Friday, March 2, 2012

the battle.



Okay--

Charlie has eczema on both his legs to the point where I would consider it to be pretty bad. He has seen a doctor, nurse practitioner and dermatologist and they have recommended everything from over the counter cortisone to a stronger prescription dose. It works great for his rashes at times when it's red and flaring.

(Updated: He is scheduled to be allergy tested too.)

He is the only one with this kind of skin and neither hubby nor I nor anyone else for that matter has had skin allergies. So what's up with that? Frustrating.

One day I got the urge to start investigating the effects of long term, everyday cortisone use on my 6 year old son. Everything I read and discovered I didn't like. Not at all. Of course, I became even more frustrated, but kept investigating-- which led me to a ton of natural healing choices for eczema.

From non-steroid creams and non-soaps to blackseed oil to organic shea butter to goat's milk soaps and lotions to omega 3 vitamins. What does this all mean right now? I'm on a mission to find a solution that is non-steroid and as organic (100% pure) as I can get to help Charlie's legs.

I want to keep a record of what we're trying and what is or isn't working.

We are also praying daily for Charlie to be healed both as a family and individually. We know that God has to be first in getting rid of his itchy red skin on his long skinny legs.

Right now, we've started with Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Baby Eczema Bar Soap w/Aragan Oil & Extracts of Frankincense and Myrrh and Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Baby Eczema Therapy w/Aragan Oil & Extracts of Frankincense and Myrrh. That's a mouthful.

I'll update you on how it's working...


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Have you tried taking something out of his diet? I had extreme eczema, but once I cut dairy completely out of my diet it went away. It was like magic. It is worth it to try, I know it can be extremely frustrating when nothing works to get rid of it.

thechattymommy said...

I used steroid cream on my eldest's hands for years- she had terrible ezcema since she was a baby. She would itch so bad it would bleed and then a few times she got infections from the open wounds.
Her hands actually were white in some spots from the overuse of the steroids, but praise God they are back to normal.
We used Miracle 2 moisturizing soap in the bath for her and she eventually had no more excema. I then used the same soap for all my kids since they were babies and have had very little dry skin problems.
This winter we have seen some more on all the kids because we have been giving them showers waiting to redo our tub. Although we still use the miracle soap for their bodies and hair in the shower, we really see the benefits of it when the kids are in the tub.
(sorry that was so long :) )

*Katy* said...

I have eczema and use CJ's BUTTer! It's actually my baby's cloth diaper rash cream but it works WONDERS and it's all natural. You might want to give it a try :)

and I'll definitely be praying for him-my eczema drives me CRAZY!

Kelly said...

Eczema is often linked to food allergies. Gabe has severe food allergies, and they are ALWAYS asking me about eczema (which he miraculously doesn't have). I think the allergy testing could prove to be helpful, if you find that he has a trigger like dairy or soy. The eczema could clear up very quickly if you eliminate a food allergen!

Nikki said...

We have friends that make goat milk soap so if you want to try that let me know and I will try to get you a bar.We LOVE it!!

Brenda said...

And look into coconut oil too!

Sky said...

Hello. My oldest daughter had severe eczema that was later diagnosed as severe psoriasis. The specialist said that they have found a connection between food allergies and kids with these two skin disorders. As far as we knew she wasn't allergic to anything. WRONG...We did an allergy test and found out that she was allergic to milk, peanuts and almonds. She loved milk and she looooooved peanut butter. Luckily she wasn't extremely allergic to milk where she could still drink it in moderation. Peanut butter however...we took it out of her diet completely and now she is 98% cleared up. My daughter had it all over her arms and her legs with spots on her torso. They would get cherry red in color and calcified. Her self esteem had definately had a huge boost. People (and by people I mean adults) would litterally come up to her and say "What's wrong with your legs?" It's one thing for a childs curious question but for an adult? Anyhoo I hope this helps. Good luck to you and God bless.

Leanne said...

Hey there! I was going to offer my two cents on this subject, as two of my kids have SEVERE eczema, but it looks like you have gotten tons of thoughts from others on this subject already, and I don't want to be a pest!

If you ever want to talk about it, you can email me at:
mamas1angel513@msn.com

Nancy said...

One of my daughters had eczema on her leg a couple of years ago. I tried all kinds of things to get rid of it and nothing worked. A friend of mine saw it and told me about her experience with her son. A homeopathic doctor recommended enzymes. It cleared him up in no time. I started giving my daughter bifidophilus flora force that I already had on hand. She cleared up in no time and has had no reoccurance. I know that a lot of times what surfaces on the skin is a symptom of an inward problem that needs healed.

The Farmgirl said...

You might consider coconut oil! Not only did it heal my husband's excema on his face(he had it REALLy bad as a child:(....we eat it too, just like butter! Truly delicious and great for wrinkle protection and repair. Also just heard that it can prevent and reverse Alzheimer's.....

JB said...

Hi there! Found your blog through Kelly's Korner. My youngest has severe exczema. At just 13 months we've already done food and environmental testing. She's basically allergic to the environment but not food. Here's what works for her as reccommended by our allergist. We bathe her everyday in plain water allowing her to soak for 20 minutes. Then wash her in regular Johnson's and Johnson's. Then here's the trick :) we immediately take her out and coat her with gold ole Vaseline! We do this before drying her off. It's been a miracle! She had bloody open sores from scratching. I was even asked to come get her from the nursery at the gym where I workout due to how awful it was. But soaking everyday and Vaseline has made a huge difference!

Holly said...

Bokek Dead Sea Salt. My daughter has really bad ezcema too and this has changed our life! 1 cup in a warm bath--soak for 15--20 minutes. Everyday. Then we lather up with the SM organic baby.