Part 1- The Problem
**Disclaimer: This is what personally worked for my son, I am by no means claiming that it will help cure, prevent or heal eczema. All cases are different and depending on severity should be seen by a doctor.
Today is going to be more of a public service announcement about a topic very near and dear to my heart…my oldest son who is 3 1/2 years old. I want to share this with you today because I know that so many young kids “suffer” from Eczema and/or Allergies. So from one mommy to another, here’s how we finally combated my son’s Eczema.
Ever since he was one he has had dry skin.
He’s seen three different doctors in different states (because we’ve moved so much) and each time the doctor says he has mild Eczema / very dry skin (he never had the “typical eczema patches”). So, they prescribe hydrocortisone creams and recommend different types of store brand lotions each time. Each time we’d find no relief. My little guy would end up super itchy and scratch his skin so bad on his forearms, legs and back that he would actually break the skin and it would bleed. So the cycle would begin all over: go back to the doctor, get a new prescription and a new lotion. Apply for a few days/weeks with him screaming and crying because everything burned his skin. It was seriously so miserable. I always dreaded putting him in shorts and short sleeved shirts because I never wanted someone to question “what happened?” – and unfortunately a few times people did.
Anyway, a few weeks ago his skin started getting all red and splotchy and he became super itchy. I took him back to the doctor and this time they prescribed Zyrtec and another hydrocortisone cream. That day we also did Allergy Testing because I figured there had to be an underlying cause to this.
Needless to say, I did not get the prescription for Zyrtec or hydrocortisone cream filled. By no means do I feel comfortable giving my 3 year old Zyrtec!!! I just decided to wait and see what the Allergy test results were and then would figure out something from there – in the meantime I started researching dry skin conditions like a crazy person!
A few days later the nurse called me to give me the results. Low and behold he DID NOT have allergies. I was very insistent on the fact that OK then what’s the problem?!?! I explained over and over again that the methods we’d been using for the past two years were not working and that in fact, on my son’s arms you could see pigment changes from using hydrocortisone for so long (a side effect is thinning of the skin and changing the pigmentation). I asked what can we do now? She told me she had to talk to the doctor and call me back. Sigh. So I waited for her to call me back, only to be told to “just use the Zyrtec and hydrocortisone cream. There’s nothing else to do”.
As you can imagine, this did not sit very well with me. I suppose I could have found another different doctor, but lets face it – how much longer, how much more money, how many more painful days for my son would we have to go through? I basically called it quits and decided that since I care the most for him, I would be able to figure it out on my own.
So again, I hit the computer researching for HOURS! I looked into vitamin deficiencies, other allergies, cleaners, etc. (*I have used Melaleuca cleaners since before any of my kids were born. I am 100% on board to not exposing them to any more toxins than necessary).
Basically after reading through the list, I figured there’s a good chance that a vitamin deficiency could be the problem – after all, he’s 3 years old and not the best eater. So then I started researching vitamins. I came across the Landmark Study done by Berkely University and went through their list of vitamins. Shaklee was ranked #2 on the list. I knew of the company Shaklee but hadn’t used any of their products. I decided to research them and after many long hours of comparing, looking up terms I wasn’t familiar with, calculating the price, etc. I decided I was going to give them a chance. I figured I didn’t have anything to lose – except maybe a few dollars…but after all I was used to this. We had spent hundreds of dollars over the years between the MANY doctors appointments, prescriptions, lotions, essential oils, health food products (coconut oil), etc.
I decided to order Shaklees Vitamins, Probiotic, lotion, and baby massage oil. The day my order came in I took pictures of my son’s chest. It was all red and patchy and he was super itchy! 4 days later I took the same picture. I was beyond amazed and over joyed with how his skin looked!
Below you can see for yourself the difference!
Part 2- Sharing my Story of Success
I had the privilege to attend AND speak at the Shaklee University Live Conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The event was hosted by Dr. Steve Chaney with additional speakers Barb Lagoni, Master Coordinator and Rick Seymour,
Let me just tell you, that is quite the cast of speakers. Talk about being star struck!
Barb had called and asked me personally if I would share my son’s Eczema testimony. I said yes right away because I am so passionate about how Shaklee helped him overcome his battle with Eczema.
I shared our Eczema story with over 140 people!
I began by telling everyone I wanted to tell them who I was. I ran Cross County and Track competitively for 10 years. So I always considered myself to be pretty healthy. In college I started in Nursing and then switched my majors to Recreational Therapy. I graduated and worked as the Memory Care Director at 3 different long-term care facilities and was also the Sales & Marketing Director and Alzheimer’s Association Support Group Leader. So I was very heavily involved with working with doctors, nurses and other health care professionals on a daily basis. Like many, I trusted them. So when my son started having skin issues I trusted his doctors – 3 of them to be exact (because we moved so many times).
After 2.5 years of the doctors prescribing dozens of steroid creams, allergy testing (with no allergies), Zyrtec prescriptions and more I knew I had to take matter into my own hands.
In ONLY four days (which only consisted of taking his vitamins and probiotic 4 times (1 each per day), applying the Massage Oil 1 time, and the Soothing Lotion 2 times! INCREDIBLE!!! Seriously, you have no idea how happy I was and still am!! ***I have learned that through more extensive research that the Shaklee Mighty Smarts (DHA for kids) will help eliminate the inflammation – which is technically what Eczema is, inflammation.
Below is just a sampling of all of the products and prescriptions we tried. None of them worked.
All in all, I am so happy that I was able to share our Shaklee Story with so many people. I hope it gave them them knowledge to go out there and make an impact on someone else’s life who may be dealing with Eczema.
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The products I used for my 3 year old son can be purchased below:
1. Vita Lea Children’s Multi Vitamin
2. Optiflora Probiotic Complex
4. Shakleebaby Soothing Lotion
I also give him:
5. Mighty Smarts (omegas – help reduce inflammation (eczema is an inflammation in the body) and is great for brain and eye health!
6. Chewable CalMag – helps with growing pains, supports growing bones, night terrors, promotes restful sleeping
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me!
Story Submitted by: Stephanie Bruce
You Can Follow Stephanie at her website here http://gatheredinthekitchen.com/
and here http://gatheredinthekitchen.myshaklee.com/us/en/welcome.html