Canaan has had excema on and off since he was born. We used the steroid creams prescribed by our GP which were successful in making the redness go away if used consistently... however the steroid creams themselves have side effects and I was never very happy nor comfortable about using them. We considered other factors in treating his excema. We tried changing his diet. We tried every available type of moisturiser, bath oil and non-soap cleanser. Then he kind of just grew out of it. By the time he started Kindy we only rarely had an outbreak of excema so we would just use the steroids again and get on with things.
6 months ago his excema flared up again and boy was it angry looking. We started using the steroid creams again but this time the excema just kept getting worse. Finally I took him to a Naturopath. They used iridology to assess that he was low in Zinc and that his gut was not functioning properly. So we bought a Zinc supplement and a probiotic. We stopped using the steroid creams. His excema seemed to get 'less angry' but it started to spread. It had started on the backs of his knees and the inner elbows. Now it was on his face and torso as well.
Next stop, my dad. When I was about 10 my dad had been given 2 months to live. He had cancer. He looked around and got into kinesiology. 20 years later he is a fit and healthy Grandad to 4 (nearly 5!) grand children. So I called him and he said to bring Canaan over straight after school. He used his skills in kinesiology to ask Canaan's body (or his body's 'computer') many questions. Dad said that the main cause for his excema was emotional. He asked more questions (not out loud, so Canaan didn't hear any of this, dad discussed it with me later) and discovered that Canaan was experiencing stress at home in his relationship with his mum and dad. Yep me and Toby. We were being too strict and Canaan needed more freedom. Wow.
Dad gave us an Iron supplement and a prescription for MORE FUN!
One week later and Canaan's excema has calmed down considerably. We are all very happy with these results as well as the special medicine that we decided to share with the whole family. MORE FUN!
Nice timing, I've been reading up on eczema recently, because my girls both have it. As Finley has gotten older it's gotten much better, just flare ups and we found Mustela Stelatopia lotion works like a charm for her. Well, not so with the baby, it makes hers angry. I just on babycenter that they have done some research on bleach baths - which sounds horrifying to me :http://www.babycenter.com/0_eczema_10872.bc?page=1
ReplyDelete(skip to the part where it says eczema news update) I think I'm going to try messing with her diet first. I've become one of the weirdos that thinks industrialized food is to blame for all problems in life.
Isn't that funny how differently everyones bodies respond to the world. It looks like an individual response to excema is the only way to go. I will be sure to use my dads skills in kinesiology more often from now on, what a lifesaver!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the food. I've been trying to take it easy on myself and eliminate things bit by bit, as well as add better alternatives. A friend of mine just published a book called 'Additive-free Kids Parties'. http://additivefreekids.com.au/
I also forgot to add that dad tested Canaan on some foods as well and found that he is best to reduce his dairy intake.
I also read up on foods to improve the health of your skin and came up with things like olive oil, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, berries.. there were others which I can't think of now but yeah, just researching foods for healthy skin . Antioxidants too!