Eczema UVB Treatment?

My 14 year old son started suffering from eczema at around the age of 9. When he was 12, we finally went to a dermatologist who could prescribe us with some creams/ointments that helped reduce the severity of the eczema, especially on the face.


The dermatologist gave us elidel cream and advantanointment, both for the face. He advised us to regularly use moisturizer and apply an ointment called diprosone OV on the body.


The body since then has gotten much better, but the face has started to flare up again. We asked ther dermatologist again, and he started treating my son with the UVB light treatment around 10 weeks ago.


Now my son's face has started to grow blotchy, red and very flaky. He has already lost half an eyebrow, and his cheeks have been burned by the UVB treatment. Now we do not know if the UVB treatment is a good idea anymore, but the dermatologist seems to think it is.


Should we continue? and is there anything extra we can do to reduce severity?Eczema UVB Treatment?
Hi, my name is kymrie, i'm 14 and i first started having symptoms of eczema in the summer of 6th grade- about 3 or 4 years ago.





i just got diagnosed with eczema on tuesday and i had it on my face- around my eyes, on my left cheek, and around my mouth. all around my neck, and on both of my arms in the crease of my elbows-it was symettrical.





the dermatologist told me to use Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream USP, 0.1 % twice daily on everything but my face, and on my face she recommended Desonide ointment.





those are both prescription only.


also she gave me a list of what i should and shouldnt do.


i cant use any body wash with fragrance in it (use Cetafil), my parents have to wash my clothes with this special detergent, i can't wear dark colors, and what i wear has to be 100% cotton, i can't take hot or cold showers, it has to be luke warm once daily for no more than 10 minutes. i can't use perfume or any other frangrance related stuff such as anything from bath and body works.





and she said there's many different types of eczema, so she gave me manyy samples to use.


Eucerin didn't work on me, but it worked on my aunt.


Cloderm didn't help at all.


but as i said, there's alot of different types. so you have to kinda try out everything.





also, CeraVe moisturizing lotion helped alot.





and in the three days that i've been using these medications,


my skin has gone back to normal,


and they only thing that looks different from my natural skin is the eczema that was on my arms because i went 3 years without having it checked out and it lost it's pigment.





medications i recommended earlier:


Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream USP, 0.1%


Desonide Ointment 0.05%


Cetaphil sensitive skin cleanser


CeraVe moisturizing lotion (a must have)





i hope that helped out a little bit.


ask your dermatologist about those.


:]Eczema UVB Treatment?
I dont know about UVB treatment. But my son started at 15mths. Was given the usual creams from the dr, they didnt help.


Saw a program on TV detailing the use of probiotics with babies with eczema (Perth, Aus). Do a search on eczema and probiotics, there is heaps of info.





We found the one that worked for us was a refrigerated variety called Primadophilus Reuteri. (same friendly bacteria a mother gives in her breastmilk). Start off with one capsule then after a couple of weeks up to a maximum dosage of three capsules. (its completely natural)





The effect for my boy and friends who have tried it with the same eczema problem was fantastic. The skin is like new, you would not realise my son has eczema. He is now on maintenance dosage of one a day and it has helped his whole immune system. No bad tummies and very mild case of colds etc. (4yrs old now)





I have not had to worry about what he eats. Some eczema is said to be caused by leaky gut syndrome.





I am careful what I wash him and his clothes with. The eco products out now are great and not too expensive.





You may need to get this particular probiotic from the US. I used to use betterlife.com. They were excellent and the most reasonably priced. I have also heard that infacol are using the same bacteria in a new product.





If you cant find Primadophilus Reuteri, a bifidus variety (refrigerated) will also work. Depends on the brands available.





NZ sells it in the health food shops as well.





Good luck


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mother with a child who has eczema beat. Bedtime now! (NZ)
Treatment with UVB light is supposed to be considered one of the safest forms of phototherapy for widespread eczema that has not responded to medications applied to the skin. Usually three to five treatments a week are recommended, with a gradual increase in UVB exposure depending on the skin type. Significant clearing of eczema can usually be expected in one to three months.





Exposure to UVB light must be carefully monitored to prevent sunburn. During treatment, the eyes must be shielded with goggles to guard against the possible formation of cataracts. Your doctor should take special precautions to protect your son’s eyes so that his vision will not be affected the by treatments. Premature skin aging may also be a side effect of prolonged use of UVB treatments.





Natural sunlight contains ultraviolet light. UV light kills “T” cells in skin, reducing redness and slowing the overproduction of skin cells that cause scaling. This is why brief, regular periods of sun exposure can help to clear psoriasis. Prolonged time in direct sunlight is not recommended because of the possibility of skin damage, including skin cancer. Exposing the skin to UV light in carefully controlled doses, as is used in phototherapy, is considered much safer because it is administered under controlled conditions. However, it should be noted that additional sunlight after treatment should be limited, since the ultraviolet rays that occur naturely in sunlight can cause sunburn, which can make the symptoms worsen.





Sunlight contains two kinds of UV light known as UVA and UVB. Both can be used to treat eczema. In phototherapy, the affected person sits or lies inside a “light box” a booth fitted with special light-emitting tubes. Usually people go to a doctor’s office to receive phototherapy. Sometimes a light box can be purchased with a doctor’s prescription for use at home. If you are prescribed a light box for use at home it is absolutely essential that you follow the instructions carefully. Improper use could result in skin damage.





Phototherapy involves the use of light to treat a medical condition. Ultraviolet light therapy improves eczema symptoms in some people. Phototherapy may incorporate ultraviolet light or may combine the use of ultraviolet light with psoralen, a drug that increases light sensitivity. Psoralen may be taken by mouth or applied to the skin. Psoralen can cause short-term side effects such as nausea, headache, bringing and itching. Some of these side effects can be avoided if psoralen is taken with food. When psoralen is applied to the skin, it is applied as a cream, lotion or a gel solution.





While ultraviolet rays occur nationally in sunlight, excessive sun exposure causes sunburn, which can make the symptoms worsen. Phototherapy uses carefully measured amounts of ultraviolet light, a safety measure that cannot be duplicated by simple exposure the sun.





With the above in mind, You stated that your son's face has started to grow blotchy, red and very flaky.; yet, you don't mention whether there are allergen in your environment. You may have been opted to suppress your son symptoms. In this way the allergen may still remains and is still causing damage to your son,s body; yet, and because the symptoms are no longer present on your external organ (the skin) as a result of the symptom suppressing treatment, you are left with a false sense of security regarding your internal organs and the damage being done to them. I can't not stress enough the importance of you confronting your allergen/irritant culprits. You have got to identify the instigating flareups and remove them from your environment.





You must pinpoint any changes in your environment that are consistent with your son’s flareups. Is he around household pets (like cats or dogs)? Especially in the case of flushing of the face, spicy foods can trigger this type of a reaction. Have you noticed a connection with either of these probable causes. Have you moved recently? How is the air quality and have you tested for dust mites? Is there mold or mildew in your environment? Have you considered a new cleaning product or air freshener as a possible culprit? Formaldehyde, which is found in some air fresheners and deodorizers could the instigating culprit.





Medications used to suppress the symptoms of eczema don't address the cause; and as a result promote your son’s longterm suffering. Once you remove the cause of your son eczema irritation, you can remove the eczema. Identifying the thing or things promoting your son’s flareup is of extreme importance to your healing. Your son’s body isn't crying out for medication; it's crying out to alert you of an allergen/irritant causing its malfunction.





Stress is a culprit in that it releases cortisol which, in turn, increases histamine release. It is the increased histamine activity that will produce the eczema symptoms. A natural de-stresser is chamomile. If your son isn’t aren't allergic to chamomile, this is an ideal option for natural antihistamine relief. Another natural option for antihistamine relief is vitamin C.





Also, if your son is currently taking other medications, read the side effects to determine whether or not this is your son’s eczema culprit. Have you been prescribed elidel or protopic recently?





An eczema reaction displayed by your son’s body is a toxic release. It is the body's attempt to rid itself of the toxins that have made their way into the bloodstream and skin. Thus, the logical response is to identify the toxic invader; so that the culprit can be removed from your environment. Once the toxic invader is removed from your environment, the son’s body can successfully complete the healing process. To medicate your son without removing him from the presence of the instigating culprit (allergen/irritant) would be like me (who is allergic to poison ivy) standing in a patch of poison ivy, while rubbing my skin down with calamine lotion. My first reaction in that situation, should be to remove myself from the presence of the poison ivy. After I've identified the toxic agent and removed myself from its presence, then I am clearly able to focus on healing/repairing my body from the damage done to it. Your number one priority should be to clearly identify your son’s allergen/ irritant culprit, so that his healing is not compromised.