The mysterious rash – did we get rid of the eczema? (part 2)

♦ Read here: ‘The mysterious rash – did we get rid of the eczema? (part 1)‘ ♦

First I started to apply virgin coconut oil 4-5 times per day all over ‘Timan’s body as a moisturizer. Over the time of about 2-3 weeks his skin improved tremendously. Everywhere on his body except on the eczema area behind his knees the skin went back to normal, was smooth and felt soft like a peach.

We also gave aloe vera gel from my plant a try, but didn’t see any improvement at all. I didn’t even have the feeling it really worked as a moisturizer. And ‘Timan’ complained it was stinging and burning his inflamed skin patches.

In the meantime the northeast monsoon had just started with its rain and the tap water was very chlorinated again, even I could feel the change. It’s not only chlorine, the water is treated with, I think the company treating the water is also adding something else to make it less harsh to the skin. Maybe this is what is causing the rash. This time around only ‘Timan’s legs were involved, from the buttocks to the rim of the shorts (note: unless we go out, he’s running around with undies and shorts only, I ditched the shirt after his armpits got better and stopped itching).

The Christmas parcel from Europe arrived and with the present for ‘Timan’ there were also some remedies for the little guy I was looking for. My parents included among other things tea tree oil and Urticalcin, a homeopathic remedy to treat a calcium deficiency. I never considered calcium could be the problem, but I believe this idea is on the right track.

Dry coarse skin, dermatitis, hyperpigmentation and eczema can be a symptom of Hypocalcemia (calcium deficiency) according to the Cleveland Clinic.

‘Timan’ has never been a milk-lover after weaning from breastfeeding with 22 month, he was nipping on his soy-milk about as often as he was drinking cows-milk before. And eczema can be a sign of calcium deficiency. But as with all homeopathic remedies, the symptoms got worse at the beginning before they started to improve.

The chemicals in the water and therefore in the clothes combined with starting to take the homeopathic calcium tablets made the eczema on his legs flare up even more.

To give ‘Timan’ a break from itching and myself a pause from preventing the scratching I applied Hydrocortisone again and it reasonably cleared within 4 days. Never before it had cleared in such a short time.

I have also started to use a wet compress on his legs 3x per day for 30 minutes each time. This was a huge success for the area behind his knees. It went very smooth and the inflammation could be kept at bay.

Right after the wet compress I gently apply some drops of the tea tree oil, to my surprise it does not sting or burn at all when I am using it undiluted. It probably depends on the stage of the inflammation or the concentration of the oil itself.

Additionally, whenever the weather is reasonably good, we are going to the beach for a swim. Of course ‘Timan’ loves this more than anything.

But I believe to really put an end to ‘Timan’s eczema on his legs we would have to move to another house that does not get the water from the ‘Public Utilities Corporation’ and but ‘untreated’ water from a creek in the mountains. And all our laundry would be free of chemicals. Yep, those houses do exist here in Paradise, we just have to find one. Let’s keep fingers crossed that we will anytime soon.

To put all together, these are the things that work for us to keep ‘Timan’s skin eczema free:

• using untreated water from the mountains for cooking, shower, bath, etc.
• chewable multivitamins and minerals that are free of most common childhood allergens
• dairy-free, egg-free, corn-free, chicken-free, tomato-free, scombridae-free (fish-free) diet with many fruits and vegetables, preferably raw
• Urticalcin – homeopathic tablets to treat a calcium deficiency (even though they contain lactose -> room for thoughts about the dairy-free diet?)
• drinking a lot of water
• antihistamine
• wet compress on his legs
• tea tree oil on his legs
• virgin coconut oil as moisturizer all over the body as often as needed (sometimes 4-5 times per day)
• using a nail file to keep his finger nails as short as possible

And if he would have a flare up in the future I can’t control with natural remedies

• Hydrocortisone

But this is how his eczema area looks right now, after almost three weeks with Urticalcin, without the use of steroids.

I just hope the itching will finally stop and ‘Timan’ gets off the antihistamines. Slowly I will also reintroduce dairy products (in moderation) and eggs, but will definitely wait with corn products, chicken, tomatoes and fish of the family ‘scombridae’ (tuna, marlin, swordfish, mackerel, bonito and such). Red Snapper is much tastier anyway. 🙂

Yeah, 2012 will be a better year for my son and therefore for all of us. And with proper skin care, applying lots of moisturizer and an appropriate diet we’re going to be able to keep the tots skin eczema free and silky soft.

What worked for you or your little one to treat dermatitis? Are you using steroids or natural remedies? Did you use homeopathic remedies for eczema?

p.s.: Using virgin coconut oil does not only keep the dry skin soft and smooth, it also evens out scars, i.g. from the tots appendix operations.