The misdiagnosed skin disease (milk, babies, toddlers, parents)

[linicx]

Babies get it. Children get it. Adults get it. It's genetic. It's incurable but young children can outgrow it. It's the night time itch that keeps parents and children awake all night. It can look like several different diseases. It's the disease that most physicians never see. "it" is Atopic Ezcema.

Atopoic is not the common Ezcema that is easily controlled.. It isn't and it is expensive. It is the itch that scratching doesn't calm. External things like clothing, sheets, grass, disposable diapers, shoes, sox, soaps, shampoo, fabric softner and elastic can aggravate it.

It may not look the same on react the same on two people. It's the itch you cannot stop scratching. Over The Counter (OTC) medicines are usually a waste of money. It isn't localized. It can affect any or all parts of the body. It moves. In the eyes it can cause blindness. Sties and Boils are a common side effect. It always affects the dark damp places on the body like between the legs, under the breasts, inside the elbows, underarms, behind the knees and at the hairline on the back of the neck. Anywhere I sweat I itch.

Fungus. Anywhere on the body that is dark and damp, where sweat can congregate can also cause Fungus.

AE disrupts sleep. It can look like a rash or pimples. I was misdiagnosed with Ringworm by a gym teacher. It can also look like Measles and Shingles and Dermatitis.

I surmise this started when I was a young toddler and got bit many times by Sand Fleas and ended when I stepped on a nest of Chiggers. I had a double case of Hives back to back that covered 95% of my body and Thrush from it. The next year the AE emerged out of nowhere in the Winter. I spent $6000.00, nine months and drove 1500 mile before I found a doctor that recognized it and began treatment.

Treatment is Steroids and experimenting until a comfort zone is found.
Everyone is different. What works for one may not work for the next. What affects one may not affect the other.

It's a gift from mom. If mom has allergies of any kind, shape or form, it is possible the child - most likely female - will get the AE. Childen outgrow it. Adults do not. It rarely affects senior adults, but it can.

Today I keep my life natural.. I only wear cotton clothing. I do not wear anything with elastic in it as it triggers a reaction. I wear white cotton sox with the least amount of latex/elastic I can find to combat Contact Dermatitis.

My hair is short at the neckline to combat Boils.. I had a double Boil that didn't 'make' and had to have it lanced. Then it was 6 months of traatment 3 times a day before it was healed.

I wear V-neck white cottong T-shirts wrong side out some days but only because the seam feel like ground glass. I have Egyptian cotton sheets because the slubs in the cheap sheets feel like razon blades. The same can be said of towels and washcloths. I buy the expensie white cotton that is soft.

I no longer take a bath; I shower because I cannot sit in soapy water. And I have a personal shower so I can thoroughly riinse every place a shower cannot. If I don't I itch and scratch uncontrolably. .

Soaps whether it is shampoo or body wash or laundry detergent is natural. No alcohol, lye, wood, tar, or perfume content. A PH of 0 is even better. I have a water conditioner. I had to change the type of sale from chloride to potassium becuase the salt content of the former hurt. It felt like a match on my skin.

The biggest surprise of all was T-shirts. It can be marketed as 100% cotton when it is made with rubber! Any washable piece of clothing - including - babies and toddlers - that is advertized as it "keeps its shape" is made with rubber.. And most of these clothes come from South America where rubber trees grow.

Take the rubber from the tree. Spin it into trreads. Then wrap the threads with cotton. Voila! Yards of material ready to dye at half the clost of real USA grown cotton.. I can't wear plasic shoes either..

I had no inkling my mother's and grandmother's Migraine headache reaction to the smell of flowers from the neighbor's lilac bush would ultimately give me Atopic Ezcema.

My best non-Rx 'friends' today are Zyrtec, Gold Bond anti-itch skin creme, eye-wash, fragrance and alcohol FREE baby wipes and most products that have 'AYR' in the name. Grass and weeds cause my nasal congestion. Nasal Ayr, the OTC nasal spray helps. me the most and it is the least expensive.

My wish is that you print this out and keep it because you never know when you might need it. AE is also on my scalp. It resembles what baby doctors used to call "Cradle Cap." And it itches, too.

PS: Steroids are not nice drugs, but they serve a purpose. Doctors have been giving babies with AE limitied steroids for over 80 years with good results. Steroids can make you sleepy as well as very irritable. with outbursts of temper. It's the drug; not the person.

If you MUST take steroids do not nurse; use the pump for relief and throw the milk away.