Dear Mummy, have we enjoyed the last of the summer sun? This week has been a bit hit and miss with the weather but we managed to get out once and enjoy the sunshine. We headed to Hayling Island beach … Continue reading
Dear mummy, I’ve been waiting patiently to review this next product, unfortunately for me I can only review it and put it to the test when I have a flare up of eczema 😦 As some if you know I suffer from mild eczema and my mummy has been putting on cream to soothe my skin and discourage me from itching for some time now.
Luckily for us there is also another solution for those that suffer from eczema who are willing to try anything to get their little ones to stop scratching and damaging their skin.
We came across ScratchSleeves, a local company based in Hampshire that make these little bolero jackets exclusively for babies. We decided to give them a go and tried the beautiful baby blue and stripe pink versions.
Super cute! What’s so unique about theses little jackets is that they have mittens integrated into the sleeves, which are permanent. You can see the appeal of these for parents that want to stop their children scratching anywhere on their body. As babies hands and arms are covered there is no way a baby can scratch their skin.
Great for night-time mummy thinks. I have a horrible habit of scratching the back of my neck and shoulder blades, I also get patches of eczema that appears on my arms, so we decided to give these ScratchSleeves a go. This is one of those products I am praying will work.
On the first couple of attempts I squirm when mummy puts the sleeves on, oh dear mummy I tear at my arms trying to get the little bolero jacketed off. Maybe not so sensible for daytime, as I’m so active nowadays and I want to touch and play with everything. Keeping them on during the day is a bit of a task for me. So we try at night when I’m sleepy and dopey.
I only wear a vest underneath to prevent me overheating at night. I wear the ScratchSleeve for a couple of nights and seem to get on ok with them.
My scratch marks start to disappear! Yippee. I’m definitely discouraged from scratching. I think this product would be best suited for younger children who are less active though, maybe it’s just me, but I struggled with them a bit during the day. It’s a fab idea though and defiantly worth a shot if your baby or toddler suffers from really bad eczema.
The fabric is super soft and is well made – trust me this product has taken a lot of battering and stretching from me in my attempts to get the little jacket off!!
So what are they made of? An outer mitt of 100% natural silk which is gentle and cooling on itchy skin. 100% cotton that is woven to be stretchy, light and comfortable and polycotton binding around edges to maintain a snug fit.
You can read more about ScratchSleeves on their website. There is also great support and a fab blog which includes yummy recipes and tips for helping children cope with eczema. You can also find ScratchSleeves on twitter 🙂
These ScratchSleeves are a great concept and beautifully made, they look pretty too. We will persevere with them in the hope I will get used to wearing the mittens all the time when I get a bad flare-up.
Well worth a shot.
Bella x
Dear mummy, it’s only been the past couple of months that I’ve suffered from bad bouts of Eczema. I’ve had dry skin for as long as I can remember, patches of it appearing on my arms, back and neck. It’s the scratching that I can’t stand. I remember Mummy changing me after my bath and it was so itchy that I made myself red raw. Even though Mummy kept pulling my hands away, as soon as she wasn’t looking I was back scratching my arms and around my shoulder blades. Both Daddy and Mummy were very worried and clipped my nails to try and discourage it. Then one day I came back from nursery with scratch marks over my arms. It looked like I had grazed myself with some sharp needles. That was the last straw! And I was swiftly packed away to the doctors for a check up on my skin.
As I’m so fair (Mummy likes to think I’m Strawberry blonde, but between you and me I’m actually ginger), my skin shows up every little mark and dry spot, my arms were looking like a patch work dolls and I looked like I’d been going through the wars. Our GP recommended Hydromol Ointment, which could be applied liberally at any time of the day. It’s used to help with Eczema, Psoriasis and dry skin. Hydromol Ointment comes in a large ‘vat-like’ tub which puts Sudocream’s piddley little pot to shame! It’s huge and nearly as big as my head! There’s certainly no way I’m getting this tub in my mouth, trust me I’ve tried! 😉 It’s a wax based Paraffin product which is very thick and locks in moisture, reduces the itching and acts like a barrier cream. It soothes my skin, and I love mummy and daddy rubbing it on me in the evenings just after bath. Double pleasure when they rub it on my forehead while I’m drinking my bottle.
It works very well and distracts me and stops the itching, long enough for me to get to sleep. But one thing Mummy and Daddy are really impressed with is that it evens up my skin tone. If I’m blotchy, red and sore, it reduces all of that. A real find. It may not work for every baby, as we’re all different, with different types of skin, but for a general all rounder I can’t recommend it enough. It contains NO fragrances, NO colourings, NO additives or preservatives and is suitable from birth. You can melt it into the bath under warm running water, apply direct to the skin or use it as a soap. My mummy’s even used it for her elbow patches! It was a prescription from the doctors so Mummy paid the usual fee, but for roughly £7 for a large tub of relief it is definitely worth the money.
Bella x
