UK suffer from eczema, so I think it's great that QV have taken the time to make their products child-friendly as well as effective.

Qool Vince also has an app, again to encourage children to apply their cream & to take the worry out of the creaming routine.  The Beat The Itch app  is free, and available from the App Store for iPad & iPhone.  This is the first app I've had chance to play with (rather than just watch telly or check my emails on) since I got my iPad a couple of weeks ago, and Squeaky & I have been enjoying helping Qool Vince collect the QV bottles and jump from iceberg to iceberg, though it does get tricky at the harder levels & I'm stumped by level 6!

The kind folks at QV have given me a special discount code for my lovely readers to use (and me too!) - It's MUMMY13 and will give you 15% off the entire QV range at http://www.crawfordhealthcare.com/skincare/qv  So why not stock up?  (NB I will not receive anything if you use this link & code, except a warm fuzzy feeling)

The QV range is available on prescription, or online without prescription.

Disclosure: I was provided with the above detailed products free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

E45 Review - National Eczema Week

National Eczema Week runs from 14-22 September, and as part of the week, we've been trying out some products from the E45 range on Squeaky's eczema-prone skin.  We received a bottle of the E45 emollient bath oil, a tub of E45 cream, and a tube of the E45 itch relief cream to review.

We've been using the bath oil in the bath (obvs) for a couple of weeks.  Previously we've tried both prescribed and over the counter bath oils, so we've got plenty to compare the E45 against.  And, hmmmm.  Whereas most emollient bath oils disperse well in warm water, the E45 is a slightly thicker consistency, and I've found it doesn't really disperse.  That's great in the effect on Squeaky's skin because it gives a really good cover, and that's done her skin the world of good, I've seen a genuine improvement.  On the downside though, it gives a really good cover to the bath, leaving it oily and slippery.  I've never cleaned the bath so much in my life!  I like the effect, and as Squeaky's bathtime is always supervised, I don't have too many worries about her safety, but for older children, or people who are a bit less stable on their feet (me, for instance!), it's just a bit of a worry.

I also wasn't too keen on the cap to the bottle.  There's a measuring mark inside the cap, so you use that to work out how much to pour in.  Except that the screw for the cap is a much smaller piece inside, and the measure is the outer part of the cap, so if you don't pour every last drop into the bath, the oil ends up dripping down the side of the bottle, leaving it all slippy and a bit unpleasant.  The other brands I've tried in the past have a much smaller cap, where the whole cap is the screw section AND the measure, so leftover oil falls back into the bottle.  It's a little thing, and my preference, but I've kept hold of a cap from an empty bottle & I'm using that instead.  The big cap looks great, it's just not working for me.

The E45 cream is a lovely rich, thick cream, that rubs in easily on arms, legs, and other itch-affected body parts.  It's easily absorbed, and doesn't leave Squeaky's skin feeling greasy.  I've found her skin looks and feels softer, and I've even been sneakily using a bit on my upper arms, and it's made a real difference, they're a lot smoother.

The Itch Relief Cream was the real revelation of the set though.  At this time of year, Squeaky's eczema is present but not too annoying for her, though that will soon change when the weather gets worse & the central heating goes on.  However, she & I have almost permanent itchy patches behind our ears.  I don't know why, we just do.  I've taken to applying a little bit of the Itch Relief Cream to the itchy patches every night after her bath.  For me, it's calmed the itch pretty much straight away.  I can't say for certain with Squeaky, but I do know she's been messing with her ears a whole lot less, and leaves them alone. The redness has all but gone within a couple of weeks, so I'd say it's been a success.

Now, how do you recognise eczema?  And what do you do about it?  It's National Eczema Week, so it's a good time to learn some more.

Eczema in babies

·         In babies eczema tends to show up  on the cheeks, and arms and legs

·         It shows up as patches of dry, red, sometimes pimply skin. The skin is tender, itchy and rough

·         Eczema most often develops in infancy

·         Eczema tends to be more common in families that have a history of eczema, hay fever and asthma

.         Seek advice from your GP or Health Visitor if you are unsure

.         If a rash does not go away when a glass is held against it, seek immediate medical advice

Using emollients for washing and moisturising are key to eczema management as they keep the skin moist and flexible to help prevent cracks.

1.    Apply leave on emollient all over the body 2-3 times a day

2.    Use gentle strokes in the direction of the hair growth when applying emollients

3.    Use soap substitutes when washing and bathing such as an emollient bath oil, or emollient wash.

Make emollient time fun for kids

·         If your child is very young, apply emollient by massage, to turn the process into a special and relaxing time for you and your baby

·         Incorporate the “creaming time” into your little one’s bedtime routine. This may also have a calming effect and help them sleep.

·         Create a calming effect by adding low volume relaxing music to sooth both of you. For an older child try using a special DVD of one of their favourite programmes that they are only allowed to watch at “creaming time” to encourage positive associations with the process

·         You can also use a special doll that your child is allowed to apply small amounts of emollient to while you apply it to them. This not only presents a distraction but helps your child understand what you are doing.

For a symptom tracker diary, a free call with a national eczema nurse and advice on common household irritants, along with many other tips, visit: eczemaadvice.co.uk

E45 products are available without prescription from major high street chemists, such as Boots, Lloyds and Superdrug, major supermarkets, and online.  They may also be prescribed by your GP.

Disclosure: I was provided with the above detailed products free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own. Links are provided for convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.