Thinking Aloud

It's almost one hundred degrees outside and my baby has to wear footie pjs all. day. Either that or a onesie, tights, jeans, tennis shoes and a shirt. Otherwise he will scratch his little legs, feet, stomach and back until they're oozing, bleeding and infected. I never realized how much I loved dressing my oldest two boys in cute little outfits or shorts during the summer months; or how much I enjoyed seeing them run through the hose in a diaper. When Izaac was born I never imagined he would run through the sprinkler dressed head to toe. Honestly, it's heartbreaking. I feel so guilty somedays, especially when people offer well-meaning advice. It's hard for people to understand that his skin practically drinks creams and moisturizers, leaving him still with blotchy red, dry patches of skin from his sweet face to the bottom of his feet. I have tried gluten-free, dairy-free; I have used every cream on the market; he has had chiropractic care; I have attempted every possible solution but one.

I think this is the one that will make a difference. Izaac, I'm determined, WILL wear shorts this summer, and play in the hose in a bathing suit and will run around in a diaper. Because I'm hoping this issue will be resolved this summer. Through a series of events, some detective work as well as online research, I am convinced Izaac is allergic to detergents. Eliminating detergents from our home is what I believe will be the way we'll manage the eczema.

Here is information I stumbled upon written by a mom whose infant son's eczema, she discovered, was caused by detergent sensitivity, and it describes Izaac to a T.

Possible Signs of this Detergent Sensitivity:

The following signs are not necessarily unique to this sensitivity, but they may help identify it. Your baby/child may have a general detergent sensitivity if:

• He gets eczema all over, but you use disposable diapers and the diaper area is relatively clear of eczema.
  
• Her eczema changes noticeably, either for better or worse, following a bath or shower.
  
• His eczema sometimes seems to fluctuate wildly from day to day.
  
• Washing just with water can sometimes cause an outbreak.
  
• She gets particularly bad eczema on her cheeks or chin where she rests it on your shoulder or against your hair when you hold her.
  
• His pattern of eczema from foods is inconsistent or follows strange lines: he might seem allergic to cooked or canned foods but not to fresh ones, or he reacts more to cooked foods than to raw ones (if it’s a protein allergy, it should logically be the other way around).
  
• Her eczema is worse on exposed skin, especially as she crawls around during the day.
  
• Sweating makes the eczema markedly worse. Or the eczema is worse in areas that remain moist, such as behind the knees.
  
• He reacts to just about everything on the allergy skin tests, yet his blood tests show very few allergies. (We have not had allergy tests done on Izaac yet).
  
• Her eczema does seem related to what you are using to wash her or the laundry with, but switching products has maybe improved it but never made it go away.
  
• He seems to get eczema from just about everything he touches and eats.
• (Another one not mentioned on this list is that he has eczema everywhere but his diaper area, if using disposable diapers - which we are - because the diaper area doesn't come into contact with detergents).

I have ordered detergent-free laundry soap, cleaner, soap, shampoo, dish soap, dishwasher powder and hope to soon order lotion, toothpaste (I was amazed at what all has detergent in it!), deodorant and a good vacuum. There is a ton of work to be done (and a ton of laundry) to get our home detergent-free but if it changes anything for Izaac it will be worth it 100 times over!! No more tears, no more scratching fits or tearing through clothing or waking up at night! I have been praying for wisdom, and healing for Izaac and I believe this could be an answer.

Since I am having to wait for the soaps to come in the mail (there are no stores around here that sell them, to my knowledge), I am not able to go crazy ridding our house of detergents like I wanted to do today but as soon as they come, I'll let you know. And I'll definitely let you know when I see results.

This could be the end of a hard journey.