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The Itchy-saurus by Rosie Wellesley #NationalEczemaWeek

Did you know that 20% of children have eczema? Unfortunately this figure includes all three of my Mini Reviewers, so we thought as it is National Eczema Week, we'd share a great book all about a very itchy and angry dino!


The Itchy-saurus is a brilliant picture book that was published earlier this year by Pavilion. It was written and illustrated by London based GP Rosie Wellesley, who realised there was a need for such a story when her own child developed eczema.

About The Itchy-saurus

T-Rex lived in the jungle. He liked to "roar and stomp and tear about the place" until one day his skin changed and T-Rex became an angry and wild Itchy-saurus! Fortunately Doc Bill, a brave platypus, who likes making magical potions, mixes a cream to help the Itchy-saurus, but will it be enough to calm his T-Rex-cema?

This is a really fun story, which clearly sums up the frustrations that eczema can bring. As well as normalising the condition, it helps young eczema suffers understand their symptoms and the importance of regularly using their own "magical potions". It is the perfect read for little ones with eczema but it can also be enjoyed by all (non-itchy!) children.

National Eczema Week 2018

This week the National Eczema Society are urging everyone to "Take action on eczema!" and have shared seven top tips to help people manage the condition:

1. Keep your home cool to ease itching – around 18°C is ideal.

2. Go fragrance-free. Anything with a strong scent, from soap to air freshener, may be irritating to your skin.

3. Mind the gap! Leave at least 10 minutes – or ideally longer – between applying an emollient and a topical steroid. This stops the steroid spreading to areas of skin unaffected by eczema or being diluted. It doesn’t matter which is applied first.

4. Pinch itchy skin rather than scratching it, to avoid damaging the skin’s barrier.

5. Use your emollients at least twice a day to prevent dryness, and at other times whenever your skin feels dry and itchy.

6. Go back to basics on skincare. Check with a healthcare professional for advice to make sure you’re applying your creams properly and managing your eczema triggers as best you can.

7. Don’t cut foods out of your diet without medical advice unless you or your child have been diagnosed with a food allergy. If you cut foods without support, you/they may miss out on important nutrients.

For more advice on managing eczema call the National Eczema Society Helpline on 0800 089 112 or email any questions to helpline@eczema.org or visit www.eczema.org

We'd like to thank Pavilion for providing us with a copy of this book for National Eczema Week and Rosie Wellesley for raising awareness of this itchy condition!

Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx


You can buy a copy of The Itchy-saurus here, please note this is an Amazon Affiliate link. To learn more about what this means click here.

9 comments:

  1. This is very cute! What a great idea to put this into a book that children can understand. Having something wrong can be scary to small kids and I could see where this would help.

    #KCACOLS

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  2. I love that this is a book that can be relatable for kids with eczema. So awesome! #KCACOLS

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  3. Eczema ids miserable, I have had it before and a couple of my kids had it when they were young, this book sounds lovely and a help. #KCACOLS

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  4. What a good idea for a book and of course dinosaurs are always a popular theme #readwithme

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  5. 20% -that's quite a lot really. fortunately we haven't had it, not the little one. What a lovely book though that kids can understand too. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time!

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  6. Such a great idea to see this in a picture book, I'm sure it will help lots of children with eczema to see it in a story #KCACOLS

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  7. Great idea and what a great tip to pinch your itchy skin instead of scratching! #kcacols

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  8. The book looks great, and good advice too. My hubby developed eczema about three years ago, and it can be super annoying! I hope your kiddos don’t suffer TOO badly from it. We hardly use any scented products anymore, and I wish it was more widely known that perfume and other chemicals in products we use daily can actually CAUSE eczema to develop, so it’s a good idea to cut out fabric conditioner and other scented products even if you’re not allergic YET xx
    #KCACOLS

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  9. My youngest is itching like mad at the moment and you would do anything to help them and sooth their itch! Looks a great idea thank you for sharing! #KCACOLS

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