Eczema In Kids
Man oh mannnnnnnn. I see so much of this it’s insanity in the mebranity (insane in the membrane – am I dating myself?) Babies come into the clinic with it, so do toddlers, and so do teens! So let's chat briefly about each.
Oh babeh babeh: I see babies as young as a few weeks old where eczema is an issue. When I see this I mostly think about pregnancy. I think about mom and medications taken, increased amounts of vaccinations provided exposure to toxins (skin, to breathing, to ingestion). WOAH that’s scary to hear as a mamma to be, it also may induce guilt. It is not meant to. IT IS meant to be aware of what it is you are putting in your body during pregnancy (see treatment).
Babies to Toddlers: Liver, lungs, digestion and kidneys are major routes of elimination in the body. If one or some of these are not working properly, then things come out through the skin. Through an intake, I properly assess which one(s)! Asking questions about bowel movements, environmental exposures, emotions (chinese medicine relates specific emotions to each organ), past medical history, immune health etc can lead us down the path.
Teenagers: Fffff – I would say that most teenagers I know have sub par diets. That’s a generalization heh? I definitely know a few exceptions to the rule. And ask a teen about their bowel movements – guess the reaction? Allottttta I dunnos. Hormones play a role in tweens to teenage years - so to understand the actual skin issues and treat accordingly is also helpful. Lastly - we’ve got a lot of new emotions wrapped up into this time frame - and emotions affect our gut. Gut affects our skin.
Treatment
Preggo my leggo: After treating fertility for quite some time, I find my pendulum had swung to the ‘laissez faire’ side of diet/skin care/environment and one's surroundings. This is because the intensity to which we can go down this rabbit hole of taking care of ourselves on our journey to conceive can cause SO MUCH anxiety that I find that it's detrimental to the end goal of creating life.
However, more recently, when I see babes so early on, having issues with skin, it makes me wonder what they are needing to get rid of in their system. The less extra ‘toxic stuff’ we can place in our bodies during pregnancy, the better! SO now I’ve come back to the middle of this pendulum swing and definitely suggest to be aware of the following during your pregnancy:
What skin products are you putting on your body? This usually is a bit confusing. Even when products are marketed as natural, look for yourself on the bottle. If you can't read or even know what the first few ingredients are, it's not a great sign. Take it one step further and look into what they actually are! Then make the call to use or not.
FOOD!!! I tread lightly in this area as pregnancy nausea/cravings set in. I typically suggest listening to your body’s needs, yet within those needs make smart decisions! Where is your meat from? Where are your veggies coming from? In general the less herbicides/pesticides/hormones etc we get into our bodies, the better
Babeh babeh: I used to give probiotics to every human being straight outta the womb. I’m not opposed to this however I feel like I’ve gotten a bit selective in prescribing them. Babies with eczema are a sure shot to receive the nurturing goodness of the tiny bacteria though. Not only for babe, yet also for mama throughout pregnancy! Lactobacillus Rhamnosus was a strain found to prevent eczema in babes when mom took it throughout pregnancy (PMID: 27255079). If probiotics are not seen in research to DIRECTLY reduce or eliminate eczema (as some studies do show), they have been shown to ‘prevent atopic sensitisation to common food allergens and so reduce the incidence of atopic eczema in early childhood’ (PMID: 24947281).
Lastly – at this stage during vaccinations and now adays for the odd babe irrespective of vaccinations, I typically use some liver and kidney support. Often times I’ll explain to parents when we vaccinate our children, we obviously want the vaccine to be effective, yet all of the preservatives and adjuvants that come with this, we don’t need hold in our body. Our bodies are smart and will work to eliminate what we don’t need, yet at 2 months our livers are immature. Offering detox support is a great way to help prevent eczema or worsen it. There are no research trials to my knowledge on the products I use for this. Only an extensive list/years of clinic experience.
Toddlers: From 6 months (approx) and on, babes are munching on solid foods! This is an INCREDIBLY important step in the health of your child as 85% of our immune system ie. inflammation in the body or lack thereof, sits! Reach out for my coles notes on solid food introduction - introducing foods according to gut development - how and when. By doing this right, we can avoid eczema all together, or help to eliminate it via understanding what foods may be triggering it.
Probiotics!! Need I say more?
Vaccinations - as we proceed through our childhood vaccination process, the little livers get taxed. I will typically use combination homeopathics as young as two months to adulthood, to support the kidney and liver to process adjuvants and preservatives used. This allows those routes of elimination to function properly. Remember, if routes of elimination do not work properly, the reaction of the body is to eliminate through the skin - which can then appear as eczema.
Teens: ‘Oh my, your diet is incredibly diverse, with a large quantity of vegetables, low inflammatory foods, and health fats’ SAID NO PARENT TO THEIR TEEN CHILD EVER. Okay, maybe a handful (I have one patient actually that comes to mind...you know who you are!)
So….education! Remember, the gut is the grounds where inflammation is caused or lack thereof. Soo...not only do we need to take care of the food going into tweens and teens mouths, we also have to take care of their emotions. Wha wha??? YES THIS IS IMPORTANT. Anxiety can cause the nervous system to shutdown the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for REST AND DIGEST). When it doesn't regulate digestion, it causes inflammation. So if your teens are complaining of not feeling hungry, stomach pains, deciding not to eat, deciding to over eat, have loose stools, have hard stools, spend a lot of time on the toilet without going - ASK THEM WHAT EMOTIONS THEY ARE FEELING.
I love working with this population in discovering emotions. AND there are so many juicy herbs and nutrients to support the nervous system to work well!
Connect with me anytime on skin issues for your babies (big or small!)
