Eczema is a childhood condition that is on the rise today. This condition can range from mild to severe. Often flaring up and causing uncomfortable burning, pain, itching and overall grumpiness…eczema is no fun for kids or parents. For our story healing my daughter’s eczema, please read this post.
Conventional Medicine says NO CURE for Eczema.
When you take your itchy baby or child to the doctor hoping for a solution the answer may disappoint you. Conventional medicine does not currently offer a cure for eczema. Instead, the condition is thought of as a common childhood ailment and to manage symptoms a topical steroid cream is usually prescribed.
Eczema is NOT a Skin Condition.
Steroid creams may suppress symptoms for a short time however they do not address the root cause of eczema and eventually the eczema will flare again. Putting steroid cream on eczema is like putting a lid on a boiling pot of water. Eventually the pot will boil over and the eczema will flare because the true cause of eczema originates from inflammation within the body. Eczema is a systemic problem, not a skin condition so finding the root of the problem is imperative for healing to occur. Not only are steroid creams not a cure, but they also pose their own risks to children if used long-term including thinning of skin and hormone disruption.
Why Your Child Has Eczema.
Why does your child have eczema? It would be pretty bold of me to tell you there is ONE reason why your child has eczema. Usually there isn’t only one trigger for eczema but instead it is a combination of factors causing the inflammation. Studies done on individuals with eczema have found these individuals share some commonalities you may want to explore with your child.
IMBALANCED GUT FLORA: The root of eczema most likely originates in the gut (like most health conditions). Children with eczema often have low levels of beneficial bacteria and suffer from digestive distress in childhood such as diarrhea and constipation.
LEAKY GUT and FOOD ALLERGIES/SENSITIVITIES: Because of an imbalanced gut flora, leaky gut syndrome can develop. This is a condition where the digestive tract stops functioning as it should and food sits in the gut too long, causing an array of symptoms like gas, bloating, cramping, headaches, fatigue, or sometimes no symptoms at all.
SENSITIVITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS: Children with eczema often have environmental allergies to dust, pollen, molds and dander. Additionally these children may be reacting to contaminants in personal care products and cleaning products.
What You Can Do to Heal Eczema and Calm Inflammation.
Eliminate Problem Foods and Heal Gut: Not only is it important to discover problem foods in your child’s diet, but it is also important to heal and soothe the gut lining. An elimination diet should be implemented to find trigger foods. I have seen immediate relief for kids with eczema when problem foods are removed. Additionally you should also work to heal the gut lining so your child does not continue to form new food allergies and/or sensitivities.
Eliminate Environmental Triggers: Green and clean your space to eliminate as many environmental triggers as possible by installing HEPA air filters and using non-toxic cleaning products and personal care products.
Supplement with Probiotics and Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Two supplements found helpful in easing eczema, probiotic supplement and omega-3 supplement. We like this plant-based probiotic supplement and this plant-based omega-3 supplement.
Stress Reduction: Stress can serve as a trigger for eczema flare ups so work to implement stress reduction practices into your child’s life. Mindfulness meditation is a wonderful coping mechanism to teach your child. I also like implementing a meditative activity like mandala coloring for young bodies.
Do you have a child with eczema? What holistic remedies have you found helpful?
My teenage son’s eczema only flares up this time of the year I think it is weather related too. The gut being out of balance makes sense, but then why does he only show symptoms this time every year. He has used creams and even antibiotics. The only thing that really seemed to with was the antibiotics. It even cleared up any acne he had.
Hi Vicky, thanks for your comment. Usually when someone has internal inflammation from the gut–the body works really hard to suppress the inflammation from allergens both internally and externally (dust, food, weather, chemicals from personal care products, etc.) until finally it reaches its “tipping point” and starts to show symptoms like rashes, allergic reactions, autoimmune, etc. I don’t know your son’s case personally obviously but I would guess cold weather serves as his “tipping point” trigger. The weather doesn’t cause eczema, it’s just the final straw. The inflammation is always there, but when cold weather rolls around his body can no longer keep things under control and eczema flares. Wishing you continued healing! Thanks for writing.
Eczema most of the time is a vaccine injury. It’s what happens when the the body attacks itself when it’s trying to push out vaccine toxins.
My daughter suffers from severe psoriasis It’s symmetrical What’s on one side it’s on the other She had u. V lighting treatment, which cleared it all. But ten months later it’s retuned Do you believe you could get same results by cutting out dairy too. According to her doctor it’s not diet.
I’m sorry to hear about your daughter Maureen. Most doctors don’t have any nutrition training, so take nutrition advise cautiously from them. While I don’t know your daughter’s case specifically, I have seen radical change with diet modification and eczema. An example: I have a close friend who’s son had head-to-toe eczema–terribly uncomfortable for him–she went to the “best” doctors in LA and was told that diet had no impact on his eczema. She then went to a naturopathic doctor who tested her son for food sensitivities. After receiving the results and removing dairy–her son’s eczema disappeared in a few weeks. He had suffered for YEARS and doctors said, nope, not diet. So again, I’m always a believer in the power of nutrition and if you have the means to see an ND I would encourage you to! For your daughter it might not be dairy–it could be another food or foods (it would be best to get an IgE and IgG panel done for her to see what foods might be a problem or if testing is too expensive do an elimination diet…I have articles on this website about how to do that).
Hello,
I think my 15 mo old needs GAPS for his eczema and digestion issues and I’m so sad about his condition. I’ve actually been trying to find information about what happens to a baby’s gut flora when weaning takes place and I’m really coming up short. Does anyone know?
At 12 months, my son self-weaned nearly overnight (I nursed my first boy to 20 mo. so this was a shock to me!). He’d had cheese and yogurt before then but no cow’s milk. He was healthy, a ravenous eater, and had very regular poops. While he had a bout of eczema at 2-3 months old, it cleared when I removed wheat and nuts from my diet. And he doesn’t eat wheat or nuts now.
Back to the newly weaned 12 mo old. About 1-2 weeks post-wean, the eczema starts to come back. It VERY slowly spread over his entire back – raised, itchy patches, deeply uncomfortable. It’s now also starting down the legs and arms. ALSO at the same time, his poop turned to the consistency of newborn blowouts. We’re talking 2+ months of this now. It’s AWFUL. As well, he’s been on and off fighting one cold or another, and even wheezing to the point of being given steroid inhalers via nebulizer – which I know are horrible and completely goes against my desire to heal naturally.
All of these issues arose within days of weaning – all clearly pointing to a stressed immune system which as we know resides almost entirely in the gut.
About 4 weeks ago we removed all dairy. The eczema’s cleared a bit but not entirely, and the poop remains the same. I fear his gut bacteria was completely altered as a result of no longer receiving the beneficial bacteria from the b-milk. I’ve tried probiotics, and he consumes lots of probiotic-rich foods (he would eat sauerkraut and kefir water all day if I let him!) and nourishing bone broth. But none of it seems to be making a difference. He’s also been on high vitamin cod liver oil for many months.
I feel like we’re practically on GAPS already! It’s so stressful to see your baby in pain. I welcome any thoughts and support I can get, especially as to what in the world happened to his gut when he stopped b-feading. THANK YOU!
Hi Sarah, I’m so sorry to hear about your son in pain. It sounds like you are on the right track with him, looking at how you can reduce inflammation in the gut. It takes a long time for inflammation to build up, so give your dietary changes some time to work (months, not days). Perhaps working with an ND to get some testing done? He may be eating other foods he is sensitive to that are complicating his condition. Also there might be some environmental triggers too, so greening your living space as much as possible could help. Sending you big hugs and know you are doing the right thing for your child. Keep searching and questioning. I always tell myself that with health, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Thanks! We are on day 2 of GAPS and he’s already detoxing. It’s hard though! Our house is so green too – we are so conscious of environmental toxins. We even add DE/clay to the kids’ baths to pull out the chemicals from the bath water. Hoping for quick healing.
I 100% believe this. My 5-year old had chromic constipation and excema. After multiple trips to the pediatrician and a visit to the GI clinic at our Children’s Hospital (only to be told to keep him on Miralax), I took him to a naturopath. She immediately tested him for food intolerances. He tested intolerant to gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, almonds, and peanuts. We removed these from his diet and his skin and constipation improved immediately. After 4 months of working to heal his gut , we have been able to reintroduce some of these foods successfully. I believe in Western medicine (and am married to an MD), but if you aren’t getting a solution to chronic health problems, it might be beneficial to try a different approach. It was definitely the answer for my son!
I have excel a all my like. When I had it at it’s worse I found an allergist that tested me for food and environmental allergy. While do have both the food allergies were the biggest trigger. The worst food allergy being to corn which is in almost everything. If you or your child have not been tested for food allergy I highly recommend it. When I was first test my excema was so bad them had to test my blood for the allergy.
Hi,
Thank you for this information about eczema. My daughter has had eczema since she was about 7 months old and it never goes away though it does clear up a bit for short periods of time (she is 21 months now). She does have food allergies to gluten, dairy and rice. We were able to figure out the gluten and dairy while I was breast feeding as she was colicky and through process of elimination we figured it out. The eczema start around the time we started her on rice cereal. She does not get rice or rice flour in her diet but her eczema still doesn’t clear up. She is going for an allergy test in March so we will see if there is something else that may be causing the eczema. The dermatologist has said that it’s just a skin condition but I don’t want to have to keep using prescription cream, so I would like to figure out what else I can do.
Hi Lisa, Sounds like you are on the right track with your daughter! Eczema is definitely not just a skin disorder…it’s an internal problem. Keep up the good work for your daughter, and if possible see a naturopath for a more holistic approach to health care! thanks so much for reading.
I 100% agree that the gut balance is the root cause. My daughter started a new probiotic and within DAYS her eczema cleared from scabby and maddening to healing up beautifully. We are planning to start her on the GAPS diet. I noticed the back of her tongue is absolutely coated in a white film, indicating candida flare, so I am also using Grapefruit Seed Extract and Oil of Oregano, along with the probiotics and sugar-free diet.
After months of rashes and eczema and testing (blood allergy test as he was an infant, also formula switch to soy) my cousin (who is allergic to SLS) suggested we switch to ECOS detergent. The change was miraculous! He’s now three and in pre-school, and we are struggling with winter eczema and rashes from coming in contact with his teacher’s clothing. Our doctor gave us steroid cream but wants us to reserve it for only the worst flare ups. Tonight I started to do reading on natural remedies and found your post. We only bathe him 1-2 times per week right now (with SLS free soaps of course) and tonight I popped a vitamin E capsule and rubbed it on his worst rashes. Lotion really burns him right now and he cries, so I am looking for safe and natural remedies. I will definitely be trying coconut oil that was mentioned many places I have researched. Thanks for the info!
hey my son is 17 months old and has eczema on his legs. At the moment i’m trying this recipe http://expand-your-consciousness.com/homemade-super-effective-healing-cream-eczema/ just skipped the essential oils- I’m using shea butter, calendula oil and coconut oil. It seems to be working. I’m planning to add lavender oil and avocado oil.
At 18 months my son got his first flare up of eczema all over his back and it quickly spread to his chest and abdomen and a small patch on his right elbow. My son was born via unplanned csection. He has a strict organic diet filled with lots of healthy fats, healthy meat, raw milk, lots of fruits and veggies and he was breast fed for 10.5 months.Etc. I have given probiotics since he was about 4 months old, vitamin D3/k2 and started giving him fermented cod liver oil about 2 months before the flare. I couldn’t understand his this could be happening to my child when I felt That nutritionally, I was doing everything right. I have his eczema under control now with coconut oil and melaleuca oil but I still don’t know what foods if any could have been the trigger. He still gets small flares here and there but they clear up right away and he doesn’t show any discomfort. I’m still at a loss and wonder if this is just due to him being a csection baby
I’ve found that on top of changing my sons diet we needed to use coconut oil as well as pure lavender essential oil. When his flare up was really bad I also used frankincense oil and melaleuca. Essential oils played a huge role for us as well!
My almost 8 month old son has been fighting Eczema for the past 3 months now. Doc prescribed steriods cream & it helped temporary. I tried all kinds of cream & oil but it still keeps flaring up. We got him tested for allergies & he is highly allergic to Peanuts & Eggs, Mild allergic to milk & wheat. We have just got him to soy based formula. I am going to try your homemade eczema cream and also your broth but since it is made of chicken carcass & he is allergic to eggs, do you think he is able to take it?
Thanks so much for all the information you are sharing! My 7 year old and my 2 year old suffer from mild- moderate eczema (my 7 year old’s is worse), and I’m working on a plan to get rid of it! Could plain greek yogurt be eaten for the probiotics? Or is the supplement best?
Depends on if your children can tolerate dairy or not? I always vote for raw dairy products over conventional. Goat’s milk is often tolerated better than cow’s milk. Hope that helps!
Both my kids have eczema and I’ve tried so many medications, creams, lotions, baths, etc. Nothing helps. The eczema comes and goes as it likes; no correlation with what I do/try. Their skin always feels so dry, rough, and bumpy–so sad for little babies/toddlers when they should have soft supple skin! I tried the Citrus Clear Skin Repair Moisturizer – This works for my kids!! (I understand every individual with eczema has varying degrees and types, so different treatments/lotions works differently on everyone–but Citrus Clear may be the one that helps your skin/child’s skin!)
For the first time in their lives, their skin feels “normal”–actually soft! With this Citrus Clear Repair Moisturizer, their skin feels as close to normal as I think it possibly can. Even Eucerin cream and Vasoline doesn’t make their skin feel this normal.
Thank you very much for your site and information. It’s very helpful. My daughter – 5 – has eczema since she was 6 month old. We tried many different thing including Chinese herbs but it did not help.. It was getting worst in the last couple of months since she started Kindergarten. Test result: she is extremely allergy to dog and cat. She also has allergy to milk, peanut and tomatoes. We switched regular milk to organic milk. I think it did not help much. We tried soy milk but she did not like it. Can we use almond milk?
Thank you
Mike
Hi Mike, Thanks so much for the comment. If your daughter has a milk allergy then switching to organic milk won’t solve the problem, she should be off all dairy completely (cheese, yogurt, etc.). Almond milk “might” be ok but test it since she has a sensitivity to peanuts. She might also tolerate coconut milk. With both coconut and almond milk you want to make sure you either make it yourself or buy a brand that does not contain carrageenan or other artificial ingredients….reading labels is important because since she has a leaky gut she may react to lots of things. Doing an elimination diet and gut healing protocol would help lower her overall inflammation and that would very likely help her eczema. The book I recommend on this site: The Eczema Cure would be very helpful for you! Wishing you all the best…
I have a 4 month old baby, she has now started patches of eczema on her legs and lower back and patches on her eye lids. which has gotten worse over the last 3 months. I am half feeding formula and still doing breastfeeding, with 3 other children I don’t have enough milk to breastfeed exclusively. Would the formula be causing her the eczema? Could I give her coconut oil in her milk and/or fish oil/krill oil in her milk to help her with her omega 3’s and 6’s. As well as some inner health probiotics. How do I know if she has a leaky gut? I also have skin condition mainly psoriasis on my face.
I am not a child by any means, but in the last 5 years I developed egzema. When it first developed, I thought I had picked up something during my trail running. I treated it with OTC meds, and the only relief I got was from cortizone cream. So, I went to my MD and she prescribed betamethasone cream PRN which helped, initially. Then it seemed to get worse and started to spread. I should mention I noticed flare up whenever I ate grains, so I avoided them, the itching lessened but the spreading continued depite being more consistent with use of the cream. My daughter had read about a type of rebound effect from use of the cotizone creams and advised I try stopping the cream and using pure organic coconut oil for moisturizing, which I did. And, it, worked! All the scaly patches are gone from my arms, and markedly decreased on my legs. I also don’t consume any grains, which has helped. The coconut oil is organic and virgin…cost me around $6.00. Soooo, food for thought?
My little would get eczema flares on her face when she would eat some foods. Notably, gluten and rice. She hardly ever gets any gluten these days, but she does eat rice now and then. I don’t know if it’s the kefir she’s been drinking or what, but she hasn’t had a flare in quite a while.
We did find that using Waxelene on her face calmed the flares down too.
I’m glad I was able to figure out what was causing it because it was making her so miserable, poor love.
My daughter is 4 and a half. She’s had mild eczema since she was a baby (probably around 8 months or so) most of the kids in our extended family have it and grow out of it by kindergarten or 1st grade. Unfortunately my daughter’s eczema has gone from mild to severe. They prescribed her prednisone and it cleared up completely, then came back 2 days later. That’s when I started doing some research on this. I’m not allowing any more steroids topical or oral. I didn’t realize they could be so harmful to her. I’ve just started using organic, cold pressed, virgin coconut oil on her tonight. I’m hoping this works. She was allergy tested and it came back NEGATIVE for : milk, soy, wheat, peanuts and eggs. Should I still try eliminating those things from her diet or don’t bother since it was negative? She did test positive for having a mild allergy to dog and cat dander, but we’ve had our two dogs since before she was born and her skin has NEVER been this bad, plus I vacuum the floors and couches EVERY day with a Dyson so I have a hard time believing that this is solely due to the dogs. What should I do??
My son has autism he has sensory disorder is particularly food well he puts in his mouth is a big deal! He has a very limited diet we try very hard to put everything in the shake probiotics goalkefir a banana nut butter blueberries Omega 3 fish oil coconut oil hemp oil and a little bit of honey. He hates gluten-free raisin bread gluten free muffins that I put vegetables in. Gluten free peanut butter and jelly snacks banana raspberry brown rice baby food packet. He only drinks water. And that’s about it once in a blue moon will let him have a chocolate chips gluten free cookie. They just develop eczema now he’s 3 years old. The problem is his diet is so limited to what he would eat I’m scared to take anything out of it or change it. We are starting to get worried cuz lately he’s pushing away his sheep. I know usually children with autism have leaky gut syndrome. What can I do with a child with the limited diet?
Thank you
I’ve tried Emily Skin Soother for Angry Red skin, All Good Goop, Organic Shea Butter, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rosehip Oil, Organic Argan Oil, Honest Company Organic Healing Balm, Dermatic Probiotic Spray, Oral probiotics like Prescript-Assist, Organic Hemp Oil, Moon Valley Organics Eczecalm, Organic Olive Oil, calendula baths, oatmeal baths, apple cider vinegar baths, cilantro baths, bentonite clay baths, epsom salt baths, dead sea salt baths, fermented foods, soapnuts for laundry, keeping the house clean, washing my son’s sheets frequently in hot water, drinking filtered drinking water, showering in filtered water so there’s no chlorine, eating omega-3s (salmon, sardines, chia), gelatin, homemade bone broth, apple cider vinegar, cilantro smoothies, green smoothies, homemade green juices, fermented cod liver oil, coconut oil, vitamin D (from sunlight and as a supplement), clean/organic/grassfed/pastured/wild diet of veggies/fruits/egg yolks/meat/chicken/fish; cotton/organic cotton clothing, eliminated gluten and dairy from my baby’s diet (and currently eliminating it from mine as well since he still breastfeeds), tallow balm, turmeric/ginger/garlic, mung bean sprouts and watercress to try to alkalize his body.but my son still has his eczema on his legs and now on his hands. He is 23 months old and has had eczema since he was about 1 year old. He had cradle cap the first few months of life.
He is a happy, growing kid, who unfortunately got some antibiotics through my breastmilk when I had mastitis. I make his meals easily digestible by pureeing the food or chopping it up into really small pieces.
We have tried elimination diets (avoiding nightshades, gluten/dairy, and all his trigger foods like strawberries, raspberries, etc.) and trying a modified GAPS diet,
As of late, I am trying to give him and myself coconut water kefir, Amazing Grass Organic Wheat Grass Powder, Pure Synergy Vitamin C Powder, Perfect Supplements Dessicated Liver. We recently had to start using Aveeno Eczema Therapy and Neosporing Eczema Daily Moisturizing Cream because one of his legs began to get pus on it from the scratching. I really didn’t want to use those chemicals, but I don’t think I have a choice at this point due to the fact that I really don’t want to use steroids. All these together seem to be helping to improve his skin slowly.
I am concerned about getting allergy testing because the allergist said there could be false positives. Am wondering if it’s time to just bite the bullet and see if I should get him tested. Not sure if I should just get skin prick testing done on his back?
Some good resources on eczema: itchylittleworld.com, flawlessprogram.com, primephysiquenutrition.com
Hi! To the lady who’s tried everything Mel – my heart goes out to you and I understand your plight. This is what I’m doing that works wonders:
1. Eucerine Professional Repair (not marketed for eczema – but has high water, and urea content — excellent)
2. Follow up with Apricot Oil.
Try that for a couple of days and see if there’s a difference.
I have since whipped up my apricot oil with chamomile oil, tamanu oil, lavender oil and shea butter.
I apply it after the eucerine professional repair (it’s very watery, but also quite effective)
Our allergist has recommended “Wet Wraps” as almost a last resort for eczema. They have worked wonders for my 6 year old! It has been amazing to see that just keeping his skin wet so the moisturizer can penetrate. My little one also has bouts of constipation which I am convinced is related, yet we haven’t figured out his trigger since his allergy tests have come back negative other than severe cat allergies. Just think his poor body gets dehydrated easily which leads to the flairs both in the skin and stomach.