Natural Ways to Soothe Eczema

My son and I both have sensitive, dry skin types. Occasionally, my son will have an eczema flare up too. We have tried all sorts of things to help it. The last place we lived was horrible on our entire family's skin. Picture this: desert-extreme temperatures, high winds, sand, sagebrush, wildfires...Yeah, not a good combo for any skin type!

The whole time we lived there, Little Man and I had several prescriptions from our doctors to try to prevent rashes and heal our skin and allergies...They provided minimal relief at best. We were informed that there wasn't much we could do aside from moving to a moderate, wet climate. As luck would have it, we did! Now, that did help immensely, but here recently Little Man had a flare up. (I think that perhaps a really nasty virus that he fought off may have triggered this one.) I decided that, before we went to his doctor for another round of experimenting with more prescriptions, we would try more home remedies. This might not work for everyone, and I am *not* substitution for professional medical advice of any kind. I'm just sharing what worked for us.

Here's what we did:
A.) Switched his milk from organic cow's milk to flaxseed milk. Flaxseed is supposed to be really good for the skin. Read more about it Here. (We have given him coconut milk if we can't find flaxseed milk. Also note, that since he is a boy, we don't give him soy milk as a substitute because studies have found links between it and elevated levels of estrogen in males resulting in things like abnormal breast development...Yikes! We prefer to play it on the safe side with that one!)
B.) Bathed him in tea with no soap for a week...I remember reading somewhere how you can put cooled tea bags over your eyes to reduce swelling, and soap can be irritating when your skin is already inflamed. That got me to thinking that maybe I could let him bathe in tea. I put organic chamomile, peppermint, and green tea bags and cuttings from my lavender plants inside one of those bath toys that are like a cute strainer. (Research for yourself-Chamomile , Peppermint, Green Tea, & Lavender.) I placed that under the tap while filling the bathtub, and then let the bags and cuttings float around in the water. I even let Little Man scrub with the bags if he wants. It smelled wonderful. Little Man loves tea baths! He asks for them every time now. Hero jokingly asked if I was running a spa in our house.
C.) After gently patting him dry-which is better than rubbing- with his towel (which is washed in free and clear detergent & either tumbled dry w/ free & clear dryer sheets or line dried on a clotheshorse), instead of lotions I put 100% pure organic aloe vera gel all over his body. Aloe vera has been used medicinally across the world since ancient times. Read about the health benefits of aloe vera: here.

It worked! I was so happy, and so was he.

When his eczema flare up cleared with these remedies, we switched his shampoo and body soap to one I found in a British store. It's called Child's Farm. It has a nice citrus aroma, works, and does not irritate his skin. For my American friends you can find it on Amazon.com by clicking on it's name above if it's not available in a local store. It might seem a bit expensive, but I feel it's worth it.

Maybe that all sounds really high maintenance or difficult, but it's actually quite simple. I found going to lots of doctor's appointments, waiting in lines at the pharmacy, and watching my child be uncomfortable and in pain to be much more difficult.

We haven't done this, but if you can afford it, I would recommend getting a whole house water filter installed. Hard water and chemicals lurking inside your water supply can be damaging to not only your skin, but the rest of your body as well. This is especially important if you live in an area with a high amount of pollution.

I'm so happy we found some natural solutions that are really working for us even weeks later!

Thank you so much for following along on my adventures.

~LadyH

*Please note: I am not getting paid to nor was I requested to endorse any specific website, product, or service. Additionally, as previously stated, I am not a medical professional, and my posts and advice are in no way substitution for professional advice of any kind. Please refrain for using any of my materials without official written permission from me. Thank you for being kind and discerning readers!

I Want to Hear from You Too!
Do you have any skin problems?
Have you tried any of these remedies?
Do you have any remedies, products, or prescriptions that did work for you?

Where Have I Been?

I have been absent from the blog for a while now...whoops!

Where have I been?
All Over!

These summer months have been packed with activity and flying by so quickly.
Is it just us or are all of your friends' kids born in the summertime too? Of course, part of it might be that Little Man and I are very extroverted which of course equates to a lot of party invitations from all of these new friends we have made here. In fact, we received so many party invites that it's impossible to attend them all. It's a good problem in our eyes. Now, Hero, being the more naturally introverted one in the group, finds this much less exciting than us. Soon Little Man will be having his own birthday party too! Him turning four has really snuck up on me.

As some of you know, we're Americans living in the United Kingdom. In America, most children don't start full time school until the age of 5-if not older, and they go to "Preschool" first before heading off to full time "Kindergarten". In the UK, children start attending "Nursery" or "Preschool" at the age of 3, and their government pays for them to attend any school (that will accept the grant) for a maximum of 15 hours a week. After that, British children can go to "Reception" full time after their 4th birthday. Most schools here require them to wear uniforms too. The school year starts in early September, and although they have a shorter summer break than many American schools, they have more breaks throughout the year. For us, this means that Little Man has been attending Nursery and will attend full time school this Autumn-at least a year ahead of all of his American friends back home. I worried about sending him so young, but after going through his assessment with his Nursery teacher and going to events with him at his new school, I'm feeling more confident about it. They seem to think he will continue to do very well, even with him being on the younger side. I know he's very excited about it! We've been trying to get prepared for this next big step. We ordered his uniforms-school colored/logoed polo shirts, backpack, jacket, raincoat, cardigans, P.E. kit, etc. from the school. He has his required black shoes, and we're slowly getting his grey "trousers" and shorts. His new teacher already visited his Nursery and will visit our home before the start of school. We have gone to events at the new school. We read to him everyday and take him all sorts of places and do educational (but fun!) activities together. He has plenty of friends...But still, he's my one and only child...My baby!...I'm proud of how well he's doing, especially after his rough start at life, but I think the difficulty lies in trust. Trusting yourself that you've prepared your child and are making the right choices for them. Trusting those who will be with them when you're not, and also, trusting your child...You hope that they will "fly in the right direction" after you give them that little nudge forward.

Before I leave everyone tearing up, I'll let you in on some of the other highlights from our summer so far. In between all of the birthday parties (and going-away parties) and school prep, we have somehow managed to squeeze in many other activities. Little Man and I travelled with friends to London. We loved visiting more museums there! We saw the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian hieroglyphs and mummies (including mummified cats!), a library filled with highly treasured classics and collections, Greek statues, and all sorts of other amazing artifacts in the British Museum . Then, we went to Madame Tussand's. I didn't quite know what all to expect there, but everyone had a blast! We got our pictures taken next to realistic wax figures of famous people and characters. (Seriously, you almost expected them to start talking to you. How you doin' Johnny Depp?!) They even had a Star Wars section. We saw the kids' "Marvel superheroes" movie (complete with 3D glasses and special effects), and then we went on an amusement ride where your seat is a little black taxi cab. On the ride, you get a fun mini-lesson in British history. More adventures have included: big indoor-and outdoor-playscapes, farms, nature walks, harvesting bit by bit from our little potted plants garden, play dates (which included trips to the pool), a 5K Color Run, dinners and games with other families, volunteer projects, and family movie nights (my favorite? "Minions"!!). I managed to complete two furniture projects as well. I gave Little Man's table and chairs and an end table new life!
Here they are:

It says: "Don't tell me the sky's the limit. There are footsteps on the moon." I not really into country music, but I thought Paul Brandt's lyrics were perfect for Little Man. I also stenciled rocket ships onto the tops of his chairs to match the lampshade on the light in his room (per his request).

The end table was transformed from it's former badly scratched up plain wood to this beauty! Grey and white with a heart on top and pit of framing. Hard work, but well worth the effort!

Before schools starts, I'm hoping we can spend a day or two on a beach somewhere just relaxing in the sunshine, get family photos done, and go on a tour of Cambridge-guided by friends who live there.
This summer has had its fair share of challenges too, but I won't go into all of that now.
In this post, I have chosen to focus on counting my blessings instead.
I am truly grateful for all of the adventures our family has enjoyed, and I am looking forward to more!
(And "Thank You!!" to everyone who has sent us care packages, cards, and invitations. We really appreciate it!)
I hope you are enjoying your summer too!

~LadyH



Q&A

What have you been doing this summer?
Any other activities planned?
Anything you hope to do before the end of this season?
If you could go on any adventure, where would you go? What would you do? Who would be with you?