An Itchy Organic Mom: Gentle Cures for Eczema
By Alexandra Zissu
TheDailyGreen.com
It’s finally cold here in New York. Most heating systems aren’t yet turned on, so we’ve been traipsing around in sweaters and hats. Today, after a wind gust almost picked her up and blew her down the street, my daughter laughed and screamed, “I’m freezing!”
Season change is fun. It’s also itchy. I have battled dry skin and eczema for years, especially on my hands. I used steroid creams to treat them before I knew better, but gave them up just before I got pregnant. Phew. I even gave up peanuts while pregnant because some research (largely British) said it would reduce the likelihood that my baby
would end up with allergies. I’d do anything not to pass this along to her. Well, so far so good on food and seasonal allergies. But she currently has several patches of her very own eczema. Argh!
Since giving up the steroids, I have spent a lot of time testing and coming up with a list of products that work to quell the rash when it flares. The list isn’t short, as they seem to work for a bit, then stop working. So I switch to something that also works, then stops. And I switch back, or move on. Eczema is strange stuff. Actually, even the steroid creams only worked temporarily. Then they’d thin my skin to the point where I’d start getting small cuts very easily, and the eczema would somehow flare up all over again. Pretty much the only holistic/organic/natural/biodynamic/whatever you want to call it thing I haven’t tried to cure the stuff is cutting food out of our diets. Apparently dairy and acidic foods like tomatoes can trigger the condition. I love both too much to give them up. And friends with other itchy conditions who have managed to hold off on favorite foods only report minimal itch reduction, or often none at all.
Here’s my general itch-combat routine, for me and the offspring:*warm (never hot), short (never long) showers and/or baths
*if in the bath, we pour soothing/anti-itch colloidal oatmeal under the running water
*we use very mild soaps like Dr. Bronner’s baby bar or Weleda’s calendula bar, and I was recently sent some Illumina Organics products to test out and have been pleased with their soaps that contain oatmeal
*humidifier *post-bath, I slather head to toe with oil, usually from Weleda or Dr. Hauschka (I have been enjoying the St. John’s Wort of late; on my daughter I use Weleda’s
baby bottom balm*Suki’s velvet moisturizing cream
*Dr. Hauschka’s toned day cream
No comments yet.