Wooo hooo! I finally found a great natural eczema treatment!! - Page 5

[sarahariz]

cookie recipes?

Boy, today I had such an urge to make chocolate chip cookies! Instead I made some out of tahini, almond butter, rice flour, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and for the egg replacer I used ground flax seed with water. They were okay... does anyone have any better recipes? I can't wait until this elimination diet is over! One more week! Of course, then I have to start testing. My main concern now is that dd still has some new breakouts-although it has certainly cleared up a lot. She might be allergic to our cats or who knows what else. It will be hard to test accurately if she is still breaking out. :

[JaneS]

That's the yeast talking!!!
Back away from the honey!!!

[Breathe]

FWIW, I agree that the yeast connection is an important avenue to explore, but it is not always the answer . . . we had stool analyses done on everyone in our family and there was no yeast overgrowth found. Nor have any of us had antibiotics since years before I got pregnant, and I took probiotics (Culturelle) thru both of my pregnancies, thanks to the wonderful advice of a fabulous naturopath. For us it appears to truly be genetic . . . eczema for my dad and me and my bro as children; asthma for dh as a child; food allergies for MIL her entire life; and hay fever on BOTH sides of the family. We are atopic with a capital A!

[JaneS]

I think Sarah mentioned in another thread she suspected yeast b/c of the condition of her DD's poops?

I agree with you it's not the only cause!

[sarahariz]

Yeast?

My diet isn't really meant to get rid of yeast...as I understand it, to do that one goes on a diet of meats and veggies... no fruits, no grains. I don't think I could do it at this point. With only eating chicken, buffalo, turkey, and lamb...

[JaneS]

Mine wasn't either, but that is what ended up happening... the naturopath and I just put 2 and 2 together after the fact... with my past of massive antibx use.... and mild thrush that coincided when DS was breaking out.

So many people told me I was crazy to think that... and still do

[SunnyOne]

thanks for all the info

I am very glad to have found this thread with all this info. My ds is 10 wks old and we have been dealing with allergy issues for several weeks now. It started on his bum but yesterday we realized that what I had been thinking was baby acne is actually exzema (all over his head). I feel so stupid to not have realized it earlier. Anyway, I have been on elim diet for 2 wks today and it has had no impact on his face (although diaper area looks great). I realized, though, that I have had some slips with the dairy (first, not thinking that a little butter would matter then not realizing that something had butter in it). So I am really focusing on getting the dairy and soy out of my diet and going to see what happens. Initially, I eliminated dairy, soy, eggs, wheat, pnuts, chocolate and citrus, but then reintroduced wheat and diudn't seem to make a diff so I'm keeping that in for now bc otherwise I will loose my mind. I've been a veg since 1988 and have started eating meat bc w/o soy and eggs it was just too hard! I have read all different things about how to do elim diet- how quickly should it improve if I've targeted the right things? My pedi suggested using Vaseline on his face- yuk! Has anyone used it?

[Breathe]

SunnyOne, it can takes WEEKS to get your system and then Baby's system clear once you've eliminated all the potential allergens -- that's probably why it's better to cut them all at once and then reintroduce one at a time. I know it's *excruciatingly* difficult . . . I've always wondered how mamas who are veg or vegan do it! (but if you CAN cut the wheat, I'd try to -- it's such a common allergen, maybe even moreso than nuts or eggs, unless your baby is vaxed, then I'd definitely avoid eggs)

Oh, and Vaseline is a petroleum product, and a baby's cheeks are one of the most absorbant parts of his body, so we've always avoided it. We try to use oils: vit E, grapeseed, olive, cocnut, etc. My dh put "Unpetroleum Jelly" from the health food store on ds's face this week, but one of the ingredients is soy oil -- oops!

Good luck, and hang in there!

[insahmniak]

I'm so happy that you're finding this thread helpful. Trying to calm down the reactions and find the triggers is difficult but very rewarding work.

Some thoughts about petroleum jelly -- we use it on her legs when she has active patches. We searched for other things and found that nothing seems to work as well. It's slimy and even SOUNDS toxic, but it really helps her stop the itching that otherwise keeps her up all night. We only use it at night right after the bath (IMMEDIATELY after patting dry). I searched these forums high and low for advice about creams. Everyone seems to have something that is a favorite, some even contain fragrances, which I don't quite understand. Anyway, there are a lot of natural oils, I just haven't found anything thick enough to last overnight. I've found that some folks suggest unPetroleum,which might seem more benign, but word of warning: we tried it on her active patches one night and SHE SCREAMED. It must have burned or stung. We had to put her back in the tub and wash it all off -- no easy feat. She felt immediate relief. I don't know about petroleum on the face, though. Maybe a thin layer? I'd hate to get that in my eyes/nose/mouth!

I think the best long-term solution is to hydrate from THE INSIDE, with the oils that other mamas have suggested: evening primrose, cod liver, flax.

I too was a strict vegetarian for years until this excema creature came into our lives. It felt strange to eat meat again, but I was SO HUNGRY all the time and felt impossibly cranky. Since then, I've done a bit of reading about soy and soy products and I'm starting to think that as a vegetarian I totally overdid the soy. I had horrible PMS, had trouble conceiving (estrogen-dominance), and found myself getting....eczema! But this probably belongs in a Toxic Soy thread, which probably wouldn't be too popular around here.

[JaneS]

OT on Soy

Originally Posted by ohmtaretu

I too was a strict vegetarian for years until this excema creature came into our lives. It felt strange to eat meat again, but I was SO HUNGRY all the time and felt impossibly cranky. Since then, I've done a bit of reading about soy and soy products and I'm starting to think that as a vegetarian I totally overdid the soy. I had horrible PMS, had trouble conceiving (estrogen-dominance), and found myself getting....eczema! But this probably belongs in a Toxic Soy thread, which probably wouldn't be too popular around here.

Oh there are several threads at MDC about the Dangers of Soy, especially since the recent Mothering article.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=234531

My story is similar, I used to be veg as well and had trouble conceiving. Now I will not touch the refined soy: milk or isolated protein products with a 10 ft. pole. One in a while I adore good fermented miso soup.

I started reading about soy at the WAP website www.westonaprice.org and then got the Nourishing Traditions cookbook and feel like I've finally found an optimal diet plan for my family.

[insahmniak]

Please forgive the following OT for a moment of hero identification...
JaneS, you are amazing! You're encyclopedic or omnipotent or some big astounding word or...or...I Don't Know What! I missed the article because I'm not a current subscriber. Thanks for the links. Glad to know there are others here.

...and if that doesn't work, repeat the following in a loud and commanding voice, "Excema! Be Gone!"

[panda]

Hello mamas,

I'm working my way through the pages of this thread. My sweet baby girl has pretty severe eczema - started showing at 3 months and she's 15 months now. She's such a trooper, but it's been a very bad couple of weeks. Nice to come on here and see people in similar situations working together and supporting each other. So I hope you won't mind if I hang out as time allows.

Strength and patience to you all.
Panda

[sarahariz]

new eczema cream

Even though I'm on the elimination diet, I've still been using a small bit of a 1% hydrocortisone cream (Freederm-the "miracle" cream-although it has been far from that with us) on dd's face only at night so she won't scratch as much. I don't want to use it though, so I'm still searching around for other products. One I found arrived yesterday and so far I'm pretty impressed with it. It is called Naturalderm. http://www.multistrength.com/index.a...WPROD&ProdID=3 The ingredients are listed on the website. The only thing I don't like is the smell. It doesn't have added fragrance so I guess the smell is due to the botanical extracts. When I put it on dd's face for the first time, it took the redness right out! I'll keep you all posted on how it works for her.

I also found a NEAT practitioner in my town. I'm going to give her a call and see what she has to say.

The chocolate chip cookie cravings are horrible! But I found a new treat-brown rice Mochi. It is in the refrigerated section. Cut into squares and bake 10 min and they puff up and become these chewy delights!

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by ohmtaretu

JaneS, you are amazing! You're encyclopedic or omnipotent or some big astounding word or...or...I Don't Know What! I missed the article because I'm not a current subscriber.

Thank you so much for your sweet comments!

Really most everything I know started here at MDC, I am so very grateful for how this site changed my family's life/health.

I'll pm you that article...

[Breathe]

wow, sarah, that Naturalderm sounds amazing! does it not sting? i ask bc it has calendula, which can sting open skin

says it for infants over 6 mos . . . ds is 5 mos, 18 lbs . . . what do you think -- do i really have to wait to try it?

[sarahariz]

I think it may sting, because dd does usually cry when I put it on. But she also cries when I put on Alba hypoallergenic lotion (unscented). I ran out of a natural cream I was using which she didn't usually cry with-Herbal rejuvinating Face Creme for Sensitive Skin http://www.gladstonebotanicals.com/p...s/products.htm

[Breathe]

sarah, that gladstone cream has soy lecithin and wheat germ oil in it -- i wouldn't reorder if i were you!

[SunnyOne]

Thanks for the reply to my question. I've been having computer problems so I just got back to this thread finally today. In the interim, I broke down and had the pedi call in Protopic- felt like I needed to relieve the discomfort! We started using it Saturday and he looks wonderful (in just 2 days!). I also reinstated my elim of wheat (since I now understand that I had not actually eliminated gluten bc I did not realize that I needed to include oats and rye- oops!). So I'm going to stop using the protopic tomorrow and see if maybe part of the clearing has to do with the wheat being gone (my fingers are crossed!). It's not been weeks that I've had soy and dairy out (except for a slip last week where I ate some pretzels (organic) and then realized that they contain soybean oil (oops, again). Anyway, I have been eating chicken (after 16 yrs of not eating meat) and my body does not really appreciate trying to digest it, but it's getting better. I'm taking a digestive enzyme to help out. I noticed there are others who started eating meat, any suggestions of how you helped your body adjust? Thanks for all the good info! Sunny

[sarahariz]

Originally Posted by Breathe

sarah, that gladstone cream has soy lecithin and wheat germ oil in it -- i wouldn't reorder if i were you!

Thanks for pointing that out. I read somewhere that being allergic to something that you eat doesn't mean you will be allergic to the same thing on your skin. I also read that it is usually the proteins one is allergic to-and that the refined oil should not contain proteins. Anyone else had experience or knowledge about this?

[Breathe]

I had always heard the same thing about oils, but a couple of people here have said that their dcs were highly allergic to oils, too. I know I sure as heck wouldn't risk anything with peanut oil, but corn oil does not seem to bother ds1 (who is allergic to corn). I guess I was just thinking that it terms of doing the elim diet, I'm trying to limit *all* exposure, and so many lotions have soy oil in them. (and I was taking lecithin *daily* to prevent recurrent mastitis, but I have stopped!)