<p>Okay, some of the comments on this thread made me realize that while I thought I knew what homeopathy was, but in fact I didn’t. So I looked it up. The following definition from Webster’s online is NOT what I thought homeopathy was!</p>
<p>: a system of medical practice that treats a disease especially by the administration of minute doses of a remedy that would in larger amounts produce in healthy persons symptoms similar to those of the disease</p>
<p>Some of the negative comments about homeopathy now make sense to me. I had been equating homeopathy to “home remedy”, which is clearly not correct.</p>
<p>Joan52 -Not true that tee tree oil won’t harm you. I had a horrible allergic reaction when I used it as a “remedy” – the worst I’ve ever had, and I’m an allergic person. And I did not ingest it. I’m not sure how many other people have had this type of experience but I would never recommend tea tree oil.</p>
<p>Other than that when my kids had eczema when they were little we were able to find the trigger foods (soy, strawberries, citrus) and avoid them and it went away. D has it again and it doesn’t seem so simple this time, but there are some good suggestions here.</p>
<p>KKmama…glad to read your post… people think i’m exaggerating when i say everything son tries makes it worse… i guess the olive oil and crisco are fairly similar. as he refuses to use the steroids and moisturizers, he often has cracks in his feet and his ankles are bleeding, then wears flip flops all the time, as he cant stand socks rubbing on his ankles… he gets infections often. (lucky boy also got the full triad, of atopic dermatitis, allergies and asthma)</p>
<p>Something I mentioned to my son (a chronic eczema sufferer)months before he could bring himself to try it, was a bleach bath, adding about 1/2 c. of bleach to a bathtub of warm water. This reduces the skin’s bacteria, apparently a culprit worsening eczema for many people. His dermatologist had heard of this and endorsed a trial. Obviously, this requires warm, not hot water, use no more than two times per week, and plentiful moisturizing afterwards. Seems to reduce the secondary skin infections as well.</p>
<p>Something to consider: are you <em>sure</em> that the condition really is eczema? I pose this question because I was diagnosed with eczema a few years ago and have been seen by 3 different dermatologists for the condition. After trying various topical prescription creams with little to no success, I finally consulted yet another dermatologist. This latest derm examined the area, looked at me and said “you know, I don’t think what you have is eczema at all. I think it’s folliculitis.” He has been treating me with a course of antibiotics (I’m now on month 3 of the treatment) and my condition has improved greatly. Just a thought.</p>
<p>My youngest daughter had eczema for years, but thankfully seems to have outgrown it, though I’m always watchful to see if it recurs. Here are some things that helped us:</p>
<p>1 - Visiting an allergist. We found she was much more sensitive than most to dust mites. Doing all the things recommended to diminish dust mites in her bedroom really helped. The testing also picked up a reaction to soy, so we minimized it in her diet.</p>
<p>2 - Shortening, just like someone mentioned above. We used Crisco and Spectrum palm shortening. It’s very good for moisturizing and cheap!</p>
<p>3 - Antibiotic cream on the bright red areas (behind the knees and crooks of the elbows). The bleach bath is the same idea, and used when the eczema isn’t just in one place. I read that eczema suffers sometimes have excessive staph on their skin (we all have some) which can cause irritation. Eradicating the staph can help the skin to heal.</p>
<p>Does your son have asthma yet? Usually eczema, allergies and asthma like to hang out together. My daughter came down with asthma well into her teens.</p>
<p>Also beware of fungal infections in the eczema patches. My daughter had weeping patches and infections for an entire 2-year period. Fortunately, she’s been pretty-much eczema free for a couple of years now, but she’ll be in a lower leg cast for two months and that may be enough to trigger an outbreak.</p>
<p>Very late to the thread here but we ditched commercial bar soap (even the castile kinds) in our house and have gone to melting and molding our own plain glycerine soap. It has definitely reduced the severity of the eczema by a lot because it’s so mild and has fewer chemical additives or preservatives that may be eczema triggers, but it doesn’t entirely eliminate the need for moisturizing. You can buy glycerine soap in rectangular blocks in the major craft store chains. You just cut up part of a slab with a kitchen knife, melt it in in a glass measuring cup of bowl in a microwave and pour into molds with a little food coloring and drop or two of soap scent if you wish. Let cool for a few hours and pop out. Spraying the molds with Pam beforehand or sticking them in the freezer for an hour after it hardens aids removal from the molds. </p>
<p>It’s as easy as making Jello and if you have a 40% off coupon, it can be pretty economical.</p>
<p>I got eczema this winter just on my ankles. A first. I see a dermatologist regularly for skin cancer checks and the cream she gave me worked fine. I also switched to double rinsing my clothes and I think that’s helped to keep it from coming back.</p>
<p>We used to use Crisco to clean our hands of printing ink back when I did printmaking. It was surprisingly effective.</p>