I received this letter recently from a mom in Ontario, Canada. She has kindly offered before and after photos, which I will post with the letter on the solveeczema site as part of upcoming revisions. Thank you, S. Mason, for allowing me to share your experience:
Hi There,
My daughter was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis when she was a year old. She started with rashes after I weaned her from breastfeeding.
My pediatrican wasnt overly concerned and told me that she’d grow out of it. In fact, it got worse and worse. She developed MRSA skin infections and children would point at my daughter and say “ewwww”…She was denied access from places because they thought she was contagious. Nights were the worse, the intense itchiness was causing my daughter psychological stress, she would hit herself and screamed begging me to make the itchiness stop. She had a behavior log at school because she was rolling around the floor constantly and wont sit at her desk. My daughter never had “flare-ups”; rather it was constant. no breaks. ever.
I did some research and decided to pursue allergy tests. It was the beginning of a wild goose chase. I was told to avoid soaps so I bought no-dye/no scent detergents and non-soap cleaners….
And I started a 4 year adventure into elimation diets, skin prick tests, blood tests, naturopaths, pediatric dermatologist, allergists and pediatricans. Pills, antibotics, oral steroids, cordiosteroids, probiotics, flaxseed oils, krill oil, hemp oil, apple cider vinegar, chinese medicine, teas, 1000 dollars worth of OTC creams, lotions. No nuts, no fish, no eggs, no soy, no dairy, no sugar, no fish diets.
All medical professionals were well-meaning and concerned but NONE of them suggested that my daughter might benefit from removing all surfactants/detergents.
I stumbled onto your site and decided to give it a try. I put my detergents aside and washed her bedsheets, pillows and pjs with just borax and baking soda.
We had our first night of no-itchiness in years. It was the first morning that her skin wasnt raw. Since then, I’ve started the process of transitioning to a NO-detergent household to only natural soap products. I am still in shock at how immediate and obvious the source of her dermatitis is. I also feel guilty for not trying it before but I was always believed it was a food-related or just a genetic condition.
thank you from the bottom of my heart. oh, I have before and after pictures, taken only a few weeks apart.