Understanding Childhood Eczema [Paperback]

Penny Titman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Understanding Illness & Health | Publication Date: March 10, 2003

As many parents know, eczema amongst children can be a difficult, painful and frustrating condition to cope with for the parent and the child.

It frequently causes irritable behaviour in the child and sleep disruption. This can result in parenting difficulties, and may even place the child at increased risk of behavioural and emotional problems.

In addition to covering the medical aspects of the condition, Understanding Childhood Eczema focuses on the psychological consequences and how they can be managed, as well as psychological factors in treatment.

Revealing the advantages and drawbacks of conventional therapies, this easy-to-follow guide explains all aspects of childhood eczema in an accessible manner to help you and your child cope with this distressing condition.


Penny Titman is an experienced clinical child psychologist who has extensive experience in working with children and families with chronic health problems. She has completed a PhD on the psychological impact of skin conditions on children and their families which included a study of childhood eczema on the family.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"?A good book to but?" (Familyonwards.com, 27 March 2003)

"?helping to identify the issues involved with eczema sensitively and accurately?a book that will undoubtedly become a first point of call for any parent caring for a child who has eczema?" (Junior, June 2003)

"?very helpful for parents with an atopic child?" (Intl. Jnl. Of Adolescent Health, Vol.15, No.2, 2003)

"?5 stars?invaluable for any family that has a child with eczema?" (Youthinmind.com, 4 Juluy 2003)

"?a very helpful and useful book?very good value for money and highly readable?" (Quarterly Jnl of the National Eczema Society, June 2003)

"?a clear easy-to-read style?can only be a benefit to any house where eczema is an issue?" (Marshwood Vale Magazine, July 2003)

"An invaluable resource for any family with a child who has eczema." (Here?s Health, September 2003)

From the Back Cover

'Sometimes I think I can't bear it, I can't do it, but I do because I have no choice. Who else is going to do it?'

Although eczema is a common childhood complaint, it can be an emotional, painful and frustrating condition to cope with for the family, as well as the child. Understanding Childhood Eczema tackles these difficulties with sympathy and understanding, showing you how to deal with tantrums, sleep problems, scratching, teasing, and lots more.

Packed full of practical advice for choosing and managing different treatments, Penny Titman also talks about how having a child with eczema can affect other family members. Am I spoiling my child because of the eczema? What about the other children? Am I neglecting my partner or myself?

Lots of people will offer you advice when your child has eczema. Understanding Childhood Eczema will help you decide what is best for your child, your family and you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047084759X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470847596
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,852,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not that good, November 23, 2008

By 

L. Britt (ALABAMA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding Childhood Eczema (Paperback)

The author has a chapter called "What is the best treatment for eczema", you would think you will learn some very good tips to deal with it (or that is at least what I was expecting), but you don't ,she refers to the different general treatments, but doesn't tell you exactly what you could use, i.e. other books that I have read, tell you specifically to look for lotions that have colloidal oatmeal, this chapter is too general. I was expecting to find more specific advise.

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book, June 7, 2006

By 

fish - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Childhood Eczema (Paperback)

This is an excellent resouce for parents of children with eczema. It not only talks about how eczema develops and the most common allergens, but also covers eczema management very extensively: e.g. itch and sleep management, day-to-day routine, and how to prepare the child for social pressure when they start going to school, etc.

10 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Understanding childhood eczema, June 4, 2003

By 

Joav Merrick (Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding Childhood Eczema (Paperback)

Ernest Henri Besnier (1831-1909), French dermatologist, gave the name to the condition Prurigo Besnier or atopic dermatitis. Besnier became médecin des hôpitaux in 1863 and subsequently held positions at several Paris hospitals. In 1873 he succeeded Bazin as dermatologist at the Hôpital St. Louis, where he became director the same year. In 1881 he was elected member of the Academy of Medicine as hygienist due to his contributions to epidemiology. In his special field, dermatology, Besnier tried to balance the differences between the French school and the Vienna school. With Pierre Adolphe Adrien Doyon (1827-1907) he founded the journal Annales de dermatologie et de syphiligraphie. He built histopathology and parasitology laboratories at the St. Louis hospital, and we owe to him the term and technique of biopsy. He is not mentioned in this book.
Atopic dermatitis (atopic means alien, dermatitis means inflamed skin) or atopic eczema (eczema is Greek for to boil out) shows an inherited tendency to develop one or more of different types of conditions, like asthma, eczema of atopic type, allergic rhinitis or acute urticaria of allergic type. It is a major problem with more than 10% of the population suffering. Many children and their families will suffer and the condition create distress. Atopic dermatitis primarily is caused by cellular immune deficiency and elevated immunoglobulin E (IgE). The pathogenesis can be traced to a genetically inherited, bone marrow-derived cell associated with chromosome 11q. Abnormal skin reactivity also plays a major role in the development of the disease. Irritants to the skin are believed to predispose an individual to develop dermatitis more often than simply exposure to an allergenic trigger. Nonetheless, patients frequently have a history of food or inhalant allergies or eventually develop them. Children most commonly are affected with 80% developing the disease before age 7 years. Less than 2% will have an onset after age 20 years. Most sources agree that persistence after age 20 years is uncommon. Only an estimated 10% of patients older than 20 years continue to be symptomatic.
Wiley publisher has started a new book series on "Understanding illness and health" with this book on "Childhhod eczema" by Penny Titman. She is a clinical psychologist from University College in London, but now working in a community team for children and families in an NHS Trust.
This book has eight chapters with information on the medical aspects of this condition, treatment aspects including alternative treatment methods and full of case stories and practical advice for families that includes useful addresses and contacts. We lacked a few pictures, but understand that this would have made the book more expensive. We found that this book could be very helpful for parents with an atopic child.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD, DMSc
Director, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Medical director, Division for Mental Retardation...