Eczema (also called atopic dermatitis) is a skin rash that usually appears before age 5. In babies it tends to show up on the cheeks and scalp, but it may spread to the arms, legs, chest, or other parts of the body. After a child's first year, it's most likely to show up on the insides of the elbows, the backs of the knees, the wrists, and the ankles, but it can also appear elsewhere.
The rash might look like dry, thickened, scaly skin, or it might be made up of tiny red bumps that ooze or become infected if scratched. Scratching can also cause thickened, darkened, or scarred skin over time.
Eczema typically comes and goes. It isn't contagious, but because it's intensely itchy, it can be very uncomfortable, and scratching can be a problem. If untreated, the rash can be unsightly, so it may present a social challenge for a child, too.
Your doctor can diagnose eczema by examining your child's skin. He may send you to a dermatologist for confirmation and treatment. (From BabyCenter.com)
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Ethan and I were in love with him and enjoyed every moment with this precious blessing of ours. I love how pure and wholesome he is on this picture above. At four months Laien started having rashes on his arms, legs and face. He also had red bumps on his face and forehead. At his four month appointment with his doctor, we were told it was a combination of baby acne and heat rash. These were normal and it should clear up in a couple of weeks. Two weeks passed and his rashes were still the same and was all over his body. The itching started and he had red patches all over his face and body. A month later, we were told the same thing and because we lived in an area where it is very dry we should keep lathering him up with aquaphor-- an ointment for dry and itchy skin.
Ethan and I got frustrated with our many hospital visits because they were becoming pointless. As new parents with very limited knowledge it becomes very discouraging when the doctors didn't seem to have answers for us. We went from one to multiple doctors hoping for answers and hope, but each time we left the doctor's office greatly disappointed. We felt helpless and it was even more heartbreaking that there was absolutely nothing we can do for our poor baby. As a mother, your instincts will definitely let you know if your child needs more attention. Ethan was concerned to so we both started seeking for answers on the world wide web. I am truly grateful for Ethan and the time he spent doing research so we could know how best to help our sweet Laien. I read so many articles, blogs and spent a lot of my time on babycenter.com gathering every information I could find. After days of reading and researching, we came to find out that Laien had a really bad eczema! It was not just heat rash nor baby acne. When the itching started, we had several episodes where his face, arms and legs were all bleeding due to scratching. We had a few incidents where we would walk in to our room to check on him only to walk back out with a bleeding child. I would run out frantically screaming! It was not what you would want to see as a parent. These open wounds from scratching would start a skin infection. And when this happens he would need treatment quickly because if not there's a fat chance we will get staph infection. Ethan had one that got really bad he needed medical attention. He was not happy at all :(
His face all scratched up!
Car seat rides. (By the way, and that's how we're dressed when dad is babysitting!)
Because of his continuous scratching, he needed to be swaddled at all times. This was saddening because he couldn't do belly time nor have his hands free to play with. His car seat ride were not normal either. He needed to be wrapped and strapped! I am sure a lot of you were wondering why he had socks on his hands at all times. (I got this question all the time when I would post his pictures on Facebook.) Other's questioned why he was always wrapped up when it was 70+ degrees out. (I am sure most people thought I was a crazy mom!) Well we really had no choice and it was the only method we had to prevent our child from getting another skin infection. We basically tried everything we were told to do but we didn't see any improvements. Finally we switched doctors from a family doctor to a pediatrician. We are glad we did! This time she was able to give us great tips and recommendations that seemed to have helped Laien a little. She advised us to do wet wraps with him since his skin was so dry. This was very uncomfortable for him and he did not like it at all! Below is a picture of what he had to put up with every night.
This became our daily routine...not fun at all!!
We would put a wet onesie and then another dry onesie over the wet one, swaddle him up and wrap his face with a wet gauze. Imagine that?! I would be miserable if I had to do this every night for bed. Who wants to sleep through the night with wet clothes? It was hard watching our cute boy struggle day and night with this horrible illness. At six months we suggested that his doctor refer us to an allergy doctor in town. He got tested for the top eight food allergies and a dog test just to make sure since we had Raskullz. He did really good as they pricked his back and examined his skin. Twenty minutes later, we received a news we were dreading to hear! As disappointing and disheartening it was, we were also glad we now knew what else was causing these horrible skin rashes! He was allergic to five foods out of the eight top food allergies he was tested for: milk, eggs, wheat, soy and peanuts! Dog test was a negative so we still kept Raskullz :D
A picture of him after the allergy test.
We came home and I had to make some changes with my diet! I eliminated all of the food he was allergic to from my diet. We also put him on a $60 dollar can formula that was made specifically for babies with allergies. After a few weeks, his rashes were still the same, in fact it got so bad that he had to get back to my breast milk. Thank heavens for breast pumps! I was pumping and storing while he was on the formula so I did not loose any milk supply. It was hard being on this strict diet too because all these food he was allergic to were in EVERYTHING. Gluten-free foods still had either milk, eggs and or soy. It was a big challenge that I had to endure as well. There were times I cried my heart out because I felt I was running out of options and there was nothing else I could do. It is like trying to get out of a huge corn maze...dead ends after dead ends!
The next six months were very depressing and stressful for our family. But we did the best we could. We did wet wraps, tried all kinds of creams, diets and made several visits to the doctor's office. The doctor visits became very annoying and a waste of our time (we thought). We were told the same things each time. The following are some of the statements that were said:
"Eczema is a hard one and all you can do is to try different things to see what works for your baby?" (Well I have tried all kinds of things...NOTHING WORKED, are you even listening?)
"You should move somewhere humid!" (As much as I wanted to believe this, I didn't anymore since most of the things they've asked us to do didn't change anything)
"Get back on the formula." (After we've tried a few times. Seriously?)
"I am sorry I wish there was more we could do. But don't worry, he will outgrow it once he is older." (I'm sure he will, but we are talking about right NOW!)
I know that I was so discouraged and I felt like I have failed as a mother. I came to a point where I was not looking forward to his appointments and or his doctor visits. Then his pediatrician referred us to see a gastrointestinal specialist and to visit the National Jewish Health. We were pretty desperate at this time and agreed to try them out. But while we were waiting to be seen she had prescribed Laien the same kind of steroid (Triamcinolone Acetonide), this time in an ointment form. He was also prescribed an allergy medicine (Hydroxyzine) to take once every night to help with his itching. For the first time in awhile we were seeing a huge improvement. Laien's skin was so clear after a day and he was able to have his hands free. It was a happy moment for us just to see him be able to play like a normal baby. This was shortly after his first birthday so it was the greatest birthday gift for Laien.
Our car seat rides are how its supposed to be!
We can go for walks without being wrapped up when it is hot out!
Its been nice seeing him sleep like a normal baby.
But now he gets into EVERYTHING...
These past two weeks we have been traveling to Denver for his appointments with the specialists. The first week we went in to see a GI doctor. We were hoping to get answers regarding his gastroenteritis and if he had any bacterial toxins or viral infections we should know about. Because his skin has cleared up so much and from all the information the doctor gathered, Laien did not seem to have any problems. But he suggested we do some stool testings. Great! I am looking forward to it:-P NOT! His other appointment was with the National Jewish Health which is known worldwide for treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders, and for groundbreaking medical research. They specialize in asthma and eczema so we were so excited for this one. Again, his skin was so clear there was nothing much the doctor could do. But the same suggestions that we were already aware of were discussed. We took another allergy skin test and a blood test.
His One Year Skin Allergy Test
The picture above was his skin allergy test. He got tested for the same food that he was tested for the very first time. Again, he was a champ and endured all the poking, pricking and stress....even with impetigo-- a type of staph infection that he had all over his mouth. It was within minutes and we started seeing his skin reacting to the food allergen he was being tested for. As you can see from the picture above he had a few red bumps. The results were a lot better than the first time. Although he is highly allergic to peanuts and still has milk and wheat allergies. We were happy to receive some good news too! He was no longer allergic to eggs and soy. We are hopeful that in another year, he will be allergy free and we won't have to worry about severe rashes, skin infections or our strict diet.
He was enjoying his first toast this morning! It is gluten free too :)
(He was being a stinker this morning and did not want any pictures :/
For now, we pray, hope and have faith that one day Laien will outgrow his allergies and be eczema free. It has been a rough year for Laien and our family. But we have learned so much in the midst of these challenges. I am so proud of him and very impressed at how strong and brave he is! With all the struggles he is facing, this energetic boy still amazes us with his growth and learning development. His eczema is still a hindrance to his daily life, but it is a lot better now then what it used to be like a couple of months ago. We are grateful for the power of prayer and priesthood blessings. There were times I felt like there was nothing we could do to help him. But it is through these trials I have been reminded repeatedly,
"For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37)
This is my favorite picture of Christ healing the ten lepers. (Luke 17:15-19)
This story of Christ in the Bible about the ten lepers has given me the hope that Laien will be healed as we continue to have faith in Him. It has been a great reminder for me that what Laien has is temporary and he will one day defeat it with Christ. We are hopeful, we are happy and we are especially grateful for this learning experience that has strengthened our family. We are confident that the eczema struggles will soon cease and we can continue to live an enjoyable life full of joy and happiness :)
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