So sad!
Poor little girl has just enough motor skills to use her hand to claw her forehead in an effort to scratch the itch! So, according to the mainstream wisdom, I am cutting out all dairy, eggs, and wheat in an effort to see if it improves. Apparently, that's not always the fix. I am doing my own research via my old nursing school resources. There seems to be a lot of different theories. I just want my little girl to stop itching!
I'm also moisturizing with my special blend of shea butter, coconut oil, vitamin E, jojoba oil, and some essential oils. I'm hoping that the lack of chemical additives will be a positive thing.
Here's some of what I found in the research department. Three different articles seemed to have pertinent info and be from reliable sources:
"In conclusion, the current prospective study found that among Japanese infants, a high mite allergen level from maternal bedclothes and mold in the kitchen during pregnancy were significantly associated with an increased risk of suspected atopic eczema, whereas frequent vacuuming practices during pregnancy and giving the infant a bath or shower at least once a day were significantly inversely related to the risk of suspected atopic eczema."
Source:
Home environment and suspected atopic eczema in Japanese infants: The Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol, 2007: 18: 425-432
Authors: Miyake Y, Ohya Y, Tanaka K, Yokoyama T, Sasaki S, Fukushima W, Ohfuji S, Saito K, Kiyohara C, Hirota Y.
"Eczema in breast fed infants has a high rate of spontaneous improvement, which is often wrongly attributed to maternal dietary exclusion; nevertheless, a subgroup of such babies do seem to be genuinely affected by foods in their mothers' diets, especially egg and cows' milk. It is probably sensible for mothers who are breast feeding babies with eczema or gastrointestinal symptoms to avoid egg and cows' milk completely for a trial period of two weeks and then return to a normal diet. Only if this produces a considerable improvement and then deterioration in their child's condition should they return to an exclusion diet, and then it should be with dietetic help to ensure nutritional adequacy."
Source:
Effect of maternal dietary exclusion on breast fed infants with eczema: two controlled studies. British Medical Journal, 1986
Authors: Cant, A., Bailes, A., Marsden, R. A., Hewitt, D.
"The lack of any clear exposure--disease relationship between allergens in early life and subsequent eczema argues against allergen exposure being a major factor causing eczema. If the lower levels of eczema at higher level of house dust mite are confirmed, then interventions aimed at reducing house dust mite in early infancy could paradoxically increase the risk of subsequent eczema."
Source: Early allergen exposure and atopic eczema, Epidemiology and Health Services Research.
Authors: Harris, J.M., Williams, H.C., White, C., Moffat, S., Mills, P., Newman Taylor, A.J., Cullinan, P.
Jana, both my girls have ecxema too. I'd love your moisturizer recipe if you're willing to shaare it. Let me know if you come up with anything else to help. I've started making my own laundry deterent, and I've seen a bit of an improvement with that. I'll let you know if I find anything else that works for us.
ReplyDelete-Shauna
Shauna,
ReplyDeleteI'd be glad to share my recipe. I actually made it for a stretch mark cream when I was pregnant. It worked great! No stretch marks. But I figured it would work well for Evie also.
"Belly Butter"
(fills two 8 oz. wide mouth jars)
100 ml shea butter
100 ml coconut oil
1 Tb jojoba oil
1/2 tsp. vitamin E oil
50 gtts (drops) mandarin essential oil
20 gtts lavender essential oil
20 gtts frankincense essential oil
1. Whip shea and coconut oil together with whisk until smooth.
2. Whisk in remaining ingredients.
3. Heat over very low heat til all lumps are gone, while whisking continually. (I use a double boiler.)
4. Cool in ice water bath, whisking til thickened.
5. Place in jars.
Hope that you see some improvement. Have you changed anything with your diet? Also, would you mind sharing how you make your laundry detergent?
Thanks!
~Jana
Thankyou so much for the recipe! Now I just have to find a source for the ingredients.
ReplyDeleteHere's my laundry detergent:
1 bar soap (I use either ivory or homemade)
1/2 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
1/2 cup borax
Grate soap, and place in sauce pan with 6 cups water. Heat until soap melts. Add wasing soda and borax. Stir until dissolved. Pour 4 cups hot water into a bucket. Add soap mix and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups water (enough to make two gallons total). Stir. Let sit for 24 hours to gel. Use 1/2 cup per load.
If you like, you can add essential oils to make it smell pretty, but for Heidi, I'm trying to go with as little additives as possible
I am considering eliminating things from her diet to see if that makes a difference, but I don't have much support there from Karl, so I thought I'd try the exterior influences first. Let me know if diet helps Evelyn at all.
Thanks, Shauna
Thank you, Shauna! I really appreciate you sharing it.
ReplyDeleteSo far, my diet has not done a THING. In fact, she's getting new outbreaks on her legs. According some more reading I've done, it's more likely to be related to some genetic issue with the protective layer of the skin. So, I'm constantly trying to keep her skin moisturized. I'll let you know if I discover anything new!