Diary of An Itchy Kid – Our Journey With Eczema

Where It All Began

Any parent that has a child with eczema or for that matter living with it themselves knows how difficult it can be. My Son got his first patch of eczema at 2 months of age, a week after his immunizations. I didn’t really think much of it, considering that I had a tiny bit of eczema on my hand as a child, which went away. At 4 months of age things became more difficult for us, we had his next round of immunizations and his eczema worsened.

Now I know some of you are wondering – do I think the immunizations “caused” his eczema…!? Well, I will tell you that we as parents have an innate ability to know when something isn’t quite right – that “gut feeling”. The development of his eczema just so happens to line up with his vaccination schedule, so could it play a part…perhaps? There are so many factors to consider that can play a role in our health, and I was determined to get to the bottom of why my Son had developed eczema.

As you search out the root cause of any health ailment, you start at the beginning, when you first noted the problem. This was Z’s beginning, so this is where I will begin in our journey with eczema. It has been a long and difficult road to say the least. Many sleepless nights, accompanied by very itchy days. Many of you that have children with eczema can attest to these difficulties, Its just plain – HARD. If you have ever lived it, nothing more needs to be said about how difficult it can be. But for those who haven’t – if you might think “its just a little eczema, how bad can it be”!? Well my friends, it has turned our whole world upside down. I’m sure I would have thought the same thing, in fact I did in the early days of his condition. I would look at pictures of children who had eczema far worse, trying to convince myself that things were ok. I mean, I had eczema as a child and it was mild, surely we would get over it. Then you come to realize it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse.

Our Most Difficult Days With Eczema

Back in those early days it was the most distressing and toughest time as a new Mother. This was not what I had envisioned my life to be with a new baby. Having to see my child suffer with red, weeping, and irritated skin on a daily basis was hard. When he was sleeping I set out reading and researching all I could to find answers. I lived, breathed, and slept everything related to eczema. I told myself once I got the opportunity to tell our story I would, in hopes it would provide hope and encouragement for those going through the same thing.

So here I am, putting it all out there, sharing our story living with eczema. Have we overcome it, unfortunately not. We have had periods of healing and periods of flare ups. As you will find out in upcoming posts, we have had ups and downs in treatment as well. We are still searching out answers and working towards healing. For those of you who seek support, encouragement and guidance, feel free to ask any questions. I understand how isolating it can feel, Ive been there. So please don’t hesitate to connect. Lets get the conversation going and brain storm what direction you can take. When looking for answers, for some it can be a quick diet tweak and the eczema is gone. Others require more detective work to find the root of the problem. Healing is possible, so never loose hope.

I would love to hear from you, do you or anyone that you know suffer from eczema!?