To my knowledge, there was never any eczema in our family, so it was not a skin condition that I had any experience or familiarity with. My husband and I first encountered eczema after having our first child, our son, Charlie. Ever since he was a baby (about three months old), I noticed that he had a bad eczema rash appearing on the folds of his arms and legs. As he got older, the eczema gradually spread to the front and back of his arms and legs and across his body too.
Eczema really affected and impacted the family as Charlie would wake up in the middle of the night scratching uncontrollably and we found it was really influencing the quality of his sleep. I would go into his room at different stages of the night to reapply the cream and try and help soothe both him and the skin flare-ups.
We had constant visits with our GP at this time when we found ourselves not being able to control the flare-ups and he usually prescribed a steroid cream. We tried lots of different over-the-counter creams for use on eczema-prone skin, which were recommended by the pharmacist.

As a parent, witnessing our son’s continuous distress from the severe itchiness, flare-ups and pain from scratching, was horrendous. He suffered most in the winter and he did not sleep very well during these months as he was in so much pain. We would see deep scratches on his arms from scratching the eczema surface, which looked really painful. We were concerned because of his lack of sleep and the fact that he was in school early in the mornings. We didn’t want him exhausted for the day ahead and, in turn, we were also sleep-deprived from checking in on him countless times through the nights.
There were times when his teacher would ring me saying he was in a lot of pain or the flare-ups were really upsetting him. Both my husband and I work full-time, so this meant I would have to leave work and he would have to be taken out of class because he was so upset. It was horrible to see him in such discomfort and also that it was happening to him in front of his classmates.
If you think about it, eczema affected every part of his life. He liked playing sports but the moisture and heat from sweating would irritate his skin and instead of being excited to do activities, he was always conscious of his skin and we had to play every day by ear in terms of plans changing because of flare-ups.

I heard about RELIFE last year. I knew the RELIFE Relizema range had six products, four to help manage eczema, but I decided to just try the Relizema ultra hydrating lotion first and see where we would go from there.
Every time Charlie experienced flare-ups, I would apply the Relizema ultra hydrating lotion to his skin. The lotion seemed to provide him with immediate relief and I noticed, after a number of times of application, that I did not need to keep reapplying the cream as regularly as I would have reapplied creams in the past.
To see Charlie’s positive reaction and smiling face was really a triumph. He had never had this type of instant response to any of the products we had tried. He actually said word for word: “I love this cream, why haven’t you used this before Mum?” He told me recently that, now that we are using this ‘great’ cream, it felt like his eczema has disappeared. He also said that if the eczema comes back, he is ok with it as we have found this cream now! I realise now that there was always that underlying anxiety present in his head, almost waiting for another flare-up to happen and ruin everything again.
The relief that Charlie is experiencing is a chain reaction in our family and my husband, my younger son and I are all subconsciously more at ease. Being able to manage his flare-ups has made a huge difference to Charlie’s life and he no longer has to suffer endlessly. As soon as he gets that feeling that a flare-up is happening again, I just reach for the Relizema ultra hydrating lotion and apply to try and prevent it.

If I had any advice for parents, who are noticing signs of eczema on their children, I would obviously recommend the RELIFE Relizema range to them, but what works for Charlie may not work for someone else. For example, the Relizema cream, which is the treatment cream, may work just as well and have as good results on the skin as the Relizema ultra hydrating lotion has had on Charlie’s skin. I would go to your nearest pharmacy or general practitioner (GP) and have a conversation with your pharmacist or GP about your and/or your child’s symptoms and see what they would recommend. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it is about finding the right product for you.

*Names have been changed.
This mum received the product as part of the company launch. However, all opinions and experiences expressed in this article are genuine. This consumer feedback was not in exchange for the supply of the product. It should be noted that the Relizema ultra hydrating lotion, a cosmetic product, doesn’t treat or cure eczema or other skin conditions. However, it can improve the appearance of the skin by hydrating and moisturising the skin.