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!?
Hi – found your post through Instagram. My 16month old son has had small patches of eczema since he was about 4 months old. It’s been manageable and hasn’t seemed to bother him much, but over the last month or so it’s gotten out of control and it really is causing him pain and discomfort. I feel utterly helpless, and have no idea where to start!!! Any tips for a new mama on this path?? Thanks so much for sharing your story!
Hi Pascale,
Thanks so much for checking out my blog! I’m sorry to hear your son has been suffering from eczema, I know how difficult it can be, I’m glad you reached out, it can feel so isolating. I found that as we introduced more food, my sons eczema got worse. One starting point can be to get tested for allergies. We first started with food sensitivity tests as they weren’t able to test my son for true IgE allergies at that point until he was two years of age. Gluten and dairy can be big culprits for eczema, along with soy, eggs, wheat, fish or shellfish and peanuts/treenuts, every child is different though. Ive been surprised to see what some of my sons allergies and sensitivities were. Probiotics can often be helpful, as there can be imbalances in gut flora. Perhaps I should do an updated post of where we are currently at. Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram and we can correspond more freely. Don’t loose hope, healing is possible. Its all about finding the triggers and getting to the root of whats causing the eczema. Wishing you all the best – Gena.