Joseph and I have both noticed that Diana's itching is definitely stress-related, and sometimes it's just something she does out of habit. Normally when her skin is very bad, we don't ask her not to scratch because it just seems cruel and I've heard it's basically uncontrollable when eczema flares up. But since her skin is so much better, Joseph has found that he can ask her to put her hands together when he changes her diaper or puts moisturizer on her legs and she has no problem. This morning while changing her I noticed that it was easier than normal because she wasn't scratching at all! She just didn't need to. However, if she becomes distressed (can't find something, doesn't want to do something, I'm frustrated, she's in a loud/new place with people she doesn't know, etc.) her hands go straight for her back or neck and she starts scratching.
We've fit Diana's gluten sensitivity into our lifestyle and now it's pretty easy for me to keep her mostly away from any wheat. The next thing I need is to decide whether I'm going to really throw myself into kicking detergents out of our lives. It's a big step. There would be a lot of work involved in ridding our house of dust and detergent residues and converting all our products to detergent-free, then readjusting for the kids' skin sensitivities to different brands of products. Detergents and detergent-like substances are in EVERYTHING from household cleaners to pet flea medication to sunscreen and shampoo and soap and even fruit juice. I tend to think of Diana's eczema being related to genetics and sometimes I hope I'm just buying time before it magically goes away. That may happen, but Carrie pointed me toward this post which suggests that people with genetic eczema may be sensitive to detergents. It can't hurt to give it a try!
We (and I know some of you!) have been praying and asking God to heal Diana's skin and give us wisdom to know how to help her. I really feel like He's answered our prayers. Not only is Diana's skin improving, but we're finding out new information about eczema and suddenly coming up with new coping strategies to help her. The last time her eczema changed dramatically was when our friends the Fallons prayed over Diana as a little baby and asked God to heal her skin. Within a couple of weeks, her eczema disappeared from her cheeks and the insides of her elbows and lessened on the inside of her knees. Prayer is powerful, and God has been good to our little girl. We just need to keep praying for help and wisdom! It's entirely possible that her skin will start falling apart again, but it's incredibly reassuring to know that God is willing to help a little girl with itchy skin. Whenever I forget, I'm reminded that we serve a gracious, loving, living God.
We've fit Diana's gluten sensitivity into our lifestyle and now it's pretty easy for me to keep her mostly away from any wheat. The next thing I need is to decide whether I'm going to really throw myself into kicking detergents out of our lives. It's a big step. There would be a lot of work involved in ridding our house of dust and detergent residues and converting all our products to detergent-free, then readjusting for the kids' skin sensitivities to different brands of products. Detergents and detergent-like substances are in EVERYTHING from household cleaners to pet flea medication to sunscreen and shampoo and soap and even fruit juice. I tend to think of Diana's eczema being related to genetics and sometimes I hope I'm just buying time before it magically goes away. That may happen, but Carrie pointed me toward this post which suggests that people with genetic eczema may be sensitive to detergents. It can't hurt to give it a try!
We (and I know some of you!) have been praying and asking God to heal Diana's skin and give us wisdom to know how to help her. I really feel like He's answered our prayers. Not only is Diana's skin improving, but we're finding out new information about eczema and suddenly coming up with new coping strategies to help her. The last time her eczema changed dramatically was when our friends the Fallons prayed over Diana as a little baby and asked God to heal her skin. Within a couple of weeks, her eczema disappeared from her cheeks and the insides of her elbows and lessened on the inside of her knees. Prayer is powerful, and God has been good to our little girl. We just need to keep praying for help and wisdom! It's entirely possible that her skin will start falling apart again, but it's incredibly reassuring to know that God is willing to help a little girl with itchy skin. Whenever I forget, I'm reminded that we serve a gracious, loving, living God.
