Those of us with small children are probably dreading this last week before the big day when excitement reaches such a pitch that the little ones (and even some of us big ones!) don’t want to go to sleep for fear of missing Santa. I used to have some neighbours who even started their chocolate Advent Calendars one day late each year in order to get their toddlers off to bed early on Christmas Eve!
So we all know the effect that a few nights of broken sleep has on us at Christmas, but as it’s only once a year we manage – just! But imagine the effects those continual broken nights have in a household where a child has eczema. It’s bad enough when the itching and scratching occurs during the day, but at night it’s even worse. Scratching during sleep can often be worse because of the heat generated by the bedclothes and this semi-conscious scratching can easily lead to broken skin, bleeding and secondary infection. In most cases it wakes the little one, which invariably it means lost sleep for the parents as well. I’ve heard of so many cases where the children wake every hour or two and totally destroys the sleep patterns of the whole family.
If only there was something we could do to stop the interminable itching in the first place. Emollients and steroid creams help, but they can be messy, take time to apply and usually leave the skin tacky which means that PJs stick to the skin and this only aggravates the condition.
Fortunately technology has come to the rescue with biofunctional clothing. DermaSilk pyjamas have been shown in clinical trials to have a dramatic soothing effect on the skin of eczema patients and really do help everybody get a good nights sleep. Baby Ellen is a typical example of the problems these families face.
Since she was a baby Ellen has had eczema on her arms and behind her knees. “The nurse at the Children's’ Clinic explained that Ellen had atopic eczema and needed covering in emollient creams. If that didn’t work then we used topical steroids or a medicine to help reduce the itch.” said her mother, Louise.
But the waking in the night continued. Six or seven times a night Ellen’s parents were woken by her crying. “The itch drove her crazy. We tried everything. Smothering her with cream, cooling lotions, bathing and showering her in cold water, but nothing helped” added Louse.Ellen suffered terribly and kept asking “Mummy why does it never stop itching?” Then Louise read about a new type of silk clothing called DermaSilk which helps against eczema and ordered a pair of pyjamas to try.
“Ellen always wanted to dress like a glittery princess at bedtime but after we tried these for a few nights she didn’t want anything else on at bedtime” said Louise. “Since the very first week, nights have been calm and the sores have begun to heal. Today my daughter doesn’t need her anti-itch medicine. The eczema is treated and we now sleep the whole night”
DermaSilk pyjamas may not prevent the excitement of Santa’s imminent arrival, but if the whole family can look forward to restful sleep for the rest of the year, a couple of disturbed nights will seem like heaven. For more information and other examples of how DermaSilk has helped improve the lives of families with children suffering from eczema visit www.dermasilk.co.uk.