Nina(EHK)has just had her first skin infection, which I guess isn't such bad going as she's 13 months old now. However, it was pretty frightening how quickly it developed and deteriorated, I felt like I was just watching her skin break down.

Anyway, she's had antibiotics and it's all healed very quickly, so that's good.

I'm just wondering, do people find that their kids are more susceptible to skin infections when they are unwell? Nina's had a cold/cough for a couple of weeks now, which is probably the sickest she's ever been, so I thought maybe the 2 infections were connected.

Also, I know folk have posted about how they exfoliate, including quite aggressive treatments (I don't mean that as any sort of judgment, by the way, I couldn't think of another adjective!) particularly for palmoplantar EHK. Nina's EHK is non-palmoplantar, but she gets a lot of scaling on her flexures, particularly ankles and wrists, but these are also fragile areas which crack and split. We are using Calmurid, a 10% urea 5% lactic acid cream, with OK if uneven results. It doesn't seem to sting (Nina doesn't flinch or cry when we apply it). Since these infections, the scaling seems much more pronounced. I'm just weighing up how much we can exfoliate, given the fragility of her skin, and wondering if that will change as she gets older?

Any ideas/comments gratefully received.

Glad she is feeling better. How scary for you [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

How were you able to tell she had a skin infection? Was it more swollen, rash, redder, etc.

Just asking so I know the signs to look for.
Helps to have some insight [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Hi Curtise,

I am sorry to hear about your daughter's infection, and am glad it is now under control
I am a 42 year old adult who has EHK, and my mother remembers so well the infections i had which would travel like wildfire...literally

I do have palmoplanter type EHK, and my skin constantly infected from birth until i was about 4 years old...Thamk goodness as we get older our body's ammune system can fight anything that might turn into an all out infection, so you have that to look forward to...

sounds like your daughter is much tougher than my sin was, for this to be her first one...and my mother can share with you, how scary it is to see it take over the body...

I do believe that during my teenage years, whenever i was under any srress, or psychological hurt by other kids, then my skin would react and infect, or at least blister...

Regards the exfolliation, EHK is a particularluy fragile type of Ichthyosis, so you need to be very careful, and make sure that the scale is very moist to the point of being white and (excuse the language almost gewy) (sp)...so that you can minimise the force of the rubbing off...
I personally find that the best way to do this is to soak in pure sea salt baths...at home, i buy it in bulk supply and put 1 cup in the water...however after a few days of doing this, the skin can become quite fragile, so don't get carried away with it...just a few days per week to maintain Nina's skin... a bonus is that it should also help to keep imfections at bay, as it kills any bacteria which may be on the skin.

I agree with you that colds and things can flare the skin up...Mum used to notice my skin getting worse prior to a cold ... and I know Nina is way too young yet, but i also found that the infections returned during puberty time, more specifically, during menstrual cycles, but this only lasted for about 12 months i think...

Please don't hesitate to contact me anytime you have any other concerns...I am more than glad to help...I have had 40 years of personal experience.... [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] and i am a female too [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Love Pauline



[This message has been edited by pauline5 (edited February 08, 2007).]

Hi Curtise,

Thought i should clarify something for you...when you mentioned concern about the harshness of exfoliation...with EHK, most people (I think) are referring to getting the callous off (palmoplanter) this is very thick and the harsh means of removal really do no harm, it is kind of like wood, and doesn't hurt us or become sensitive until we get very low...

those areas are not fragile like the main limb areas... OK? [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Oh another thing i forgot Curtise...YES, THE FRAGILITY WILL DIMINISH OVER TIME...mum said my skin was like tissue paper for the first couple of years, i actually couldn't wear any clothing, she would just lie me on a sheet...with nothing on...

Our skin toughens up quite substantially with age, it will be no where near as fragile, only if it is knocked, or one falls over...
OK, SO DON'T WORRY, IT IS ALWAYS UPWARD AND ONWARDS FROM BABYHOOD ONWARDS...I many many respects...mostly less blistering, less infections, and often less scale... [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Pauline


[This message has been edited by pauline5 (edited February 10, 2007).]

We (4 generations) have EHK, and have had the same problem... we will get large "water blisters" and the skin is VERY fragile. I am 25 now, but remember being 9 and having to wrap up in a bed sheet with Vaseline and Antibiotic ointments all over my body because of them. We still get blisters VERY easy (on feet especially, or anywhere else where the skin may be moist) or where clothes may rub, etc. Our 2year old son still is pretty "fragile" however his skin is more "tough" (for lack of a better word) now than at birth. He does get "owies" very easily and can blister easily as well.

Julia's had more skin infections than I care to count! lol She has gotten them after she's been sick (and maybe her body's defenses are down?) but she's only been really sick maybe twice in her 17 months of life. So it's hard to tell if that's the rule, or just coincidence that she had the infection.

Generally, we can count on her having one when we travel, and it seems that when the weather changes (cold to hot or vice versa) she's more susceptible.

Atwoodclan - to answer your question (I don't know if it's the same or different for different types of ich.), but when Julia gets an infection, the first thing we notice is these little pus-pockets in her skin. That sounds weird, but they're really tiny - about the size of a pinprick or a really small pimple, and there's usually a cluster of them. Most of the time she runs a fever (99-100, 101 was the highest it ever got), and her skin in generally just gets really bad (flakier, redder, skin gets more fragile). A week of antibiotics usually clears it up, but there was one instance where we had to do IV antibiotics because it just wouldn't go away!

Hi Courtney,

Just a thought about Julia's skin when traveling...I used to find that the changes in water would really make my skin blister and infect...so this might be part of it as well as the weather...

And yes, i hardly ever get sick either, but boy when i do, my skin plays up...I think maybe because our immune system has to get tough to fight constant infections/blisters, then we tend to avoid all the viruses that live around us...Of course i can't talk for everyone, but that has been my experience...my husband says i am made of cast iron...
All i ever had as a child, is the chickenpox...and the occassional flu as an adult.

Pauline

Thanks for to all for your replies.

Atwoodclan - in addition to what Courtney has already said, in Nina's case, her skin just started breaking down very quickly and dramatically, so that what started as average sized blisters turned into a bigger and bigger raw areas which were exuding and very sore. Even thick dressings got soaked through. I was advised to try and leave the dressings in place to prevent disruption of the wounds, but since they were obviously soaked and yellow and yucky (for want of a more technical term!) we had to.

Pretty horrible for her; nightmare to dress the areas properly on my own (it needed more than one pair of hands); so I'm hoping it doesn't become a frequent experience...

But she's loads better now!

Pauline - I know lots of people have recommended the sea salt baths, but can I ask if it stings on broken/split skin? It seems to me that it must, but I'll be guided by your greater personal experience! Thanks.