Since my last Allergy Update on June 18th, things were really improving really well. So much so that I thought that by August 25th, which will mark 1 year of Sarah’s very strict diet, we could have a celebration of sorts!
Sadly though, that did not come to pass. Instead, shortly before August 25th, we all fell ill and with that we started on a downhill slide. Rashes that we thought had been banished reappeared and mine re-appeared after many months of regression. That was around the time that the LUP for all our neighbouring blocks started. Sigh.
Nothing else had changed. So I suspect that the dust and the compromised immune system triggered an allergic response all over again 🙁
While dd’s skin condition improved slowly, the rash on her neck area refused to budge. In my case, it spread from the left index finger to almost the entire back of my left hand.
So in my desperation, I told dd that we should go on a vegetable and fruit fast for 5 – 7 days and see if there is any improvement. She was all game for it, my brave gal! 😀
On September 19th, we started (remember, before this we were already on a very restricted diet). I bought a huge amount of vegetables (mostly local, non-organic), fruit (bananas, apples, pears, grapes), chickpeas (for snack) and coconut (as a non-dairy drink) as I knew we would be terribly hungry. Guess what? The 1st thing we discovered was that coconut made the itch worse! I made fresh coconut milk for us to drink on the 1st day and we both itched slightly. The next day I mixed it with avocado to make into a smoothie (super delicious I must say 😀 ) and we both itched badly 🙁
So no more coconuts. Meanwhile whenever we were hungry, we ate boiled chickpeas (just 1 day since I ran out) or bananas (daily). But we were still itching. Then my friend told me that her mil mentioned that bananas are a common allergen! Yikes! Was that why we were still itching??? So off with the bananas. The itch did lessen considerably (all in the mind?!).
From here our experience started to differ as I continued with the vegetable and fruit diet while I introduced meat into her diet.
Dd’s Experience
Dd’s skin improved tremendously except her neck area – again 🙁 No change when it was fresh beef. But when it was frozen beef, she scratched a little more. Hmm………do they add anything into frozen beef?! Anybody knows for sure? Meanwhile, her skin recovered once I stopped the frozen beef. (She thoroughly enjoyed her steaks and Shabu Shabu beef slices 😀 )
On Day 4, I started her on pork (fresh). She itched more than usual on the 1st day. On the 2nd day, it was bad. Her neck area turned red and angry. She said she felt awful. But she also ate chickpeas for her snack. Hmm…..
I told her she had to go back onto the vegetable and fruit (sans bananas) for the next 3 days before we try the chickpeas or pork again 🙁 Obviously she wasn’t thrilled. But already, I can see her not scratching as much.
She is looking forward to eating lamb and mutton but ooohhhh! The smell! The smell! I think I might just faint from it 😛 Yes, I do not like mutton or lamb, thank you very much!
My Experience
As for me, I was scratching so badly till my skin was red and angry (above photo). After battling with it for a few days and seeing no improvement, I succumbed to taking a course of oral antibiotics together with the application of an antibiotic cream. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely hate taking medication, especially antibiotoics and I actually haven’t for the past 13 years or so.
Guess what?
The antibiotics did not do anything for the infection at all! Grrrr!!!!!!!!! Meanwhile my skin continued to bleed and ooze pus even if I lightly brush on it. This is the consequence of using steroid creams, even though I used it very sparingly and only just a few times (less than 5).
I suppose I could go on a stronger course of antibiotics but I am going to avoid that path as much as I can for what if it also doesn’t work? Besides people with eczema already have a messed up gut, I really do not need antibiotics to wipe out whatever good bacteria is in there trying to right the bad ones.
Frustrated is what I feel!!! Why am I ***still*** itching despite being on only vegetables and almost no fruit? Ok, I cheated by sneaking in some salmon sashimi yesterday 😀 but honestly, it made no difference to the itch level.
2 days ago (Thursday), my friend recommended that instead of the antibiotic cream I should try an antifungal cream as I may have a fungal not bacterial growth. I was leery of putting anything on my red and raw skin. What if I reacted to the cream and made it even worse??? But in desperation, I went to rummage in our medicine cupboard as I thought I had a tube of Daktarin cream in there. Nope. I must have thrown it out at the last spring cleaning 🙂 But I found a tube of Neoderm which had “anti-bacterial, anti-fungal & anti-inflammation” printed on it (no more box). Bingo! I thought. 😛
I applied it before I slept and the next morning it was less red. I applied it again on Friday and this morning. Look at it now.
A vast improvement, right? Amazing I thought! Then it dawned upon me that I should check what Neoderm is. Ahhh!!!! It is indeed an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammation cream BUT it also has steroid in it!!! Betasone to be precise. ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!! We are back to square one!
Looking at the bright side of things, I guess I must have had a fungal infection because when I applied betasone on its own, nothing happened (well, something happened – my skin got thinned out!). When I applied the antibiotic cream nothing happened. Only with Neoderm that there was some improvement.
So what am I going to do now? I have no idea!!! I am just so, so frustrated.
Just in case someone wants to recommend something, do note that we are already either using or have used/taken the following :
- Prayed incessantly
- Showering and shampooing with California Baby Super Sensitive Bodywash and Shampoo
- Showered with Physiogel and applied Physiogel cream (no effect, rather drying)
- Showered with oatmeal wash (no relief and left the bathroom floor feeling oily)
- Do the dishes with gloves on (plastic then latex)
- Used and still using California Baby calendula cream and ointment
- Used and still using California Baby aloe vera cream
- Used olive oil (sometimes made it itchier)
- Used coconut oil (sometimes made it itchier)
- Used shea butter (made it worse)
- Used Melaleuca’s Renew Lotion (no difference)
- Prayed incessantly
- Broken generational curses
- Attended healing servics
- Been a patient of the National Skin Centre
- Seen a TCM practioner
- Taking various supplements like Flax & Borage oils, EPO, Salmon Oil (we are allergic to cod), Vit E, Caprylic Acid, MSM, Quercetin with Bromelain, Multidophilus, Lacto-GG, Magnesium, Zinc, Digestive Enzymes.
- And did I mention that we prayed incessantly 😀
Please do not tell me that perhaps the skin and TCM doctors we saw were no good. There is no end to the recommendations (believe me I have had many people provide highly recommended doctors). It is not that I don’t believe that your doctor is good but I have been running around bringing dd to this and that doctor to no avail. It gets very tiring and is honestly a waste of time and money.
Western doctors will only prescribe steroids (topical and oral), antibiotics and antihistamines. I don’t know enough about TCM but thus far I haven’t been convinced of its efficacy or the purity of the herbs used. There is often a high heavy metal load in the herbs.
I personally believe in nutritional medicine but unfortunately in the field of alternative healing (NAET, Bioresonance Therapy, homeopathy, etc), there are many quacks out there and they often cost a bomb and provide no result. They tend to blame something or another when their method don’t work. So at the moment we are still on our own and trying out food by food to see if it helps.
I am just waiting impatiently for the major LUP stuff to be finished (supposed to be at the end of the year) and see if our condition improves tremendously. I have had a few friends whose eczema condition (less severe than ours) disappear totally when they moved to another country. They do not have to watch their diet at all. So I am taking a chance that I may, in the end, be barking up the wrong tree. But I really do not wish for us to be on long term medication that works by suppressing our immune system. There will be severe consequences to reap later on.
And yes I know I should keep my hands dry but really it is not a practical piece of advice at all. In fact with the need to cook everything from scratch it is impossible to not get my hands wet.
So if you could remember, do utter a prayer for us as and when you can. It will be much appreciated!
15 Comments on Frustrated
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Hi there,
I’ve been following your blog for some time & read your posts about your trials in this area. Apart for praying for healing, I’ve been hesitant to post a comment since you don’t know me personally.
Saying that, I would hate to keep quiet if this could be helpful in your search for a solution…
I have a friend who experienced a really bad case of what she thought to be eczema, only to finally narrow her problems to candida (yeast) overgrowth. Her baby also had severe eczema. I’m linking to her blog if you need more info. http://www.littleapplesofgold.com/home-remedies/thanks-the-lord-for-healing-me.
I read thru your list of what you’ve tried, and didn’t see candida, so I thought it might be good to rule that out as well.
And i’m a real live person, not a spammer. 🙂 Barb G. in Australia can attest to my being real. She’s been to my blog. 🙂
Blessings to you & Sarah, and the rest of your beautiful family!
Hi MustardSeedMum 🙂 Thanks for reminding me about yeast. I forgot about that. No, we do not have that. We have gone through the check list and even did the saliva test. I should go edit the post!
Not. Easy. *HUGZ*.
Still praying for you and the kids.
Thanks Wei Wei 🙂
What is there to check, given that it is obvious?
It’s your body’s allergic response to dust generated by the LUP!
So what else can you do, apart from the obvious?
Apply topical steroid cream to the skin!
AND apply topical antihistamine eyedrops (if there is teary/itchy eye problem)
AND take oral non-drowsy 24hr-strengh antihistamine (if there is runny nose)!
What’s so big deal?
I mean, topical steroid is not that serious in causing growth-retardation in growing children, compared to oral steroid, and as for you, you have already stopped growing long ago!
And oral non-drowsy anti-histamine has been around for decades – very safe.
So what’s the problem?
Don’t understand!
This is not the same as food allergy where you have to go through the big problem of finding out which food is causing the allergy. In this case, the problem has already been identified and you said it yourself: DUST!
I decided to allow this comment, rude though it may be, through. This shows how misunderstood people with allergies are. We are often surrounded by ignorant people with allergies, like those with emotional/mental illnesses are often told to just “get on with our lives” and that our situations are often all in our head. One of the most common piece of “advice” I have heard is that one should continue eating/exposing oneself to the very allergen so that the body can “get used to it”., That I am afraid is the dumbest thing ever! And I am being polite here to just call it dumb. 🙁
And by the way, if you really stand by what you say, then out yourself and don’t hide behind anonymity and a fake email address.
Steroids, oral or topical, ALL have side effects. So do antihistamines. And more importantly, they do not cure eczema or any other disease. They merely “work” by suppressinvg the immune system. Once you go off these meds, all your symptoms will resurface and usually with a greater vengeance if the root cause is not addressed.
What is there to check, given that it is obvious?
It’s your body’s allergic response to dust generated by the LUP!
So what else can you do, apart from the obvious?
Apply topical steroid cream to the skin!
AND apply topical antihistamine eyedrops (if there is teary/itchy eye problem)
AND take oral non-drowsy 24hr-strengh antihistamine (if there is runny nose)!
What’s so big deal?
I mean, topical steroid is not that serious in causing growth-retardation in growing children, compared to oral steroid, and as for you, you have already stopped growing long ago!
And oral non-drowsy anti-histamine has been around for decades – very safe.
So what’s the problem?
Don’t understand!
This is not the same as food allergy where you have to go through the big problem of finding out which food is causing the allergy. In this case, the problem has already been identified and you said it yourself: DUST!
Hi there,
I just came from HS yahoo group site.
I attended HS sports day first time and trying to get know people now.
I came from allergic family and my children do have allergy issue.
I am Japanese and my main medical knowledge come form Japanese martial art teacher/doctor/philosopher who even able to fix terminal cancer patients with his advises.
I simply recommend you to change your diet as follows:
– brown rice (white rice has no nutrition and only make more weight gain)
– vegetable
– fruits (fresh & dry)
– nuts
– sea weed
– natural salt/soy/miso etc…
– no meat/daily
– no processed foods
– no artificial contained/genetically modified foods
– no white sugar and not much sweet foods
– no caffeine (Bancha is highly recommended – it often used at Japanese hospital as well)
– eat slowly and chew well each time
– if the condition is really bad, it is also good to fasting for a while too
It is not always easy to follow this diet routine but if you follow it will heal the body and detox at the same time.
I have been experiencing myself and my children are getting better.
Still I know skin irritation and condition can get worse very easily since we are surrounded by so many unnatural living environments.
As you said steroid etc… do give strong side affect.
The worst part of those western medication is the affect come later on your life. The medicine only push in the worst part into the body and fix the surface so it looks better but actually doing very bad things to the body.
When you change the diet, you might see more rashes come out.
That is because your body is try to eliminate long residue of these medication and affect so please be patient and continue the diet.
I am not christian but I do meditation and always hoping better future.
I hope your fast recovery and better health.
Hi MapleLeafm
Thanks for such a detailed reply 🙂
I am already on such a diet as you described and even more! But I am still itching like crazy 🙁 It is a tough road to walk but I pray that it will quickly pass!
Wished I could have met you at the Sports Day but I was afraid that the heat will make my daughter and me itch even more! So decided not to go in the end.
Hi buildingupmoms,
I am sorry to hear what you have been going though.
In above diet, the most important part is keep eating a brown rice.
And this doctor/teacher keep saying eat slowly and chew at least 40 times.
It makes differences.
I also think if you keep visualising the image of beautiful skin condition, it will make some differences since your body/brain then understand what is your thought. I do understand we create reality by our thought and we are very powerful creature.
Sports day was very hot day…
I do wish some shade in the field next time…
Still it was wonderful to meet very positive and helpful people and being the community.
Take care.
Hi,
Can i check with you where can i get the GAP book?
So far, how is the GAP diet?
does it work?
And do you mind dropping me an email regarding some eczema issues?
thanks.
You can buy the GAPS book from Book Depository.
Just key in Gut and Psychology Syndrome and it will come out. Eczema has many causes. Some people get it just coz their skin is dry. So simply avoiding soap and chemicals in their clothes and body and slathering lots of moisturisers work. Others are allergic to dust or fragrance. So merely avoiding it helps.
But yet others have deeper root cause and if you read my other article on avoiding steroids, some eczema can actually be caused by long term or cummulative steroid usage! OR it could be a result of a leaky gut which in turn could be the result of a candida overgrowth.
So whether GAPS works or not depends on what your root cause is. For us, yes, eating this clean way has helped to eliminate many other issues. GAPS needs a minimum of 6 mths to 2 years to see results. We are on month 10 🙂 We do see improvement but not completely.
Remember, man does not live by bread (food) alone. There is always the spiritual element that cannot be ignored. You may email me using the Contact Me tab at the top of the blog.
hey serene, will be praying for you and dd to be fully healed. You hang in there ya. Saw you scratching your hands at the seminar last week and i feel your pain. Arrgh!
Thanks Angie!