[dtw]

I deal with it on my hands. Had it all over my arms when I was pre-adolescent, prescription steroid creams got rid of it and I never had it again until after college. Now it pops up a bit on my hands from working on the Porsches all the time - harsh chemicals and abrasives, harsh handwashing, etc. I wear nitrile gloves as much as possible to defend. Other than that, diligent application of cortisone cream at the first sign of itch or redness. When the skin is cracked open and painful, it is very hard to reverse the cycle. Once you get the skin closed and control the itch, the skin has time to heal.

At one point in my brief restaurant career, when I was washing literally dozens of times a day, I had it very badly. A doc gave me a bunch of scrips and vitamins - but the most effective tactic was taping up my hands at night with the steroid cream applied to some saran wrap. Might be way too aggressive for your young'n - check with your doc - but I only had to do it for 3 nights before the skin had healed enough to sleep through the night without scratching.

What kind of soaps and perfumes is he coming in contact with? I generally stay away from perfumy hand soaps, fancy body soaps, etc. No scented dryer sheets on the clothes and no perfumed laundry detergent. Different things seem to provoke a reaction in different people. Contact dermatitis and eczema almost seem to be interchangeable to docs sometimes - I've had general practice docs and dermatologists over the years refer to both for my condition. Anyway - check his environment, both at home and anywhere else he frequents (daycare/preschool).