Day 3: Battling Eczema

I was feeling sad today. C's eczema has been at an all-time low this week. I'm not sure what caused it to flare, but her cheeks have been so dry and cracked that they've been bleeding and scabbed. It's terrible to pick her up in the morning to see that there is blood on the crib sheet. After a few days of applying more and more moisturizer, using the humidifier, applying the same stupid steroid cream that doesn't seem to help anymore, I finally put out a post on my mom's network (lovingly called the Booby Brigade, it is a breastfeeding support group and general childrearing support group) and was met with tons of helpful emails recommending doctors, hydrotherapy regiments, creams and lotions, and random suggestions for all kinds of stuff. I am really thankful for this group as it has been a really great resource for everything from babysitters, to nursing tips, doctor recommendations, handymen, preschool suggestions - you name it, and 6000 women from Los Angeles will respond with force.

One person recommended an allergist/immunologist specializing in pediatric AD (atopic dermatitis) that I am hoping to get an appointment with soon. Pediatricians and dermatologists really know very little about eczema. It is such a frustrating thing because it can seem so benign a lot of the time, but never really goes away. And when it flares, it flares badly, can stick around, or can diminish as quickly as it came. I often feel that by the time I think about trying new solutions for her eczema, the flare is over and we go back to our normal application of emollients and steroid cream. But I'm not happy with this solution - and being told that "she'll grow out of it" as our doctors have said is just isn't a great answer to me.

Living in a dry climate with lots of pollution and warm, windy air means that there is a really high number of kids with eczema in LA. I often attribute her flares to the weather, but this week we got some rain and a constant misty fog, and that did not seem to help her poor skin. We are thinking about investing in this $105 wet suit thing (insurance might pay for it as it is a Class 1 Medical Device) that locks in moisture overnight. It's called "RescueWear - Therapeutic Clothing for Eczema." We have tried tons of things and I'm tired of wasting money on creams that don't help or even make her skin worse. But this little guy looks pretty happy, right?

Praying that seeing an allergist/immunologist and starting some serious hydrotherapy or dry therapy will help (locking in moisture by putting baby in serious lotion with this wet suit thing over it, then PJs on top, or soaking the suit in water and then putting PJs on top of the wet suit overnight. Sounds cold, but apparently brings super fast relief to kids with eczema).

So this is what I did for most of my afternoon today instead of practicing even though I have a concert on Saturday. Then I picked up the girls a little early, expecting to find a miserable red-faced little C - and instead, she was happy as a clam, sitting on her teachers lap outside in the toddler yard, her hair in four cute pigtails, clapping her hands along with a song they were singing. I love our daycare so much. Her face was clearer than it had been in the morning, though she still had a significant rash on her back. But she was a trooper, gobbling up her dinner and several helpings of yogurt, asking to be read books, and nose nuzzling me as I put her to bed. So I throw my hands up again and wonder what I was so worried about - as quickly as it comes, it goes. Still going to follow up with the new doctor visit, but I need to let this anxiety go a little bit. She's a tough little girl.