5 days after switching to REAL soap...a light bulb moment.

And the eczema on my right hand is GONE!! I can't believe it.  I am so excited about this!!   I have had it for over four years and it completely covered three fingers, has always been itchy, red, blistery, bumpy, painful, and I would have to slather it in lotion just to be able to use those fingers because the skin was so tight and dry which often led to cracking and bleeding.  And just like that, after getting rid of my synthetic cleaning products and using  a REAL soap (made from true plant oils) for not even a week - and no lotion or moisturizers of any kind either mind you- my eczema is already GONE and the skin on those fingers is healthy and supple.

Just soap!

I'm pretty amazed. One thing A. Lumsdaine (again, author or solveeczema.org) says on her website that is SO interesting is that the more moisturizers and moisturizing ingredients we use on our skin, the drier it will be. It is counter-intuitive, but dry skin is not so much about what is stripped from the skin by washing as what is left on when we wash or moisturize (this is Lumsdaine's Law!).  It's like when you use too much chapstick in the dry winter months and pretty soon your lips are worse than they were to begin with. The only way to fix the problem is to stop using chapstick. It hurts for awhile, but then, magically, our own body works to normalize the skin on our lips.

Our skin has the ability to keep itself moist and supple (gasp!), but we mess with that when we put so many creams and things on it. (And when we use harsh chemicals in our environment that cling to the skin!)  From what I understand, leaving a thin layer of anything on the skin increases permeability, ultimately leading to water loss.  So even though you feel immediately more moisturized using creams or not drying well and leaving some water on the skin, you are ultimately adding to the dryness of your skin. The best thing is to wash your body and hands with a good REAL soap (real soap is made from animal or vegetable fats, NOT synthetic ingredients ) and dry very well.  Then leave your hands alone. Do not use lotion.  Then the skin can take care of itself, and in a few days, your skin will not feel dry but very normal. I can now attest to this as I have used only soap and no lotion and my hands do feel normal and not dry at all. The reason soap is better is that the properties of the animal and vegetable fats used in soap have the same (or similar? can't remember) properties as our own skin.  Synthetic stuff does not, and it damages.

The sad thing about this truth is that doctors treating adults and children with severe eczema are actually prescribing methods that exacerbate eczema  and make it so much worse.  What have I been told to do with Sam's skin since he was born?  Basically to bathe him every day, then barely pat him dry so as to purposely leave some water on the skin (for moisture!) then apply a thick (chemical-laden) moisturizer over his damp skin and put his pajamas on top of that. Repeat moisturizing several times a day.

Ugh... so that is what I did, and what so many other moms do (I know b/c I've read hundreds of forums on eczema!) and we were all left wondering, why is the skin still so dry when we are moisturizing so much?! Why is NO moisture restored? Why is the skin not healing??  So we went back to the doctor and the doctor basically told us:

 "Stop trying to solve this. You can't.  Don't you get it? Eczema is not a food allergy issue or an environment issue, something is just wrong with your child's skin!  You can't do anything about it. There is no cure. You cannot fix this. Stop trying!!  But it will be okay, here is a prescription for steroids that you should slather on your child's delicate skin twice a day  for the rest of his life (or daily allergy shots, etc. etc.) and just try not to think about the risks and side effects."

It is so sad that the medical world has this so backwards because eczema is such a common problem! It might not be cancer or something immediately life-threatening but children like Sam who have it all over their bodies do take a huge hit to their comfort and quality of life from this skin condition. Severe eczema can become dangerous when the skin is broken and infected. With my Sam there is never a break from the rash unless he is drugged up. It's a big deal, and eczema is only becoming more common.  I can only hope that the people with the power to do so will start paying more attention and stop using the excuse that eczema is totally isolated with no cause. There is obviously a cause!  Whether detergent or foods or some other environmental chemical (I'm not saying its always detergent but I'm sure its a big one), something is irritating the skin and reason follows that if you can isolate that reason you can eliminate it!!

By the way, I am not by nature an aggressive person and I don't have anything against doctors or modern medicine in general, I take my babies to the doctor often when they are sick and we often use prescription drugs, antibiotics, etc. I just believe on this particular issue of eczema and allergies and especially severe eczema, the medical world is not only way off but actually making detrimental recommendations across the board.  They are hurting people, especially when they tell mothers point blank to STOP looking for solutions. Children are suffering needlessly, and they don't have to if doctors would put away their ancient medical textbooks and use just a little good sense, or at the very least be open to the idea of others using their own good sense to search out real solutions.

Rant done.