My son started school full-time for the 1st time at 3 years old. Within the first few months, he experienced an onset of symptoms of eczema. Some kids get ear infections or cold symptoms or the flu when exposed a different environment other than home for the first time (i.e. school). In Aaron’s case, his skin reacted. Along with eczema comes sleep deprivation. The middle of the night called for multiple drinks (NOT a drink) of water, rubbing my son down with lotions and oils, praying with my husband to ail his discomfort and so on. I tried everything I used when he was about 2 months old so that the night’s itchiness would not keep the three of us from sleeping better.
After more than 2 years of no symptoms, I retreated to things I learned before. In the process of trying to find natural remedies that worked best for the rash and itching, I’ve learned (or re-learned) what brought on the most noticeable differences.
Before you do anything, you should make yourself aware of the nature of eczema like symptoms before trying any remedy because it shows up differently for different people. It can be super dry and scaly or it can appear in the form of oozing blisters. With eczema, the body doesn’t do a good job of retaining moisture (especially with the dry and scaly type like Aaron’s TEMPORARY condition). Finding the best ways to help the body retain moisture is going to be important.
That said, you should definitely try some of these things. They showed the most noticeable differences for my son.
1. Purchase a humidifier – overly dry air can irritate the skin more.
2. Don’t use washcloths – When bathing or showering, a washcloth will further irritate the skin.
3. Use cleansers or soaps that don’t over dry – I was told that giving a bath every day would over dry the skin. Water is the skin’s best friend because it hydrates the skin in the ways that it needs to be hydrated. The key is to know how to maximize on that hydration. One way is to seal it in with an oil (coconut, jojoba, avocado or pure olive oil). Dry skin equals itchy skin and itchy skin means scratching hands. Scratching hands means open cuts and a prolonged healing process.
4. Drink plenty of water & adjust the diet – what happens internally is just as, if not more, important as how you treat the outside. Drinking water and watching for what foods trigger the rash are helpful. There are common triggers such as dairy, but again, every case is different and the best approach is to be watchful and mindful.
5. Give supplements – By promoting your child’s internal health, you are aiding what happens on the outside. As of late, I have been spiking my son’s orange juice with cod liver oil. Cod liver oil (fermented) is high in fatty acids that are anti-inflammatory in nature (great for those flare-ups).
6. Wet Wraps – This would be on my top 3 list. After a bath, while somewhat damp, I lathered my son’s body with coconut oil and immediately wrapped his arms with gauze (wet or dry). The wet gauze keeps the moisture inside, which gives the skin a cooling sensation alleviating the itchy feeling and reducing inflammation.
Watching my son’s discomfort was painful for me, but taking the above steps helped to alleviate that discomfort.
What do you think about natural remedies? Have you tried them before?
Wife to an amazing husband, mother to an exploring toddler and an MPA graduate aspiring to impact the world with encouragement in mothering and in social entrepreneurship.
10 Comments
Migdalia - @MsLatina
December 12, 2016 at 12:10 amI’m so sorry your son is going through these flare-ups. A friend of mine suffers from eczema. Hers is stress related, the more stressed the stronger and longer the flare-up. Perhaps your son is going through the same thing? Starting school, in a new class, can be so stressful for children! I really hope it gets better.
Btw, my friend uses ice packs at night. She places them on the parts that itch. The cold seems to alleviate the itching. Not sure if this will work for your little. Hopefully, you’ll find something that will work asap.
{{Hugs}}
Normel Smith
January 14, 2017 at 9:44 amThat is great insight Migdalia. It is progressively getting better. I can’t imagine my little one tolerating an ice pack, but its a great tip. Thanks.
Sam Miles
December 13, 2016 at 4:50 pmWe have amazing solutions to your skin problems, our founder was a psoriasis suffer until he found the wonderful Neem oil. We have great range that might help your son. Perhaps we could send you some samples?
Normel Smith
January 14, 2017 at 9:43 amHi Sam, that would be great. I would love to try it. Shoot me an email and let’s talk.
Adanna
December 19, 2016 at 9:57 amI can just imagine how frustrating this must be for you as a mom especially with it going away for two years. I hope with all the things you’ve learned in the past you’re able to get it to go away in the near future for good.
Normel Smith
January 14, 2017 at 9:42 amThanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it.
momtrends
December 19, 2016 at 10:01 amWe always battle eczema. It is so hard to watch their little skin get so irritated! Thank you for the good tips!
Normel Smith
January 14, 2017 at 9:41 amIt definitely is hard. But we momma’s are resilient 😉
Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell
December 19, 2016 at 10:01 amMy husband and my 12 year old deal with eczema and using Doc Bronners Castile soap exclusively helped a lot. This is an awesome article—bookmarking for reference!
Normel Smith
January 14, 2017 at 9:40 amThat’s a great tip Allaya. Thanks for that. I’ve been wondering if that soap would work on him. I may just try it. Which scent do you use?