natural treatment for 4yo with eczema??

[muffinmom]

posting for a friend--her 4yo has eczema inside elbows, behind knees, on hands and feet. have any of you had success with natural treatments?

 

Thanks!

[jujsky]

I don't know exactly what you mean by "natural" but I've found a non-medicated lotion that works great on my 4 year-old. It's Arbonne's baby line. You have to order it from a representative, but I think you can find one on-line. One of the dance-moms I know sells it, and I was skeptical when she told me it cleared up her dd's eczema because....she sells it. Of course someone selling it is going to love the products and push thme. Two more dance moms started using it, and one of them claimed it cleared up her baby's horrible case of cradle-cap. I gave it a try, and it works! It hasn't cleared it up all the way, but it has worked far better than any of the medication the doctor has tried with her. There are pretty much just faint outlines of where the patches used to be left on her skin. Some of the patches she had are completely gone. It's not marketed as a cure for skin ailments, but it seemed to work as such on my kid.

[HollyDay]

We are also dealing with eczema here too. My nutritionist recommended giving up dairy completely. Also, she said to use cod liver oil and a lotion from Peaceful Mountain. If you find anything that works, please pass it on!!!

[lynn]

Kirks original Coco Castile Soap Has been the best for my dd's eczema. You can find it at Health food stores or purchase direct from Kirk's.

[harmonyartmom]

Olive oil, taken both internally and rubbed on externally

 

Zinc supplements

 

My mom has success with coconut oil. She gave me this book and I read it but never tried it with my son.

http://www.amazon.com/Coconut-Miracle-Previously-published-Healing/dp/1583332049

 

We have tried so many things but the olive oil is one we have stuck to for many, many years.

 

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

[lgm]

Our pediatrician just says coat with thin layer of petroleum jelly.

 

We had good success with reducing the eczema by eliminating Red Dye #40 from the diet. It's in some over the counter medicine too.

[Debbie in OR]

Here's what we did for my then 4-year old dd when her eczema was so bad, she looked like a burn victim. It was horrible and everything we tried made it worse. She would scream for 10 minutes straight after some lotions. Anyhow, we finally went to a dermatologist and this is what he told us to do.

 

Soak her in a tub of warm water until she gets pruney (about 20 minutes or so). As soon as she gets out, dab her dry with a towel and HERE'S THE VERY CRITICAL PART -- within 4 minutes, slather all the affected areas with vasoline, and put clean pajamas on (we always did this right before bedtime). THat's it. Seriously, she had been miserable with this stuff for a couple of years, and if we went swimming, it would just zap all the fun out because she would be in torment afterwards. Within a few treatments of the this vasoline remedy, her eczema was completely gone. She is now 8 and has had no more issues since that time. Hope that helps.

[HeathenMom]

my daughter has had eczema pretty bad her whole life. eliminating cow's milk helped a lot, but dogs also trigger an outbreak.

 

the very, very best things i have found are:

1. Grapefruit Seed extract in pill form taken internally 1 time daily. considering you're treating a 4 year old, it may be tough to get them to swallow a pill. you can add the oil to the daily lotion treatment and just do a topical treatment...probably not as effective, but definitely helpful. (this has actually almost controlled the eczema all by itself. very wonderful stuff.)

2. wash with that Neutrogena psoriasis shampoo instead of normal soap. it doesn't smell great, but it's worth it.

3. liberal amounts of Eucerin cream when needed, especially after the bath.

 

one thing that i've found for sure, natural remedies work as well as the prescription stuff, if not better. and they're MUCH cheaper!

[Wyndie]

Eczema is almost always a result of a food intolerance/allergy. Eliminating whatever is causing it will bring permanent relief.

 

We use calendula creme when my daughters start reacting to a food (while we search for the offender!). I have also used probiotics diluted in water and sprayed on their eczema.

[Scuff]

We use Burt's Bees hand Salve for DD4's. It works wonderfully

[Momma2Many66]

Hello,

I'm a new poster, but I dealt with ezcema in 4 of my 6 children and pretty much got rid of it completely in almost all of them with only very occasional flare up's if they eat dairy unknowingly or their skin gets very dry from the weather. My oldest son (now 25) had it very bad when young and so did my 3rd and 5th son, but these things below really helped to keep it at bay and later got rid of it entirely in my oldest son. My other two just get occasional light flare up's, but it is usually gone in a few days when we step up the treatments below. I have never had to use any steriod creams or prescription drugs for ezcema on my children with the following methods adhered to daily.

 

What I did:

 

1. I only used Dove natural unscented soap on the child because Dove is moisture rich and will not dry out the child's skin. I also only give the child very quick baths every other day to keep the skin from drying out. Showers are best if you have an older child who can take showers, because they are less likely to dry out the skin.

 

2. I took all dairy out of the child's diet, I started an elimination of dairy diet with the major cultprits first such as: milk, cheese, ice cream ectera, which usually made a huge difference within 3 weeks time. If the ezcema still persisited, then I moved into hidden dairy culprits which are added dairy items to processed type foods. If possible, it is best to keep child on a whole food's diet and avoid as much processed type foods as possible for best results.

 

3. I have them drink lots of water, to keep the skin hydrated, no sodas or sweetened drinks, just tons of fresh water daily.

 

4. I used Nelson's calendula cream made from marigolds from the health food store when the rash was bad, but for daily use I use Aveeno Oatmeal lotion, which is great for everyday use and much less exspensive.

 

5. I dress the child in all 100% cotton clothes because cotton allows the body to breathe and release moisture and allows the child to feel more comfortable with flare up's.

 

6. The most important thing I have done and I totally recommend for all ezcema problems is to add 1 teaspoon of flax seed oil (from the health food store refrigerated section, I use Barleen's) to the child's oatmeal or smoothie daily. One tablespoon daily for adults. The flax seed oil not only gives the child nutrient rich Omega 3 oils but is super healthy for clearing up problems with skin. It works wonderfully and my whole family uses it now for all types of ailments. The best part of using the daily dose of flax seed oil is the fact that the child's hair will grow thick and gorgeous, the flax seed oil feeds the hair and skin and makes hair beautiful. My daughters love to use it for this reason alone, besides the health benefits, they love the way their hair looks from using daily flax seed oil.

 

I have shared these methods with friends and family who have ezcema problems and it worked with great sucess on everyone I know that dealt with ezcema, if you adhere to all the natural methods above, I promise you will see good results in a few months time.

 

Blessings.........

[SonshineLearner]

Hey There,

Bathing and then "towel pat" put Crisco on....and then allow to kinda just sit in something for a while...(watch a tv show or something) and then finally get dressed when you've kinda absorbed this. My mom made my daughter a pillow case type thing to sit in....

She's had it since she was just 2 months..... BUT, it is better now!

Carrie:-)

 

PS, coconut oil is drying, so good if you're trying for that....and also it's good if it's starting to look infected....

[Samiam]

If you are looking for a natural cure, I would HIGHLY recommend avoiding Petroluem jelly/Vaseline. This is as far from a natural cure as you coudl get. Petr Jelly is a by-product from the chemical process of turning crude oil into refined oil (ie gas). It many countries, it is banned for human use, as it is a known carcinogen. Unfortunately for the U.S., we do not have a government agency that oversees products marketed for humans to put on their body, so virtually anything can be used for body products.. Thus Vaseline, etc.

 

Since the skin is the largest organ, it is usually the first organ that shows the effect of something "bad" happening in the body...in most cases, as others have mentioned, it is a diet related issue. Dairy and food dyes/additives etc. Many people don't want to look at this way, as they prefer to just "cover" the issue. You can put lots of things on eczema, and they will work with varying degrees, but the "problem" is still happening INSIDE the body, if the dietary changes are not made. The best way to go is to do both, inside and outside remedies.

 

Kudos for looking for a natural product, and staying away from the products that contain steriods that the Dermatologist will often want to prescribe.

 

I used a mixture of Almond Oil and essential Lavender Oil for my son. His was not bad, not painful, more just appearance sakes. You couldn't really tell until you touched his arms or lower legs.

[sleepymommy]

First, try an elimination diet to determine if/what foods may be triggering it.

 

Use a pure unscented soap (ex. California Baby Ultra Sensitive or a plain olive oil or coconut oil based soap)

 

Use coconut or olive oil after bath instead of lotions.

 

Try homepathic Sulfur. This stuff cleared up both of my ds's skin issues withing a couple of days. If you are uncomfortable dosing on your own, find a licensed Classical Homeopath. They will be able to make a remedy for your dc.

[mom2jjka]

First, I would highly recommend giving the child fish oil capsules (or flax seed) to make sure they are getting enough Omega3's

 

Next, to treat the skin - I would either use coconut oil or olive oil.

[Ibbygirl]

My pediatrician always recommended hydrocortizone cream on the affected areas, but I don't know if that would be considered natural or not.

[Tess in the Burbs]

my son had bad eczema as child and we had a wonderful lotion they added hydrocortizone to that cleared it right up...but natural no, never found anything.

 

oh, eczema is almost always an allergy issue/intolerance to something....so tell the mom to get the kid to an allergist :-)

[amy g.]

My 10 year old had eczema that would itch and bleed. A year ago, she switched from cow's milk to raw goat's milk, and she also switched to soap we make here with goat's milk in it. I also make our laundry soap with grated homemade soap. She has only had one outbreak in over a year. It turned out that her dad had accidentally washed her jeans in commercial laundry soap which is what triggered the reaction.

[Greta]

I agree with the posters who have said this could be an allergy issue, BUT there is another theory about eczema which seemed to apply to my dd who suffered terribly at that age: that it is a result of Candida overgrowth in the intestines. And the thing is, a Candida overgrowth can be the underlying cause of the allergy issues as well, so I would recommend treating it as if it's Candida.

 

Candida is a yeast which lives on and in the human body, but our immune systems normally keep it under control. If you've ever been on anti-biotics or if you eat sugar, it's possible for this yeast to grow out of control. When it does that, it creates colonies in the walls of the intestines, and sometimes those can even puncture the lining of the intestine, which allows undigested particles of food to make their way into the blood stream, triggering allergic type reactions.

 

So the treatment is to eliminate sugar and refined carbs from the diet (because these feed the yeast, but are NOT necessary for the person at all), while eating foods that are naturally anti-fungal such as coconut oil. This isn't an overnight cure, of course, but I started to see results with my dd very quickly.

 

Here is a website that has a LOT of great information about natural approaches to healing Candida:

 

http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/

 

ETA: The coconut oil can be used topically as well to soothe the skin. Just keep in mind that anything done topically is not addressing the root cause of the eczema. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, because of course you should! It does bring the person (temporary) relief. I'm just saying that's treating a symptom, not curing the disease. The coconut oil should be eaten liberally to do it's best work. Also, I am going to have to (very gently and humbly) disagree with the PP who said to add lavender essential oil to the topical treatment. Essential oils contain aromatic compounds which are skin irritants.

Edited June 9, 2009 by GretaLynne

[muffinmom]

these are all very interesting and helpful! still listening...:bigear:

[AnnetteB]

4 of our 9 children have allergies to soy, wheat, corn, and yeast that cause them to have severe eczema. They are thriving on a diet of fruit, veggies, rice, spelt flour for baked goods, oatmeal, poultry, fish, and they can have some dairy. The pediatrician prescribed a strong Rx ointment that "only helped a little." By trying an elimination diet we were able to discover their triggers and "cure" them. Flaxseed is a great addition to any healthy diet :)

[wildflower]

I did not read a single reply. I wanted to add, if no-one has already- flax seed/ flax oil does a number on dry skin & eczema. You can buy it for kids in fish and non-fish formulas. Spectrum makes a non-fish in a strawberry-banana flavor that my kids devour, it's a chewable caplet.

You can also get flax oil and put it in their food or flax seeds in granola, ground flax seed in any baked good also.

hth

Robyn

[Mom0012]

I didn't read all the posts, but the thing that helped my son's horrible eczema was discovering all of his food allergies and removing them. He had to wear socks on his hands as a baby because his eczema was so bad, he'd scratch himself until he'd bleed. Now that he's no longer being exposed to the foods he's allergic to, he has a few rough patches of skin, but nothing that bothers him.

 

Lisa

[Pine Ledge Academy]

Someone else mentioned this, but we did the short bath, cover with vaseline right after deal and it worked wonders for my now 6yo. He used to wake up at night crying bc of the itching. Now it is almost gone. We did find some food allergies that when eliminated did help. Also, we still do short baths, no soap except Saturday nights, and he soaks in epsom salts. Sounds crazy, but we found that when we went to the beach, he would not itch that entire week, and he spent alot of time in the water. So we soak him in epsom salts when he gets a little itchy. hth.

[Firefly]

I too would avoid petroleum jelly (and most other OTC creams and lotions.)

 

Calendula oil is very good for a variety of skin conditions (apply topically only). Freshly made is best (and easier than you think, if you know someone who grows marigolds) but you can buy calendula salves in most health food stores. My local grocery store actually carries it!

 

Comfrey ointment is another excellent herbal product for eczema and psoriasis (again, only applied topically). I make my own but you may be able to find it at the health food store or order online.

Edited June 10, 2009 by Firefly

[Guest janainaz]

My son has eczema. I use Aveeno Oatmeal Bath packets and let him soak in luke-warm water. When he gets out, he pats dry and puts regular Aveeno lotion on and it is the only thing I have found that works. His eczema is always gone within a few days.

[Melissa in St Louis]

I started him on cod liver oil. This child is very, very picky, and has been known to throw up at the SIGHT of beans or rice or something else "yucky" that any of us happen to be eating.....so I was HIGHLY skeptical that he would even get the stuff down. I finally bit the bullet and coughed up the cash for Nordic Naturals Children's DHA (Berry Flavor) and he has taken it with out complaint every day since! If we miss even a day of it, he breaks back out. I do not have to use anything topical because it is so under control. :D (Please. please do not let this be a pride before the fall thing where now he wakes up covered!!!! *praying hands*)

 

HTH!

[IATeachingMom]

Anyhow, we finally went to a dermatologist and this is what he told us to do.

 

Soak her in a tub of warm water until she gets pruney (about 20 minutes or so). As soon as she gets out, dab her dry with a towel and HERE'S THE VERY CRITICAL PART -- within 4 minutes, slather all the affected areas with vasoline, and put clean pajamas on (we always did this right before bedtime). THat's it. Within a few treatments of the this vasoline remedy, her eczema was completely gone. S Hope that helps.

 

This is what we were also told though the doc mentioned Aquaphor(sp?). It's made by Eucerine (sp again..not doing so well tonight!). It's just like whipped vasoline as far as I can tell. In our home, prevention is key...good luck!

[KatieJ]

My grandson had severe eczema as a toddler. The nasty bleeding kind. He looked awful and felt worse I am sure.

The elimination diet worked for him. I am not sure of all the natural supplements he took, but there were several oils that he took daily.

A daily cool water soak in the tub was a must for him. Then they patted him dry and rubbed him down with Vani Cream. It is not a prescription, but you have to ask the pharmacist for it. Altho, Wal Mart did have it on the shelves the last time we were together shopping. They buy it in a big old tub with a pump on it and it is used by most of the family daily.

[Aggie]

Eczema is almost always a result of a food intolerance/allergy. Eliminating whatever is causing it will bring permanent relief.

 

 

I found this out when ds was 5. No pediatrician, allergist or dermatologist would tell me it was food related. :(

 

We did the elimination diet for 2 weeks and my ds cleared right up. Eggs were a huge trigger for him, we found out.

 

But, after we got his skin clear, we went to a rotation diet. Google it, because we do a very loose rotation. The theory is that some foods build up and become toxic. For instance, eggs may not cause an outbreak the first or second time you eat them, but they may after you've been eating them for weeks. If this happens, it's difficult to figure out what caused the outbreak.

[Misty]

Dairy is usually the culprit. I would tell her to try alternatives to milk for a while and see if that helps.

[abbeyej]

I'll second checking into food allergies / food triggers and adding in a good daily probiotic supplement. Actually, our pediatrician (who is not particularly "natural" oriented, but does try to stay well-versed on current literature) is a big proponent of probiotics (acidophilus, etc) for helping to prevent eczema outbreaks.

 

I'd also look into food triggers. A "childhood allergy profile" using ImmunoCap (just a blood test that the ped should be able to order through any lab) would check for straightforward *allergies* to the most common food and environmental allergens. If any of these come back positive, it would help your friend know where to start with an elimination diet (or might cause the doctor to refer her to a pediatric allergist for further testing -- I can't emphasize enough how much more useful our experience was with a pediatric allergist associated with a children's hospital than with a "regular" allergist to whom we were originally referred). If the results are negative, that doesn't mean that food *isn't* causing the eczema, just that they aren't technically allergies. In that case, I'd follow the other advice in this thread and try cutting out dairy (and probably gluten too -- though I know that's overwhelming when one hasn't ever done it before) for a few weeks to see if that helps.

 

Creams and lotions and things can help, but far less so if the underlying cause isn't treated.

 

I wouldn't personally use petroleum or hydrocortizone products on my children except as a temporary measure when nothing else was working and they were miserable...

 

For temporary relief (while exploring above possibilities), I would start with oatmeal baths, then some natural moisturizing lotions. (If she just has to go with something at a regular grocery store / Target, then Eucerin is fairly effective, though not particularly natural.) Coconut oil is particularly useful...

[5knights3maidens]

My dd's eczema (on on the areas you described and more) were caused by dairy.