It’s fairly common to hear eczema patients lamenting that their doctors seem to be just prescribing creams and not listening enough. It can be even more difficult for parents, particularly as we are not the one ‘experiencing’ the eczema but we’ve got the responsibility to learn as much from the doctor (while keeping our toddler quiet)!
I am privileged to know Dr Susan J. Huang, the chief resident at the Harvard Dermatology Residency Program, who works at multiple prestigious hospitals in the United States. She has written book chapters, published peer-reviewed articles, and presented at multiple national conferences on issues and topics in dermatology.
- Before Your Eczema Child’s First Dermatologist
- During the Eczema Consultation
- How to Follow-up after Your Eczema Baby Visited the Doctor
Marcie Mom: Thank you Dr Huang for taking your time to offer tips to our parents on what they can do before, during and after consultation, as well as what they need to consider if changing their doctor. Let’s start right away with preparing for a doctor consultation.
How to Prepare for Your Eczema Consultation
MarcieMom: I’m assuming that the child has already been diagnosed with eczema and the parent is looking for a suitable doctor. In Singapore, there are many good doctors, some of whom listed here. I note that each doctor has their own specialty/ interest apart from being a pediatrician – immunology, allergy, asthma and/or dermatology.
Must a parent specifically ask for a doctor in a particular specialty?
Dr Susan Huang: When looking for a doctor for your child with eczema, it is important that the physician has taken care of many children with eczema and thus has sufficient experience and knowledge about eczema. In the U.S., physicians who routinely take care of children with eczema consist primarily of dermatologists, allergists/immunologists, and pediatricians. The relationship between the physician and the parent(s) and child is also very important. Treatment of eczema involves many behavioral components and these take time to review and demonstrate at the visit. You will likely be seeing this physician many times over years (unless you don’t like him/her!), so it’s important to have a good patient-physician relationship.
Communicating Your Child’s Eczema History
MarcieMom: One of the key reasons why I brought my baby to see a specialist in a children hospital was because allergy tests are not available at a general practitioner or even pediatric clinic. Read here for preparation before a skin prick test. Apart from physical preparation (no antihistamine, good health), how can a parent help the doctor who is seeing the child for the first time to learn as much about the eczema/skin condition?
How can a parent help the doctor who is seeing the child for the first time to learn as much about the eczema/skin condition?
Keep a food diary versus skin condition? If yes, for how long? Write down suspected triggers? Write down how the parent has been managing the skin, for instance, already using hypoallergenic detergent or vacuuming weekly?
Dr Susan Huang: Your physician will ask you questions to get your child’s eczema history. You will likely review whether there are any exacerbating or ameliorating factors to your child’s eczema. These may include ingested foods or contact allergens. Having details such as the temporal relationship between the trigger and effect on eczema is helpful. Note that the role of food allergy and food allergy testing in eczema is still a debated one.
Allergy Testing & Eczema Plan of Action
We do know that there is a tendency for allergy, asthma and eczema run together. Many patients will also recall a clear history of a certain food triggering eczema. In this case, it is important to confirm this potential trigger through allergy testing. Keep in mind that food allergy testing is not perfect (as is the case for any testing) and can lead to what we call “false positives.” So although it may be tempting to test to all allergens and via skin prick, RAST or oral challenge, it is important to discuss with your physician to come up with the appropriate testing for your child.
Regarding whether food allergy testing should be performed, the guidelines state that testing for milk, egg, peanut, wheat and soy allergy should be considered in “a child younger than 5 years old, and has eczema that does not go away with treatment, or has eczema and a history of allergic reactions to a specific food. Children with moderate to severe eczema are at risk for developing food allergy, especially allergy to mild, egg, and peanut. These children may benefit from a food allergy evaluation.” If testing is performed, it is important to review with your physician what the plan of action will be. It is a matter of figuring out which tested allergens are affecting your child’s eczema, and your child’s nutrition should be taken into account as well.
If allergy testing is performed, it is important to review with your physician what the plan of action will be.
Keep a List of Prior Eczema Treatments
Also have a list of prior treatments on hand. These include medical and non-medical treatments. In terms of medical treatments, make note of what medication was used, for how long, where it was used (for topical medications), how frequently and how much was used, and the effect the medication had. Remember to also tell your provider about other treatments such as bleach baths, wet wraps, etc.
MacieMom: Thank you Dr Huang, you raised some points that I didn’t think of such as bleach bath, wet wrap, treatments that the parent may have implemented prior to seeing the doctor. Excited to read your tips for during consultation next week.