What We Did To Help Our Son’s Eczema – Without Drugs
By(If you’ve been reading through my Journey to Healthy Eating series, some of this information will be a repeat for you. I’m just wanting to make sure any new people know what I’m talking about!) Also, this is a really long post…I had a lot to say. ;)
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If you’ve had a child suffer from eczema, even a mild case, it can be incredibly frustrating to helplessly watch them suffer.
Our youngest son, now five, developed severe eczema when he was just two months old. We allowed one round of an oral steroid and half a tube of cortisone cream before learning that his condition was chronic and the drugs, if they were to get rid of the eczema symptoms, would be a permanent part of his life. So would be the terrible side effects of the drugs if we continued to give them to him.
So we chose to stop. We refused to give these life altering drugs to our baby.
We were learning more about nutrition, drugs, whole body health at that time. Through MUCH trial, error and prayer…we found a few things that helped him. There was NO quick fix because it has been a matter of healing his body from the inside out. Some of the things we did helped immediately (like changing detergents and soaps), but overall healing is STILL taking place five years later. I wish I could tell you otherwise.
I want to share these ideas with you…not because I’m just SURE they’ll help your child. Every child and every eczema case is different. Plus, I’m not a doctor…I’m just a mama.
And please no matter what your opinion is about drugs, can you please not leave a comment chewing us out because we didn’t give them to our son. I’ve had enough criticism about our choices to last…forever. Thanks.
Remember, we learned that eczema is not merely a skin issue…there’s much more to it than that. But, here are the best changes we’ve made and the best products we’ve found to help our son Malachi with his eczema symptoms:
- We began eating organic, natural and unprocessed whole foods. You’ll read more about all of this (all over my site), specifically in my Journey to Healthy Eating series. We specifically kept Malachi away from grains and sugar for quite a while to help his immune system and to help with his digestion.
- We found this fragrance and dye free laundry detergent from Shaklee to be the best and only one that would not make his rash worse. Many people have suggested that we make our own detergent, but I have yet to see a homemade detergent without borax as an ingredient, and I’m not convinced that borax is okay for our skin.
- We use only pure coconut soap from Tropical Traditions.
- Lotion in general just doesn’t offer much comfort for Malachi’s dry itchy skin. After each bath we rub him down with BeeSilk Lotion Bar from MadeOn. BeeSilk Lotion Bar is made from three completely pure and natural ingredients. We fully trust this product. Straight coonut oil can also be helpful.
- We started supplementing him with Black Current Seed Oil that we got from our chiropractor. Malachi takes it orally, plus we open up a tab and rub the oil onto his worst sores. This has been a HUGE help for his overall healing (digestive system healing) and I’ll talk more about it in my Journey to Healthy Eating series.
- Speaking of chiropractors, we try to take Malachi in for regular chiropractic adjustments. If his body is in alignment, he does better. Plus, our chiropractor focuses on nutrition, allergies and needed supplements.
- We limit the baths. The water seems to dry his skin more, so once or twice a week is his limit. Faithfully after a bath, we slather him with BeeSilk Lotion Bar. (Edited to note…we’re now experimenting with bathe him daily, let him have a good long soak, then immediately rub BeeSilk Lotion Bar on his skin. This seems to offer him quite a bit of itchy relief.)
- He wears mostly 100% cotton clothing so his skin can “breathe” better.
- We clean the house either with good old fashioned water and vinegar…or Basic H from Shaklee. We have NO toxic cleaners in our house anymore. Read here about all of the soaps and cleaners we use.
- Allergy testing…and desensitizing. Our chiropractor tested Malachi, then one by one he desensitized him for any allergies that he was showing a sign of. We were surprised that as he got older, different allergies showed up that hadn’t when he was tiny. It never hurts to try again. (P.S. The desensitizing process is super simple and painless…just a little different if you’re used to conventional methods of doctoring. Here’s a link my chiropractor directed me to, explaining more about this process. Not that I completely understand it. But it did help Malachi quite a bit.)
- I can’t say enough about this one: SUNSHINE. We completely avoid sunscreen because it makes Malachi break out terribly. However, the sunshine makes his rash SO much better. Summer is our favorite time of the year. He always feels so much better in the summer when he’s in the sun. We just make sure he’s in the sun long enough to grab some good vitamin D…but not long enough to get a sunburn. We call it the “in the sun…out of the sun…in the sun…out of the sun…” method.
- Prayer, prayer, prayer. God is the ultimate healer and we are so thankful to know that He loves Malachi even more than we do.
Ultimately, we have found that eczema or not…using high quality products in our home for cleaning and eating high quality unprocessed foods is best for all of us! We are so thankful for the changes we’ve made for our family…and for the relief Malachi has found as well!
Now that Malachi is five, his eczema is SO much better. The worst area is on his legs, and we’re hoping that once the sun starts shining a little more regularly again and he can be out in it…his legs will clear up more. His cheeks are now SO SOFT that I CAN’T stop kissing them. And he just lets me…great little accommodating guy that he is.
If you know of any other great, natural remedies for eczema, please leave a comment letting us know. I’d love for this post and all the comments to be a great resource for parents looking for answers!
P.S. If you’re interested in trying any of the products from Tropical Traditions I mentioned in this post, click here to read about how you can receive a free book from TT about the great benefits of coconut oil. I also highly recommend that you look into BeeSilk Lotion Bar from MadeOn. It truly is a wonderful product and I am so thankful to have access to it!
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Thank you, Laura, for sharing about this. I can only imagine what you’ve been through since Malachi was born – no wonder you can’t stop kissing those sweet cheeks!
My kids and I are three weeks into the GAPS diet in order to try to get to the root of some of our skin issues. We’re not dealing with anything to the extent that you have, but I believe that anytime there’s eczema/ringworm/athlete’s foot/etc, it shows that something’s not right inside your body. So, like many other commenters, we’re working to address healing of the gut and boosting the immune system so that we have healthier skin. My eczema hasn’t disappeared yet, but skin is a major detox organ, so I wasn’t expecting it to clear immediately. However, I have seen some other unexpected great things happen to my health already which have been very encouraging (more energy, lost my sugar cravings, less acne, no PMS, and my normal “acceptable” body odor has even gone – I keep smelling to check and it’s just not there – I’ve even stopped wearing deodorant!)
I would highly recommend that anyone struggling with eczema at least read the GAPS book – I was able to get it through my library. Then you can decide if your family matches up to the symptoms and if your guts and immune systems need to be rebooted. It’s supposed to help asthma as well. And i never thought my sugar cravings were a problem (I mean, I was feeding them w/ freshly ground wheat and wholesome sweeteners after all!), but now I realize that even those wholesome treats were feeding the bad bacteria in my body. Knowledge is power. Now that I’ve learned some of these things, it doesn’t seem hard to deny ourselves for a while in order to bring about healing to our bodies – by God’s grace.
Blessings on your continued journey of healing with Malachi!
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Laura, about the Black Current Seed Oil – is it a capsule that Malachi has to swallow? I’m not sure how we’d do that. Thankfully Daniel “outgrew” his eczema and really has very few problems with it now. Laela’s is terrible, though – especially on the backs of her knees, which look positively horrible. We’re going to see an allergist for her, because I’m becoming convinced that eczema is caused 90% by food allergies. I was very interested to read what you guys have done for Malachi!
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I am a new visitor to your site, and I was backreading today. Our son had bad eczema as an infant. While at church one day, a missionary’s wife told me about something her chiropractor gave her daughter to cure her eczema. It is OmegaCo-3 by Apex Energetics. I was hesitant because it is Fish oil, and I didn’t know how I would get it into my baby. It was very pleasant tasting…slightly orange…and my son never turned away. In a week, his face was cleared up, and his entire body was soft and smooth to the touch.
My neighbor has cancer, and the chemo she takes ruins her nails and skin. I am giving her some to try, and I will let you know if this provides her some relief as well.
And before signing off….I LOVE this site. We are into our 2nd month of all organic, and I’m always searching for guidance in our quest.
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I found your site off another eczema blog and just wanted to say thank you for your post. We have just begun doing many of the things you mentioned are praying it works. Watching your baby suffer from eczema can leave you feeling so defeated, so it’s nice to know that others know what you’re going through.
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Great tips on dealing with infant eczema! A another important factor in dealing with baby eczema is protecting the baby from scratching their skin. This can lead to bleeding, infection, and scarring. Using scratch protection clothing, such as Sock Monkeys Clothing (www.sockmonkeysclothing.com) can be extremely helpful. It is also made of breathable, soft organic cotton, which is the best fabric for eczema. Please check out our website and let us know your thoughts.
We wish peace and comfort to all those out there dealing with eczema!
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My infant has terrible eczema- I’ve found that using Maggie’s Soap Nuts as a laundry detergent is helpful – and also applying emu oil salve to his skin- and pro-biotics internally.
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I’m glad to say that I’ve been doing most of those points above! I was an acute eczema sufferer and thank GOD for my mother-in-law and my husband for supporting and helping me to be better.
What I found about myself is that I can’t eat spicy (hot) food and seafood (except for fish). Because as soon as I eat those, I’ll get rashes almost immediately. Prawns especially make the rashes itchier.
Hope that helps :)
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My 6 yo. daughter has eczema as well. I’ve done quite a bit of research in the last few years and discovered that there are several types of eczema and they don’t all respond to the same treatments. Last winter my daughter got very sick and didn’t eat anything for several days. Her eczema cleared up completely. Well other than not feeding her (Lol!) I knew we needed to explore the possibility of being allergic to some foods. After doing research on this, I discovered that dairy products, citrus, strawberries, and wheat are all trigger foods when it comes to eczema.
We stopped giving her milk to drink (which was 3 times a day or more), limited the rest of her dairy intake along with the other foods I mentioned other than wheat and she improved greatly. I have not completely eliminated everything from her diet, just because it’s very difficult to do. But by limiting it, it’s not as bad as it used to be.
I also discovered that people who suffer from eczema are possibly difficient in zinc and vitamin D (you mentioned about the sun making it better). We live up north, so during the winter of course it is worse. I now break open a vitamin D tablet twice a day and place it on the affected area, along with Balmex! Yes, diaper cream is mostly zinc. Like I said, it is an individual thing, what worked for my daughter, may not work for your son, but it’s worth a try.
I can always tell when she has had a lot of foods that she’s not supposed to eat. Eggs are included in the list of dairy as well. She cannot eat eggs straight. Things that have eggs in them don’t seem to affect her quite as much, I guess because of the smaller amount. I would love to hear what other people have discovered as well. If you do decide to take your son off of eggs and dairy, I would love some help with breakfast recipes. We are just about out of ideas!! Sorry this is so long. I hope some of the ideas help.
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My mom use to make a bath with dry nettle leaves for eczema. She would gather the leaves in a cloth diaper, and soak it in a tub. The water would turn black. We would just sit in there for 30 minutes several times a week. We didn’t need to soap up just soak. We would do it around every 6 months. None of us had very many skin conditions in my family.
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Hello, thank you for all of your great information, I was reading the book The Maker’s Diet and he suggested that pure cedar oil rubbed on eczema would help, I have been doing that on my 7yr old daughter and it seems to work. I am so glad to have an alternative to the steroid cream that the doctor prescribed and would rarely work.
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Thank you for sharing your experiences and learning – they are invaluable! Just to offer another resource for soaps, lotion bars, etc. that are free of harsh and harmful chemicals – and lots of great information, we love Bubble and Bee http://www.bubbleandbee.com. Everyone in our family has their own lotion stick which really helps with eczema and dry patches of skin. We have also had great luck with their body washes, lip balm, shampoo, soaps, and lotion bars.
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For moms who are breastfeeding: there is limited research that suggests if MOM takes a fish oil supplement, it can help ease the breastfed baby’s eczema. May be worth a try!
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Thank you for sharing what helped your sweet Malachi! I have a bad case of eczema, and well try some of your methods to see if it helps. Did you know that 90% of the cases of eczema have either mersa or strep in them? If you fill a bath tub with 40 gallons of water and 1/2 of bleach it dries it up and clears it out. The bleach is weak enough that you can put your face in. You also can go sit in a chlorinated pool for 30 min. and that works also. It really seems to be helping my eczema.
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Priscilla Reply:
April 21st, 2011 at 3:00 pm
you mentioned putting water & bleach in a bathtub is that to clean the tub? Or is that to have someone w/eczema to soak in?
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Gretchen M Reply:
October 15th, 2011 at 1:45 am
The reearchers have found that 1 tsp per gallon (or scant half cup per bathtub full) of water really helps heal eczema…esp infected skin.
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Dawn Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
My daughters eczema gets worse with chlorine pools. Salt water pools are best for her.
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Very interesting! My husband had eczema as a child. They gave him drugs which got rid of it, but it reappeared when he was in college (and he discovered the original drugs which got rid of it the first time had been discontinued/were no longer made).
We have since discovered that his eczema is triggered by eggs…if he avoids them he’s fine, and any time he eats them he breaks out immediately. Once we cut out the eggs, the other stuff (detergents, dies, etc.) didn’t matter…it was just gone (except when he would accidentally eat eggs–they’re in so much it’s hard to avoid them sometimes). I’d love to hear more about allergy desensitizing. What did they do when you had that done?
Just wanted to share one more thing–an odd thing which happened before we discovered the egg allergy. Someone on NPR was talking about how they got rid of their eczema my eating really hot salsa or other really hot spicy food every day. My husband tried this and though his eczema didn’t go away, it went from constantly itching so bad he’d scratch his arms raw, to just mildly itchy now and then with occasional flair ups where it would get worse (probably right after he ate something with eggs, which we didn’t know were the problem then).
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Thanks for this! We too tried NAET and it completely got rid of my sons eczema. My other son had horrible ear infections and got treated for milk and hasn’t had one since. I really don’t “get it” but it works! :)
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I have been following your blog, trying your recipes, and reading replies to your posts for several weeks. I just wanted to say thanks for the great ideas you share about cooking from scratch, etc. I am learning a lot and love trying your yummy recipes!
I just learned today about your son’s eczema. My 10 month old has eczema as well, and reading about your son’s condition at infancy reminded me of my Sawyer’s battle. It. Was. Horrible. We too got a prescription after trying other things first (eliminating dairy and eggs in my own diet, switching to dye-free, fragrance-free detergents and soaps). It was a topical steroid salve, and although it worked okay, it was SO harshly scented that it made him and me sick!
How I am currently keeping it under control: bath once a week in Aveeno oatmeal baby packets, occasional bath with Dove sensitive skin body wash, low dairy/egg intake for me, either Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Cream or Aquaphor or Aveeno Active Naturals lotion right out of the bath and daily as needed. I also give him a vitamin D supplement per his pediatrician.
I’ll try giving him more sunshine, what a great idea! I love your other ideas, too, and plan to try several. Thanks!!!
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I skimmed over your information, but will go back and read it more thoroughly later. Very busy right now, but did want to see what brought you success. My sons eczema isn’t as bad as your sons, but it was bad enough that he’d want me to rub ointment on it for like 30 at a time, because it “tickled” and I tried to discourage scratching so much. I didn’t want to use the steroid the dr gave us, so I looked into his diet. We had already started using perfume free and dye free detergent, we use the original dove bar, which seems to be better than what we used to use on him. But the eczema was still there. On Monday Sept 6th, I removed milk and peanut butter from his diet and I haven’t seen him scratch at all this week. I am going to switch from vaseline to coconut oil. My daughter has been telling me all the benefits of coconut oil (she uses it in her hair).
My son’s eczema seems to get better in the Summer as well. I thought the chlorine in the pool would irritate it, but his skin actually clears up in the Summer time. Go figure! Thank you for your post! I love when people share information that works for them.
Angie
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My daughter has eczema and she is 4 1/2. She’s had it since she was 1 1/2. I tried removing milk from her diet and it helped only slightly. I would have to say the best thing for her (and I know everyone is different) seems to be yogurt. The yogurt with the live cultures in it has actually stopped her from breaking out as long as she eats it. She eats a 4 oz cup of it (i try to get the kind with the least amount of sugar in it) everyday and when she stops eating it for a couple of days she starts breaking out again. I hope this helps : )
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I read your post but not all the comments. I wanted to chime in a few things I found helpful for my daughter whose eczema started about the same time as your son’s. I was breastfeeding and removed the top allergens from my diet. We gave her the oral antibiotics and steroids once to clear up her skin a bit. We found out she has severe allergies to milk, eggs, nuts and dogs, so we avoid that. Her allergist was a fan of daily bathing in lukewarm water with salt added for no longer than 10 minutes. We use no soap on her and slather on melted shea butter immediately after taking her out of the water–no drying off. We tried coconut oil, but she got a rash from it. We also learned that her skin cannot tolerate polyester–she would get rashes from the carpet. So we live in a house with hard floors and she wears cotton only. Her eczema was pretty much gone by the age of 3. Sometimes now she’ll get rashes from the seams of her clothing, but it’s usually when she wears denim. Oh, and I also use a laundry detergent with no perfumes or dyes and always do a second rinse. We also use no fabric softener.
I really enjoy your blog.
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Dear sister,
my daughter also suffer from ezcema :(.
I cried when i see her suffered so much!
now,it is so hard to think of what food to give her as she cant eat anything with gluten,and egg,milk,cheese..?!
but i used to feed her so many bread at breakfast!
Sister, beside coconut oil(which im also using:) )
u can try sesame oil,sunflower oil as well.
And I agree with you and support you!!
“And please no matter what your opinion is about drugs, can you please not leave a comment chewing us out because we didn’t give them to our son. I’ve had enough criticism about our choices to last…forever. Thanks.”
That is YOUR son and nobody can point finger at you not giving drug to them as u believe this is bad for him.Nobody loves him as you do.
If other people want to give drug to their own son even knowing that all drug is toxic substances and carried side effect,go ahead.
May Jesus heal our child and all glory to Him alone:)
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I have dealt with eczema most of my life…until I discovered that I was allergic to dairy. Now, as long as I stay away from dairy (a little cheese doesn’t hurt), my skin stays clear. My cousin and her son experienced the same thing. Through more research, we discovered that ezcema often goes hand in hand with a dairy allergy (with no other symptoms of the allergy really…a little cough or ticklish throat if I eat to much ice cream or drink milk)
In the winter, my skin can become a little irritated because of the dry air, but sweet almond oil takes care of that quickly. I’ll have to try coconut oil too!
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My daughter has eczema problems and there are definitely food sensitivites (gluten, corn, any sweeteneres except honey and sucanat among other things here and there). We’ve tried lots of different things and hopefully soon we can do the allergy clearing. One thing that I have done recently that has helped immensely is increasing the fats in her diet. We have always done cod liver oil or fish oil for the omega 3s and DHA/EPA, which help a lot. Increasing the overall fats, though, have been wonderful for all of us (including a significant improvement in my cracked hands and heels).
Here are some of the ways I’ve added fats: I stir coconut oil and/or butter in everything I can (cooked vegetables, chili, oatmeal, etc.). Homemade ‘bon bons’ with melted coconut oil, toasted coconut shreds, roasted nuts, carob powder, stevia, small amount of honey, and some salt – put in a blender and process until smooth, then pour into ice cube trays and put into the fridge to harden. I can try to give proportions, but it’s more of a ‘wing it’ recipe. They are not really sweet – I would prefer to not have honey at all – but she’ll eat them! I make a kind of smoothie with either carob/cocoa/maca powder or berries and coconut oil, butter, stevia, and salt. I can give proportions for that: 2 T coconut oil, 2 T butter, 2 tsp of carob or cocoa or maca (or a combination of those – maca and carob are naturally sweeter with no bitterness and make for a nicer flavor), 1/2 tsp stevia powder (I use powdered stevia leaf – it is a green powder, not white), and a pinch of Celtic (or other very good) sea salt (I’d like to increase to 1/8 tsp salt to get the good minerals in her….). Put this into a blender, then add 1/2 cup (or so) of hot water and blend on lowest setting until the oils are melted and the other ingredients are well amalgamated. I like this warm, my daughter sometimes likes it warm. If you leave it out it will gradually firm up into a pudding consistency, which is fun to eat.
Well, that is a long and kind of crammed comment! Hopefully it makes some sense!!
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Have you tried hazelwood necklace or ointment? Quite a few mom’s know have tried it with thier kids who have eczema and it has worked. Hazelaid.com has them for a good price.
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I have 2 daughters with eczema. I had the worst eating habits when I was pregnant with them (and nursing them as well). My oldest and youngest children do not have eczema and I ate much healthier when pregnant and nursing them. I really do feel that it has something to do with how I ate.
I am now working on healing myself from a horrible food poisoning incident just over a year ago. I just haven’t been normal since. I found a protocol for systemic yeast and leaky gut syndrome from Herbal Legacy. If you have systemic yeast it created holes in your digestive system, allowing undigested food to enter your blood. This creates allergies to many foods and causes so many of the illnesses we suffer from these days. This protocol is meant to kill of the yeast and then heal the gut.
IF your son is suffering from eczema because of this condition, this could help him. It is just herbs that you take while eating foods that won’t irritate and make it impossible to heal. I am currently doing the protocol and have seen a great difference in myself. I am not sure how it would go over with a child because it isn’t yummy and fun, but it might be worth looking at.
Here is the URL to the article with the protocol: http://articles.herballegacy.com/natural-protocol-for-systemic-yeast-overgrowth-and-leaky-gut-syndrome/
I also searched leaky gut syndrome and researched it a bit just to know more about it.
I hope that you are able to find a way to relieve his eczema!
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My daughter developed a mild case of eczema two years ago.
What worked for us:
Oil of Olay fragrance free/dye free soap
Lubriderm and Eucerin lotion after every bath/shower
Super quick showers (she was 7, so she could handle this on her own)
Absolutely no perfume or fragrance of any kind
A prescription cortisone ointment for the sores-we rubbed on the medicine and then the lotion to lock it in.
I am so happy to say that her eczema did not flare up this winter. Her hands got very dry…but we kept them hydrated and ended up catching them before they bled.
I know these things are not organic, but they worked for us.
I would cry when I looked at her hands and sores and realize how painful they were for her. All you want to do is make it better for them. Praying your little guy will be healed of his condition soon!
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I have a request, please share what the brand name of the Black Current Seed Oil is. Thank you, in advance. I’d like to purchase some for my 2 children who have similar skin issue, the other 4 don’t have a problem with their skin.
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Laura Reply:
April 24th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
We get this through our chiropractor, but the brand is Standard Process: http://www.standardprocess.com/display/router.aspx
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Priscilla Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
thanks for sharing that info., I checked the site.
No Dr. came up,so I’ll have to call tomorrow when they are open.
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I have 5 children and my 2 year old has had horrible eczema since she was born. It has been one of the hardest things my husband and I have been thru. She actually started a whole food protocol from standardprocess to clean her liver and other organs and then really broke out into empetigo. We thought she had chicken pox at first! Our poor tiny little girl was scratching her arms and body completely raw! I would wake up in the middle of the night to find her scratching with blood all over. I begged God to help her and felt so helpless! All of the medical drs said she just had chicken pox. Finally, Dr Jo Cahill, a chiropractor in Stockton,IL told us about cleansing her insides. We are still struggling to find and afford everything organic, but she does do so much better when away from preservatives,sugar, and dairy(still not sure about the dairy). It is still hard, because it’s not a fast fix. I’ve also realized that myself and my 2 oldest have very rough bumps all over our skin. Is that another form of eczema? I get so confused and overwhelmed sometimes. My mother and father in law continue to criticize and give her processed foods. It’s so hard to keep a 2 yr old from sugar and junk food when it’s everywhere:) I could so use some Christian support with this:)
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Laura Reply:
July 11th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
I absolutely feel your pain – we’ve walked the same path and it’s painful. I hate watching my son suffer. And yes, there’s junk food all around – it’s hard to avoid. Hang in there! God is faithful!
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Tiffani Reply:
July 16th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Laura,
I suffer from eczema, have since I was a child. It’s been great for the past 3 years until about a month ago. Long story short, started researching and read on bulkherbstore.com that a paste of raw honey and cinnamon cures eczema. Have you heard this? I noticed a significant difference after one night. I put it on my fingers before bed and the next morning I was shocked! I’ve tried so many things through the years from emu oil to Burt’s Bees hand salve. Hope this helps!
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Charity Reply:
October 20th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
My two year old has VERY bad eczema and we’ve tried a ton of different
things on him. Nothing works natural or RX. I’m interested in how you
do the honey and the proportions. I’m not completely sure how I’d get
it to work on a two year old but with the bloody sheets I’m willing
to give just about anything a try!
Rose Reply:
April 28th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
wish i knew how to contact this person because i’d love to know where she’s at and how is her 2, probably 3 yr old now. :( I relate having a 3 yr old in a similar spot. we are doing GAPS to hopefully solve it. I will keep you in prayer as the Lord reminds me.
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Thank you for your post. I am loving your website and starting to slowly transition my family to a more natural way of living.
The symptoms of your son’s eczema are much like those that my 8 year old son suffers and up until now the only solution the doctors have given him are the steroids and creams. I will certainly be trying some of the things that you mentioned. We also have an issue with sunblock and have steered clear of any and all types.
I am so grateful to have found your site. Thank you!
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Thank you so much for this post. My 7 month old struggles with eczema and I get so overwhelmed sometimes wanting to just “fix” it for him. This post gave me hope! Thanks again.
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Hello, My son who is now 14 months old has been suffering with VERY SERVER ECZEMA on his whole body since birth. We’ve tried so many moisturizers, creams, steroids, oils, oral meds changing of detergents..etc you name it. Majority of days and nights he doesn’t get relief from scratching. Its so sad to see him scratch til he bleeds. We been to the doctor several of times also the dermatologist and their NOTHING no one can do. I am so in need of help!. He cant sleep most nights due to this irritating eczema. I’m so tired of reading and trusting these #1 eczema creams. We spent so much money on different creams for our poor little guy. Its SAD! I need help. I’m willing to try whatever i haven’t tried. Please HELP.I just cant stress enough how much im stressed out about this eczema. He only wears cotton onesis everyday because he raises his pants up and scratch his legs,Sometimes i dress him in pants because i get so tired of seeing him in onesis all the time and when im driving i have to drive with one hand in the back holding his pants down so he wont scratch and bleed. He even takes his socks off his hands to scratch. I don’t no what else to do to keep him from scratching. I have to double the socks on his little hands. Its frustrating. I pray every night that God will Heal my baby from this miserable skin condition. Many nights he’s up all through the night No sleep from scratching all day and night. I pray something will eventually start to work for him, Also i am willing to try some of the above suggestions. I would appreciate any comments and suggestions. Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
November 3rd, 2011 at 3:25 pm
I am so, so sorry you’re going through this. This has been our story with our son. He is finally doing better now – you may want to read this post to learn more about what worked for him: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/getting-to-the-root-cause-of-eczema-what-worked-for-malachi
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Julie Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 7:21 pm
My youngest has issues similar to your son. I hope by this point things are better.
My daughters both had issues from just after they were born. Exclusively breastfed for 6 months the skin problems seemed to get even worse when they were introduced to food after 6 months.
We chose allergy testing at 7 months after an elimination diet for me (breast-feeding) and her did not give us results. We found that among other things she was allergic to white potatoes. This was not something I would have thought of and was consuming when we tried the elimination diet.
After we had results, the whole family went on her restrictive diet. Others ate different things outside the home but I followed it with her until she quit breastfeeding just before turning two.
We still deal with flareups but if she does not come into contact with her triggers she does well.
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I use Avocado Oil for my sons skin, JoJoba Oil is another good one, got it at the local nutrition center.
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Hi,
I haven’t had time to read through all the comments people have left, so maybe this has been suggested before, but just thought I would suggest that vitamin D might be a big help to your son since you said he does so much better with sunshine. Vitamin D helps for many body functions. Most of us don’t get enough of it. You sound like a brave and determined mama! Good job!
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Thanks for posting this. We will be trying some of what you have tried in your home.
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I haven’t read all of the comments posted so maybe someone has mentioned this already. I developed eczema in my late 30′s that put me in the hospital. It turned out to be an allergic reaction to lanolin. I had started taking a D3 supplement since my levels were low one month prior to be hospitalized. I had also noticed dairy seemed to make my itching worse. (The federal government requires vitamin D3 be added to all milk that does not naturally have enough which is usually everything except whole milk.) D3 is created by exposing lanolin from sheep’s wool to a UV light. It took me a year to figure all this out so even though I have stopped taking D3 supplements and am avoiding any dairy products with D3 I still have mild to moderate eczema. It’s as if the allergy even though eliminated has left my skin hyper-sensitive to everything and it has been a year since I started avoiding D3. I am hoping that through different types of cleanses my skin will return to normal. So long story short lanolin, not milk, may be a culprit for some eczema suffers. My dermatologist was perfectly content with me slathering steriod cream all over my body but I wasn’t. She also told me that most people who have eczema will never really know what causes it and didn’t understand my obsessive determination to find the cause. Therefore, I applaud you trying to control your son’s eczema naturally and will pray for you and your son as soon as I submit this comment.
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Hi Laura,
So sorry if you have already answered this elsewhere on the site, but what DID you feed Malachi when you were avoiding grains and sugars at first?
My 9mo has had eczema pretty much since birth, and it is now getting way worse since he’s been on solids and has learned how to scratch. He’s still nursing so I’m going to try to switch to a bland whole foods diet too and slowly introduce the common trigger foods to see if I can figure out what causes his reactions. But I just need to know what should we be eating at first?!??!
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Laura Reply:
February 2nd, 2012 at 11:26 am
Mostly, I kept nursing him very often – more often than I did my others as they were turning one and then two years old. And I focused on giving him lots of veggies. Sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas. Frozen peas were his favorite finger food. :)
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Hi Laura. I just wanted to let you know that I have many health issues including eczema. The doctors have found that I am allergic to corn in all of it forms. I elimated the corn from my diet and the eczema went away along with many other issues that I had no idea were connected to the corn allergy. Removing corn from my diet was a life saver! God never ment for the corn to be processed and used to the point we have taken it.
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I looked at the link for the black current seed oil, but there was no dosage information listed. How did you know how much to give your little one?
Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
April 19th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I gave my son 4 each day, if I remember right.
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Laura, Thank you so much for the information. My daughter who is 8 years old, has had eczema for the last three years. We have tryed the stuff from her doctor and didnt help. Everytime I would try to put the stuff on her she would ran and hide. If I did get it on her skin she would start to cry and scream saying that it burns. I feel better when she would say this. She has it all over her body. She has herself so scratched up that she bleeds. I did use to use Shaklee vitmans, I think it is time to return to useing Shaklee. When you said about only use 100% cotton cloths, is that organic or just any 100% cotton? Thank you so much for sharing.
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Thank you for sharing this. My daughter is 8 years old and has had eczema for the last three years. It is so bad that she has herself all scratched up from inching. We got the stuff from the doctor and she doesnt like it, she rans and hides when I want to put it on her. When I do get it her on she will start to cry and scream that it burns. I am ready to try something else. We did use Shaklee at one time, I think it is about time we go back to useing it. You said to use 100% cotton cloths is that orangic or just any 100% cotton cloths. Thank again. I will post again later after try the stuff.
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