The Eczema Tribe - Page 6

[cobluegirl]

Originally Posted by Hibou

Rachel, I don't know if it helped that we were off dairy completely for a while or not before we went on the goat milk and raw cow's milk. I just wanted to throw it out there though, because you never know when it might help someone.
L

oh totally..I hope you weren't thinking that I was denying that there is differences..hehe.. I know there are. What works for one doesn't work for all...
I wish the raw milk would work for my kids..but we have been on it for 5 years or so and well..things aren't different..it might be different if all of our other dairy was raw....I am sure hoping that we can still eat butter and cheese and yogurt but at this point am not holding out... :-)

[gr8fulmom]

I posted this in the Allergies forum and someone suggested I try here,,, so here goes...


I need exczema advice!! How to find triggers?? Treatment ideas?

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Well I am new to this forum but suddenly desparate and SO glad to know I have a great place to get some ideas...

First, there is a family history of allergies, eczema and asthma on all sides of the family... including anaphalactic food allergies in my first cousins... but mostly environmental stuff...

That said my first two ds are largely allergy free (okay my eldest has had hives maybe 4 times... but I'll leave that for another time )

My youngest is now 15 months... he has had sensitive skin since birth but has had increasingly worse eczema since 6 months?? but much worse in the last say 5 months... He is exclusively breastfed but has been experimenting with food since 6 month getting into all kinds of stuff that his brothers leave behind and is starting to eat significant quantities of certain foods and drinks some juice and milks but it is very haphazard and breastmilk still makes up 75% of his calories I would guess...

Anyway he has eczema on his arms on the outside... on his belly and a little of his outer legs and occasionally his cheeks... he also has had diaper rash (we use cd) that looks like eczema and or red scalding skin in the last month or so... (I switched detergents from an enzyme det to a gentle baby soap and his diaper rash went away but now it is back again...)

So, what to do! And it definitely is getting worse... even keeping him up at night scratching... especially his arms and belly which sometime bleed

How to determine the triggers? Elimination diet? What household things can I target?

We have a dog! We have a hot tub (ozonated but it definitely is not good for his skin and its so sad cause he loves it! )

Should I bath him often to rinse off allergens or less because it dries his skin? What soap should I use? is moisturizer a good thing?? Homeopathics? Herbal remedies?? Omega fatty acids? What kind of laundry detergent? what about the diapers?? is the diaper rash eczema or not??


Help!! I do not no where to begin!


in advance to anyone who replies... I know I can look to mdc to find the wisdom I need !

Jen

ps I definitely want to try natural remedies and determine causes before using coritisone!

[Karah R]

I just also searched out this thread after a tip in another forum. My middle DD Kaia's eczema has been under control through the summer months and in to the fall, but within the past few weeks it's gotten BAD. We don't overbathe her to dry out her skin, we use an enzyme-free laundry detergent, and I don't really know what else to do to help it.

We also have dogs--two of them. They've been a part of our family since before we had children and getting rid of them is really not an option to us. She was exclusively breastfed for 15 months, and has been in excellent health otherwise. I just feel so bad when I see her scratching all the time, knowing how much it bothers her.

HELP! I don't know if we should look at changing her diet, or if there's something in her environment that could be causing it. Any ideas, tips, or anything else would be appreciated.

[irinam]

Originally Posted by Karah R

I just also searched out this thread after a tip in another forum. My middle DD Kaia's eczema has been under control through the summer months and in to the fall, but within the past few weeks it's gotten BAD. We don't overbathe her to dry out her skin, we use an enzyme-free laundry detergent, and I don't really know what else to do to help it.

We also have dogs--two of them. They've been a part of our family since before we had children and getting rid of them is really not an option to us. She was exclusively breastfed for 15 months, and has been in excellent health otherwise. I just feel so bad when I see her scratching all the time, knowing how much it bothers her.

HELP! I don't know if we should look at changing her diet, or if there's something in her environment that could be causing it. Any ideas, tips, or anything else would be appreciated.

Does she drink cow's milk? I'd start with that! (I am partial though - it was/is my DD's culprit)

[cobluegirl]

my first thought is dairy..next is wheat....

I am reading Doris Rapp's "is this your child" right now..I would totally recommend it. She talks about allergies and elimination diets and different allergy tests. Good info!!

We are just starting our journey...sigh..Dairy free is hard....but I am sure it will be worth it if that is what the cause is.

[rainsmom]

Gr8fulmom......I dont have all the answers, but there are mamas here that will answer you.

I just wanted to say we have the SAME family history on both sides too! All my sibs have asthma and allergies (Ive never had asthma) but I do have chronic hives on and off all thru my life.....but not food related, mine are brought on by the cold or exercise. Ive talked with all my sibs about my dds sudden eczema this summer.....and my two sisters experienced the same thing at this age and never found it to be food related (or any of their other allergies). The both still have occurances of it when their skin dries out, or in my sisters case, when she swims or goes in a hot tub.

Ive heard long exposures to water and or/heat are not good......takes the moisture from the skin. Ive noticed in dds case that when her skin dries, thats when she itches it. So we have to be diligent with shea butter, lotions etc. She also gets flax seed oil mixed in with her yogurt or smoothies/juice .....sulpher (homeopathic), cod liver oil and her usual vites. Since she's been sick w/a cold the past 10days+, she hasnt had dairy and her eczema has gotten worse....so for us, I dont think that is the culprit.

Check thru this thread for links on info and also advise on what others have said. There are alot of mamas here who can help! I find it comforting just knowing I have somewhere to go!

[Karah R]

eczema

DH and I were thinking that cutting out dairy might be what we should try first. So what do you serve instead-soy? Rice milk? Any recommendations appreciated. She really likes cheese--so that would be hard too but we want to do whatever we can to keep it from getting worse, and try to get the eczema under control.

[cobluegirl]

yes dairy is hard to cut out. cheese is a mainstay in our house. Doris Rapp says if it is your child's favorite food and they can't live w/o it that it is likely the allergin they are suffering from...I don't know about that but it does kind of make sense.

I bought almond milk and rice milk yesterday. the kids ate it this morning on their cereal...we shall see. I will miss the cheese the most. We love cheese oh and fresh cream in my coffee....sigh...

[NoraB]

I just finished Superimmunity for Kids and found it very good...except the anti-fat attitude. The author touts the whole "saturated fat is evil" thing, but the info from The Maker's Diet and Weston Price say different. Anyway, the info on flax and CLO was great.

I think DS might have a little bit of a yeast problem in his neck folds and in some of his leg folds in the diaper area. Sometimes it's clear and other times it's pretty red. It seems to aggrevate the eczema in those areas (the only areas aside from his scalp that haven't really cleared up). I'm thinking of putting coconut oil on those spots, since it's reputed to have antifungal properties. Anybody think that's a bad or good idea (my DS is 2 months old)?

[irinam]

Just 2cents for those considering or in the process of eliminating diary.

My DD still eats cheese and yogurts with no problems. For her the fermented dairy products are just fine.

May be try and do just the milk first (I know many people still react to dairy products no matter what form, just wanted to share our experience)?

[Karah R]

I think that's what we're going to start with first-eliminating milk. It's good to hear that your child can eat cheese and yogurt with no troubles--she loves both of those and I could see that being a problem, so we will start with cutting out the milk for now and see if that helps any.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by NoraB

I just finished Superimmunity for Kids and found it very good...except the anti-fat attitude. The author touts the whole "saturated fat is evil" thing, but the info from The Maker's Diet and Weston Price say different. Anyway, the info on flax and CLO was great.

I think DS might have a little bit of a yeast problem in his neck folds and in some of his leg folds in the diaper area. Sometimes it's clear and other times it's pretty red. It seems to aggrevate the eczema in those areas (the only areas aside from his scalp that haven't really cleared up). I'm thinking of putting coconut oil on those spots, since it's reputed to have antifungal properties. Anybody think that's a bad or good idea (my DS is 2 months old)?

I totally agree re: saturated fat. It is essential for a healthy immune system. Also he is pro-soy

Try the coconut oil in one spot to see how it does. The interesting thing about rubbing pure oil on the skin is that the body will absorb it. And coconut oil is extremely healthy (and excellent for bf'ing mamas to eat btw). As far as I know though, the antifungal properties are only within the body, not outside according to Bruce Fife ND's books.

We use Aubrey Organics coconut fatty acid lotion (unscented).

[gr8fulmom]

I think we are going to start journalling the episodes and potential allergens... and I am going to try cutting some stuff out... maybe dairy last though it will be SO hard for me

Jen

[Metasequoia]

Forgive me if this has been said already, I just skimmed the posts, my Dd - 2.75 has what I *think* is eczema all over her torso & down onto her tushie. We bathe them every 3rd - 4th day using no soap & afterwards I slather her with an oil mixture immediately (lavender, almond, etc.) I recently added Nordics Arctic-D CLO to their diets, hoping that will help. Also, I just bought Avalon Organics Lavender Lotion today, I've heard good things about that regarding eczema.
Her skin is rough like sandpaper & very itchy. Dd1 has never had it (she had a couple of spots when little that looked more like the common eczema patches.)
Maybe I should try cutting something out of her diet.....

[NoraB]

Try the coconut oil in one spot to see how it does. The interesting thing about rubbing pure oil on the skin is that the body will absorb it. And coconut oil is extremely healthy (and excellent for bf'ing mamas to eat btw). As far as I know though, the antifungal properties are only within the body, not outside according to Bruce Fife ND's books.

Thanks. I just bought some GOL coconut oil which I'm planning on cooking/baking w/ and I'm going to try a patch test on DS. I'm going to check out some of Fife's books too. I'd never heard of him before.

[cobluegirl]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

Forgive me if this has been said already, I just skimmed the posts, my Dd - 2.75 has what I *think* is eczema all over her torso & down onto her tushie. We bathe them every 3rd - 4th day using no soap & afterwards I slather her with an oil mixture immediately (lavender, almond, etc.) I recently added Nordics Arctic-D CLO to their diets, hoping that will help. Also, I just bought Avalon Organics Lavender Lotion today, I've heard good things about that regarding eczema.
Her skin is rough like sandpaper & very itchy. Dd1 has never had it (she had a couple of spots when little that looked more like the common eczema patches.)
Maybe I should try cutting something out of her diet.....

this sounds like what my dd has and yes sandpaper is a good word to describe it. We are in the process of cutting out dairy to see if that is a contributor. Just supplementing oils got rid of ds's eczema..it hasn't helped with dd's much. You might try using flax as well as the CLO. It sometimes works better. Also look for allergies.

[rainsmom]

You guys, my heart is breaking over my dd.....she is cryng bc the itching and the sores.....she said 'Im the only one in the world with this".

I talked with my mom and she told me she had it as a child until she was 17 and it bcame chronic bc there was nothing they could do for her. She said it was awful and encouraged me to see a doctor. She also told me my brothers dd has it too but worse than my dd.

So for those of you who have seen a dermatologist, what have you gotten from that experience?

And I think I too am going to try eliminating dairy from her diet. At this point I want to do whatever I can to help her......b4 it spreads further and gets worse. After hearing how bad my mother had it, im a little freaked out about doing all the things Ive been doing that have not changed the situation.

thanks for listening.......

[JaneS]

I would encourage you to find a naturopathic doctor. An MD only has steriods and newer drugs like Protopic/Elidel which could be very dangerous for kids, the studies show that they absorb more of the drug into their bloodsteam on a weight comparison to adults. All of these drugs are immune suppressors which we do not know what does to a child's body. With Elidel specifically there was cancer showing up in young children more often.

There is a correlation with developing eczema first, then asthma... because the immune system gets suppressed in conventional treatment. You want to build her immune system up to handle the load that it is currently not able to handle.

[rainsmom]

We have a ND and see him and her exclusivly for everything. And I wouldnt give my dd those drugs as I have already read that they are linked to Lymphoma as well as other cancers.

I was mainly thinking about allergy testing.......and maybe topical creams. So far, nothing our ND has recommended as eliminated the Eczema completely.


I would also like to investigate elimination of dairy in her diet, but would need help doing so as she is a vegetarian and doesnt eat much besides veggies, fruit and dairy.

[rainsmom]

Has anyone seen or heard anything about this product. Saw it at my health food store. CHILDEASE ALLER-G-EASE immune support

http://www.healthyshopping.com/store...emNumber=ALLER