Cautionary note: I have a lot of information to offer about my sons eczema, and I will probably sound overwhelmed, but that's only because I am. I need all the help I can get from those of you who have been in similar siuations or just have a good knowledge of allergies and exzema. I have searched through the archives and read as much as I could on eczema. Anyway I'll get right in to the detalis of our experiences with eczema...
My son was born after a medication free home birth in October 2004. The first month was trouble free. At the beginning of month two till the end of month three, DS had what seemed like reflux -- he would puke up quite often, but mostly in the evening. When he stopped with his reflux, he then started to develop redness on his face. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it soon became obvious the redness was spreading. DS started scratching the patches he had (only on his face at the time). The patches have got progrssively worse, and now he has spots of eczema on:
Both cheeks -- covers a significant area of both cheeks
Both arms -- only one small spot per forearm
Both legs -- on the outside of each leg from knee till ankle
But before I get in to what sorts of things I have done to help him cope with the scratching/bleeding/scabbing/scrathing cycle, I want to share with you some of the factors that might be a contributing to his eczema.
Food:
* We have been off cows milk for over 2 years now.
* Wheat has been a large part of our diet. I used to make my own breads, and that's when we used to go through 3 loafs a week.
* Almost every meal we eat has onions and tomatoes, both of which are quite allergenic.
* We have always kept our consumption of preprocessed food low.
* Most of our foods are whole foods, but I think we lack the variety of foods that is so needed in order to curb sensitivities.
Unfortunately we eat almost no organic foods because we can not afford it currently. I am going to look into the financial feasibility of more natural and organic foods again because I know there are huge benefits involved for all (we have a co-op here, but the yearly fees are so high it is hardly worth it; I am going to have to go the route of hunting the natural foods stores and/or buying in bulk direct from farms).
Aside from food, I take a daily dosage (2 Tbsp.) of Omega-3 and -6 oils.
As for DS's diet in particular, he is now about 99.9% breastfed. I really didn't want to introuduce solids to him just yet, but he is eager and has give all indications that he is ready (including pincer grip).
Laundry detergent: Presidents Choice Enzymatic perfume and dye free liquid detergent. We don't use commercially prepared softener on the kids clothes. Their clothes get a vinegar rinse.
DS however does not have eczema on the parts of his skin that are most exposed to clothes (his diapers are washed in this for instance, and he has no eczema on his bum). He does however have a constant (though slight) patch of redness around his rectum (I have heard that can be a symptom of sensitivity/allergy).
I have ruled laundry detergent out as an allergen, but I am not opposed to changing to a more natural product -- actually I am all for the switch, but our pocket isn't yet.
Medications: I do not take medications unless I absoutley have to, and it hasn't come to that since his birth.
DS has not been vaccinated.
Bathing: DS is only given a bath twice a month unless when needed otherwise.
We use a commercially produced hypoallergenic bath gel which I have already decided not to buy any more of. I don't know what to switch to yet, but I suspect we can avoid soaps for now.
Pets: We have no pets in the home, and have not been exposed to any pets for about 3 months now.
Hereditary?: Both my DH's and my immediate family have not reported any severe allergies. My brother has mild allergies to strong perfumes. My mother is allergic to gooseberries. My SIL does have some sensitivity to pollen as does DH but it is mild too.
Stress: Obviously having a new baby does bring its own stress, but obviously I am stressed (if I wasn't before, I am now) from Galens eczema (details of what treatments I have done follows). The stress would explain my constant exhaution.
New hosehold items?: We did get some new rugs (cheap quality) just before Galen was born for use under the birth pool. No other big furniture items. I will confess however that our one-bedroom apartment is a bit too small now (yep that is the only way we can survive right now) and I know that there is too much clutter which couldn't be helping with keeping allergens in the air down. Thankfully at least we just got a new vacuum with a Hepa filter. We are also moving to a bigger place soon
What I HAVE done...
* Have kept DS nails trimmed
* Applyed aloe vera to the eczema patches to sooth skin. Worked to an extent but usually for very short periods.
* I eliminated all cheese from my diet. Did that for one month. Eczema still got progressively worse.
* Started applying calendula at most twice daily to all patches. Seems to relieve itching.
* I eliminated wheat 2 weeks. DS eczema actually looked very good on some days, but still seemed to be spreading a bit (though not nearly as much as it ever did before). The subsiding of his eczema inflamation coincided more with the introduction of calendula ointment than the elimination of wheat (though the reduction could have been due to both). 3 days ago I started consuming wheat again and that's when the itchiness really started again. Now it seems like a no-brainer that wheat is the issue, but it could also be that because the last three days the weather has got considerably uncomfortable that his eczema is simply acting up because of stress of discomfort or elevated temperature.
So, is there a sure fire way for me to find out exactly what is triggering my sons eczema.
Should I be seeing an allergenist? I have heard that the testing done is not very good at determining a food allergy (of course DS could be allergic to something in the environment too).
I need help with a good elimintation diet. Should I be going on a diet to eliminate gluent now to confirm that DS is sensitive to that? Is there a good free online resource for how to go on an elimination diet? I have come across so many but...
Anyway, I am just very, very confused about all this. What on earth do I do? Is all my frustration just overkill? I do feel very responsible for my sons condition, and I am a worry wart. I really feel I need to do something to prevent any sort of semi- or permanent damage to DS GI system.
As for me, I am very stressed out lately too, and I always feel tired. Should I also be going to see a naturapath of an alternative medicine practitioner to figure out how to up my own energy levels. I still eat well though not as well as I did prior to elimination diets.
Anyway, I have to go now, but please someone try to help me sift through all this mess.
My son was born after a medication free home birth in October 2004. The first month was trouble free. At the beginning of month two till the end of month three, DS had what seemed like reflux -- he would puke up quite often, but mostly in the evening. When he stopped with his reflux, he then started to develop redness on his face. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it soon became obvious the redness was spreading. DS started scratching the patches he had (only on his face at the time). The patches have got progrssively worse, and now he has spots of eczema on:
Both cheeks -- covers a significant area of both cheeks
Both arms -- only one small spot per forearm
Both legs -- on the outside of each leg from knee till ankle
But before I get in to what sorts of things I have done to help him cope with the scratching/bleeding/scabbing/scrathing cycle, I want to share with you some of the factors that might be a contributing to his eczema.
Food:
* We have been off cows milk for over 2 years now.
* Wheat has been a large part of our diet. I used to make my own breads, and that's when we used to go through 3 loafs a week.
* Almost every meal we eat has onions and tomatoes, both of which are quite allergenic.
* We have always kept our consumption of preprocessed food low.
* Most of our foods are whole foods, but I think we lack the variety of foods that is so needed in order to curb sensitivities.
Unfortunately we eat almost no organic foods because we can not afford it currently. I am going to look into the financial feasibility of more natural and organic foods again because I know there are huge benefits involved for all (we have a co-op here, but the yearly fees are so high it is hardly worth it; I am going to have to go the route of hunting the natural foods stores and/or buying in bulk direct from farms).
Aside from food, I take a daily dosage (2 Tbsp.) of Omega-3 and -6 oils.
As for DS's diet in particular, he is now about 99.9% breastfed. I really didn't want to introuduce solids to him just yet, but he is eager and has give all indications that he is ready (including pincer grip).
Laundry detergent: Presidents Choice Enzymatic perfume and dye free liquid detergent. We don't use commercially prepared softener on the kids clothes. Their clothes get a vinegar rinse.
DS however does not have eczema on the parts of his skin that are most exposed to clothes (his diapers are washed in this for instance, and he has no eczema on his bum). He does however have a constant (though slight) patch of redness around his rectum (I have heard that can be a symptom of sensitivity/allergy).
I have ruled laundry detergent out as an allergen, but I am not opposed to changing to a more natural product -- actually I am all for the switch, but our pocket isn't yet.
Medications: I do not take medications unless I absoutley have to, and it hasn't come to that since his birth.
DS has not been vaccinated.
Bathing: DS is only given a bath twice a month unless when needed otherwise.
We use a commercially produced hypoallergenic bath gel which I have already decided not to buy any more of. I don't know what to switch to yet, but I suspect we can avoid soaps for now.
Pets: We have no pets in the home, and have not been exposed to any pets for about 3 months now.
Hereditary?: Both my DH's and my immediate family have not reported any severe allergies. My brother has mild allergies to strong perfumes. My mother is allergic to gooseberries. My SIL does have some sensitivity to pollen as does DH but it is mild too.
Stress: Obviously having a new baby does bring its own stress, but obviously I am stressed (if I wasn't before, I am now) from Galens eczema (details of what treatments I have done follows). The stress would explain my constant exhaution.
New hosehold items?: We did get some new rugs (cheap quality) just before Galen was born for use under the birth pool. No other big furniture items. I will confess however that our one-bedroom apartment is a bit too small now (yep that is the only way we can survive right now) and I know that there is too much clutter which couldn't be helping with keeping allergens in the air down. Thankfully at least we just got a new vacuum with a Hepa filter. We are also moving to a bigger place soon
What I HAVE done...
* Have kept DS nails trimmed
* Applyed aloe vera to the eczema patches to sooth skin. Worked to an extent but usually for very short periods.
* I eliminated all cheese from my diet. Did that for one month. Eczema still got progressively worse.
* Started applying calendula at most twice daily to all patches. Seems to relieve itching.
* I eliminated wheat 2 weeks. DS eczema actually looked very good on some days, but still seemed to be spreading a bit (though not nearly as much as it ever did before). The subsiding of his eczema inflamation coincided more with the introduction of calendula ointment than the elimination of wheat (though the reduction could have been due to both). 3 days ago I started consuming wheat again and that's when the itchiness really started again. Now it seems like a no-brainer that wheat is the issue, but it could also be that because the last three days the weather has got considerably uncomfortable that his eczema is simply acting up because of stress of discomfort or elevated temperature.
So, is there a sure fire way for me to find out exactly what is triggering my sons eczema.
Should I be seeing an allergenist? I have heard that the testing done is not very good at determining a food allergy (of course DS could be allergic to something in the environment too).
I need help with a good elimintation diet. Should I be going on a diet to eliminate gluent now to confirm that DS is sensitive to that? Is there a good free online resource for how to go on an elimination diet? I have come across so many but...
Anyway, I am just very, very confused about all this. What on earth do I do? Is all my frustration just overkill? I do feel very responsible for my sons condition, and I am a worry wart. I really feel I need to do something to prevent any sort of semi- or permanent damage to DS GI system.
As for me, I am very stressed out lately too, and I always feel tired. Should I also be going to see a naturapath of an alternative medicine practitioner to figure out how to up my own energy levels. I still eat well though not as well as I did prior to elimination diets.
Anyway, I have to go now, but please someone try to help me sift through all this mess.
He can't scratch and so he sleeps better and his skin looks way better. It sounds kinda barbaric but really works!
He is cloth diapered too and I check his daiper very often and change right away (regardless of pee or poop)
: Of course, the truth of the matter is that no matter how hard I try, he may not be fully 'healed' so you are right, time really is my best ally.
