Navigating a world ridden with eczema is never easy. It’s frustrating and nerve wrecking , and, don’t even get me started on the sleepless nights!

Our third child has thrown us for some major loops when it comes to his eczema! When he was still a few months old his skin would ooze, and he’d scratch himself incessantly while sleeping.

Eczema covered his entire body – Scalp, face, arms, hands, legs, and even his diaper area! 

His skin was raw, red, bloody, discolored, and swollen – we needed Help!

We tried it all – soaks, apple cider vinegar, honey, coconut oil, and a strict diet for me since I was breastfeeding. But as we all know, intolerances and allergies can vary from child to child.

So, I reached out to a parenting group on Facebook –  between the information I learned from moms in the same struggle, my own personal research, and our pediatrician’s expertise we started a new regimen.

I created my own recipe with a mix of the cortisone cream, antibacterial ointment, a non-nano zinc, and a high quality low allergen lotion.

I decided not to get anything compounded because my main goal was not to have him on cortisone too long, and I wanted to taper it fast! I hate what cortisone does to the body, but at that time it would provide him with much needed relief and speed the healing process.

How we started…

I used my recipe 2 times per day, and his plain lotion in the middle of the day if he needed skin moisturizing.

Within 2 days… I started seeing a major improvement, and we finally started getting some much needed sleep.

Day 5…  I started using Bentonite Clay paste, to help remove toxins and help his skin continue to heal.

The process with the Bentonite clay was messy and he absolutely hated every minute of it. BUT, it helped him so much that I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Week 2… He had brand new skin! It was incredible to watch him change and see him smile again and have a good night’s rest…Finally!

Week 3… I decided to drop one application from our skin regimen. 

Week 4… He continued to improve, so I decided to taper off my recipe to every other day, then every 2 days, every 3 days, etc.

Obviously, we have bad days, and would take a few steps backward, but there was a forward movement in his healing – it was just painstakingly slow.

On the days we didn’t use the recipe, I would still mix his zinc and lotion to keep his skin well moisturized.

We continued the bedtime application, and by our next well-baby visit, his pediatrician was shocked at how well he was doing. She actually decided to keep our notes handy so that she could share them with other eczema families that were struggling.

Eventually, I started removing the cortisone and antibiotic ointment from the nightly application. 

I continued alternating and removing products until he was completely off the cortisone and able to maintain his healthy skin all on his own. The entire process took us about 2 months, but the constant improvement was encouraging.

We’ve learned so much along the way, and actually changed our initial course of action whenever he does flare. Our first lines of defense now include essential oils and Bentonite Clay. You can read more on that in my upcoming post…

Do you have eczema? Know anyone with eczema? Drop a comment below and let me know how you’ve healed or how you manage your flares!