Our eczema battle

Since I have it all typed out right now, I thought I'd share. I mostly lurk here and read since I'm usually holding Max and trying to keep him from scratching....

Max first flared up around 3.5 months. It started on his cheeks and quickly spread throughout his body. The same week it started, I started eliminating dairy, eggs and chocolate, which made me a vegan since i was vegetarian to begin with. After 3 weeks of seeing no improvement, I added wheat, soy, citrus, nuts, caffeine, alcohol, corn (although keep finding new hidden corn in my foods) hmmm, i think that's it... So basically I've been on a majorly restrictive diet for 2-2.5 months.

We use a hypo-allergenic detergent, and I use only a small glug per load. I only use vinegar as a softener.

We've tried many bathing routines. At first we rarely bathed him. Then we saw a dermatologist who suggested nightly bathing. So we tried that and he got better for a few days, but then went back to 'normal', which is red, inflamed and weeping. We never use soap, except a couple times a month i'll use a tiny bit (aubrey vegan baby soap) on his hair when it gets really oily. I always slather him with a moisturizer immediately after taking him out of the bath and at most pat dry, never rub.

We've tried countless creams, lotions, balms, salves, ointments, etc. Some seem to work for a few days but just as we get hope that it may be working, his skin gets worse again. I've refused to use the steroids because while i'm sure they'll calm the flare up, as soon as we stop using them, it would come right back because they don't treat the underlying cause. Thankfully, dh is with me on that and i don't have to fight him over it.

We cover his hands with socks most of the time so he won't scratch his face bloody and cover the rest of his body with long sleeves and pants (100% cotton). Sometimes at night I'll pin his sleeves to the bed so he doesn't wake himself up by scratching/rubbing. Sometimes he figures a way to scratch anyways though...

I'm taking EPO supplements, 6 500mg caps daily, and probiotics. I also finger feed Max some probiotics. I'm also eating a lot of flax seeds and put lots of olive oil on my salad and veggies and eating lots of avocados.

We have almost all hardwood floors in the house and I'm washing the sheets 1-2 times weekly in hot water. we do have curtains in our room, but i vaccuum them and wash them regularly.

We're seeing a pediatric naturopath for the first time tomorrow and i'm really hopeful that she'll be able to help. and the best parts are that she's close, our insurance covers her and we've heard nothing but great things about her from friends.

I think that covers it all. He's still insanely itchy and it's gotten even worse the past couple nights. I feel like such a failure because I'm trying to do everything I can to help, but nothing's working. Our lives have been taken over by this and I can't sleep well at night because I spend the whole time making sure he's not scratching/rubbing. He's such a mellow little guy and so happy despite all this, it just kills me that i can't help.

Eczema SUCKS!!!!!