Jim,
I will give you a slightly different bent perhaps. I am not a doc, first off. Lots of them in my family, but I actually enjoy time off! (Sorry docs!).
My wife is very well studied in the area of nutrition and alternative modalities. We became even more educated about these areas when my 14 year old girl was an infant and started having eczema breakouts if you will. We were not wild about the creams and did not receive many other options form the ped's. The one thing that we have confirmed through our experiences, and perhaps this is NOT true with every case, is that eczema is mostly diet related. Livi gave some great tips as far as things to avoid. What we found to be the biggest agitator was mostly dairy items (milk, ice cream, cheese, etc.). We also see her break out if she starts eating a LOT of bread products or sugar. By sugar, I am not just talking about the white stuff, I am including anything with sugar (fructose, sucrose, syrups, etc) on the label. We eat a pretty healthy diet and eat mostly a raw vegan menu. It has helped tremendously. We avoid just about anything that is a processed food (meal in a box, etc.). If you are interested in more info, I am sure my wife would be willing to discuss it with you. If you will email her at our home address of
vanweys@charter.net, you guys could setup talking on the phone or email. Either way would be fine. The bottom line though is that a LOT of good can be had without the use of the steroids, no matter how "safe" they may be.
As a disclaimer, her father is a DC and a Nutritionist. Her mom and sister are surgical nurses. Her brother is a well respected surgeon. My family is also somewhat "mixed" as well. I only mention this to tell you that we are not some sort of vegan, doctor-hater nutjobs (well, my wife might want to say differently about me).
Good luck.