Last night, I went to check on Gaelle, after quite a few days of really bad and itchy skin (slowly getting better today), and I realised she had got up in the middle of the night, looked for her pair of cotton gloves in her drawers, put them on and gone back to bed! Apart from the fact she quite likes wearing them, she must have felt so itchy that she made the decision they would help protect her skin, especially on the legs, when she can’t help scratching during the night (that’s what they are designed for, after all).

That’s my girl. She’ll soon be writing her own steroids or anti-biotic prescriptions!

On another positive note, I have placed my order of materials from the National Eczema Society in order to cover about 130 locations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Dundee, including Health Centres, Chemists, Schools and shops! That’s more than 1,000 booklets, 3,000 helpline cards, 40 posters and 25 T-shirts to be used during the eczema awareness week (18-25 Sept)! The lady at the Society was really grateful and even mentioned an interview in the next Exchange magazine (their specialist publication for all their members). Fame, at last!! I have sent them this really cute photo of Gaelle which shows not only her spirited soul but also some of her bandages and a glimpse of her skin problems, which other member parents will recognise.

I personally love reading the magazine, especially similar stories which make you feel less lonely in your constant fight against flare-ups and infections. So if I could in turn make other parents feel better about what they are going through, that would wonderful.

I have just tried to phone the dermatologist’s secretary again in order to change Gaelle’s follow up appointment at the hospital in two weeks time. Unfortunately, they only do the clinic on Monday late afternoon, so this means she will have to miss her only after-school activity of the week, her disco dance class, which she loves. I am disappointed for her. I know she will be gutted, but there is no other option. The annoying thing is that we keep saying the same things: basically, we just don’t know why it’s sometimes good or bad, what to do exactly and what her skin will look like in a couple of days. The Dr will check we have the right routine and maybe suggest a new cream or two. End of story.

What I am really waiting for is a date for Gaelle’s full allergy screening tests at Sick Kids! How long is this supposed to take?... She got referred in July and still not even a letter with a date. Very frustrating. In the meantime, we might be surrounded by powerful allergens in the house, the garden or in the food and we don’t know it.

To finish on a funny note, we have been talking about eradicating house dust mites quite a lot as a family lately, as Gaelle turns out to be allergic to them, based on some tests done in France. The other day, Gaelle spotted a tiny fly on the wall, and screamed: "Mummy!!! I found one, I found a mite!! It’s the last one and I am going to put it down the toilet!’ . I must stop killing spiders all the time and flushing them away with disgust in front of the kids….