Update on Miya’s Skin Asthma

I was so happy to see Miya like this last night. This isn’t a regular sight in our home – Miya wearing sleeveless and shorts. She would be usually wearing a longsleeves top, pajamas and socks. Yes, even at home! I’ve briefly mentioned here that Miya’s atopic dermatitis (or skin asthma in layman’s term) was acting up again. Hence, the outfit. Good thing a friend of ours referred their pedia-allergologist. Her son also had skin asthma but he eventually outgrew it. The doctor’s clinic is in PCMC, so we trooped there two Saturdays ago and waited for a few hours before Miya’s turn. Dr. Sumpaico was a very gentle doctor as a pedia should be. She confirmed that indeed Miya has skin asthma. She told us not to get frustrated when there are good days and bad days because that is how skin asthma is. There will be days when her skin will be clear, then there will be days for flare-ups.

I’m sharing what she told us in case other Mommies whose children has skin asthma happen to stumble upon this blog of mine. Here’s her prescription for MIya:

1. Quick bath using lukewarm water
2. Mustela cream cleanser/Cetaphil Restoraderm Wash as shampoo
3. Rinse off.
4. Pat dry.
5. Mustela emollient cream all over body and extremeties while she’s still damp and as necessary whenever she feels dry.

We’ve actually been doing this already. Dr. Sumpaico actually asked us what we've been using for Miya hence, those producst listed above. She told us we can give Miya a bath atleast twice a day. I was afraid to give Miya a bath twice a day because I’ve read here that water actually dries the skin more. We put Mustela Milky Bath in Miya’s bath water just to contradict the drying quality of water. But according to Dr. Sumpaico, we can give her a bath as long as it’s a quick bath because Miya’s sweat will make her itch more. So during hot, humid days we can actually give Miya several baths a day, just a quick quick shower (buhos lang ng tubig) to refresh her skin and then immediately put lotion on her whole body. She also told us not to use cotton or wetcloth when we’re giving Miya her bath. We only need to use our hands when applying the liquid soap on her body. We used to use cotton when we give Miya her bath. Aside from these, she prescribed Desowen lotion (which is a corticosteroid) for the flare-ups. For days without flare-ups, we only need to do numbers 1-5 above. I also instructed our yaya to still use Mustela Stelatria on the rough parts of Miyas’ skin. She also told us we can give Miya Virlix Oral Drops (5 drops) twice a day for next 4 weeks since Miya has flare-ups during our checkup. For the last two weeks, this is what we’ve been doing. We don’t really give Miya a bath during the night because my yaya is afraid Miya might get the colds. So we still use Mustela No-Rinse Cleansing Water during the night. No baths during the night, punas lang. Although I told yaya that when Miya gets sweaty in the afternoon, she can give Miya a bath. We’ve used Desowen only a handful of times. I’m really happy that Miya’s skin is so soft now and almost all over her body. This is the first time that has happened since she was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis (this was during her 4^th month). She only has a few flare-ups (well, some blisters because she scratches like there’s no tomorrow) on her feet. You know that crease where your foot is connected to your leg, that’s where she has blisters still. But she’s not scratching herself to death anymore so I’m happy as a clam! For some, they might think I'm overreacting to seeing my daughter in shorts and sando, but really, seeing my daughter wearing those is a major feat in our household. I’ve been praying that she’ll finally get rid of all those skin rashes/blisters. We’re finally in the homestretch. Hopefully, she’ll outgrow this. Dr. Sumpaico said if she doesn’t outgrow this by the time she reached her teenaged years, she’ll probably have this for life. I hope she’ll outgrow this before she turns two. 

By the way, in case you're wondering this is not a paid post by Mustela. We really just use all of their Stelatopia line. This is what works for Miya.

Dr. Madeline Sumpaico
Tel No. 9246601 (PCMC trunkline)
Rm 19 Philippine Children's Medical Center