My 9 yr old suffers terribly from the same condition. her skin gets so bad it actually weeps...covers her stomach and back. I only use SKIVVY DOODLE Pj's - they are organic cotten and she must wear an undershirt under EVERYTHING so this keeps her skin protected. Never can she tolerate fabric softener and all things must be washed in DREFT. What made a great difference for her was the cream I used. 2 x a day I would be put AQUAPHOR or CETAPHIL on her and this didn't do much. Her dermo told me to get CERAVE (available at major drug store chains) - it is UNREAL. I have found this incredible for her. I rarely need to use the topical steroid cream ever since I found this moisturizing cream. I realize this has NOTHING to do with your bedding question but I just wanted to throw some things out there that totally worked for my daughter. I don't have to worry about her bedding b/c the above precautions seem to work (I do of course only use all cotten - pottery barn makes great all cotten quilts, etc.)...

OT on the bedding, sorry, but have you tried Virgin Coconut oil on her skin? My husband has ezcema and has been using Coconut oil for a couple months and has improved greatly. After years of steroid use, he became wary of the long term effects and searched for an alternative. He is quite happy with the outcome! It is great for the entire family to use as any lotion, but particularly helpful with chronic dermititis. I also use it after my shower and am amazed at how smooth my skin is! There are many other health benefits too! There is a link below that might help. I totally relate about the self esteem issue as well beacuse my 12 y.o.DD has psoriasis and also has the itchy patches that bleed with too much scrating! She is often asked at school, "what is THAT?" when referring to a particularly ugly patch. She too is using the coconut oil and her skin feels and looks so much better! Sorry to sound like a commercial, just reaching out! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: coconut oil

Organic all cotton bedding would probably be best.

My older DS has eczema and has tried tons of different things - prescription and non prescribtion. Pure lanolin works very well but is pretty sticky. It is best to put it on at night under cotton pjs and let it do it's thing. I discovered how wonderful 100% pure lanolin was while nursing my younger DS.

I was told that my older DS would out-grow this condition but he never did. He is now 24 and still suffers from eczema. He has to be very diligent about keeping his skin covered with product. It is much worse in the winter for him.

campmor.com has all cotton Saras prints pjs. I use it on my son with excema as well.

Pottery Barn has come out with some new organic bedding. I just a duvet cover for our bed that is organic.

Val, I have a different take on it, based on my own experience and what I've heard from others. Have you tried your DD on the blood type food lists?

I used to claw myself bloody, especially at night. No more. I had a number of other problems that disappeared too (heartburn was a biggie), and it got my fibromyalgia under control as well.

If you don't know her blood type, you can ask the doc to type it next time he pulls it for whatever. I did that and nobody blinked an eye and insurance paid.

I went cold turkey cutting out all my Page 4 avoid foods. After a month I would try a food I'd really missed, and wait four days before trying another. I tested them one at a time and carefully noted what each does to me. Each thing we eat stays in our system for three days. Anyway, this literally saved my life. I hope it can help your darling girl.

Here is a link that might be useful: Food lists

valinsv: my DS (3 yo) has eczema too but it is much better than when he was a baby. His flares up during allergy season. I've had a lot of luck w/cream called ShiKai Pediatric Formula Borage Lotion (no petroleum products or steroids). I imagine you've probably tried all sorts of remedies over the years.

Personally I think that bright orange room give a psychological feeling of being hot, and some blue or aqua accents would work nicely to calm it w/o detracting from the excitement. I really like the orange, it reminds me of sherbet and makes the room feel fun.

I like sateen cotton sheets b/c they become so soft over time. That's what I've been trying to get for my DS and I recently bought a sateen, cotton twin sheet from BBB that I like a lot. I'm not sure how critical it is for bedding to be undyed and organic, but if your DD is especially sensitive to chemicals or textiles then that's the safest way to go. My DS seems to be more sensitive to foods and to being hot.

Good luck!

Oceanna--> I'm glad you posted those blood type food lists, I'm thinking of trying those out :-)

I would definitely recommend organic/sustainably harvested cotton products. But I think I would go with certified materials. I don't know whether Pottery Barn organic sheets are or not. I have found, after trial-and-error with several different brands of sheets (PB, RH, Sferra)that Cuddledown is tops. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Oeko-Tex Certified Bedding

We used to use Dreft, but switched to All Clear, because Dreft is still scented (albeit midly) but All Clear doesn't have any scents added. We always rinse each load of laundry twice. For bedding, we have been very happy with the all cotton pottery barn kids bedding, which we wash on HOT with 2 rinses, 3-4 times before putting it on the bed (the first time). We use only cotton blankets and DD has a cotton quilt her grammie made for her.

Also, she only uses CeraVe wash and CeraVe cream every night -- no soaps.

My daughter suffers from eczema also. We finally had her tested for allergies and she is allergic to a chemical called quaternium 15. It is a preservative that is found in shampoo, conditioners, lotions, anything from Bath and Body works, perfume, cleaners, makeup, etc. Since removing items with this chemical from our home, she has completely cleared up. It was well worth the $1200 to have her tested.

Thank you everyone for all of the suggestions. I'm making notes of them all. I didn't want to get into a laundry list of things we'd tried since this is supposedly a decorating forum, though we are also a wonderful support group to one another! We had tried the steriod/Elidel route for awhile plus conventional allergy testing before I took her to an accupuncturist/NAET practioner I had used in the past successfully to treat a case on chronic hives. So, yes, oceanna and others, I do believe that she is suffering from chemical sensitivities. We were able to clear many of her food related allergies through NAET; but her immune system remains hypersensitive and she resensitizes easily, plus it does not help she is passionate about sports, soccer in particular and all the sweat and shin guards really aggravate her condition. Currently, she is undergoing homeopathy, with a prognosis that it will get worse (which it seems to be doing) before it gets better as she is detoxifying through her skin. So all these suggestions of different alternative creams, all cotton PJs, sheets, etc. are MOST HELPFUL! She does Cetaphil religiously (see the two tubs in the pic), we encourage her to use Calendula (a homepathic cream) as well. She's tried coconut oil, which seems to help more with healing than itchiness. As for cleaning products, I had my accupuncturist test her using kinsiology to determine which products where least irritating and we use all fragrence free, dye free stuff from Whole Foods and for detergent we use either Mountain High or Seventh Generation which is based on coconut oil instead of a petroleum based detergent.

scottmel: Thanks for the suggestions of the skivvy doddles and CREAVE.

kmcg85: My DD could totally relate to those questions. It's a shame to see her cover up her skin in long pants, shirts because she is self conscious. It probably does not help she attends a school which requires uniforms or I'd dress her in all cotton.

robynpa: I rememeber using lanolin when I BF too, only I notice my DD prefers creams over ointments as it's over her whole body. Like your DS, we've been told this will be a chonic condition she'll have to learn to live with which is why we are looking into holistic treatments that are more promising.

oceanna: I'm going to look through the food lists. I've not heard of it related to blood type though. We feel we know her triggers--which the homeopath told us are anything sour/acidic, process foods and with food dyes (stuff she craves). I try to cook as much as I can from scratch and the school lunch program now uses only fresh made organic foods so that is a big help.

woodlander: I agree the orange looks hot! She loves it though and wanted me to paint her room in the bright orange color you see in the pic. We settled for the shebert color for the walls with the bright orange stripe and bedding. I'll suggest some aqua accents to her for her walls, etc.

melle_sacto: I will try to find the cream you mentioned as well. I've given her borage oil capsules since I've read about the beneficial effects of Omega 3's for the skin.

denali_2007: Nice to know Pottery Barn has some organic products out.

organic_smallhome: Thanks for the link for the bedding. I agree that would be best--at least for the sheets.

ekcjg: What type of allergy test did you do? We've done the skin prick though our allergist plus kinsiology testing. The kinsiology showed she had multiple chemical and environmental sensitivities so even when we'd treat one thing, she'd react to something else. She already uses only dye free, fragrence free products from Whole Foods and the homeopath even took her off her anti-persperant (which she hates) as she was told she needs to drink lots of water and detox through sweat.

saraschlos_remodeler: Thanks for the washing tips! I do use the sanitary cycle on my HE washer with dye free, fragrence free, chemical free detergent, but that is a good idea to do an extra rinse. Glad to hear that your DD does better with the all cotton bedding and Pottern Barn bedding. I'll see if anything there grabs her as I know she'd still like her room to look nice! Part of her problem I really need to work with her on is she does her homework on her bed (with pencils, pens, books, paper, etc). on it. despite fact she has a big desk in the room plus she is very messy with her clothes. When I nag her, she gets so frustrated that she can't do things the way she wants like a "normal" teenager and I'm ambivalent on how much I feel I should pick up after her so she has less triggers in her room.

I just wanted to add we were at a party last weekend and saw this girl have an epileptic fit. In the large scheme of things, this is much more minor which my DD realizes everytime she sees a kid with more serious medical issues, but it sure does make her daily life uncomfortable at the same time. I'll let you know what we decide.

Due to my allergies, I do an extra rinse and then another rinse and spin cyle so the clothes are rinsed twice. If I do not do this, I feel so itchy.

Val -- I also did my homework on my bed as a kid because I wanted a comfy spot to spread out on. I also had a desk in my room, that was pretty much a dumping spot. As an adult, I do my homework on the sectional sofa, with everything spread out around me, LOL. Old habits die hard.

Can't tell if there is room from the picture, but a teen-sized chaise might give her a better place to study than a desk while keeping the pencils, highlighters, etc., off of the bedding. Or what about a smooshy beanbag chair or a folding foam futon chair for the floor?

Wow! Good thing I opened this thread. My son has severe eczema. His whole body is now with rash, and his hands looks like an elephant skin. We've been seeing a dermatologist, but since talking to Valinsv and another mom from my son's school, I'm getting an appointment with a chiropractor who does applied kinesiology. It's so hard to see him scratching everytime, especially at night. He always have to wear long sleeves shirt and jeans because of his skin, and it gets so hot here during the day, and he plays basketball during recess.

We do extra wash and rinse and another regular cycle without soap for his beddings, clothes and towels. I don't know if it heps. It's hard to tell at this point. And we're avoiding his food allergies.
The derma suggested a patch test, but we can't do it yet until the skin on his back clears up. She also suggested light therapy, which is "lifestylle-altering" because we have to travel 60 miles one way 3x/week for a 1-2 minute light therapy.

You're right, Valinsv, our kids' skin condition is pretty minor compared to other kids with life-threatening diseases, but it's still hard to see him like this.

My daughter did patch testing on her back. She had to wear the patches for 48 hours and was miserable, but willing. She does have seasonal allergies (we leave in one of the worst places for allergies). I use Dreft for all of her laundry and can use NO fabric softner. Fabric softner drives her up the wall! When she started getting patches of eczema on her eyes and face, we went to several dermatologists to get it under control. She couldn't even sleep she was so miserable. She has not had to use her prescription cream (flucinonide) for months since we have eliminated products with quaternium.

Back to the bedding, I took a look at both the Pottery Barn organic bedding and Cuddledown. Both are Oeko_Tex certified bedding which I gather is the way to go. Here is what the PB website said:

Approved by Oeko-Tex, the world's definitive ecological certification process, which tests fibers, threads and components to ensure that each product is healthy for you, healthy for those who produce it and healthy for the environment.

I want to narrow down the choices for my DD so to that end could use some more advice. On the PB website it looks like they have Duvet covers with natural organic cotton comforters which I assume would go inside the Duvet? Here is the explanation of the comforter:

Simple, sustainable materials meet incredible comfort. The smooth 300-thread-count fabric shell of our comforter is made of undyed organic cotton, and filled with a plush blend of down and fibers derived from replenishable raw plant materials.

I'm not really sure what the "plant materials" are.

In any case, my gut feel is that a comforter is going to be too hot in summer. Is there something lighter than I can put inside the duvet? My prior experience with Duvets for my kids is that the inserts would get all bunched up inside the duvet. Perhaps I am doing something wrong?
The matelasse looks comfy, but only comes in white and cream and I know she'd like something more colorful. I was thinking of a nice lightweight cotton quilt and then add a cotton blanket in the winter if I can find something pretty for teens and not have it look like Grandma's room.

It looks like Cuddledown has some coverlets, but I think she is going to the like PB patterns better and I already know she is going to choke on the prices (for a teenager she is very frugal, but this is one area I'm willing to spend the extra $$ for her comfort).

I really don't want to have a lot of extraneous bedding on the bed as I'll all land on the floor and get dusty. Any suggestions.

Organic_home already provided the link above to the Cuddledown website, but below is the link to the PB organic bedding.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pottery Barn Organic Bedding

Excuse me for butting in. This tip was on the Kitchen Table forum recently. I'm anxious to try Almond Oil. They say it penetrates quickly and doesn't leave an oily residue......

"I second the almond oil. After a recent severe bout with eczema, I went to see my GP rather than a dermatologist. I was tired of being prescribed a gazillion things that didn't work. My doctor told me about the benefits of almond oil. She's Indian and said that Indian women have used almond oil for centuries, on both the skin and hair. I have shared this tip with so many people. The fact that my skin hasn't felt this good in years is proof enough. It really is wonderful."

Hope this is helpful. Eczema is such a miserable condition to have. BTW, someone also said that eczema sufferers are usually allergic to mineral oil, which is in many, many skin care products.

The orange does look hot but is so lively as well. If you DD likes it and it doesn't seem to bother her, that's a good thing. To spruce it up some,maybe some beads or a hanging paper lamp. I'm a long long way from having a 13 year old and don't pretend to know what they would like. But with all that bright color, I'm sure some some more lively decor/accessories might be good. I know that the orange/sherbert colors are still pretty hot stuff now and an organic cotton quilt or sheets should be pretty easy - OK, just finding a source. I just ran across a website I was looking at for myself. They had a "kids" section but I didn't open it. I'll see if I can find it.

RE the exzema - I'm another sufferer. I never had it until after I had my daughter. Funny thing, she was born with it. Mine is under control unless I wear certain jewelry - mostly my rings. Also, when I cook a lot it really gets pretty out of control. My niece suffers as well. My nephew WAS a true vegan and for the first 5 years of her life, it didn't seem to bother her much. As soon as she began to eat regular food - especially meats, it started coming back. When she was young, she was also taking some special supplements that worked great. Stay away from dairy products as well. My sister has an autoimmune disease and has become the family research guide for a lot of ailments/diseases - probably doing as much research as you have. I know she has some pretty detailed info on this as she is trying to get me to change my spots to help with my case. I just don't do it like I should. But it has certainly helped my neice. I'll try to find out some things from her also.

The more I look at it, the more I love that ORANGE!!

gneegirl,

I used to work at a Japanese restaurant that was owned and run by a Korean couple. The woman had an allergy to the metal in either the pots or the stainless steel counters (I can't remember which it was). She had to wear all kinds of crazy coverings while cooking in the kitchen. She actually lost all of her hair (I am talking cue ball bald). She went to some American Drs but could not get it under control. She then took a trip back to Korea and got some traditional medicine and her hair grew back and she could cook again.

I don't know what the stuff was but it sure did work for her.

When I was a kid, I suffered something terrible with a skin condition that is genetic (corrects itself as you age). My skin oozed, looked ugly and I too scratched in my sleep. Anything with cortisone only works if the skin isn't open. It just adds to the condition if the skin is broken. IMO 100% cotton is the best all around for anyone. Don't use fabric softener. Natural fibers are best to wear -- they breathe. Acrylics, polyesters, (everything is "microfiber" today -- call it anything you want, it's polyester and it sweats.) For someone with a skin condition, holding moist heat against the skin is ripe for agony.

Thanks robinpa! I'll have to check into that. I enjoy cooking but don't do it nearly as much as I used to. That's how I found out that cooking made it worse. When I started back, I started itching again.

Val, please be sure to see this too...

Here is a link that might be useful: Another thread about this

oceanna: Thank you for passing along the related thread. Poor little baby! I was very lucky with all my three babies that they did not have these problems--probably because I breastfed and delayed introduction on solids, esp. dairy which is where my problems were. I was able to clear my food allergies through NAET, when about 5-years ago I suddenly became sensitized to many foods, and today eat whatever I want. I think I cleared my DD also through NAET, but with environmental/chemical sensitivies we have not had much success. We've been dealing with this for over 2-years now and have tried many different things so while my goal is still to uncover and correct the root of the problem we found it was like layers of an onion, you peel one away only to find another. It's been a long road for DD and she gets very discouraged, esp. when I alter her diet too much and with little improvement. My DH and I did look at the food intolerances for the different races and blood types and found it quite fascinating, though going that route would be a last resort which we could possibly try over the summer. Right now she is on homeopathy, which aggravates her condition in the short term, so I don't want to change too many things at once. With my DD she has more scabby patches from scratching in various stages of healing. Probably the worst trigger though are her shin guards--she plays competitive soccer and is in spring season. I do not have the heart to pull her out so can relate to the comments about exercise induced asthma. In fact, DD has a few girls on her team with that condition and always tells me she is glad she only has eczema as at least she does not have to sit out due to an asthmatic attack in a game.

On the bedding front, I was able to find some bedding in both Pottery Barn Kids and PB teen which is Oeko-tex certified plus some all cotton duvet inserts (both summer and winter weights) from Cuddledown, depending on if she prefers a duvet or quilt. I plan to show it to her this weekend and am crossing my fingers she'll find something she likes.

Hi Val:

I've been following this thread as DD also has horrible skin conditions. Hers has been diagnosed as psoriasis - different name, same misery and treatment.

She also plays travel soccer and has problems under her shin guards. We have her wear compression guards or a thin pair of socks under the guard...completely takes care of the problem. If you aren't familiar, you can find the compression guards at a soccer store or online. She's a pixie but can still wear the one-size-fits-all.

I'm not the OP but I appreciate the different suggestions made here. We've been to an allergist and 3 derms trying to get this under control. I do have a question for all those who don't use fabric softener...how do you get the clothes soft? Even fluffing them in the dryer doesn't seem to do it for us.

I also wanted to mention, I have to change my sons sheets more frequently, he seems to decrease his "flare" overnight with clean sheets. I only use cotton sateen as well for him.

A little OT but when my son was a baby he had what the dr said was the worst case of eczema he'd ever seen!! Bottom line was he had a metal allergy to his little i.d. bracelet. Completely cleared when I removed it. I always mention this to people with eczema, sometimes any metal that touches the skin (watch, jewelry) can cause eczema elsewhere on the body as it's absorbed through the skin. Lots of metal contains nickel that is highly allergenic. Good luck!