I started noticing it with sunscreen. My daughter Ady would get rashes in the creases of her arms and behind her knees. It seemed to be from the sunscreen they were using at daycare before they went out to play. They cleared it with all parents first before that it was ok to use this brand and said it would be easier than everyone bringing in their own. Made sense. Then I noticed she would break out when we used sunscreen and lotions at home, especially the aerosol ones. Usually just on her arm creases and behind her knees. The rashes were much worse with the aerosol ones. So I did a bit of research and learned about Vanicream sunscreen. I had to order it from my pharmacy but it seemed to cut down on her rashes. Her doctor prescribed some hydrocortisone 1%, and we would apply it to her as needed for her “itchies”. It was year long though so she would also get patches in the winter as well as summer. I just thought she had sensitive skin.
When my son Andrew came along his first year of life was dedicated to finding the cause for his colic, reflux, constipation and feeding issues, which led to us learning he was tongue and lip tied. But he also suffered from Eczema. He was born with cradle cap. I did a lot of research on this and found a product called Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Relief Cream. It came with a brush and within about 5-6 uses it was gone and it never returned. Andrew also had eczema behind his ears, in his ear canals, in his neck crease, between his toes and behind his knees. He would itch and itch like crazy. I had to always make sure his nails were trimmed to help prevent him from scratching himself. There were nights he would itch so bad we would have to hold his arms to keep him from itching and clawing at himself. He was also clawing at his throat due to his reflux.
I used the prescribed hydrocortisone and then we were switched to nystatin to help with any yeast in these common eczema areas. No one ever seemed too concerned when I brought up his eczema and itchies. I remember once calling in to the nurse line asking what else I could try when we were not seeing relief. I had changed soaps, lotions, and was religiously “greasing” him up. I had tried bathing daily, I had tried bathing every few days but nothing was helping. So, I called to get more advice. I remember asking, “But what is causing him to itch?” I will never forget that response. The lady told me, “We don’t try to figure out the cause we only try to manage it.” She responded like I had asked her a completely absurd question. But, how did I know? This was a world I had never really entered. I was a mom that just wanted to give her little one some relief. That line stayed with me to this day because I think it is the most frustrating part about eczema. The “WHAT” that causes it. I can tell you why they tell moms that. I truly know why. Because Relentless parents out there like myself will go to the ends of the earth to search for answers for their child. The trouble with Eczema is that it could be ANYTHING and it is one hell of a journey figuring it out….
At 6 months of age I took Andrew to his first dermatology appointment. At that appointment Eczema was described to me as being an “enzyme issue” and it was explained to me that it is not always allergy or food related. I was given a specific regimen to apply his hydrocortisone ointment and lotion and I remember it was the exact opposite of what our Pediatrician had told me to do. Time and time again I would find that we could use a steroid cream like hydrocortisone and as soon as you would stop it would flare right back up. It was extremely frustrating.
When Andrew was 8 months of age I took him outside of our Pediatrician’s hospital system and got a personal referral to an Allergist. At this time, I wanted to see if allergies could be the source of the colic and eczema Andrew was experiencing. The doctor asked me to come up with a list of what to test. He said it would have to be something he has already been exposed to and write down anything that I thought it could be. Basically, any foods that I have tried. At that time I asked if we could add Peanuts since Peanut Allergy ran in the family. I assumed he would have been exposed through breastfeeding. I was informed that he was not exposed through my breast-milk and since we had not yet given him peanuts it was not something that we would be adding to the list. He also told me that it is not the specific allergy that runs in the family but rather the ability to develop allergies that is genetic. Andrew was tested for:
Skin Prick Testing – 7/31/2014
- Cows Milk – negative
- Banana – negative
- White Potato – negative
- Sweet Potato – negative
- Squash – negative
- Carrot – negative
- Corn – negative
- Wheat – negative
- Oats – negative
- Soybean – negative
- Rice – negative
With everything negative, I put aside the notion that it was a solid food that was contributing to our issues for a while and continued about our formula frenzy trying to find something that didn’t give Andrew colic.
At 12 months Andrew had been diagnosed with tongue tie and lip tie which took away his reflux and constipation issues. While it helped Andrew in so many ways it did not take away his eczema. At this time his eczema cleared up on most of his body except for his arm creases and behind his knees. 2-3 weeks after Andrew’s tongue and lip tie release we received his MRT Blood Test results. This was a food sensitivity test we had elected to run through our GI doctor.
The results were as follows: We were to eliminate all foods from the Red & Yellow categories:
MRT Test Blood Test Results 11/4/2014:
Red:
Broccoli
Lemon
Yellow:
Acetaminophin
Honeydew
Banana
Lettuce
Benzoic Acid
Millet
Black Pepper
Oregano
Blueberry
Pecan
Cashew
Plum
Codfish
Rice
Crab
Solanine
Cucumber
Whey
Yellow #5
Yellow Squash
We kept Andrew on this elimination diet for 6 months and it did not clear his Eczema.
I think to understand what we were dealing with here you need to understand that behind Andrew’s knees looked like severe burns. I would often describe them as looking like “chemical burns” because when you googled chemical burns and eczema…
His looked like “chemical burns.” Oh and he itched. He would claw behind his knees. He would finally settle to sleep at night and he would wake and itch. He would itch like crazy! He would itch during the day, in the middle of playing and he would get in a zone and go at it! To watch your child itch day and night can drive you crazy with trying to get them some relief! Have you ever itched? I remember as a kid getting bug bites at camp and holy crap that itched. I remember my mother taking me to the drug store and getting me cream that provided me relief, even if it was only temporary. I wanted to provide that relief for my child, as any mother would do.
I started researching, educating myself and tried different things. I followed basic things like only changing one variable at a time and I hunted for relief and new ideas.
I started compiling a list of things that I tried. Some things would help or manage it but I wanted to find the culprit, what caused the itch and what would take it away!
These were the things I tried:
Body Washes, Creams, & Ointments Regimens:
Hydrocortisone 1 & 2.5%
Nystatin cream
Coconut Oil
Aquaphore
Aloe
Petroleum jelly
Neosporin
Butt Paste Diaper Cream
Shea butter
Cetaphil lotion
Cereve Baby Lotion
Baby Organics lotion
Aveeno Baby Body Wash
Johnsons Natural Body Wash
Honest Company Body Wash
Unkers cream
Desonide cream
No body wash
Baking Soda Baths
Epson Salt Baths
Aveeno Oatmeal Baths
Steroid Free
Things That Touched His Skin:
No wash clothes
Pampers Sensitive Diapers
Target Diapers
Honest Diapers
Huggies Diapers
Honest Wipes
Huggies Wipes
Pampers Sensitive Wipes
No dryer sheets
Tide detergent
All detergent
Not a polyester/nylon thing
Hypoallergenic Pillow
Hypoallergenic crib sheet
Car Seat Covers – I made covers with old receiving blankets
Environment:
It’s not a pet thing
Not a weather thing
Not scabies or mites
Purchased Hepa Air Purifier for his room
Food & Water:
Food Journals
Elimination Diets
Folic acid free
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Purchased Osmosis filter for our home drinking water
Purchased Carbon Water filter for whole house filter
I learned how to flush our Hot Water Tank.
Allergy Testing:
Skin prick testing
Blood Allergy testing
MRT Allergy testing
Holistic Muscle Allergy Testing
Food Journals
I joined a Social Media Group called “Eczema Parents” on Facebook. Every parent described such similar stories of “the itchiness” and “rashes” we were experiencing. There were so many ideas, thoughts and success stories shared amongst the parents. It was other parents who understood wanting so bad to find the answer to cure the “itch” and provide relief. When people in my immediate world me would say, “Oh, its just eczema” or “Oh it could be so much worse”, these parents understood the Eczema Hell I was going through. But it was also a reality check joining that group. Seeing the pictures of what other parents were going through was very humbling for me. My heart broke as I saw what so many children go through in regards to eczema. While my son suffered on the back of his knees and in his arm creases, some children were suffering from severe eczema on their whole bodies and beautiful faces. It broke my heart more than anything I think I have ever come across. While I couldn’t relate to the extend of what they were going through I understood their need and desire to cure the itch and find relief for their child and that was what brought us together. This group was powerful. It inspired me to keep trying new things. Every now and again you would see a parent’s post pop up that would say, “We found what caused my kids eczema!” It kept me believing that there was a light at the end of the tunnel and I could find what was causing my son to itch as well if I just kept trying.
For months I tried so many creams, ideas and theories. On March 7th of 2015, I visited Dermatology again but found a new dermatologist. Andrew was prescribed Hydroxyzine, which is similar to a Benadryl, and Desonide cream, which is a stronger steroid cream than hydrocortisone cream. She wanted to get a regimen to truly control the eczema. The idea was to stop the itch with using the antihistamine and then it would give the steroid cream the chance to work. It worked, until the regimen was over and then it came back. It was the vicious cycle that all Eczema Parents know. Again it works while you use the Steroid, then it stops. This was in fact the best regimen we had been on. It helped control the itch. It helped Andrew get relief and provided him much needed rest. I did however hate the idea that we had to give our child an antihistamine to get him to be able to sleep. My father was a pharmacist and I had grown up with the notion that you don’t put anything in your body unless you absolutely had to.
I decided to try an alternative doctor and that’s when I looked into Holistic Muscle Allergy Testing. I had been reading about at-home muscle testing and started watching utube videos about how to do acupressure at home. (That said acupressure not acupuncture) I would rub Andrew down at night with his lotion and rub his legs, as I would pray over them. I would pray over his legs and repeat, “Your skin is calm, your skin is healthy, your skin is beautiful. “ I would rub certain parts of his legs that I read would help detox him. I had no idea what I was doing but he liked his leg rubs at night while he watched his bedtime show. I saw no results from this.
I visited a Holistic Doctor in April of 2015.
Her results were as follows:
4/28/2015/ Holistic Muscle Allergy Testing Results
Dairy
All Food Coloring
Bell Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Chili Pepper
Tomato
Soybean
Prune
MSG
Nitrates
Rabbit
Dust
Dust Mite
Feathers
Chlorine
Bromine
Fertilizer (Pellet)
Round Up
Our list of allergies was overwhelming but I would follow this elimination diet as suggested. She also explained to me that his rash behind his knees was yeast and I should keep using the Nystatin. That to me was infuriating because Nystatin did absolutely nothing for him and I had tried it several times already. It didn’t matter what I tried. It didn’t take away Andrew’s eczema. We continued to manage it with Hydroxyzine and Desonide cream for flares and we went on for a few months.
In May at Andrew’s wellness visit, his Pediatrician had a recommendation for us. She had asked me if I had ever tried Derma-Smooth? It was a prescription and it was expensive she explained. She also explained that she has had parents swear by it. She said she was so confident she would offer to pay for it if it didn’t help. Of course, I wouldn’t hold her to it. I knew better. But, I was not holding back and I headed to my Pharmacy. I remember it being in the ballpark of roughly $200. I don’t think I told my husband. When I got home I applied it. Andrew broke out in an instant rash all down his legs. I messaged our Pediatrician right away. She explained that it contained Peanut Oil and I needed to head to Main Campus Peds Allergy to check if Andrew had Peanut Allergy.
On 6/30/2015 we visited our hospitals system’s Main Campus Allergy Specialist to sort through our long list of allergies and it was a long one. It was tough because I had never seen my kids actually ever have a reaction that I could say was truly food related. The only thing I ever noticed was that my daughter Ady seemed to avoid Peanut Butter. I asked her since we were testing to just add peanut to both kid’s lists to get this figured out.
For my daughter Adalyn they did a skin prick test. For my son Andrew, they did blood work. He did not have an inch of clear skin on his back at that time to successfully conduct a skin prick test. Adalyn screamed during her skin prick test. She yelled, “it hurts, it hurts!” through the whole test as we waited for her results to be read. Adalyn came back showing an allergy to Peanuts so they asked for her to also have a blood test done. Putting them through the blood work was a whole other nightmare that I absolutely hate having to put them through.
Allergy Blood work
Andrew:
Cashew – class 2
Pistachio – class 2
Banana – class 2
Peanut – class 2
Dog – class 2
Adalyn:
Showed 0 for Peanut on blood work and showed positive for Peanut on skin prick so her results were conflicted.
We were advised to avoid peanuts for both and invest in epi pens for both. That was when we became Peanut, Cashew, Pistacio free. I will also add that removing these items from Andrew & Ady’s diet did not stop them from itching and it did not take away Andrew’s horrible eczema patches behind his knees. Both of my kids were also seeming to itch in their arm creases more and more and my daughter was itching horribly behind her knees as well while hers never looked like the burns Andrew’s looked like.
On 7/24/15 I sought a 3rd Dermatologist opinion. She looked at me and plainly said, “You need to be more aggressive” with Eczema. At first I was a bit caught off guard. I thought… Uh… Did you not just hear what a lunatic I have turned into? She encouraged me to do the following regimen.
* Desonide
* Ketoconazole
* Nightly Atarax for itching
* Vanicream lotion
* Dove Sensitive cleanser 1-2x per week
It helped again to control the eczema. This proved to help quite a bit but again our Eczema would return any time we would try to come off of the regimen.
From July of 2015 through January of 2016 this is the regimen that helped us through flare-ups substituting the Dove Sensitive Soap with Vanicream Bar of Soap. I also used Vanicream Shampoo & Conditioner. I took a break for a while from changing things. I just needed a break and to step back. In January of 2016 I started researching again. I checked out books on eczema and allergies at the library and read what I could to learn more. I found articles online on kids that itched when they sweat. My kids usually would itch when they were sweating. My daughter actually sweats a lot. She always says, “Mom, I’m sweaty!” when I am usually freezing. When she was a baby I remember thinking it was odd that you couldn’t put blankets in their cribs when I became a new mom. I always wrapped my babies in layers and swaddled them as recommended. I remember our Pediatrician telling my husband and I that with this generation of kids not using blankets in their cribs and bassinets they were going to be a warmer generation. Maybe there is something to this; it was always something I remember. Either way, I remember reading about kids with itchiness due to sweat get relief from Colloidal Oatmeal. This was something I had not tried and it was new to me. I researched and found Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Soothing Bath Treatment and Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream contained the Colloidal Oatmeal 1%. I had tried the Aveeno Baby lotion before and it seemed to irritate my son’s skin but I thought I would try again. The ingredients were different in this one. I have to tell you that this seemed to sooth my kid’s itchies more than anything I have come across. It does not burn and my son actually asks for it. For bad “itchies” I will add the hydrocortisone over top. This did not take away the eczema but it was the first thing that I offered that really seemed to help soothe and didn’t irritate the eczema further. It made me hopeful. It was a bit of a light and so I started reading the posts through Eczema Parents Social Media site again for new things to try. I am a bit relentless and I was going to find the culprit but for now I was happy to find something at least that helped soothe in the meantime. When you see days where your kids itch and days where their skin is clear it is very difficult for me to believe that SOMETHING does not cause this.
One night in January of 2016 I found a group of parents that started talking about detergents in the Eczema Parents support group. I had used Tide Free & Clear since Ady was young. At some point we had switched from Dreft to Tide Free & Clear thinking that was a good option because it said “free & clear”. During my journey of trying things I switched to All Free & Clear. Andrew got very rashy all over and most heavily on his back during that trial so I switched back. It had always been my assumption that with a detergent allergy it would be wherever the clothes touched. Since I saw how he reacted to All F&C I went back to Tide F&C thinking that’s not it. The group of parents all commented that night on which detergent they were using. It seemed to go, Tide F& C, All F& Clear, Repeat, Repeat, and Arm & Hammer Dermatology. What is that? I had never heard or seen Arm & Hammer Dermatology before. It was worth a shot to try something new.
There was another reason I was considering trying the detergent route again. I remember when we bought our new HE machine about 5 years back. A friend of ours explained to us to really use the detergent sparingly. The new HE detergents are very concentrated and clothes today hold so much detergent. He explained that you could probably wash your clothes without putting soap in the dispenser every now and again and you have so much detergent built up in your clothes that you wouldn’t need to add soap to the wash. Remembering this, I always use the HE soap sparingly although I have never tried not adding soap. But, now maybe was time to try a new detergent again. So, I did. I picked up Arm & Hammer Dermatology from our grocery store and it was about half the price of the others. I also used the extra rinse cycle on my machine as I tried before. Miraculously, Andrew’s burns disappeared and did not return for the first time. Ady’s itchies disappeared as well. For the next few weeks I could always tell when my kids would come in contact with a blanket or item that has not yet been rewashed because they will start to itch. Do my kids never itch? No, now and again they will get an itchy spot. For those I use the Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Lotion. But, I am no longer struggling with why Andrew’s legs look severely burned. I have not seen his crease burns since and it has been 2 months. I have not had to give Andrew hydroxyzine to sleep since. I am not watching him claw at himself during play or wake at night to scratch. Our allergist once described the back of his knees as looking scalded and I think that is a great description. It is hard to think that this poor kid had to endure that and for sooo long. I am so thankful that this sweet little boy of mine that had to deal with tongue-tie, lip tie and eczema and my sweet daughter can finally get some relief. They both sleep well and are finally get some relief from scratching.
Looking back, I think when my kids sweat; they usually sweat as one would think in their arm and knee folds. I believe that the moisture would release any leftover detergent in their clothes and this would cause a reaction. Am I a scientist? Did I do some scientific testing? No, I am a relentless mom and this is what I saw. This is what I went through with my children. My hope is that other moms dealing with eczema will read this and it will help someone else find answers sooner than we did. Do I fault Tide or All? No, absolutely not. The tricky thing with eczema is figuring out what your allergy is. What your body is reacting to. For others, these detergents may be their light at the end of the tunnel. For us, Arm & Hammer Dermatology was our light.
***
March 8, 2016 was the day for our follow up with Allergy to do the skin prick retest since both of my kiddos had tested positive for peanut allergy the June before. It has been two months since Andrew does not have the burns and Ady’s itchy spots had been relieved. There was a part of me that thought that since their bodies were reacting so badly to the detergent that maybe it was causing them to show signs of allergies on the skin prick test. It was just me being hopeful.
I took both of my kids to retest for their allergies and both kids came back for their skin prick test as a 4+ on a 0-4 scale for peanuts. For Andrew he would also test 4+ for Pistachio and Cashew. While I feel we had such a Win in the Eczema Department I feel completely defeated over the food allergies. Its like as soon as I got a handle on tongue-tie, I had to focus on eczema, now that I have a handle on the eczema we are dealing with peanut allergy. But, why? Why so severe? As a relentless momma, I feel I have to get more answers, and I will write when I find any answers that help us, because maybe, just maybe they will help you and you find answers much sooner than we did. Thank you for taking the time to read our story. I will keep you posted as our journey continues.
