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View Full Version : Fiona - how's your kids' eczema doing?




PikkuMyy
03-25-2004, 07:50 PM
I ask because suffered from insane eczema as a baby, child, and adult until a few years ago.

As a child, I had severe food allergies - I reacted to my mother's breastmilk if she ate foods I was allergic to. I had so many that she had to re-lactate, and I lived off donated milk from LLL for a while until she could do so, beause I just couldn't eat anything.

staying away from those foods helped quite a bit but not all. I also had several metal allergies, which would create contact eczema.

Here is what has cured me - GLA fatty acids. I take Borage oil every day. (Evening Primrose and Black Currant oils have GLA as well but not as high an amount.) I used to have to bandage my skin because it looked so gross (plus I was in danger for infections) and before we got married, my husband used to call me Lizard-hands. (in a loving way, of course...)

If I had taken before and after photos, you would be amazed. Once in a while if I go lax on my doses, I'll get a tiny patch or two on my leg (about the size of a nickel or quarter) and I use Shikai Borage Dry Skin Therapy lotion (they have one for kids and one for adults) which helps very much. I also try to bathe every other day and don't wash my hands more than I need to (and use dishgloves.)

I would definitely start supplementing your children with Borage. You only need 1/4 teaspoon a day for an adult - that is such a small amount - it should be extremely easy to mix it in with something else. Besides, it's good for them anyway, just as the flax oil is. But they both have different types of fatty acids that all us vegans need.

Let me know how they are doing! (My mother used to have to put socks on my hands all the time so that I wouldn't scratch...poor baby!) I feel for your children and hope they are doing better.

Emily




Fiona
03-27-2004, 07:59 AM
Thank you for asking, Emily, and for the information about borage.

The ezcema has almost completely gone. A while ago, my daughter accidentally scraped the back of the knee that had the infected ezcema - it bled, scabbed over and then started healing. She hasn't had any more ezcema there since, although the spots have left a few marks. I got some calendula cream from the Animal Aid website over here, and that really brought down the rashes my son used to get on his face. He's just over a year old now, and the rashes have disappeared. I try to bath the children sparingly and don't use soap or bubble bath etc, only the calendula cream for moisturising. So apart from dry skin, the children are fine, thank you.

Welcome to the boards, by the way!

Fiona