Connor's Story

Connor is 10 years old and has suffered with atopic eczema since birth. Connor was born prematurely and as a baby his eczema was intolerable. Connor’s eczema was all over his body, as it was inflamed and infected he needed antibiotics and antihistamines to treat his skin.

Connor was referred to a dermatologist who was extremely helpful and gave us lots of good advice and support on treating his eczema. He also identified that Connor had very sensitive skin and allergies. The most important piece of advice was to keep Connor’s skin well hydrated with emollients to prevent further severe flares of eczema and keep his skin in good condition.

In general the use of emollients on a daily basis has kept Connor's eczema under control, he is a happy and healthy boy. Though the use of emollients was allowing Connor to have a virtually normal childhood his eczema never completely cleared and at night time he suffered. He became very itchy and hot and he sweated profusely, all of which disturbed his sleep, often leaving him tired and grumpy the next morning. 

Two month's ago we purchased three pairs of DreamSkin pyjamas (unaware that DreamSkin is available on prescription). Within a very short time Connor’s skin was notably improved as the pyjamas made him so much cooler at night and stopped his skin itching.

Adding DreamSkin Pyjamas into Connor's treatment regime means his eczema is now kept under control 24 hours a day. Connor and the rest of the family now sleep peacefully every single night.

To find out how DreamSkin could help you and your loved ones visit www.dreamskinhealth.co.uk 



Story told by Connor's mother. For the purpose of retaining confidentiality, names have been changed.

Charlotte's Story

Charlotte is an eight year-old girl, who developed atopic eczema at three months of age.  Her skin became red and inflamed, and was generalised all over her body, her face was more severely affected with weepy infected areas on her cheeks. 

Charlotte’s parents have had to become expert dermatology carers and support their daughter to adapt to living with eczema and cope with daily life. Generally, Charlotte copes well in the day; she loves school and her social activities. However, night-time is a difficult time for Charlotte, she does not sleep throughout the night and often in the morning she finds it hard to wake-up and can feel very tired during the day.  Her parents need to change the bed on a daily basis as most of the damage to Charlotte’s skin occurs at night as she is very restless and scratches in her sleep.

Charlotte was given a pair of DreamSkin pyjamas when she was 8 ½ years old and in year 3 at school. 

The night she first wore the pyjamas, Charlotte slept throughout the whole night and this continued for the next week.  Over the next two weeks her skin improved to the best it had ever been. Her parents were able to reduce her topical corticosteroids down to a moderate preparation more rapidly than usual as her skin was so much better. Charlotte was much brighter in the mornings for her school day, waking up fresh and not feeling tired. Her parents said:

 ‘Charlotte is more rested, has slept better and is more comfortable’. 

Charlotte has now been wearing the pyjamas every night for 4 weeks, they have not needed to be washed daily (and now the bed only needs changing twice a week), as she is not scratching there are no blood stains on the pyjamas or the bed linen. Charlotte and her parents now say that they cannot do without DreamSkin pyjamas. Charlotte sums up by saying:

‘The best thing is when they are on; they feel special and soothe me. They are cool and stop me being sore. I slept straight through the night too.’

The positive effects for Charlotte and her family, after ten days of wearing DreamSkin pyjamas are:

  Itch significantly reduced

  Skin is much improved

  Cooler at night

  Did not cry out in sleep, restlessness eliminated

  No blood on night ware/bedclothes AM

  Woke up fresh, no longer tired in mornings

  Used less topical steroid

  Reduced use of emollients

To find out how DreamSkin could help you or a loved one visit www.dreamskinhealth.co.uk

Mark's Story

Mark’s Story (32 years old)

Before

After

‘I was diagnosed with eczema at the age of 2 and suffered through most of my childhood. In my later teens my eczema calmed down a bit, but my feet have always suffered really badly due to playing rugby.’

‘The combination of friction, sweat and often cold, damp conditions at times made my eczema intolerable. I considered quitting the sport I loved on many occasions.’

‘I received a couple of pairs of DreamSkin socks and after about two weeks I really noticed a difference. Even after playing rugby my feet remained soft and the levels of irritation, inflammation and cracking were massively reduced.’

‘These are now my new lucky socks.’

To find out how DreamSkin could help you visit www.dreamskinhealth.co.uk

Jake's Story

Jake’s Story (2 years old) told by his mother

Before

After

‘From a very early age Jake suffered from very dry skin and was diagnosed with eczema at 6 months. Jake had been to the doctors every month since he was born for different creams including eumovate, hydrocortisone, double base etc... We have even been given piriton to stop the itch but to no avail.’

‘We have recently tried DreamSkin silk clothing and it has been amazing. Within 3 days the skin was clear and Jake was not scratching. In two weeks it was like a new boy, sleeping through the night, no crying because of the pain. Jake was not the only one in the family to benefit from this, I managed to get my first uninterrupted nights sleep in years’

‘For two years we had tried everything the doctor had recommended for treating Jake for his eczema and within 2 weeks of using the DreamSkin product we have seen the best results yet’


To find out how DreamSkin could help you or a loved one visit www.dreamskinhealth.co.uk

Baby Skin Care

Expectant and new parents alike often have lots of questions about baby skin care. Baby skin care is a ‘hot topic’ and advice can be conflicting – Is water only best for washing? Are all wash products bad? Should you moisturise babies and with what?  Baby skin care is an area where advice, even professional advice, is given on opinion and experience rather than evidence – so what are the facts concerning baby skin care?

All babies have an immature skin barrier and thus are vulnerable to dry and irritated skin. It is believed that about 60% of children with atopic eczema develop it in the first six months of life. According to the National Eczema Society one in five children in the UK sufferes with eczema. The reasons for developing eczema are a combination of genetic and environment factors, so if you have eczema in your family, it may well develop if triggered by a factor in the environment. Therefore this leads to the question – can atopic eczema be prevented? The short answer is we don’t know and currently there are studies looking at if preventative measures can make a difference, the results won’t be known for a good few years, as babies are being studied into childhood.

However, we do know that a trigger for eczema developing is dry skin and a vulnerable skin barrier. So baby skin care should try and prevent dry skin and protect the skin barrier. Washing is important, detergents (including soap and bubble baths) should be avoided. Use either water alone or a pH adjusted wash product especially designed for babies. Dry skin should be treated with a medical emollient or fragrance-free moisturiser designed for a baby.

New cotton baby wear designed with a polymer layer of DreamSkin Health (currently only available at TESCOs) can benefit delicate baby skin. Dream Skin garments improve moisture retention of the skin; help reduce skin itching and irritation, are resistance to common irritants and help maintain comfortable body temperature. To visist F&F's DreamSkin range following the link http://www.clothingattesco.com/baby/dreamskin/icat/dreamskin

By Eczema Expert

Eczema's Autumn Challenge

The Autumn Equinox passed yesterday (23rd September) so there is nothing left to do but accept that Summer is over and colder times are upon us. As the seasons change Autumn and Winter bring a whole fresh new set of challenges for eczema sufferers. Long time friend of DreamSkin and dermatology clinician with more than 20 years experience share their views and tips for surviving the harsh winter months.


I find my patients often dread the autumn, as this is the time when their skin really dries out and consequently their eczema flares. “Why is this?” They say… “I am still using lots of moisturizer and my skin is literally cracking up!  After a good summer with my skin, autumn feels like my eczema is coming back with a vengeance. Is there any way to prevent this autumnal eczema onslaught, as I know this is going to happen every year?”

Of course, every person with eczema has individual factors which they know trigger their eczema. Sometimes, these triggers are seasonal and sometimes a person’s triggers can change. However, one of the few universal eczema triggers is heat; everyone with eczema is affected by changing temperatures. Autumn is often a bad time for people with eczema, as the central heating goes on, humidity is reduced and we are all constantly moving from cooler, outdoor conditions to warmer, indoor environments.  This leads to skin becoming much drier; and as we all know dry skin is itchy skin.

So, remember that as we move into autumn and the central heating goes on; keep on moisturizing, and think about using an ointment or oily cream, to stop your skin becoming drier. If you find the regular application of creams and ointments inconvenient or unpleasant you should try a polymer treated garment such as DreamsSkin. DreamSkin garments improve moisture retention of the skin; help reduce skin itching and irritation, are resistance to common irritants and help maintain comfortable body temperature. Here are a few more tips to help you as we move into winter:

·        Prevent skin from becoming dry, by washing with soap substitutes and avoiding bathing products, such as bubble baths, which will dry the skin further.

·         Moisturize skin regularly all over and don’t forget the lips.

·         If lips become chapped lip licking worsens the situation; apply a thick layer of greasy emollient at night and use chapsticks (without colouring or perfume) in the day.

·        Keep heating at a constant, comfortable temperature and don’t overheat homes; keep the bedroom temperature at no more than 18^oC.

·        Consider using a household humidifier.

·        Wrap up well when outside, use hats and scarves to protect the face and wear gloves to protect the hands.

by Eczema Expert

National Eczema Society week 2014

It’s National Eczema Society (NES) week. With one in five children and one in 12 adults in the UK now affected by eczema, the National Eczema Society recognises the importance of taking its message out into local communities so that those with eczema, and their families, can access the help they need. The National Eczema Society information stands are all run by volunteers who have all had personal experience of eczema or caring for a member of their family with eczema. There will be lots of free information booklets on the stands. The National Eczema Society is also launching a brand new free resource: ‘All about eczema – an information pack for schools’, which is available for parents and teachers.

DreamSkin Health supports the National Eczema Society and sends all good wishes for a successful National Eczema Society week. If you live in any of these areas, please do visit the National Eczema Society information stands to gain more support for yourself and your family.

•  Wednesday 17th September - Fishergate Shopping Centre, Preston
•  Thursday 18th September – Kirkgate Shopping Centre, Bradford
•  Friday 19th September - Kingsgate Shopping Centre, Dunfermline
•  Saturday 20th September - Oxford Westgate Shopping Centre, Castle Street, Oxford
•  Sunday 21st September - Intu Watford, 201 The Harlequin, Watford

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For more information on the National Eczema Society, please follow this link:

www.eczema.org