essential oil users... food/environmental allergy question

[snickerplum]

My daughter has a ton of allergies. Her skin is especially broken out right now. Several well-meaning strangers have recommended trying essential oils. I wouldn't even know where to start. Plus, she's SO sensitive to everything, I'm scared to put anything on her skin besides what is safe right now (aquaphor and prescription ointment).

Is it even an option? I feel so bad for her, she's itchy most of the time and there's not a lot I can do. She's such a sweetie.

Thanks for your input! I don't know a lot about this stuff. :-)

[nansk]

My dd also had several allergies, and still has three. I would never put untested stuff on inflamed skin. Perfumed stuff, even essential oils can aggravate the itch. I would stick to safe stuff like Aquaphor, and consult a pediatric allergy doctor.

ETA: Just to share which type of doctor I meant, this is the kind of doctor we take my dd to.

[snickerplum]

I agree -thank you!

[SemiSweet]

Yep, I love my oils but would not put them my little guy with allergies and eczema. Here is a website about using eos safely, there is a lot of bad information out there, that they're perfectly safe, that babies can use them, etc. They have a time and place definitely, but they are being touted as miracles currently and they probably shouldn't be. :)

 

http://www.learningabouteos.com/

[Guest]

And Aquaphior is not neutral. Test Cslifornia Baby or other non-petrochemical ointment on a trial spot. I'm not talking through my hat--I used this stuff every day of my life but git better getting away from petrochemicals. I now make my own goop using beeswax and olive oil and safflower oil...with or without essential oils, depending on the goal.

[sbgrace]

I don't put essential oils on my allergic kid. If you do try it, make sure you put a safe regular cooking type oil first and drop the essential oil on top. That might help reduce the chance of reaction.

 

Is she reacting to something specifically? I wanted to mention that my son does best with Waxelene. It has helped a friend's daughter better than anything else she's used too. People are so individual, but it might be worth a try anyway. Our local CVS carries it.

[Slartibartfast]

 Unlike most things there actually HAS been studies on essential oils and eczema.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10960901

 

I would not use essential oils but the study did show that massage was effective.

 

If she is actively reacting to something I would try to figure out what that is, what sort of laundry detergents and soaps are being used? The things that people can react to are so varied it can be difficult to pinpoint what is going on. Does she have food allergies?

 

Eczema can also be caused by stress or anxiety.

 

There are several recommendations in this article

 

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/eczema

 

 

 

 

[almondbutterandjelly]

Since she has a prescription ointment,  I assume she has an allergist?  Call the allergist and tell them what's going on.  They will work with you to figure it out and get your poor daughter some relief.  It may take several tries, but that is their specialty, and they are the best people to consult.

 

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  :)

[MrsJewelsRae]

My dd has had allergy related eczema since she was a toddler, the best things we've found- water softener, no milk (she drinks almond milk, but handles cheese fine), probiotics, and after years of trial and error I finally found a lotion that works wonderfully and doesn't burn!! Eucerine is good, but this stuff is better. A pharmacist finally suggested I speak with the lady in the cosmetics department- why did no one ever suggest this to me?! She pointed me to this- Avène TriXéra+ Emolient Balm- it's $30 for 200 ml and worth every penny! :) It's very soothing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0028N0NR2?pc_redir=1407944388&robot_redir=1

[Spryte]

Do you have a board certified allergist on board?

 

We worked for years on DS's agonizing eczema.  Years.  So I understand.  We finally found what helps him, though it might not help your kiddo - so typing what helped DS seems a bit superfluous.  Allergist finally tested DS for more food allergens, and it turned out he had IgE mediated allergies to wheat and dairy.  We did a 2 week trial without those, and found that when we added them back - the eczema flared.  So we avoid them now.  Not as stringently as we avoid his anaphylactic allergens, but we don't let him consume them outright or as ingredients.  We do a lot of other things, but those were the ones that made the most difference.  We still get weird recommendations.  Like the person who tells us that DS should drink raw milk to cure his allergies, of course - he's allergic to *all* milk, hello??  

 

I wouldn't put essential oils on irritated skin.  

 

Hoping you find something to help soon!

[sbgrace]

I thought of something else. A friend's son had long term severe eczema. Finally a doctor did a patch test and found he was reacting to balsam of peru. Removing it helped him immensely. It's actually quite common, and in all kinds of things. I think it's the cause of my hand eczema. I would ask for a patch test. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balsam_of_Peru