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I was handed another prescription and told to use the creams. But not for longer than half of the time, otherwise that was no good. And the creams were magical! Yes they worked….but only while we were using them. It seemed that Every. Single. Time I stopped, things got worse again within a day or so. And I had to keep using the creams. I wanted to get off this merry-go-round of loneliness and frustration, but was unsure how to do it.
So… your child has just been diagnosed with eczema.
Or maybe they’ve had it for a while now.
We hear it all the time: “It’s JUST childhood eczema.” “It will probably go away with time.”
[Side note: How Much Longer?!!]
And so you get the creams and are advised to use them for less than half the time …. i.e. 3 days on, at least 4 days off…. One week on, more than one week off….
But it never seems to be that you can manage less than half of the time without the creams.
Because as soon as you stop using them, as clear as they seem to make the skin… the redness…the itch…the angry skin comes back.
It might stay okay for a day…
But then it’s back with a vengeance.
Your expectations of eczema and this symptom-only approach are smashed… and reality kicks in.
Many begin to doubt that this skin-only approach is the long-term solution they’re after.
And we start to dive deeper.
Is there a better moisturizer out there?
Is there a link to food?
Is there more that I can do?
And it’s not just the itchy skin.
The reality is much, much, much more than that.
It’s the self-consciousness…the interrupted sleep… the days out of school/work/kinder/life to go to appointment after appointment…
The fatigue, the anxiety about the future, the frustration about feeling like you’re at a dead end.
The time spent looking for the right person to help…
Do they need allergy testing?
Is this diet better than that diet?
Feeling disheartened at that Instagram Post that Eczema is really just in your DNA …. Does this really mean that nothing can be done?!
Hours trawling through forums, FB posts, blog posts looking for the perfect moisturizer…the bigger picture.
Days…weeks…months searching for the answers when no one else seems to really understand.
The excitement of ordering a new moisturizer online – or getting a recommendation of one that really helped someone else’s child’s eczema disappear – only to be faced with the disappointment of it not helping…or worse… flaring it up even more.
The reality of eczema is that this is often a far longer journey than you ever expected.
And there will be slip ups now and then.
Not being patient enough when trying a new [insert new thing here e.g. food/ moisturizer/ probiotic/ prebiotic/ suncream etc]
It’s a time where more patience and inner strength is required than you ever thought you even had.
But it does make us Mummas stronger.
For so many, being on the search for answers and for a better way forward results in a healthier child – with a flow on to the rest of the family.
Reading food labels… always reading food labels…
Reducing processed food and finding real food.
Improving gut health.
Reducing chemicals around the home. (Even though I thought we didn’t have any!)
Learning the surprising truth that what we put on our bodies, despite being purchased from the supermarket, isn’t necessarily safe…
Embracing nourishing foods and a simpler way.
Searching for and meeting other amazing and inspiring people along the way.
And while the reality of eczema was all-consuming in the early days, finding a better way forward through this has taught me so many lessons.
I know for sure we are far healthier as a family than if my son wasn’t diagnosed with eczema in the first place.
And we’ve made some tough decisions along the way.
But I don’t regret taking the hard road to help him.
I’m full of gratitude for the lessons we’ve learned, for the resilience of my son, and for the amazing other families and practitioners I’ve met … for the many wonderful friends we have made along the way.
Our son no longer deals with eczema and we have gained a whole new outlook on life.
Yes, the reality is frustrating, worrying and stressful at times, the silver lining has always been there – and this eczema journey has been blessing in disguise.
So we did get off the merry-go-round to find a new way forward. We improved gut health, found the right healthcare practitioners, and addressed the environmental, stress, food, and other eczema-related concerns to come out thriving on the other side. The reality doesn’t have to be a lonely and hard journey on our own – our reality can be a positive and rewarding experience because there are so many wonderful people that can help to find a better way forward.
“Melissa Raymond is a researcher, mum and physiotherapist based in Melbourne. Having helped her son no longer have to deal with eczema, she helps parents frustrated with the old approach to eczema with a safe and supported way forward for a healthier future. Sign up for her free 3 day eczema training “Stop Scratching the Surface” via her website, YourJourneytoHealing.net.“
You may also like to read:
Moving Beyond a Band-Aid Approach to Eczema.0
