If you know my family, you know that our littlest guy, Malachi has struggled with severe eczema since he was about 2 months old. He is now 3 years old.
We’ve tried…well…everything to make him better.
But, we really, really do not want to resort to drugs…as they might help the eczema…but they would just cause other – worse – problems later (or now).
We’ve worked very hard to find a natural remedy for Malachi. (That’s one of the main reasons we’ve switched to more a more healthy eating style.)
And, we’ve taken some heat from some folks who just don’t understand why we wouldn’t simply give him the drugs. If it would make the eczema go away…
Well, yes….but eczema is not the real issue here… Malachi’s problems are just manifesting themselves through the skin. We want to get to the real issue.
We were encouraged almost a year ago when our family chiropractor called an offered us something new to try. Black Current Seed Oil. And it did help quite a bit.
But winter has been hard on him…and he’s slowly getting worse again.
And now…well, he’s getting these horrible, puffy, pussy, red with infection sores all over his feet and legs.
They look SO ouchy.
I am discouraged. And I am weary. I want my baby to be better. I don’t want him to wimper with pain…nor do I want his sleep to be disturbed anymore because he’s so itchy.
I so want to get to the root of the problem.
Please pray for Malachi. He’s such a tough kid.
I’m taking him to our chiropractor this afternoon again…who is such a good doctor.
He’s more than just a “back adjustor”… He works to help heal the whole body…
He will be testing Malachi again for allergies (we tested him when he was little…but nothing showed up at that time. He was too little and not really eating on his own yet…)
I appreciate this doctor so much, because he truly cares about Malachi and has worked so hard with us to try to get to the bottom of this.
Thanks for letting me share this with you…and I appreciate your prayers so much for Malachi. (And maybe one or two for his parents too.)
I’ll give you an update after our appointment.
You are all a blessing to me. :)
Ohhhh. Poor little guy! :-( I’m sorry he’s not feeling good, that has to feel awful! I get it on my hands because of the harsh winter dryness, and I know how much that hurts- I couldn’t imagine having it all over! Praying for you all! Love ya!
Oh, poor baby. We struggle some here with eczema. I’m considering buying a water filter for our shower head. A friend of ours did this for her child and her eczema almost entirely went away. I’ve also always heard that eczema can be caused by a dairy allergy. I hope that you get some answers!
Tracy
You said you have tried everything short of drugs, so you may have already given this a shot – but we’ve gotten good results on the huge patches that were on my baby boy’s face by using Aveeno’s new eczema specific lotion. I was originally using a Jason organic baby lotion and it helped a little, but switching to the Aveeno helped a LOT. Now he is looking much better and while he’s had a few rough days (like today, when he got all splotchy after an “I don’t want a nap” fest) it has helped immensely. Even when he gets red and starts a breakout his skin doesn’t get so very dry and get all cracked.
Hope it’s of assistance. We searched the baby aisle and it’s not there – I read their ad closer in one of the magazines and realized they were in the first aid aisle, with the anti-itch/cortisone creams. But it’s colloidal oatmeal based like their other good lotions.
My son has had eczema ever since he was a baby. I too wanted to avoid heavy medication for it. We found Gentle Naturals Eczema Cream kept his skin from getting to the point of total breakout. I think I bought my tube at CVS,it has lasted for about 3 years now. A little goes a long way. Sorry your little boy is struggling so much. My son just had his first flare up recently after it being under control for a couple of years. We thought he had totally outgrown it but not yet.
Hope it helps. God bless you and I really enjoy your blog.
Christy
Poor baby, and poor Mama and Daddy. I’ll be praying!
Four of my babies had eczema, one quite badly, but thank God they all outgrew it by the time they were about 18 months. I completely understand about not wanting to use drugs – it was the same with us. I’ll pray that you find something that works for him soon. (Have you tried Emu Oil?)
My youngest 2 sons have had eczema, very mild cases compared to yours I am sure, when they were infants (the youngest still has it at 4 months old). With ds #2 euceran cream (the think stuff) worked wonders. With ds #3 that didn’t do anything. What is helping is Auqaphor Baby. It is clear and very thick and it works if I used it EVERY day. But a little goes a long way. I got the tube at Walgreens. I hope that you are able to find some relief for your little guy.
Blessings,
Carie
I had eczema as a kid, too. I got it on the back of my thighs, so sitting down was SO uncomfortable. I used a cortisone type cream on it (is that a drug??), and worked hard to keep it clean and dry (no sweat). I grew out of it by high school..yeah, that seems like a long time, but I figured out it was triggered by stress, so if I could control my stress, the eczema was under control, too. I was a school nerd, so assignments and school work stressed me out – I wanted to get those good grades!
I hope you find something soon that works for Malachi.
My younger son suffered like this when he was young, too. My heart would just ache for him. I finally found Simicort and it worked for him (some disagree as to whether this is all natural or not because it has salicytic acid in it, but it also has licorice root that really seems to help. Also, it can help some and aggravate others…it just depends on the person. For my son, it was almost instant relief…and over time it got better and better until it was gone). He would start to itch and would come to me and ask me for “his cream”. He no longer has a problem with it…even though his doctor said that it would be a life long problem. My daughter had a milder case and it didn’t help her. Burt’s Bees Apricot Baby Oil in her bath water helped her (I made sure that both of them got minimal baths, since those are so drying to the skin…and got rid of the baby shampoo and lotions)…and also made her hair so shiny and pretty, too. ;-) Ironically, this son has fewer allergies than my other kids. But, he does show more lactose intolerance. My husband’s side of the family has eczema and psoriasis…and he tends to take after that side.
You are sooo not alone- my oldest boy suffered when he was a baby- I did not want to do the steroid cream/symptom suppression route. I was breastfeeding and changed my diet the best that I could. Well it worked and he is tons better now. However I’ve gotten a tiny bit slack on some of our nutrition habits (which I’m seeking to rectify) and I notice his face/arms get sensitive again when he is repeatedly exposed to the things that made him stay away at night screaming and itching his face till it bled on my shoulder. Poor baby. I know it’s tough, but hang in there. I’m here if you need any help/advice
None of my kids have eczema but I have quite a few friends who have kids that do. Many of them feel like you do and do not want to resort to steroid creams. The daughter of one friend has found great relief using Arbonne skin products. The products are botanically based and work great on sensitive skin.
I will definitely pray for you guys. As miserable as you little one is, I think it is harder on the parents when nothing seems to be working.
Laura, I realize I’m a little late on this post and haven’t read the results of your visit yet, but our 19 month old has extremely severe eczema, and we’ve been using a treatment that has had better results than anything else yet. As an aside, it’s encouraging to hear of other people doing it the natural way.
Have you heard of the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle? You could probably get it from the library. It’s a total diet change (read, lots and lots of extra cooking), but it’s based on the premise that a lot of this is gut damage and that the gut needs to be healed.
We are just like you and believe that the problems are internal and that external creams are not going to solve that problem. That said, we do resort to over-the-counter cortizone now and then.
Anyways, you can also look at pecanbread.com and joint the yahoo group associated with it. Warning: lots of emails!
Our son’s face was raw and his bedding had to be changed after every sleeping (night or nap) because it was covered with blood. HIs fingers were crusted and bleeding at all times. When I joined the group, I posted my son’s symptoms and a lady off-group responded and told me that her daughter was so bad at 2 years old that she was in long sleeves and pants all the time that they duct taped to her! She’s been on it for 4 years and is completely cleared! She was just starting to reintroduce foods.
So, if you’re interested it’s a long journey, but I could help with support too. I’ve been on it for 1 1/2 months.
Just another suggestion.