My son has eczema around his eyes and ru

Short version: rubbing is the thing to break, and the way to break it is to give him something cold to put on instead of only telling him to stop. Tonight is doable in about 15 minutes with what you already have in the house.

I am not diagnosing this, and I cannot tell from here whether it is only the skin of the lids or whether the eye surface itself is involved. That is exactly what an eye doctor's job is, and it is the reason the red-flag list at the end matters more than the itch.

1) What you tried vs a better alternative

What you tried — telling him to stop — is a rule with nothing in his hands, and rules without a substitute lose by bedtime. Same lever, different shape:

• Cold over the closed lids, 2-3 minutes, and he holds it. A clean cloth and a bowl of cold water from your kitchen, wrung out, a few minutes in the freezer if it is not cold enough. Cold is the thing that actually takes the itch down, and it is in his hands.
• Then a thin layer of the fragrance-free moisturizer you already have, on the skin around the eye, gently, with clean fingers or a soft pad. If the label does not say the eyelid area, ask the GP or the pharmacist where it is meant to go before using it there. Keep it out of the eye itself.
• The steroid cream from the GP: keep it exactly where and how often the GP or the label said — near the eye, the skin of the lid is the thinnest in the body, so do not extend it onto the lid or around the eye on your own initiative, and do not add extra applications. If you are unsure whether that cream is meant for the lid area, that is a one-question call or clinic visit, not a guess.
• Nails short. A soft cloth or cotton glove at night if he scratches in his sleep. This is usually the highest-yield change of the week and it is free.
• Hands washed before and after touching his face, his own towel, his own pillowcase. School week means the flare-ups often follow what he touches during the day.
• Give him the job: he picks the cloth, he sets a timer, he decides cold-then-moisturizer. A child who owns the routine rubs less, not because you nag more.

2) Constraints and the avoid list

• No powders of any kind, no talc or starch, no perfumed wipes, no scented products near his face, no scrubbing or loofah on that skin, no hot water on the itch.
• No leftover steroid or antibiotic drops or creams from anyone else, and nothing bought online without a prescription.
• Do not change, extend, or stop the GP's steroid cream on your own; periorbital skin is different from the rest of the body and that decision belongs to the prescriber or a pharmacist.
• No food changes, no elimination diets, no supplements. Eczema around the eyes is not a food problem you can fix tonight, and "try this diet for a month" is how a tired family loses a month.
• The flare will not be gone in a day. You are aiming at quieter itch and less rubbing, not clear skin.

3) Decision tree — when it stops being home care

Go to an emergency department or call your local emergency number now, do not wait for the referral, if any of these are true:

• He says the eye hurts, or light hurts, or his vision is blurred or worse than usual.
• One eye is noticeably red and swollen, the eye bulges, will not move properly, or looking around hurts.
• He cannot open the eye, or there is thick yellow crust or pus, or the swelling is spreading along the cheek.
• Small round "punched-out" sores or clustered blisters appear on the eczema, especially on the face — those are treated as same-day at minimum, and straight to hospital if his eyes are involved or he is unwell.
• Skin peeling off in sheets, or he becomes generally unwell, off food, floppy, or not drinking.
• Pain that is much worse than the redness looks — get the address of where you are going beforehand if you can, on the days you are home alone.

Same-day, call the clinic or go in:

• The eye itself is red (not just itchy lids) even without pain.
• He has rubbed hard enough to open a sore, or the skin around the eye is scabbing.
• He cannot sleep more than a couple of hours stretch because of the itch.

Book an eye or GP review within the week (do not wait for the dermatology appointment):

• He is rubbing hard most days and it has not quieted after 2-3 days of doing the routine above consistently.
• The eczema has never been assessed around the eyes before, or the periocular area is new or getting worse.

And when the dermatology appointment comes: say the words "the itching is around his eyes and he rubs hard" at the start of the appointment, and ask whether they want an eye opinion alongside — many clinics will add it rather than making you book again.

What success looks like in 24 hours (a fair target, not a cure): the itch is quieter so he can get to sleep, rub-urges are fewer and shorter, the skin around the eyes looks less dry and flaky, no new red or crusty patches, and he still has a normal school day. Take one photo of both eyes in the same light tonight and one tomorrow morning — comparing beats remembering. If the itch is not quieter by 2-3 days of consistent routine, that is a booking, not a failure.

Tonight's 15 minutes, in order: 1) wash hands, 2) 2-3 minutes cold compress, both eyes, 3) thin moisturizer layer around the eyes, 4) nails checked, 5) towel and pillowcase swapped, 6) one photo with the date on it. Under a quarter hour, no cooking involved.

One question that changes what happens next: is the itch on the skin of his eyelids, or does he also say the eye itself hurts, or that light bothers him?