When my youngest, Darik came around, I thought that I knew at least a little bit about everything when it came to caring for a baby. Little did I know but at about 4 months, Darik threw us for a HUGE loop.
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| Eczema. See it on his cheeks, elbow/arms, head, calf, and thigh?! |
I had just gotten back from a 3-hour drive to spend Thanksgiving with my parents at my grandma's house. One the drive home, Darik's cheeks, back and legs were breaking out with some form of inflammation. I thought maybe he was having an allergic reaction, but I wasn't sure how as I was solely breastfeeding then. That night, I had my mother-in-law watch my older three (Wes was still deployed) and I took Darik to the ER. The ER doctor thought it was some form of fungal infection as he was in a warm car ride for hours, prescribed an antifungal cream and sent us home. I knew right way it wasn't fungal but I'm not a doctor so I followed his orders and gave the cream a shot.
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| This was right after it showed up. Note: see the red cheeks & scratch marks on forehead |
Obviously the antifungal cream didn't work and that led us to spending lots of time, money, and frustration running from one doctor to another.
Each doctor thought it was something new:
-it's just dry skin
-it's a milk allergy
- no, it's a soy allergy
- maybe it's hives (what?!)
-how about a heat rash (really?!)
-It HAS to be some form of allergy
After fighting for a diagnosis for month, we were FINALLY referred to the new allergist that had just joined our hospital. That lady worked MIRACLES! on Darik. He went from being covered in scabs to having CLEARER skin in about 2-weeks. It was absolutely amazing!
The one thing that this doctor explained to us was that Eczema comes from the skin having tiny little holes in it. You see, our skin is supposed to be our water barrier- keeps everything in that it's supposed to, and everything out that we don't want in. But with eczema, there's these tiny little holes that cause water to leak out- which causes the skin to become dry and itchy. With Darik, we could actually watch the water seep out when it was really bad.
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| Check out the big scabs on this cheeks. The pink on his shirt is from blood. He would NOT stop scratching, which caused it to bleed. On the ride home from this even he scratched so bad his whole face was covered in blood. I will NEVER forget that day, EVER. |
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| We weren't able to control the scratching, so we resorted to mittens. Though, those mittens got gross fast from the scabs, water seepage, and blood. We eventually switched to socks as they were easier to clean. Note the bloody forehead. Even with socks on his hands, he continued scratching till he bled. |
We tried every lotion we could- everything that had the word "eczema" on it. At one point I was told he had allergies and that we need to cut out all dairy. I was breastfeeding at the time and I'm on a limited diet but I cut out all dairy and still no change. I thought maybe it was me, so I stopped nursing and tried Soy Formula. Nope- still no change.
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| My caption at the time: "Darik is lucky I like him. Anyone, by chance, have any Enfamil coupons lying around?!" |
After cutting all dairy- we were told it might be soy too. So, we started using Nutramigen- the hypoallergenic and VERY EXPENSIVE formula. In the midst of all this, I tried every old maid methods- all different types of oatmeal baths, putting breast milk on it, covering it in Vaseline, un-petroleum jelly, essential oils- you name it, I gave it a shot.
Finally, we got a specialist in town and I FINALLY got a referral to see her. She was an allergist but has specifically spent time at a children's hospital helping with eczema. Thankfully, we were finally seeing someone who knew what they were talking about!!!
She recommended doing an allergy skin test but was pretty positive that it was just eczema. They tried 25 different typical allergens and none of them had any sort of reaction. Once she was for sure that it was just Eczema, she showed us this video from the National Jewish Health about the "Soak and Seal" method.
Bathe patient in warm (NOT hot) water for 10-15 minutes
Once done, pat dry with a towel (do not rub)
Within 3 minutes of exiting the water, LATHER lots of lotion all over.
Really? It's that simple? I was a little skeptical but this lady sounded like she knew what she was talking about. That night, I headed to the Costco Pharmacy and picked up this amazing hypoallergenic lotion called "Vanicream" which the specialist recommended. There's no perfumes, no dyes, and it comes in a 1-lb tub with a pump for $11.09!!!! Score!
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| Worth it's weight in GOLD! |
Our specialist also recommended that we try wet-wrapping the worst areas to help jump start the healing. That night we have him a sedative (to help him get sleepy) and then wrapped his cute little face in some wet gauze.
Within days, Darik's face was clearing up. Rather than this poor cheeks feeling like leather, they actually felt like baby skin!
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| It's clearing up!!! |
By his first birthday, his skin was back to how it was before his first breakout! It was still a battle because if we didn't continue doing the "Soak and Seal," he would continue to break out, but his skin looked so, so, SO much better.
Now that he's 3.5, his skin isn't quite as sensitive. He still has his moments and has breakouts on his calves still. We still practice "Soak and Seal" but not as religiously as before. He's completely healthy, no allergies, no other skin conditions, and you'd never know that his skin was once leather-like!
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| My boys in their Star Wars jammies in Mason's Star Wars themed room just 3 days ago. Darik's skin is so clear! |
Don't get discouraged!!!
It's a frustrating battle but there are answers out there. There are doctors out there who know what they are talking about and CAN help! Don't give up!
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