Happy new year to ye all! I hope ye had a good festive season, and that 2014 will treat ye well. I also hope that all us eczema baby parents can look to 2014 with hope and determination to help our little ones be happy and get a good nights sleep.
In the last month we've been battling the effects of winter on Mr.T's eczema, the dry air, and then the irritated sweaty itching when we first turn the house from cold to warm in the mornings by lighting our stove. But all that is manageable, and it seems ok when at least you know that cause of whatever irritation is occurring.
Of course we also celebrated Christmas. I had cleaned everything as best I could beforehand with real soap, all the decorations, tins, fabrics etc. I also unwrapped any presents he got and washed them so that he could play with them as soon as he unwrapped them, but of course you can't wash wrapping paper.....
We got some very yummy biscuits as a present, and one way or another, whether it was the egg in the biscuits, and Mr. T's egg allergy, or whether it was detergent on the wrapping paper or residue on the toys, we ended up having to rashly abandon 'present-time' because Mr. T was sitting in the corner of the bedroom crying, scratching his very red itchy hands and cheeks saying 'auw, auw, auw!'
Poor little thing. We quickly gathered up all the wrapping paper debris and tidied up the toys, hoovered and mopped the floors, stuck Mr. T in a bath and then,....all was fine again. Phew! :)
Over Christmas that was the only hiccup we had. We went to my sister-in-laws house for a family dinner but I put gloves on Mr. T, and she had kindly washed all the floors with real soap before we arrived. I kept him away from cuddling people with normal 'detergent' clothes on, and from cake crumbs that may have fallen on the floor and all was good.
Since then we have had good days and bad, one very good week where his cheeks and hands nearly cleared up completely. At the end of last year I was advised to use steroid cream for just a few days to see if I could give Mr. T's skin a bit of a break from being irritated that way, and that in turn may make it stronger and more resilient. Only for a few days. I was reluctant as I was worried about thinner skin and a yeast infection that I think he'd gotten before from it, but I thought ok. When I tried it then my efforts failed as we had someone staying with us that was still secretly using detergent based products, so now that our house was safe again I decided to try it again. I put it on his cheeks, hands, and back of neck for about four days, three thin doses a day and it really did seem to clear up. Just when I thought I could stop using it and see if I could sustain it naturally he broke out in red cheeks, dribbles, and nappy rash. Bad timing for a teething bout. I'm not prepared to battle teething with steroid cream, so I'm just going to leave it for now and wait until his teething has gotten a bit better. By then it may be spring and the fresh garden air will probably do him a world of good.
I have also learned that Mr. T's emotions and hunger really affect his itching. Discipline is always a difficult one with him as as soon as I say no, or he has a tantrum he knows that mummys discipline route and sternness is immediately cut short if he scratches himself and makes himself bleed. I have been going over and over the things in our house that could have detergent on them and can't seem to find anything. I'm even looking into making my own toothpaste....lol, even though the one we use at the moment is apparently detergent free. Maybe the missing link is still in Mr. T's diet, or maybe it lies with his emotions. He is a very fiery character. I'm trying to focus more on his tantrums and how to calm him so he doesn't scratch, and if all fails I put his scratch sleeves on straightaway before he gets a chance to rip himself up. It doesn't help the friction burns, but at least it won't draw blood.
Another thing worth mentioning that I have realised a few days ago is that olives make Mr.T really itchy. I'd never heard of someone being intolerant to olives before, but there you go. Next I will try olive oil. I had always assumed something so natural would be safe, but the olives we got weren't organic. The olive oil we get is organic, first cold press, so maybe that will be different. We'll see. Worth doing a check if you have a little one that's itchy and you never considered it being the olive oil, or olives.
My next step is to wait for his teething spell to be over, and I have also been given the number of a herbalist who has experience with eczema. I also have to act quicker when he's angry and put his gloves on so I can find the balance between discipline and an unruly child without the bleeding scratches. Once the scratches are there the outbreaks seem to spread a lot faster than if he unbroken skin.
We are also trying more of the 'Healing from the inside' ventures from Dr. Pagano's book 'Healing Psoriasis', and a new herbal tonic that we have made up called Essiac tea. I will update on our progress when I know more, it is a slow process as I only try Mr.T with new foods/drinks in very diluted doses in case he's allergic to any ingredients. It takes a while to work my way towards the doses that will show any positive effects, if any at all.
I'll keep ye posted! Good luck!
In the last month we've been battling the effects of winter on Mr.T's eczema, the dry air, and then the irritated sweaty itching when we first turn the house from cold to warm in the mornings by lighting our stove. But all that is manageable, and it seems ok when at least you know that cause of whatever irritation is occurring.
Of course we also celebrated Christmas. I had cleaned everything as best I could beforehand with real soap, all the decorations, tins, fabrics etc. I also unwrapped any presents he got and washed them so that he could play with them as soon as he unwrapped them, but of course you can't wash wrapping paper.....
We got some very yummy biscuits as a present, and one way or another, whether it was the egg in the biscuits, and Mr. T's egg allergy, or whether it was detergent on the wrapping paper or residue on the toys, we ended up having to rashly abandon 'present-time' because Mr. T was sitting in the corner of the bedroom crying, scratching his very red itchy hands and cheeks saying 'auw, auw, auw!'
Poor little thing. We quickly gathered up all the wrapping paper debris and tidied up the toys, hoovered and mopped the floors, stuck Mr. T in a bath and then,....all was fine again. Phew! :)
Over Christmas that was the only hiccup we had. We went to my sister-in-laws house for a family dinner but I put gloves on Mr. T, and she had kindly washed all the floors with real soap before we arrived. I kept him away from cuddling people with normal 'detergent' clothes on, and from cake crumbs that may have fallen on the floor and all was good.
Since then we have had good days and bad, one very good week where his cheeks and hands nearly cleared up completely. At the end of last year I was advised to use steroid cream for just a few days to see if I could give Mr. T's skin a bit of a break from being irritated that way, and that in turn may make it stronger and more resilient. Only for a few days. I was reluctant as I was worried about thinner skin and a yeast infection that I think he'd gotten before from it, but I thought ok. When I tried it then my efforts failed as we had someone staying with us that was still secretly using detergent based products, so now that our house was safe again I decided to try it again. I put it on his cheeks, hands, and back of neck for about four days, three thin doses a day and it really did seem to clear up. Just when I thought I could stop using it and see if I could sustain it naturally he broke out in red cheeks, dribbles, and nappy rash. Bad timing for a teething bout. I'm not prepared to battle teething with steroid cream, so I'm just going to leave it for now and wait until his teething has gotten a bit better. By then it may be spring and the fresh garden air will probably do him a world of good. I have also learned that Mr. T's emotions and hunger really affect his itching. Discipline is always a difficult one with him as as soon as I say no, or he has a tantrum he knows that mummys discipline route and sternness is immediately cut short if he scratches himself and makes himself bleed. I have been going over and over the things in our house that could have detergent on them and can't seem to find anything. I'm even looking into making my own toothpaste....lol, even though the one we use at the moment is apparently detergent free. Maybe the missing link is still in Mr. T's diet, or maybe it lies with his emotions. He is a very fiery character. I'm trying to focus more on his tantrums and how to calm him so he doesn't scratch, and if all fails I put his scratch sleeves on straightaway before he gets a chance to rip himself up. It doesn't help the friction burns, but at least it won't draw blood.Another thing worth mentioning that I have realised a few days ago is that olives make Mr.T really itchy. I'd never heard of someone being intolerant to olives before, but there you go. Next I will try olive oil. I had always assumed something so natural would be safe, but the olives we got weren't organic. The olive oil we get is organic, first cold press, so maybe that will be different. We'll see. Worth doing a check if you have a little one that's itchy and you never considered it being the olive oil, or olives.
My next step is to wait for his teething spell to be over, and I have also been given the number of a herbalist who has experience with eczema. I also have to act quicker when he's angry and put his gloves on so I can find the balance between discipline and an unruly child without the bleeding scratches. Once the scratches are there the outbreaks seem to spread a lot faster than if he unbroken skin.
We are also trying more of the 'Healing from the inside' ventures from Dr. Pagano's book 'Healing Psoriasis', and a new herbal tonic that we have made up called Essiac tea. I will update on our progress when I know more, it is a slow process as I only try Mr.T with new foods/drinks in very diluted doses in case he's allergic to any ingredients. It takes a while to work my way towards the doses that will show any positive effects, if any at all.
I'll keep ye posted! Good luck!
