The Child with Eczema

It was sometime after I had to stop breast feeding our youngest child that the skin issues started. It wasn't until he was 2 years old that he was tested for allergies and we were told that he had a significant corn allergy that caused the eczema. Since that time, he has battled with the skin issues continuously. Every year needing at least one dose of Prednisone to clear up what seems to be the worst outbreak ever. The last outbreak was horrendous. Let me be clear, he always has dry skin and always struggles not to scratch his face, arms and legs until he draws blood. However, around the end of July and the month of August, he has consistently had bad breakouts that keep him awake at night, keep him in a bad mood from sleep deprivation, and make him generally uncomfortable. Every time we have gone back to the allergist, they have added to his list of allergies, so that now my son is allergic to corn, dairy, almonds, peanuts, tomatoes, bananas, white fish, shell fish, peas, soy, and wheat. In order to shop, we have to read labels extra carefully and stay up to date on the ways that they include certain things without listing it as an ingredient.

This year in August, he was put on steroids for 3 weeks. It was the most peaceful time for him and us. He was in a great mood, he slept through the nights with no worries and his skin was so clear and smooth. ![ As soon as the steroids were finished, he started to show signs of the eczema again. He is a happy little guy and generally in a great mood, but we started Pre-School this year and it has been a super duper hassle. He has missed quite a bit of school due to the eczema and their restrictions on what they can give him or allow him to do to himself.
So here is the part where I am going to rant. He needs shea butter on his face so that he doesn't itch and the skin doesn't get dry. The teacher refuses to simply tell him to put shea butter on his face when he is itching to the point that my husband picked him up and he had scratched until he made himself bleed. Needless to say, we chose to not send him back to school until we had a doctors note that he can use shea butter as needed. So today, I get a phone call from the school that he has had too many absences early in the year. Crazy because your lack of attention to his issues is the reason that he has missed so much school. Seriously, what are you thinking!!!????
Okay, rant over! In spite of the eczema, he is one of the happiest, most intelligent kids I have ever known. He is so excited about life and everything that he can learn and share with the world. He returns to school tomorrow and I hope that we don't have any more issues about his skin. I have finally found something that works to keep him from breaking out too often and helps him be okay sleeping. I make a shea butter mixture that we use after baths and on a daily basis and the final trick is vaseline and hydrocortisone cream (1%) after the shea. It really has made the difference and smoothed out his skin.

Having kids with eczema can be hard to deal with, you just have to figure out what works and do it! We have tried a lot of things over the years and few have worked continuously. However, we are finally in a good place again and my baby boy is looking great! Hopefully, he will grow out of some of the allergies as he gets older, but in the meantime, he will continue to eat healthy and make the world smile with personality and love!