History of Bo's Condition

This is an excerpt for an e-mail to Dr. Rapaport in July of 2013.  It outlines the history of Bo's Topical Steroid Addiction.

History of Bo's condition-

At about 3-4 months old Bo developed a fine rash on his stomach and back.  We used moisturizers to help it. Eucerin and other OTC lotions marketed for eczema.  At about 6 months his face began to break out.

First eczema on cheek and eyebrow

We used the same lotions and Aquaphor.  At that point the pediatrician prescribed a cortisone cream and changed his formula to Alimentium (sp?), Bo's eczema worsened over the next few months.  When he was about 11 months old the pediatrician ordered blood allergy test and a soy allergy was detected.  We began to feed him a soy free diet.  We also took him to a dermatologist.  The derm prescribe Desonide and Fluocinolone body oil. Bo's body cleared, however his face got increasingly worse.  All of this also corresponded with him weaning from breast feeding at a year old.

When he was about 18 months old (October of 2012) we were referred to two pediatric derms.  One at Emory had a 4 month waiting list .  I made an appointment for January of 2013.  With the other ped derm, we had an appointment at the end of October.  We also began seeing an allergist about this time.

Steroid withdrawal, October 2012 (I didn't know it.)

The pediatric derm (Caputo) continued topical steroids and prescribed Flopred orally.  Bo's eczema cleared significantly with the Flopred.  However, it returned quickly and worsened.
At this point blood work showed no allergies and he was given allergy prick tests for common food and environmental allergies.  He was also given a fresh food test to milk and soy.  All negative.

We saw Dr. Spraker at Emory in January 2013.  She said it sounded like "typical eczema".  At this point we had applied topical steroids for almost a year, visited 2 allergist and she was our third Derm.  I knew it wasn't "typical eczema".

Our ped ordered more test to rule out a genetic iron disorder.  Everything come back in the normal range.

In February 2013 we saw another allergist who put him on a food elimination diet.  He ate only pears, apples, green beans, broccoli, chicken, beef, white rice, and potatoes for a month.  His skin did not look better.

Bo also developed a fungal infection in his scalp and was treated for that for 7 weeks in February/ March.

In March I began looking online and found your work through Kline's blog.  I showed a YouTube video to Dr. Kim and Tanya.  I took Bo off all steroids in March 2013.

His skin looks better, but has some places that are bad.  He itches constantly.  He is also shedding.  He hasn't slept through the night since he was about a year old.

The social impact- older children always ask what is wrong with him.  Several moms have even taken toys from their children because Bo touched them and they fear he is contagious.

His sensory well being- I worry that the constant itching/ burning will cause sensory issues.

Long term impact of meds- the anti fungal medication is very dangerous, along with prolonged steroid use.  In addition, the anti itch causes dry mouth which is a concern for his oral health.

Also, we bath him with Dove sensitive skin soap, use dye/ scent free detergents, and moisturizer him with Vaniply cream.  Currently we are using Epsom salt baths.  We have used bleach baths in the past.