tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11894366168152591452024-03-19T04:16:55.961-07:00No More ItchiesGetting control of eczema with Dr. Aron.Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-68649259764302297492016-02-19T03:00:00.000-08:002016-02-19T03:00:23.299-08:00Dr. Aron - One Year<em><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: "calibri";">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></em>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One year ago today, I first emailed Dr. Aron. It's hard to think about what life was like <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/hunting-those-elusive-triggers.html" target="_blank">a year ago</a>. I wrote about that time...</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">I ripped all the carpet out of our house since the previous owner had a dog. We bought a new couch. Bought her a real silk pillowcase. A vaporizer for her bedroom. A HEPA air purifier and vacuum. Tiny gloves made from 100% cotton. New panties with no elastic showing. New panties with a different cut in case the first ones were rubbing. (Her waist and panty line was another trouble spot.)</span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Replaced all clothing made from synthetics, including my own.</span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Wondered if the most recent hand flare was from touching her friend with a dog. Or the Christmas tree. Or the homemade (gluten free) play dough. Or the new Christmas gift that I let her play with without washing.</span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Was it the soy yogurt we tried instead of coconut? The polyester gloves I let her wear outside when I couldn't find any cotton ones? The new throw pillow? The dress up in the dusty closet?</span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">My mind was constantly racing with these questions.</strong></span></i> </blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Her care routine was so much work, and our clothes were all stained and coated with lotion. Everyday I had to evaluate which steroids to apply where. I never knew when we would wake up and see a flare starting and have to spend the day in and out of baths and wet wraps. </span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Even though I was so glad to have better tools to help her itching, I began to dread her coming so many times a day and asking for "a lotioning."</span></span></i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Her skin was so much better than the previous summer, but there were times when I was out alone for a cup of coffee or errands, and the thought would flit through my mind, "What if you just didn't go back?"</strong></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">A year later, Penny still has eczema, but you would hardly know by looking at her. Her treatment is so simple. And the quality of life for our whole family has drastically improved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We sleep! </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">No sedating antihistamines, wet wrapping, or sock-covered hands required.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We use Dr. Aron's cream every other day on spots prone to flare like an ankle, knees, wrists. We've stopped completely on many areas like her face. We make sure to lotion the rest of her body with Vanicream once or twice a day depending on the season, and that's it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Every once in a while, she'll show us an itchy spot, and we put some cream on it. Maybe have her put some pants on to help her leave it alone. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">(Four year olds aren't really known for their love of pants!) </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMHDBBJHVNzsPJ4oqWiEyDtw4KeFcZij66BU4_qykuEzlPyZmnlV_f144ZQMvj9De9MTd-VCG8mx6KTXpesVd7ga-lUxRgdNHv066RA_IGsRSBR-usW3OEXvr_gdKM_JXJ0ZcU9Kdw7c/s1600/244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMHDBBJHVNzsPJ4oqWiEyDtw4KeFcZij66BU4_qykuEzlPyZmnlV_f144ZQMvj9De9MTd-VCG8mx6KTXpesVd7ga-lUxRgdNHv066RA_IGsRSBR-usW3OEXvr_gdKM_JXJ0ZcU9Kdw7c/s320/244.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny and Lydia as flower girls.<br />
Clear skin and no scratching!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pants alone could never stopped her before though. I never see her tear off her clothes, scratch uncontrollably, or draw blood. <b>I think what we are dealing with now is just plain, normal eczema without the aggravation caused by staph. </b>It's the eczema most people think of--a bit of dry, itchy skin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This year, I'm not on a constant search for triggers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Penny can swim and play in the sandbox. </span>We're still careful around grass although with spring arriving soon we'll see if that has changed since last summer or not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">She can lie on a throw pillow (no allergy cover) without getting a rash.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Penny still sticks to a very strict diet to avoid all cross contact with her allergens. Eating foods made on shared equipment with her allergens does cause eczema flares for her. Companies are not required to label whether or not food is made on shared equipment, so I have to contact the company about any new food. I am able to make her plenty of treats, but we can't toss a fun looking new food into the cart while shopping, and we can't let others cook for her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b>But the good thing is that we know what she can and can't eat and don't have to consider time-consuming, soul-sucking elimination diets. </b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDayO3M9GK4dN7XqlaUDM57NsfUHLmxgHfOaDysi3encfcHdHNMsthxUrvTKs89yQPcKTcD_zJZm5c6ukqoWJbQPthGEJc8XmNayY0vSlDAk6Z73O33tVG6ct3eHkXjEkSUwQ8a0dD1d8/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDayO3M9GK4dN7XqlaUDM57NsfUHLmxgHfOaDysi3encfcHdHNMsthxUrvTKs89yQPcKTcD_zJZm5c6ukqoWJbQPthGEJc8XmNayY0vSlDAk6Z73O33tVG6ct3eHkXjEkSUwQ8a0dD1d8/s320/016.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tiny tree we made to replace the tree <br />
for their room that I also threw away last year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A year ago, we stopped going to any houses with pets or even old carpet because they made Penny itch, sneeze, and cough almost as soon as we walked in. She could only visit one friend and a cousin. Even the library made her face turn red and her skin itchy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">With environmental allergies causing her so much trouble, Penny started allergy shots last spring. These caused some extra itchiness for a while, which would've been impossible to handle before Dr. Aron. Since her skin was in much better shape, we were able to keep going at a very slow, but steady pace, and this has made a big difference in her quality of life too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b>Now Penny can go to houses with pets or to the library for a few hours with no symptoms. </b>Although we home school, I used to worry that she wouldn't be able to tolerate a traditional classroom due to her environmental allergies. Whether we continue homeschooling or not, I'm thankful she has options.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This year, we bought a new Christmas tree. Penny played with the ornaments all month without ANY flares on her hands. My only worry at Christmas time was making sure I baked plenty of Penny-safe cookies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">What a difference this last year has made! Happy "Aronversary" to Penny!</span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></em>
<em><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></em>Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-36663721782654226242015-05-10T19:20:00.003-07:002015-05-10T19:31:13.735-07:00Not Out Of The Eczema Woods<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
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We got a reminder today of how far Penny's skin has come, yet we can't forget she does still have eczema.<br />
<a name='more'></a>We traveled for a wedding this weekend, and the weather was cooler than we expected. We didn't even pack cardigans, so hours before the wedding, we made a Target run for some tights to go with the girls' dresses.<br />
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I tried to convince Penny to wear a pair of (100% cotton, already washed) leggings we already had because I wasn't sure how her skin would handle unwashed, polyester tights. The words "unwashed" and "polyester" look like flashing, neon signs in any eczema parent's brain.<br />
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But she wanted to wear tights like Big Sister. After all, how can everyday leggings compete with sparkly heart tights?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYVrj-uFhTrGVK-qUgaQM85O6gpNTE23RY5wVrnXz0JEydL8f_BXF_kVBtfO1TIGV2BJGZy1g5z3TqlJNNGM14Q5IhFylgMyJ9W_O21SB6VSZvuuG_GmssA7loS8Pb-Y9hT3ux2mvbv4/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYVrj-uFhTrGVK-qUgaQM85O6gpNTE23RY5wVrnXz0JEydL8f_BXF_kVBtfO1TIGV2BJGZy1g5z3TqlJNNGM14Q5IhFylgMyJ9W_O21SB6VSZvuuG_GmssA7loS8Pb-Y9hT3ux2mvbv4/s320/023.JPG" width="195" /></a></div>
For the wedding, it was fine. That, I think, shows progress. I don't think we've ever even attempted tights more than once or twice.<br />
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Today for the trip home, both girls wanted to wear their fancy outfits again. (Twirly skirts and fancy tights are exciting!) Well this evening, Penny told me she was itchy. I looked where she pointed on her leg and found several large patches of little red bumps. <br />
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<a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/who-is-this-dr-aron.html" target="_blank">We've been with Dr. Aron long enough</a> that I'm not panicking over a flare like this now. I know we'll apply the cream to these areas for a few days and most likely she'll be fine. <br />
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But it's definitely a reminder that her now-clear skin still needs extra care.<br />
<br />Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-42179003820510746012015-05-04T15:15:00.003-07:002015-05-10T19:34:34.590-07:00Dr. Aron - Week 10 (New foods!)<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before Dr. Aron, <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/hunting-those-elusive-triggers.html" target="_blank">searching for eczema triggers almost drove me insane</a>. Some days it seemed that everything Penny touched or ate could be a trigger. With 10 foods that we have to avoid even traces of, I'm always hesitant to pull yet another food from Penny's diet. And it was so hard to know for sure if a food was really the cause of a flare when her skin was never clear for more than a few days at a time. Yet some foods really seemed to be a problem. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now that Penny's skin is usually clear, we've been trying a few foods on the suspect list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>It is never safe to challenge a food that has caused a reaction such as a red face, hives, vomiting, or facial swelling at home. We are only challenging foods that were possible eczema triggers.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First was cod liver oil. Not too exciting, but a supplement that I feel she needs. Her skin tolerated it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQd7B1T_yJOcz8PJaKpnvGAGCBY44Rx-w26zrmuYCAvCVTLVv739nZIYS78w1pLeE41_oYnMdlZry7-AJ7RS-NbBoIbJPJ9tseWTNXwlowUD_IF3HGZU2mT2YH62Xi4lu5hBLblrqfu8/s1600/133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQd7B1T_yJOcz8PJaKpnvGAGCBY44Rx-w26zrmuYCAvCVTLVv739nZIYS78w1pLeE41_oYnMdlZry7-AJ7RS-NbBoIbJPJ9tseWTNXwlowUD_IF3HGZU2mT2YH62Xi4lu5hBLblrqfu8/s320/133.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next, was blueberries. Yesterday, Penny ate a bowlful with her lunch. She ate another bowlful with her dinner. By bedtime, her skin was still clear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This morning, still not a sign of eczema. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Many of Dr. Aron's patients have noted that they were able to pinpoint true triggers once his treatment cleared the skin. Whether it's due to healed skin becoming less reactive, or simply not blaming the wrong trigger for a flare, we are all excited when we get to add foods and experiences back to our lives. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blueberry muffins, smoothies, and pancakes, here we come!</span>Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-35759110263039606682015-04-16T20:23:00.001-07:002015-05-10T19:34:58.892-07:00Dr. Aron - The Second Month (Or Happy Birthday to Penny)<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
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By six weeks into <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/who-is-this-dr-aron.html" target="_blank">Dr. Aron's treatment</a>, Penny's skin was looking great, just occasionally little itchy spots on her wrists, knees, and ankles. Pollen season had started, and her nose was running and sneezing, so a little itchiness didn't concern me too much.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0wcQjwC-EVf9ZgnkenFilA7mBaGTKhIMUS0r_17HAXaTqCJvTFa9JDuAYykT1XWibb7kk6Uz_s1nshUoiUCe_RSVSI9ADS_EZhVkoeHbEkGeozEFNxCgchItGTaa039UEmwmKoSuxLg/s1600/DrAronWk6-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0wcQjwC-EVf9ZgnkenFilA7mBaGTKhIMUS0r_17HAXaTqCJvTFa9JDuAYykT1XWibb7kk6Uz_s1nshUoiUCe_RSVSI9ADS_EZhVkoeHbEkGeozEFNxCgchItGTaa039UEmwmKoSuxLg/s1600/DrAronWk6-2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her ring finger kept blistering, popping, <br />
and crusting over.</td></tr>
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I wasn't careful enough to keep her out of the sand and dirt and grass though. Her troublesome ring finger started to act up again and upping the number of applications of cream didn't help this time.<br />
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Then one night Penny woke up tearing at her hands again. In retrospect, I should have immediately used Dr. Aron's prescription, but since it wasn't our scheduled time to apply it, I used Cerave instead. She had trouble settling back to sleep. In the morning, she was rubbing her hands again. Little blisters were starting to form. I felt sick and panicked. <br />
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My brain filled with memories of the times before Dr. Aron. I remembered spending the whole day in and out of baths and wet wraps. Applying lotion over and over. Penny tearing off the socks and rubbing her hands raw. <br />
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It was hard to quiet all those thoughts that morning, but I tried. I washed her hands in case her skin had an irritant on it and applied our prescription. Penny calmed down. In fact, she didn't bother her hands again until lunch time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxIMIt310W5eMbS0C_PvziKGa9tdUHcyp-hCLgjVMwer0erLWE0mG2Z2Oko3Eq4FTUMfZFpmiNs_cTYLG8JjFUpaXi4PNWoiPf_yzbio0x-d3PlKkzqzqux2huzRZJKG_rgXo2iD6XnM/s1600/DrAronWk6-3-circled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxIMIt310W5eMbS0C_PvziKGa9tdUHcyp-hCLgjVMwer0erLWE0mG2Z2Oko3Eq4FTUMfZFpmiNs_cTYLG8JjFUpaXi4PNWoiPf_yzbio0x-d3PlKkzqzqux2huzRZJKG_rgXo2iD6XnM/s1600/DrAronWk6-3-circled.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a mild version of dyshidrotic eczema or pompholyx.<br />
It starts as clear, fluid filled blisters.</td></tr>
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<strong>One of the best things about Dr. Aron is the continual support. In the past, with every flare, I was on my own. </strong> This time, I took pictures of Penny's hands and emailed Dr. Aron. He replied by that night.<br />
<strong></strong><br />
I knew he was likely to tell me to increase the apps on her hands. (We had been at two a day for quite a while.) So when Penny started to rub them again at noon, I did another app of cream. That calmed her down until bedtime. By evening, the blisters were already starting to subside. <br />
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Dr. Aron advised me to increase the cream applications to 4 times a day and to wrap her troublesome ring finger in saran wrap each night. The hands were better in days and the ring finger cleared within a week. <br />
<br />
At eight weeks in, for the first time, Penny has no trouble spots at all. Now we are applying cream twice a day everywhere but her hands, which are down to three.<br />
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Persistent eczema can cause skin discoloration and the constant scratching can cause thickened skin (lichenification), but even that is disappearing over time. (Dr. Aron told me it would in one of his first emails.) I was amazed at her progress that first week, but now it's interesting to look back and see how far her skin still had to go. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqwdu9UZuFq1XDKxQrQb2Vp1FVjs0vdkq0TW_Ynv1HseHy3aspaNtQM5RmMlwKdrm0FHSP5ssNiEf_EkOlo3INzNMY9lYcLjI8kMLx_slkw-zLIvfvmi_j_7YxyA2gYuJ9BqYslcFUJE/s1600/DrAronWk1-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqwdu9UZuFq1XDKxQrQb2Vp1FVjs0vdkq0TW_Ynv1HseHy3aspaNtQM5RmMlwKdrm0FHSP5ssNiEf_EkOlo3INzNMY9lYcLjI8kMLx_slkw-zLIvfvmi_j_7YxyA2gYuJ9BqYslcFUJE/s1600/DrAronWk1-3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ankles, Week 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_kxOaTPrcnew78D0IuRY8e_uxVs8rLyFk06_aPSl2C5ri7WREgSYUwy03WbpRGh7GL5PEp5XFlSS1yRXVkxcgLFDSukdvhb-KS5xqECAempVrKrrHAj5yopY3pCrEAf125BXheYLuNI/s1600/DrAronWk7-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_kxOaTPrcnew78D0IuRY8e_uxVs8rLyFk06_aPSl2C5ri7WREgSYUwy03WbpRGh7GL5PEp5XFlSS1yRXVkxcgLFDSukdvhb-KS5xqECAempVrKrrHAj5yopY3pCrEAf125BXheYLuNI/s1600/DrAronWk7-9.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ankles, Week 7</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAypepM8LbWI_4EqTEo7AEO19I_j2DG2sfDnQUV3jTyeAlEJJM6MnuaiuWBL66gF5oDQMU2yUvny5BGYbcR6sOFy0_-vHVSFIOmGXQf_worGQcDVpFkvNRqHvrQ1xnWyljGffXgNhK6E/s1600/DrAronWk1-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAypepM8LbWI_4EqTEo7AEO19I_j2DG2sfDnQUV3jTyeAlEJJM6MnuaiuWBL66gF5oDQMU2yUvny5BGYbcR6sOFy0_-vHVSFIOmGXQf_worGQcDVpFkvNRqHvrQ1xnWyljGffXgNhK6E/s1600/DrAronWk1-2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knees, Week 1<br />
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<span id="goog_951176847"></span><span id="goog_951176848"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigREPr1HmAC_wDg92JrdEGbi6kjscFpW2kD9c5hrFXEj1XUEXpQ6yZNIZ-GFZjjD0yvCkH2y9_xIbAbdF9uUat76gtKaYSe5qH56gvXs1HrlnDkdfzYTtnIAG3XXLpNdfewLRk08bIz-k/s1600/DrAronWk7-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigREPr1HmAC_wDg92JrdEGbi6kjscFpW2kD9c5hrFXEj1XUEXpQ6yZNIZ-GFZjjD0yvCkH2y9_xIbAbdF9uUat76gtKaYSe5qH56gvXs1HrlnDkdfzYTtnIAG3XXLpNdfewLRk08bIz-k/s1600/DrAronWk7-7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Knees, Week 7 </td></tr>
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I'm extra careful now to keep Penny from playing in the grass, sand, and dirt, and we wash hands every time we come inside. In my heart, I would like to be more lax about outside--letting her run out barefoot, build sandcastles or sit in the mud--but that probably contributed to <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-darkest-time.html" target="_blank">the dark place we were in last summer.</a><br />
<br />
So I make her keep her pants and shoes on outside. We play on the pavement a lot, riding her trike and throwing balls. As her skin continues to heal, it may tolerate more or it may not. She's allergic to pretty much everything outside, so we may have to continue to avoid grass. I hope that eventually she'll be able to dig in the dirt though. <br />
<br />
Either way, I would rather stay in the good place we've found now. Her first four years have been tough, but I'm confident we are on our way to different times. <br />
<br />
Happy birthday, Penny! Enjoy that clear skin!<br />
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Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-39076777123472473832015-04-13T13:42:00.002-07:002015-05-10T19:35:29.228-07:00Dr. Aron - The First Month<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
<br />
At the end of <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/dr-aron-week-one-or-will-dr-arons.html" target="_blank">our first week with Dr. Aron</a>, I was excited to see how Penny's skin would hold up as time went on. Would Dr. Aron's tapering method work where my own had failed? Would the flares and itching return?<br />
<br />
Make no mistake. Penny still has eczema. Dr. Aron doesn't promise a cure. <strong>But my definitions of "flare" and "itch" are completely different than before.</strong> <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
When I say the itch is gone, I don't mean she never, ever scratches. For example, one morning at breakfast, Penny started to scratch her wrist. Like any eczema parent, my brain went on high alert. I was used to seeing her to scratch, then scratch more and harder, digging into her skin with a manic intensity. <br />
<br />
But this time, she casually scratched one wrist, then the other, and stopped. She went back to eating her breakfast. I think I simply stared. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvUua_gGeyPHfJYAZdJq6DRp7MBtthriflQR3zMZOa3UYdbbqtwq6Oa_5u0IGimanVWxVMwKg4ubsZFAA9TXAdlZ2ReJ4blT32c9cPflpC59jXhIkJ8Obp5ePHXXoP4UVdQ5Q6BDpBWM/s1600/DrAronWk5-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvUua_gGeyPHfJYAZdJq6DRp7MBtthriflQR3zMZOa3UYdbbqtwq6Oa_5u0IGimanVWxVMwKg4ubsZFAA9TXAdlZ2ReJ4blT32c9cPflpC59jXhIkJ8Obp5ePHXXoP4UVdQ5Q6BDpBWM/s1600/DrAronWk5-2.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A post-Dr. Aron flare.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<strong>By four weeks in, Dr. Aron had us down to two apps a day on most of Penny's body</strong> and 4-5 apps a day on the stubborn spots--her wrists, knees, ankles, and ring finger. Even these spots were doing remarkably well. Occasionally they itched or a few bumps popped up, but nothing like a flare before. <br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMzlVGmRcGY9CRPTlW2pBcbKkWURECLVjiJTMA8tbxnRVvA7BYJ6ZcZNJaXm5HGsnRhBXOBL2MMFSfx5hJRusCkZE3mSd70kt3OM2LqfxzIJqKTD89PMLjtUIEmxZZp-o1cc4x4t7Ggk/s1600/DrAronWk1-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMzlVGmRcGY9CRPTlW2pBcbKkWURECLVjiJTMA8tbxnRVvA7BYJ6ZcZNJaXm5HGsnRhBXOBL2MMFSfx5hJRusCkZE3mSd70kt3OM2LqfxzIJqKTD89PMLjtUIEmxZZp-o1cc4x4t7Ggk/s1600/DrAronWk1-1.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frito flare.</td></tr>
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<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Now that so much of her skin was clear, it was easier to see her skin react directly to allergens.</strong> A few weeks in, I ate some Fritos after she went to bed. I had suspected for a while that these might be a problem because they have cross contact issues with sunflower seed oil, so we hadn't had any Fritos for a while. We will be done nursing when Penny turns four soon, and right now she only nurses once in the morning. The next morning she nursed, and a few hours later, a flare popped up on her leg. <br />
<br />
Since our main goal is healing right now, I've tried to keep food experimenting to a minimum since then. But even when they happen, these tiny flares go down with just a few applications of our prescription and hardly even bother Penny. <br />
<br />
It was hard to see direct correlations before Dr. Aron because many of the flares we saw then were from the staph on her skin and from steroid rebound. Also, raw, inflamed skin seems to be irritated by almost everything even if there's not a real allergy or intolerance. <br />
<br />
Penny's skin is still sensitive and we have a long list of food allergies to avoid, but I'm not on a <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/hunting-those-elusive-triggers.html" target="_blank">constant trigger hunt anymore</a>. Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-5667459431053080332015-04-07T11:23:00.001-07:002015-04-07T11:23:17.602-07:00Our Pediatrician and Dr. Aron<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
<br />
My husband and I had discussed <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/who-is-this-dr-aron.html" target="_blank">Dr. Richard Aron's</a> treatment a few times, weighing the pros and cons of what to try next for Penny's eczema. I finally told my husband this was what I wanted to do, but I was nervous about the conversation with our pediatrician. (Since Dr. Aron is overseas, we had to have a US doctor rewrite the prescription to be accepted at a US pharmacy.)<br />
<br />
My husband's advice: "<strong>Stop worrying about having the conversation, and just <em>have</em> it."</strong><br />
<a name='more'></a>(He did offer to go with me for moral support, but making that work would have delayed our appointment.)<br />
<br />
By now, another family in our metro area had consulted with Dr. Aron, so I felt a little reassurance knowing that if our pediatrician absolutely refused to help us, there was another local doctor I could turn to. I didn't want to switch pediatricians, especially to someone 45 minutes away, but it bolstered my confidence to know it was possible. <br />
<br />
When I called the ped's office, I told the receptionist that I wanted an appointment to discuss a different treatment for Penny's eczema and gave her Dr. Aron's website: <a href="http://www.draron.com/">www.draron.com</a><br />
<br />
Then I prepared for our appointment. Some parents online advised that if our doctor was hesitant, to suggest a trial period of using the cream.<br />
<br />
Since I knew that the antibiotic component to Dr. Aron's regime is usually the aspect that troubles some doctors, I printed off several files from the <span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="492451777525485"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/draron/" target="_blank">Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group</a> on FB where Dr. Aron has written about the reasons for using an antibiotic. </span><br />
<span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="492451777525485"></span><br />
<span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="Dr Aron Eczema Treatment Discussion Group" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="492451777525485"></span><span data-si="true"></span>I also printed off <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11142266/Eczema-expert-defended-by-parents.html" target="_blank">an article that appeared in the Telegraph</a> about Dr. Aron and highlighted this: "With research showing that 90 per cent of patients with eczema have a bacterial infection, Dr Aron says that he is not prescribing antibiotics preventatively, but actively – and that used long-term this knocks out the bacteria."<br />
<br />
I printed off <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v503/n7476/full/nature12655.html" target="_blank">the abstract to this study</a>, (found in the files in the FB group) which says, "More than 90% of patients with atopic dermatitis are colonized with <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in the lesional skin whereas most healthy individuals do not harbour the pathogen."<br />
<br />
I pulled up the case studies of Dr. Aron's patients (link can be found <a href="https://draroneczema.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">here</a>) on my phone.<br />
<br />
In the end, I didn't need any of it. <br />
<br />
Our pediatrician said he had read Dr. Aron's site, he knew we had tried a lot of things to help Penny, and he was willing to work with Dr. Aron. His only question was how much it would cost us. (I think he wanted to make sure we weren't getting ripped off.) <strong>At $150USD (depending on the exchange rate) for the initial consultation as well as ongoing support, Dr. Aron's fee is very reasonable. I've spent more than that on just Vanicream</strong><br />
<br />
The pediatrician prescribed us Atarax (nicknamed by some "Super Benadryl") to help us get some sleep in the meantime, and I went home to snap pictures of Penny to send to Dr. Aron.Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-32755088320185478322015-04-05T14:40:00.000-07:002015-04-05T14:40:21.503-07:00Who is this Dr. Aron?<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
<br />
I first heard about Dr. Richard Aron on the Facebook group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/64537698706/" target="_blank">Eczema Parents</a>. Like any parent who has been around the eczema block, I was very skeptical at first. We've all heard of plenty of miracle lotions and diets. None of them have helped. And these parents on FB were saying they had paid an overseas doctor online for a consultation? It honestly sounded like a scam. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Over time though, I saw the same parents continuing to share their experiences with Dr. Aron's method and these parents didn't seem to be crazy. None of them seemed to think it was shady. So I joined <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/draron/677185002385494/?notif_t=group_comment_reply" target="_blank">the FB group for his patients</a> and just listened in for a while. I was still worried I would find out that most of his patients regressed or had to keep using the cream every day for life.<br />
<br />
What I discovered was just the opposite.<br />
<br />
<strong>Post after post of children whose itch disappeared within days</strong>. Children who had started using the cream years ago and now only used it at a twice weekly maintenance dose or only for occasional flares. <br />
<br />
In fact, several of his patients had been to National Jewish Hospital, <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/learning-from-national-jewish-hospital.html" target="_blank">the other treatment we were considering</a>. Despite getting some relief, they were having trouble tapering the steroids and/or the itch never went away.<br />
<strong></strong><br />
He had also treated children who had tried to go through Topical Steroid Withdrawal without success. These children had been in much worse shape than Penny. Some stopped growing and their parents said they had zero quality of life. Their stories left me with a profound thankfulness Penny's case wasn't any worse than it was, and a hope that life could be better for us than it was now. Here are links to a couple of their stories: <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://machelan.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/our-journey-through-out-of-control-eczema/" target="_blank">Her Skin and I....A Mother's Story</a></li>
<li><a href="http://draronchildhoodeczemajourney.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/who-we-are-and-how-we-came-to-find-dr.html" target="_blank">Our journey through Dr. Aron's treatment for severe childhood eczema</a></li>
</ul>
<strong>The idea behind Dr. Aron's approach is simple: most treatments don't address the fact that 90% of eczema patients have staph colonized on their skin.</strong> This is what causes the crazy itch that persists even when the skin is clear. Why even when the skin is cleared for a while, the rash always comes back, often followed by skin that turns red and burns. It's a completely different, but very reasonable, explanation for Red Skin Syndrome or Topical Steroid Withdrawal. <br />
<br />
He prescribes a cream like Vanicream or Cetaphil (or others for patients in other countries depending on what's available) and has it compounded with a steroid cream and antibiotic. His prescriptions are tailored to the age, weight, and severity of the patient. At first, he prescribes anywhere from 4-6 applications a day. He has his patients update him regularly over email and helps them gradually taper off the application so there are no rebound flares from stopping the steroid abruptly or the staph coming back.<br />
<br />
Here is a clip of him on a South African TV show:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l7RCWDREZ5I/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l7RCWDREZ5I?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
(For even more information about Dr. Aron, including his site where new patients can register, more patient blogs, and a link to the Telegraph article featuring him and his patients, go <a href="https://draroneczema.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
<br />
The only catch was that we had to get our pediatrician on board to rewrite the prescription for us since the pharmacy will only take a prescription from a US doctor. The process is different depending on which country the patient is in, but he works with people all over the world. From what I read on the FB group, some doctors are very resistant to the idea and some are perfectly fine with it. <br />
<br />
The idea of having this conversation with our pediatrician made me really nervous, so I kept putting off the idea of consulting Dr. Aron. <strong>My only regret, as so many of his patients have said, is that I didn't do it sooner.</strong>Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-4019062889440004632015-04-04T08:32:00.000-07:002015-04-04T18:32:33.471-07:00Hunting Those Elusive Triggers<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></em><br />
By the fall of 2014, Penny's eczema was in a much better place. Wet wrapping and keeping her skin covered had cleared the eczema from much of her body. This huge progress further convinced me that <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-darkest-time.html" target="_blank">Topical Steroid Addiction</a> was not what we were dealing with. And she was growing so fast!<br />
<br />
Yet she still had some trouble spots that drove us crazy.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr89T9yXlEep3hDLLzMvrc5G7pGswdj32_L4DtxXyB9O5iRVpnnTrKAt3xAxSe4LQrkNIhkhMEP6lfzlDw_v_Rlxxhzm5nQjnMB_J5QIKQxuYE8nvLAdXNkGSZ9VmNY5A5A_YbHIehYM/s1600/343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr89T9yXlEep3hDLLzMvrc5G7pGswdj32_L4DtxXyB9O5iRVpnnTrKAt3xAxSe4LQrkNIhkhMEP6lfzlDw_v_Rlxxhzm5nQjnMB_J5QIKQxuYE8nvLAdXNkGSZ9VmNY5A5A_YbHIehYM/s1600/343.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing off her new glasses. <br />
Note the red cheeks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I couldn't keep her hands and face covered, and they were always flaring. If her face was flared at home, it would clear when we went to the zoo or the park. One minute her hands would be fine, the next she was tearing them to shreds.<br />
<br />
With flares popping up so often, my plan for tapering down the topical steroids for these areas wasn't working at all. It was better than when we had to apply them to her whole body, but my goal had been to get to twice a week maintenance applications. <br />
<br />
I figured there had to be a reason so much of her skin was better when her hands and face were not.<br />
<br />
I ripped all the carpet out of our house since the previous owner had a dog. We bought a new couch. Bought her a real silk pillowcase. A vaporizer for her bedroom. A HEPA air purifier and vacuum. Tiny gloves made from 100% cotton. New panties with no elastic showing. New panties with a different cut in case the first ones were rubbing. (Her waist and panty line was another trouble spot.)<br />
<br />
Replaced all clothing made from synthetics, including my own.<br />
<br />
Wondered if the most recent hand flare was from touching her friend with a dog. Or the Christmas tree. Or the homemade (gluten free) play dough. Or the new Christmas gift that I let her play with without washing.<br />
<br />
Was it the soy yogurt we tried instead of coconut? The polyester gloves I let her wear outside when I couldn't find any cotton ones? The new throw pillow? The dress up in the dusty closet?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8XfW9tdDT2uVMpzO3QFUmbmfhzNt-QXa_o-CqhqP4OVDGIoBN6kdGuARdmO7rHkf84lEOxTdF-iqqfodzBSdKi2JxBnFZvSak7WGoPXIrGXJS-ieoVn6c_1M9R5PewzIX27n7CfSkBE/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8XfW9tdDT2uVMpzO3QFUmbmfhzNt-QXa_o-CqhqP4OVDGIoBN6kdGuARdmO7rHkf84lEOxTdF-iqqfodzBSdKi2JxBnFZvSak7WGoPXIrGXJS-ieoVn6c_1M9R5PewzIX27n7CfSkBE/s1600/029.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The relentless itch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<strong>My mind was constantly racing with these questions.</strong><br />
<br />
Her care routine was so much work, and our clothes were all stained and coated with lotion. Everyday I had to evaluate which steroids to apply where. I never knew when we would wake up and see a flare starting and have to spend the day in and out of baths and wet wraps. <br />
<br />
Even though I was so glad to have better tools to help her itching, I began to dread her coming so many times a day and asking for "a lotioning."<br />
<br />
<strong>Her skin was so much better than the previous summer, but there were times when I was out alone for a cup of coffee or errands, and the thought would flit through my mind, "What if you just didn't go back?"</strong><br />
<br />
These thoughts scared me, and when the New Year started, we finally had health insurance and some money saved, and I was ready to get some specialists on board. I thought about finally going to National Jewish. After all, maybe with their expert advice we could devise a tapering plan that would work. But when so much of her body was fine, it was hard for me take such a big step. Even with insurance, it would have been thousands of dollars to meet our deductible and pay for travel. We were in a place where financially that was possible, but I was also afraid we would come home with a care plan that looked pretty much like what we were already doing. <br />
<br />
I decided to get allergy testing done locally first. If it helped us pinpoint some more triggers, I reasoned, then maybe we could get over this final hurdle.<br />
<br />
The allergist we found is wonderful and thorough and up on the latest allergy research. She doesn't deny that there is often a connection between food allergies and eczema and trusts everything I tell her I've observed with Penny. <br />
<br />
Many kids with eczema have such sensitive skin that the skin test shows many positives to allergens they don't actually react to otherwise. For Penny, the skin test was pretty accurate and verified the foods I had seen her react to before as well as helping us identify her environmental allergies.<br />
<br />
It helped to know that I'm not a meanie to make her wear pants to play outside now, to stop going to houses with dogs, or to make her take a bath to wash the pollen off every night. It gave me the push I needed to deep clean her room, throw out old stuffed animals, and stay on top of the dust. And it gives us a baseline so that when we retest in the future, we will know if her reactions are changing as she grows older.<br />
<br />
<b>We also blood tested over 40 foods, and Penny tested positive to all of them.</b><br />
<br />
I considered cutting these out one or a few at a time to see if any were causing flares, but I've been down that road before. When she was an exclusively breastfed baby, <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html" target="_blank">for a while I only ate turkey, sweet potatoes, rice, pears, and sunflower seeds</a>, only to find out months later that she's very allergic to sunflower. This time, I could cut out all 40 foods we tested and find out years later that she was actually reacting to quinoa or turkey or cucumbers.<br />
<br />
I kept a food journal for a while, but the only pattern I could see was that the flares were related to how many days since her last application of steroids. <strong>In the end, like our pediatrician had predicted, allergy testing did not help us find those elusive triggers I'd been hunting for so long. </strong> These flares were starting to interfere with our sleep again, and this time Benadryl wasn't working. Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-25746806555389974362015-04-02T19:52:00.002-07:002023-02-08T12:01:56.167-08:00Learning from National Jewish Hospital<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></em><br />
<a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-darkest-time.html" target="_blank">As I was reading about Topical Steroid Addiction</a>, I also found a Facebook group called<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/64537698706/" target="_blank"> Eczema Parents</a>. One of the first posts I saw was about a family who had been to a hospital in Denver called National Jewish Health that has an intense outpatient program for children with allergies, eczema, and/or asthma. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I quickly devoured <a href="https://zoeynjh.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">this blog</a> about a little girl named Zoey who was not too much older than my own daughter. Although ITSAN (International Topical Steroid Awareness Network) says:<br />
<br />
<em>The experts recommend quitting [topical steroids] cold turkey. Since every day off topical steroids is a day closer to full healing, tapering topical steroids may prolong the length of withdrawal.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
National Jewish sends its patients home with plans to taper down the use of topical steroids by using weaker ones after the stronger ones and spacing out the applications. <br />
<br />
I weighed all this new information in my mind and finally decided that ITSAN's approach was not for us. <br />
<br />
I stalked the blogs of everyone I could find who had been to National Jewish and implemented many of the ideas. One of the first new things we tried was wet wrapping, similar to this video:<br />
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<strong>Starting with wet wraps three times a day, Penny finally began to come out of the worst flare since she was a baby.</strong> I was still too wary of the topical steroids though. When I saw how well the wet wraps were working, I tried to stop the steroids abruptly. She got classic Red Skin Syndrome symptoms--tight, red skin that caused her to scream while we tried to apply her lotion and get her into jammies. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnXpvnsjY71cfaQlbR4998fIG74HJ2YmuH2EOXLQxW1Kn2IP5G1jtIC1PZytk9nYvOMR9LqZFtxMEQQQ3c1gafFAHn0w2dyIRxVtyQtsp8UFSd8BjHmiP05TnjEDg1rA8bFKF89H6deI/s1600/383.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny in her wet wraps.</td></tr>
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</a>This was scary given everything I had just read about RSS, but I realized we couldn't just swap steroids for wet wrapping. </div>
<br />
We already had prescriptions for several strengths of steroids, and over time I managed to step down to her weakest prescription and even stop steroids for large parts of her body.<br />
<br />
<em>Stepping down steroids really should be done with a doctor's supervision. Since we didn't have insurance then, I decided to try to do it on my own for the time being and to look into traveling to National Jewish after the first of the year when we would have insurance.</em> <br />
<br />
<em>Also, most doctors don't prescribe steroids to be used this way. They usually prescribe to use the steroid for a certain number of days and then to take an equal length break. This was our pediatrician's approach, and I wasn't sure if he would be able to help with a different method. That said, I wouldn't advise other people to wing it like I did.</em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24IXGlWMO5vD6LwcHf-thctsw-FW-xkxv5fWZ3Jbw3ubn7hcsObW6CgWEr4SlmFAWUb04l8W52IRIevooD0sMKIZamNqbtFNi_AP-bnBgmWi3sSHWpcSRIc3McclCo6VkDTMo2Ju9MoM/s1600/281.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24IXGlWMO5vD6LwcHf-thctsw-FW-xkxv5fWZ3Jbw3ubn7hcsObW6CgWEr4SlmFAWUb04l8W52IRIevooD0sMKIZamNqbtFNi_AP-bnBgmWi3sSHWpcSRIc3McclCo6VkDTMo2Ju9MoM/s1600/281.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing at the park early in the morning to avoid the heat. <br />
You can see the bandages around her wrists to keep her from scratching.</td></tr>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$0:0"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">At the same time, I made many changes to our routine based on what I read by parents who had been to National Jewish:</span></span></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$2:0">Using Benadryl at night to help her sleep. We used this at her worst as a baby, but at some point her pediatrician didn't want us to use it so often. But deep sleep is when the body repairs itself, which someone covered in eczema can't get but desperately needs. A sedative also means less nighttime scratching and damage.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$2:0">No playing outside when it was hot since heat and sweat are big eczema triggers. (This was in the middle of an Oklahoma summer. We usually see long stretches with highs over 100 F.) </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.0.$end:0:$4:0">Keeping most of her skin covered to minimize damage from scratching and exposure to allergens and irritants. I began taping her sleeves down with medical tape over the fabric around her wrist.</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0">Watching her all the time and "doing another lotioning" when she got itchy. This meant washing my hands, washing the itchy area with a wet cloth in case an irritant was on the skin, and then applying lotion.</span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$2:0">Switching from plant-based moisturizers like shea butter and coconut oil to Vanicream and Cerave. Vanicream for after bath since it was better at sealing in moisture and Cerave for between baths since it has ceramides which may help maintain the skin barrier.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$4:0">Even after we started cutting down the number of baths and wet wraps each day, we still kept up with lotioning her at least 3 and sometimes as many as 5 or 6 times a day.</span></span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".lj.1:3:1:$comment10152680478533707_10152681200653707:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1.$comment-body.0"><strong>All my research paid off when one day Penny exclaimed as she got out of the bath, "Look at my skin!"</strong> </span></span><br />
<br />However, she still had many trouble spots I couldn't get clear consistently, which eventually sent me searching for more help.<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like I ended my last post, I am very happy for every person who has found healing. I am simply sharing the mental process I went through when considering whether TSW was where the answer lay for my daughter. I believe everyone's stories are important for others to read as they try to make these decisions for their own case.</span></em>Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-13086874454384460312015-03-31T18:11:00.002-07:002015-03-31T18:16:22.812-07:00The Darkest Time<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></em></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After </span><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/gaps-diet.html"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the GAPS diet</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, we got to some sort of normal for a while, but still never
enough sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I was applying topical steroids very sparingly and still only using coconut oil instead of the Vanicream we'd had success with before GAPS.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just before Penny turned three, we bought a
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
got worse after the move, and I tried to figure out why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stress?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Food?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I reread every package in
the cupboard and sent emails to verify ingredients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing really helped.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During the summer, she got even worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She woke up in the night, ripped the socks
off her hands, and clawed at her wrists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
I gave up putting socks on her hands at night and just let her scratch because I didn't know what else to do. We spent so many nights on the couch, me dozing while she watched Little Bear and Daniel Tiger until she finally crashed on my chest. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A recent episode of night terrors</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">that brought back memories of </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">spending every night this way.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">She ran around the backyard with legs that were bright red.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><strong>She sat on the floor digging at
her ankles like she was going for the bone. Her scratching always had this half-crazed intensity that every eczema parent knows and fears.</strong> I gave up even trying to stop her because there was nothing I could really do
to help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I constantly worried about infection.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In my desperation, I started searching for more information online and on Facebook and found lots of groups, blogs, and sites about Topical Steroid Addiction/Withdrawal (TSA/W) and Red Skin Syndrome (RSS). According to</span><a href="http://www.itsan.org/resources/q-and-a/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> itsan.org</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (International Topical Steroid Awareness Network):</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Regular use of topical steroids causes the body to develop a dependency on the topical steroids. Once this happens, the rashes that appear are actually Steroid-Induced Eczema and signify the beginning stage of Topical Steroid Withdrawal.</span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And this frightening description of TSW: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">During a flare or cycle of TSW, your skin may experience an increase in one, a few or many of these symptoms: redness, sensitivity, intense itchiness, hives, cracking, swelling, or oozing. When this happens, your symptoms may continue to increase in severity for a period of time. Your skin may also seem stuck in a “holding pattern” of bad skin or at a plateau without improvement for a period of time.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Flares can last anywhere from a few days to several months. When a flare eventually subsides and you enter a break, the skin becomes dry and flaky and you may shed a lot of dead skin. During a break, your skin may also feel tight, like plastic, or very rough. The redness may decrease in some places and oozing may decrease as well. You may be somewhat less itchy during a break</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I read blogs by people too sick to go to work or school. People enduring flares that made what Penny'd been through so far seem mild. I felt nauseated as I wondered if this was the only way out of the dark place we were in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ITSAN site showed so many pictures of former sufferers who emerged from TSW with clear skin. But blogs and forums I skimmed started to tell a different story. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">People suffering for years without relief. Eventually wondering if they needed to cut out gluten or dairy or try a different moisturizer or another supplement for their skin to finally heal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>I've been there before</em>, I thought and </span><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/gaps-diet.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">remembered our GAPS diet days</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Apparently, some people find relief eventually this way, but others end up on a road that just keeps stretching farther and farther in front of them with their destination just out of reach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, according to ITSAN, even after TSW a person may still have eczema: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is difficult to find out if you still have true eczema before you are healed, because eczema-like rashes occur during Topical Steroid Withdrawal and can appear anywhere on the body – even far from the original site of topical steroid use, because the skin is one organ. Additionally, during TSW people often react to more allergens/irritants than what they are truly allergic to, so testing for the cause of eczema will not be useful. If you do have eczema once TSW is complete, it will be much easier to manage and less severe than the full-body rashes experienced during TSW. You should also be able to determine the cause.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If we embarked on this path, how would we ever know when TSW was over and what was "just eczema"? This reminded me of the detox-or-reaction dilemma </span><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/gaps-diet.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">from our GAPS diet days</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Furthermore, <strong>Penny's whole body was covered in eczema before we ever used topical steroids. The most the TSW path seemed to promise was returning to where we started </strong>(unless we went through the whole process and learned she had grown out of eczema at some point). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That's when I stumbled upon </span><a href="https://zoeynjh.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the blog of someone who had been to National Jewish Hospital</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like I ended my last post, I am very happy for every person who has found healing. I am simply sharing the mental process I went through when considering whether TSW was where the answer lay for my daughter. I believe everyone's stories are important for others to read as they try to make these decisions for their own case.</span></em>Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-9183866913983129882015-03-30T20:57:00.001-07:002015-03-31T18:17:09.710-07:00GAPS Diet<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><em>This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html">here</a>.</em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When Penny was about a year old, I came across a group on Babycenter.com about eczema and learned <a href="http://www.nationaljewish.org/healthinfo/conditions/allergy/types/eczema/lifestyle-management/soak-and-seal/" target="_blank">how to do a soak and seal bath</a> and select good
moisturizers like Vanicream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Like so many things, these helped a little, but the relentless itch never disappeared.</span></span></span><a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I heard that some people were
getting results for all sorts of ailments with the GAPS diet—autism, eczema,
allergies, and many other ailments improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some people said their allergies even disappeared!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The diet restricts a lot of foods and takes a
lot of time in the kitchen, but anything that could cure Penny's eczema or reverse her food allergies seemed like it would be worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">GAPS includes removing as many toxins as
possible from one’s life, so we started buying filtered water and grass fed meat. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was told that since Vanicream is
petroleum based, it was putting toxins in her body that would have to be detoxed. I should use coconut oil or lard instead. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Topical steroids were even worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was told that eczema is the body trying to
detox through the skin. If it got worse on GAPS, that meant the diet was
working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, her skin did get worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
A lot worse. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I realized there were no clear answers to how I was supposed to know if this was really detox or a reaction. <strong>How long do you let your child get worse waiting for the promised improvement?</strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">It turned out that some of the staples of the diet (sauerkraut and bone broth) are usually super high in histamines and gave her a crazy itchy rash anywhere they touched her skin. Lard as lotion made her itch like crazy. We went through several weeks of eating ghee (clarified butter which is supposed to contain very little dairy protein), only to realize her face was turning red when she ate it.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I read more and
more, it seemed that while some people's ailments were truly helped by the diet, and they could
eventually eat more foods, others were continually eliminating more foods
trying to find the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> FODMAPS? Oxalates? Histamines? Salicylates? Nightshades? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We didn’t
gain any new foods. </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not being able to eat eggs, dairy, and nuts on GAPS eliminates so many of the recipes (especially for treats). I became underweight with all the restrictions. (Since I was breastfeeding, I had to follow the diet with Penny.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Even worse, I grew depressed, I think from not eating enough and the stress of constantly cooking and restricting my children's diets. After I broke down sobbing over a spill in the kitchen, I quit.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I still make delicious, low-histamine bone broth though.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Just to be clear, I am very happy for every person the GAPS diet has helped. With any treatment, I think it's important to "know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em." In my experience, GAPS followers are very dedicated to "holding 'em." I believe our story is just as important as the successes for anyone trying to decide for themselves what to do.</em></span></div>
Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-64296780936420893972015-03-29T21:48:00.000-07:002015-04-08T11:53:36.793-07:00Dr. Aron Week One (Or, Will Dr. Aron's method really work for us?)<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </span></em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></em><br />
<a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/04/our-pediatrician-and-dr-aron.html" target="_blank">After getting our pediatrician's approval</a>, I hurried home <a href="http://www.draron.com/register.php" target="_blank">to register with Dr. Aron</a>. In addition to a brief history of Penny's condition and the details of her current treatment, I sent off these (and a few other) pictures to Dr. Aron.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFMytQUO9VzQwan1BZcHyfhurC8xzZg-eOZwQU4M4MkMLAv4SfN2Tq5Py3FWY0V2Cv_j6mCd6bpm74Bp1qZPUW5Dpt82ceoaQ7dlN4FFMZaMrpfwySMX1nyIOkq_nOmbitmdn691IKGM/s1600/DrAronBefore-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFMytQUO9VzQwan1BZcHyfhurC8xzZg-eOZwQU4M4MkMLAv4SfN2Tq5Py3FWY0V2Cv_j6mCd6bpm74Bp1qZPUW5Dpt82ceoaQ7dlN4FFMZaMrpfwySMX1nyIOkq_nOmbitmdn691IKGM/s1600/DrAronBefore-10.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her knees actually look pretty good in this picture.<br />
Before Dr. Aron, they were often red all over. She scratched them every time she went potty.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her face was often redder than this picture shows.<br />
Her skin is still very dry here.</td></tr>
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Dr. Aron prescribed a compounded mixture of Vanicream, a topical steroid, and an antibiotic and instructed us to apply sparingly 4 times a day. Our mix had 30 g of steroid to 300 g of Vanicream, to give an idea of the level of dilution we're talking about although it does vary from patient to patient. We could easily go through this amount of steroid in a week or two before if she was flaring a lot, so the amount didn't concern me.</div>
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The unaffected areas we were to leave alone. No other moisturizers or anything. That was a little scary when we were used to slathering on Vanicream many times a day, but I knew I could email him if it wasn't working.</div>
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My husband and I did the first application together so that we would both be treating the same areas every time from then on. We made sure to get any spots that had flared recently or that she itched frequently even if they were currently clear.</div>
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"Apply sparingly" took us a few days to get the hang of since we were used to the soak and seal method of spreading lotion on as thick as icing after a bath. We didn't mind the change at all because Dr. Aron's method is much cleaner. </div>
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Penny's glasses aren't constantly smudged with lotion anymore. We don't have lotion stains on all our clothes.</div>
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Penny's one week update pictures:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsum_8gz7wAjmFJXiOKdZPQmDjq2-D0AhyphenhyphendTMVb0Hem85r1irMFjGhKQ-IAQwalBpN0fBDY2jcrNP7JZd6EbSsfZWZtfgEmiQSYTMv_TgVeSr7KJfMpkk6QM4dcLAN7ZdtyrVEdGEfdU/s1600/DrAronWk1-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsum_8gz7wAjmFJXiOKdZPQmDjq2-D0AhyphenhyphendTMVb0Hem85r1irMFjGhKQ-IAQwalBpN0fBDY2jcrNP7JZd6EbSsfZWZtfgEmiQSYTMv_TgVeSr7KJfMpkk6QM4dcLAN7ZdtyrVEdGEfdU/s1600/DrAronWk1-7.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rd6Aj_YsOxsd-xzV25BKvWFs5vhBjBaD0x6bypyElJs_Tey15SwTUivEfXaeSJrZPzVP4OtXHfwAcFkSKqxY1iyMgpnADSlShADScisMYkt1L6t1BD0FXgErNlRzkDsrdpYB9RBUsqU/s1600/DrAronWk1-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rd6Aj_YsOxsd-xzV25BKvWFs5vhBjBaD0x6bypyElJs_Tey15SwTUivEfXaeSJrZPzVP4OtXHfwAcFkSKqxY1iyMgpnADSlShADScisMYkt1L6t1BD0FXgErNlRzkDsrdpYB9RBUsqU/s1600/DrAronWk1-8.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pardon the goofy eyes, but look at that clear skin.<br />
And it stays this way!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22DbjT6LTojY4iNEjghOPZLWADT6wq0ppB7KvyS2Nb2gBX3ygulaH1PRE__b6peiKG7CP-3U2iWZgk_RupOVj6xwkH2NHKC-3yvuUIXQyYnz_hvwxaQNu08l3-LNMVcBrtpyuQFkMZfc/s1600/DrAronWk1-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22DbjT6LTojY4iNEjghOPZLWADT6wq0ppB7KvyS2Nb2gBX3ygulaH1PRE__b6peiKG7CP-3U2iWZgk_RupOVj6xwkH2NHKC-3yvuUIXQyYnz_hvwxaQNu08l3-LNMVcBrtpyuQFkMZfc/s1600/DrAronWk1-10.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These little hands didn't flare once. </td></tr>
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Now, we had been able to clear some of these spots before with undiluted topical steroids and wet wrapping, but some areas like her hands would only stay clear for a day or so before flaring again. Her face used to change hourly some days. This time they stayed clear.</div>
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Clear is skin is well and good, but I was still used to seeing her scratch perfectly clear skin. After all, eczema is nicknamed by many "the itch that rashes." </div>
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I can't tell you how many times her hands have been clear only for me to find her rubbing them raw. I used to check on her all the time, not to see if she was up to mischief like most parents of three-year-olds do, but to make sure she wasn't tearing holes in her skin. </div>
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<strong>The itch I'm describing most of us have not experienced. Some adults with eczema have described the itch as "bone deep" and from watching the way Penny used to tear at her ankles and wrists, I can only imagine that's what she felt. Once the skin is red and inflamed, many also say it burns.</strong></div>
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Sometimes Penny hid to scratch so I wouldn't stop her. Sometimes I didn't look because I didn't want to try.</div>
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Doctors have told some of us eczema parents that our children scratch clear skin "out of habit." Dr. Aron says it's because of staph. </div>
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Well, after only a few days on Dr. Aron's treatment, we quit giving Penny Atarax to sleep at night because, as Penny said, <strong>"I'm not so itchy anymore!"</strong> </div>
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<strong>Five little words. But they mean so much when itching is all she has ever known.</strong></div>
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Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-38551265453997383442015-03-29T16:33:00.002-07:002015-03-31T18:17:25.336-07:00Food Allergies<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>This is part of a series of posts about Penny's eczema story. To start at the beginning, go </em><a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At six months old, I let Penny have a bite of pancake at a
birthday party. A few minutes later, she turned red, broke out in
hives, and threw up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I called my
husband to bring us some Benadryl since no one, including me, had any. We cleaned up and went home in borrowed clothes.</span><a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><em><a href="https://www.foodallergy.org/faap" target="_blank">The current recommendation from FARE</a> is to use an epi pen and go to the ER with this many symptoms. </em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next reaction happened when I added some flax seed to
her peaches because she was getting a little constipated. H</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">er lower lip swelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We gave her Benadryl and drove to the ER, waiting in the parking lot
until her symptoms subsided because we didn’t have insurance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGC7d6cNmrMsB-9synhJBqjR7DooPIyj6_bxWU9ZyghOVJNNDNmX-5OpOiEnQkIygJbkJTis2ZIHGx09t84FZWaLrjboKN_AQJ8AVLI1AveXaYSivMmbWM12x9KPEP_vPeF71zCnVJcbI/s1600/2013_April+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGC7d6cNmrMsB-9synhJBqjR7DooPIyj6_bxWU9ZyghOVJNNDNmX-5OpOiEnQkIygJbkJTis2ZIHGx09t84FZWaLrjboKN_AQJ8AVLI1AveXaYSivMmbWM12x9KPEP_vPeF71zCnVJcbI/s1600/2013_April+043.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny's swollen lower lip</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>Her lip swelled again a few nights later when she ate lentils.</o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I got an Epipen and every time she tried a new food, I had the epi, Benadryl, and a phone ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Not wanting to crash any more parties, we only attempted new foods at home. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>The
list grew to include gluten, dairy, eggs, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, lentils,
garlic, soy, tomatoes, and strawberries.</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The garlic was
harder to figure out because she didn’t react to it immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She started throwing up every day around
9 months old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally reintroduced every food one at a time with no seasonings until I figured out it was garlic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t grow very much for those months although she never got down to a weight that concerned our doctor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I would recommend someone in these circumstances get allergy testing if possible. Our pediatrician told us the results are sometimes helpful but often unclear for babies, and since it was expensive, we held off.</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since I was breastfeeding, I eliminated all these foods from my own diet. (I hadn't stuck with the elimination diet mentioned <a href="http://nomoreitchies.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-it-begins.html" target="_blank">in my previous post</a> since it wasn't helping.) Her eczema
improved a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do have lots of pictures of clear skin
from the good days, but we still had so many nights where I paced with her
because she was too itchy to settle to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The way steroids are most often used, if you use them for five days, then the doctor prescribes a break for five
days (the exact numbers vary from patient to patient).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> She</span> could never make it the number
of days she was supposed to without the eczema getting bad again, and my husband and I used to argue about when to start them up again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The topical steroids kept her from getting more infections, but eczema was still ruling our lives.</span></span></div>
Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1189436616815259145.post-65098408553607761372015-03-28T20:38:00.002-07:002015-03-31T18:16:45.014-07:00So It Begins<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Eczema. Just some annoying dry patches behind the knees or in the elbows, right? Something most kids grow out of. Maybe change the bath time soap or the laundry detergent and lotion before bed. But not really a big deal.</span><a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My older daughter had this kind of eczema as a baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used topical steroids on her a couple
times, lotioned her up before bed, and eventually discovered that if
she didn’t eat gluten, dairy, eggs (and later peanuts), her eczema would
completely disappear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But for some people, eczema is a debilitating medical condition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My younger daughter, Penny, also developed eczema when she was about six weeks old. I figured I would just experiment with my diet (since I was breastfeeding her), figure out what food was the culprit ,and put an end to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I
cut out dairy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I cut out nuts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I cut out more and more foods until I was only eating turkey, rice, sweet potatoes, pears, and
sunflower seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (Ironically, sunflower later turned out to be one of her biggest allergens.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Yet h</span>er skin was worse than
ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> One of her first motor skills was learning to scratch. I pulled her out of her car seat once and saw she'd been rubbing her arms on the straps during the drive until her skin was raw and weeping. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Night after night, I paced the living room with her in the Ergo because she couldn't sleep.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We finally went to the doctor and learned she had secondary
fungal and staph infections on her broken skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We came home with a strong topical steroid, Nystatin cream, and
mupircion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was determined not to let
her skin get so out of control and infected again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnKe0zZX-t8aAlE1XywT_hCVeGU_Th2fUmzrtsVWLC9I1wpdzb5IrOj1gxMC3jY2O7nNQ3ZgFBRxMf9jAsrd8riV12VSEX8gfvwXRq8e8-R_kNCuQabBd1RenpweWtKl1eRULaOkhIbM/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnKe0zZX-t8aAlE1XywT_hCVeGU_Th2fUmzrtsVWLC9I1wpdzb5IrOj1gxMC3jY2O7nNQ3ZgFBRxMf9jAsrd8riV12VSEX8gfvwXRq8e8-R_kNCuQabBd1RenpweWtKl1eRULaOkhIbM/s1600/001.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t take a lot of pictures when her skin was flared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish now I had taken more, but I didn’t want to remember it. I had no idea the eczema would be with us for the next four years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Elizabeth Childershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13939031834724675715noreply@blogger.com0