Dermatologist/ Hospital Stay/ Healing (Eczema IV)

Izaiah's Eczema Rash on feet.

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I last left our eczema saga with Izaiah's skin in very poor condition, it's hard to believe it even got worse. The eczema flare lasted 8 weeks. 

Eczema can be tricky and look like ringworm.

The day for our appointment with the pediatric dermatologist in Kansas City finally came. By this time, I was certain the rash on Izaiah's skin was actually Dermatitis Herpetaphormis, a skin manifestation of Celiac Disease.

The derm believed the rash was more eczematic; but given Izaiah's health history and recent observations of being gluten free, she thought it prudent to test him for Celiac. She wrote out some scripts and sent us on our way.
 

Sorry for the bum shot, but this is a common eczema flare

We left K.C. and drove the hour back to our own city.  I took Izaiah to our usual doctor because I had noticed him itching his ear.  He'd had a low fever the last two days and also vomiting.  My concern was an infection of some sort and sure enough the doctor diagnosed Swimmer's Ear. This child just can't seem to  catch a break! 

Tired, we arrived home, lugging our prescriptions.  Topical steroids, a topical antibiotic and an oral one ( for an eczema-inflicted wound, aka, scratching), an antibiotic for the Swimmer's Ear (the one that breaks any budget),  hydroxyzine to help Izaiah sleep, and various creams and washes for his skin. 

Allergy Rash. It looked like eczema when if first came on.

That night, the hydroxyzine had the opposite effect and instead of helping Izaiah get much needed rest, it turned him into a wild animal for a day and a half before it wore off...that's the last time I used that.  By the weekend we were in the emergency room with an allergic reaction to the cephalexin and then checked in for an overnight hospital-stay for dehydration. 

Izaiah's dramatic skin rescue!

I can't just end without letting you know that Izaiah's skin is so much better.  These photos were taken 3 days after our hospital stay and the turnaround looks miraculous, but it isn't. It takes daily maintenance to keep his skin healed, so much so, that our lives revolve around it.  Food and outdoor allergies are culprits, but sunshine and swimming at the pool are helpful. Interestingly, where we live, there has been a drought the last few years, but Spring brought rain, humidity, huge pollen counts, and eczema flares in big numbers. I'm told there have been so many cases of them in children this year.  During the dry years, Izaiah's eczema remained in remission.

This journey has drained us emotionally, physically, mentally, financially. I don't think a week has passed by in the last 3 months where we were not at a doctor's office or a hospital. I prayed unceasingly through weeks of lonely nights with a screaming, crying, itching, hurting, exhausted child.  I was exhausted too and sometimes could only cry with him. Severe eczema is a condition which can cause night terrors in children and suicide in adults; it disgusts me how I've always taken my own skin for granted. I noticed after several weeks, my prayers did a one-eighty to sound more like complaining. Numbers 11:1 tells how God is so displeased with complaining that it kindles his anger. He has good reason. Complaining weakens us, makes us cynical, resentful, bitter, and it leads to a host of other sins. It can divide families, businesses, and churches; it can cause our faith to become weak, doubt to creep in, and the devil to get a foothold. That's why Philippians 2:14 commands us to do all things without murmurings and disputings, because (Phil 2:15) we will be found blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke. No matter what we are going through, God is going to respond. We want him to find us faithful...not complaining. 

Coming up next! Our experience with food allergies and being gluten free!

The Naturopath (Eczema Part II)

In my last post, I wrote about healing eczema from the outside. Since Izaiah's eczema flare continued to rage no matter what we did, I became desperate to heal it from the inside. Did food intolerances cause eczema flare ups? Would a special diet help? I threw in my skeptic's towel and sought out a Naturopath.

Assuming Izaiah's flare began with a yeast overgrowth, I gave him some Grape Seed Extract to treat it. I thought he had a yeast die-off. Or, was it eczema? Dairy? He drank almond milk and drank real fruit juice. The milk was casein free, the juice had probiotics in it, that's good, right? What about the coconut yogurt? Was he allergic to citrus? 

The naturopath listened patiently to my frantic concerns. Not yet ready to diagnose he instead took blood samples to test IgG and IgA antibody levels which would indicate food intolerances. These can  be tricky to nail down since reactions don't happen immediately. The signs appear hours or days later, masking the guilty culprit and confusing Moms everywhere.

It would take 3 long weeks to find out the test results during which time we were to adhere to an elimination diet of lamb, rice, sweet potatoes, pears, water, a pro-biotic specific to our issues, and vitamin D. Izaiah needed to stay on the diet for 2 weeks and since he is still nursing, I enjoyed had to do it too.

It was rough. Izaiah left a trail of tears when yogurt, juice, and almond milk was carted from the kitchen. It broke me to see him routinely search the fridge for his phantom faves. He felt himself such a big boy 'yesterday' when he could get his own food from the fridge. Now his whole world dissolved. He was so sad; we both were. But, we made it! and were rewarded with test results...which, I'll share in the next post! 

Our journey to recovery has been frustrating. I was so overwhelmed with online information. I was also stubborn because changing the diet is laborious, expensive and difficult. 

I've learned to not compare my friends' journey to ours. What works for a friend may make your situation worse. We may all be using the same map, but our routes are very different; I felt lost on a dirt road myself!  but our road, winding as it may be, is leading to healing.

If you are unable to get your doctor to help you with food intolerance issues try to find a holistic doctor first because insurance is more likely to cover that. A naturopath would be a second option, but will not be covered by insurance and if you find useful info that your regular doctor or pediatrician can use, he or she will most likely reorder the test because they want their own. You'll end up redoing tests and/or paying for them again.

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These stops are coming up next: Leaky Gut, The Dermatologist, Hospital Stay, Smooth Baby Skin. The road gets bumpier, but we did find healing, I hope this journey might help you too.  If you are in immediate need regarding eczema, contact the National Jewish Health Center in Denver, Co.