Nugget's Eczema Journey!

For the last 5 or six months, Nugget has been struggling with severe eczema. It started flaring up badly when he was about 9 months old. His pediatrician tried treating it with just a simple steriod cream that didn't work. When the pediatrician couldn't treat him, he sent Nugg to see a dermaroligist hoping she could help. Back in January, Nugg went to see the dermatologist. She sdiagnosed him with a severe form of eczema that waa more rare in children. She put him on oral steriods as well as several topical steroids to treat it and also sent him to an allergist to see if the eczeam was the result of him being allergic to something. At the allergist, we found nothing! He wasn't allergic to a single thing. Deep down inside, I wished he was so that treating his eczema would become more simple! He was young enough that he wouldn't miss milk if he was allergic to it but he wasn't! Nothing!!! So after finding that he wasn't allergic to anything, the derm. put him on another longer oral steriod taper. It was for two months rather than two weeks like the last one. With the two week taper, his face cleared up drastically and so did his body but as soon as it was over his face flared back up almost instantly. This two month taper seemed to have absolutely no effect on him!!
I was starting to get really frustrated! Poor Nuggie was starting to get frustrated! He itched like crazy!!! It had gotten to the point where he had to wear socks on his hands all the time to keep from scratching! No baby should have to live like that!  His skin didn't seem to be getting any worse so that was good but then Easter morning, poor Nugget woke up with his left eye swollen shut! His steriod dose was upped starting another month long taper! I assumed the pollen wasn't helping because nothing else had changed. We went on a short vacation where he seemed to get a little better. I figured it was because our hotel room was extremely humid but who knows. When we got back, the next morning, he woke up with both eye swollen. His derm. had given me her nurses line so I called and left a message stating clearly that I thought he needed to be seen immediately since he was only getting worse. Being that this was the direct nurses line, I assumed it meant that I would get through to someone much quicker! Boy, was I wrong! After several hours, I still had not heard back from them and he was not getting any better so I took him to the regular doctor. They had no idea what was causing him to flare up so bad but they gave him a shot of Cortizone and hoped that it would help! Finally, 8 hours after calling, I heard back from the derm.'s nurse, who was quite rude with me. When she asked how he was doing, I proceeded to tell her that he was doing better no thanks to them to which she replied, "Well you did put a call in to Dr. L didn't you?" Yes I did hours ago!!!!! I wasn't just going to sit around while he wasn't getting any better and wait on you guys to call me back! My message said it was important but apparently that didn't matter. Then she asked me if he still needed to be seen. When I told her yes beacause Dr. L's treatment wasn't helping, she told me it would be a week before he could be seen. Now what if there were no other doctors that would treat him because he was under the care of a dermatologist already? What it was really an emergency and he was having some reaction to the meds she had put him on? She was in no hurry to see him or fix it!! I was VERY dissappointed! The shot of Cortizone the doctor gave him seemed to help and I told his derm.'s nurse, we wouldn't be needing their services! I knew that the next week, he had his one year check up and there I would ask to be referred to another dermatologist!
April 13- Nuggie went in for his one year checkup! He's growing too fast! He weighed 23 pounds and was almost 30 inches long. The doc was not happy with his face so he referred us to a new dermatologist! If this second opinion didn't help, he said we'd go for a third! I liked that! Whatever it takes to get my baby's face all better and to stop his crazy itching.  We actually got an appt. with the new derm. rather quickly too!
April 20- Hubbs and I took Nugget to see his new derm. Dr. S. When she walked in, I literally had to refrain from gasping! She looked crazy!  You know how some really smart people look a little crazy because they are so smart they just don't fit it? I'm seriously hoping that's the case with her! Well, she said that she thought he had a secondary skin infection on top of his eczema so that's what she was going to treat! She put him on two new ointments: one for his face and one for his body plus she gave him a med for the itching, an antibiotic for the infection and told me to keep him on the rest of his steriod taper! She wanted to see him back in a week!

Well, today is Sunday and he looks amazing! It took forever to get all his meds so he's just started the ointments for his face and body. He's been on the steriods, the antibiotic and anti-itch meds since Tuesday night! After just one application of the meds on his face, it looks So much better. Its not all red and inflamed! Dr. S just might not be as crazy as she looks. I've been taking some pictures to kind of document his progress or regress. It really varies from day to day! He woke up this morning with no inflammation or crustiness as we call it! I'm hoping its really the meds and not just some fluke!

This was a picture before we even went to the derm. It was taken April 17.

This is what he looked like on Wed. April 21! The poor thing! He looks just horrible!

This was him yesterday. April 24. This was before he'd gotten any of his ointments We had a time getting them because Dr. S wanted two meds mixed for his face and two meds mixed for his body but his insurance compnay wouldn't pay for it that way! So we had to get three different meds because that's the way they would pay for it! I hate insurace companies sometimes!

This is what he looks like today! I know the pictures not as close up as the others but you can tell that he's nowhere near as red and he's much less crusty!

He goes back to the derm. on Tues. April 27. I'm hoping that his face stays like this and that it will just continue to get better and better until its clear. I mean he still a handsome baby with his flared face but I've almost forgotten what he looks like all clear!