Massage the eczema away

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Mom

It is said that the infant eczema quite often has something to do with the immune system. If finding a suitable lotion/emollient/cream is the basic way of taking care of the skin syndrome, then strengthening the immune system from inside out is the fundamental way to treat/clear away the eczema.

From this article, according to a research conducted by Researcher, Dr Tiffany Field, Ph.D., from the Touch Research Institute in Miami, massaging infants who suffer from eczema 2o minutes a day can help with the skin symptoms of redness, scaling, itching, thickening.

The article author Nadine Hall from NatureWithin also mentioned in the article that massaging with Sunflower oil can significant results in repairing baby’s skin barrier according to research conducted in UK. Other oils that can be used in baby massage are for example sesame oil, apricot kernel and almond oil.

I have bought two books on baby massage many months ago. After reading this online article I went right away to the bookshelf to look for further information. Indeed, it is clearly stated that baby massage can strengthen the immune system and improve skin condition.

The principle of baby massage is to massage with downwards direction, following how the hair grows.

Interestingly, in Chinese medicine theory it is suggested to massage infant/child’s back from bottom to the top for strengthening the overall body’s immune system function, meaning, upwards instead of downwards (when doing it downwards, it helps to alleviate fever, a totally different purpose). I guess it depends on which method you use and which part of the body you are dealing with. I am not an expert on this, but I am ready to learn more.

 

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Skin omega – the experiment on black currant seed oil

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Mom

I found this product from an advertisement of a Finnish baby magazine: a beautiful baby on the page with parents saying: “oh my dear, don’t you scratch!” Well as you can imagine, this speaks straight to my heart.

In Finland, it is not uncommon that babies suffer from atopic eczema. In fact, I just found out that quite a few researches have been conducted in Finiland on this field, mainly on the prevention of atopic eczema through supplements taken by mother-to-be or breastfeeding moms.

This product is one of them.

Iho-Omega-kotelo_2(picture source: Valioravinto)

Skin-omega is capsule that contains 100% BC634-black currant seed oil.

In a clinical research conducted by the University of Turku in Finland, participated by 322 Finnish mothers, among them over half had atopic skin. Some of them took 3g (6 capsules) of black currant seed oil daily during pregnancy and breastfeeding, while the rest took olive oil as control group. After breastfeeding was over their baby took daily 1g oil. The result was followed until those babies are two years old. It showed that the atopic eczema appeared 30% less and milder for those who took black currant seed oil. It is believed that black currant seed oil is important for the balanced development of baby’s immune system.

So I start to take those capsules from today, hoping that through breastfeeding I could pass some of those omegas to my son. Of course I could also feed him directly the oil, but I prefer to adopt the current approach which feels a bit “safer” for the moment.

According to the product instruction, during the first month I should take 4 capsules (2g) daily, after that 2 capsules (1g) daily. Within four weeks it is possible to feel some difference.

I don’t know whether it can help my baby’s skin condition, but at least it should do no harm. After all, I have stopped eating fish altogether for one month to avoid trigger possible allergy reaction, therefore in any case some omega 3 capsules should be useful for me as general supplement.

So my own experiment starts. So far I can only say that those black currant seed oil doesn’t have the usual “heavy taste” of fish oil. It feels light as I feel nothing practically when swallowing them, which I kind of like it. Will report more on this experiment later.

 

 

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Omega for skin: omega 3, 6, 9

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Mom

Most of the time, I have been searching for products that can possibly stop my son from scratching his itchy skin and improving the general condition of atopic skin. There are various lotions available for external use (and I’ve ordered LOADS just in case he needs them!), as well as some products that claim to be helpful if taking internally such as probiotic (especially LGG) and fish oil for its rich omega 3.

During my search process I have also found some information stated that a good balance of omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9 in human bodies would promote the general health as well as improving the atopic skin condition.  Omega 3 and 6 are for example important for brain development, immune system function and blood pressure regulation.

So I try to understand more on those fatty acid and from which food I can obtain them. Below are some major points I collected:

1. Human body can produce omega 9 by ourselves (from omega 3 and 6), but not omega 3 and 6, so it is important to obtain them from food.

2. Fish oil is often considered worth taking because it contains rich omega 3 fatty acid. While both omega 3 and 6 need to be obtained from food, omega 6 is much more readily available in many kinds of foods such as nuts and cooking oil but the source of omega 3 is more limited. Although omega 6 plays important part in the formation of healthy cell membranes and might be helpful for relieving the eczema syndrome (i.e. Evening primrose oil is rich in omega 6 and often used for the purpose of relieving eczema.), it is important to pay attention to the intake amount of omega 6 as most people might have “too much” omega 6 in their bodies in relation to omega 3.

As for the appropriate proportion of omega 3 and 6, there are different sayings. Some said that it should be 1:2, some said it should be 1:4. However the general situation is so that we have over 10 times omega 6 in our diet than omega 3, so it is especially important to obtain more omega 3 from food or from supplements.

3. Omega 3 is rich in fish such as tuna and salmon. However, to avoid the possible mercury pollution it is important to find out the source of your fish(oil) supplier, or consider the following food: (Source: the health benefits of omega 3, 6, 9)

  • Grains
  • Spirulina
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Hempseed Oil
  • Mustard Seeds
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Chia Seed Oil
  • Wheat Germ Oil
  • Canola Oil (Rapeseed)
  • Green Leafy Vegetables
  • Raw Walnuts & Walnut Oil
  • Flaxseeds or Flaxseed Oil

Omega 6 can be found from seeds, nuts and grains and green leafy vegetables, like lettuce, broccoli, purslane and kale, and in certain raw vegetable oils. Use raw cold pressed vegetable oils so the benefits of the fatty acids preserved. Other omega 6 rich food: (Source: the health benefits of omega 3, 6, 9)

  • Olive Oil
  • Wheatgerm
  • Grapeseeds
  • Pistachios
  • Sesame Oil
  • Hempseed Oil
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Chia Seed Oil
  • Safflower Oil
  • Sunflower Oil
  • Cottonseed Oil
  • Raw Nuts & Seeds

Omega 9 is available from below food: (Source: the health benefits of omega 3, 6, 9)

  • Almonds
  • Hazelnuts
  • Pistachios
  • Macadamia Nuts
  • Chia Seed Oil
  • Olives & Olive Oil

It is said that cranberry seed oil contains omega 3, 6 and 9 in one package, and in Finland some research shows that blackcurrent oil also contain all of them in one package. There will be more info to come in my next post.

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Why baby rash site? Here it begins…

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Mom

Our son, Aleksi, was diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis (infant eczema) a few months ago. Although his syndrome has been relatively mild and affected area limited, as parents it has been hard to see the loved one feeling itchy at night and wasn’t able to sleep as soundly as before, and frustrated to see the eczema on his face goes and comes back, again and again.

Actually, in the beginning we didn’t even know that the “rash” he has is infant eczema, instead we thought that they are just common eczema caused by extensive drooling as most babies do. Only until much later we realised that there are different kinds of rashes and infant eczema is one of them and happens to be a tricky one. Our lack of knowledge somehow delayed a bit his treatment and sine then I have been spending most of the time trying to understanding it, looking for information, reading articles, searching for products to ease his itching and protect his skin.

During the process I came across so much information and products I would like to take notes, organise, and share. I hope that those information can be beneficial not only for my family, my son, but also for other parents who are searching for the same thing, looking for individual solutions to solve the similar problem.

I always believe that all what are happening in our life makes sense. Sometimes things that seem to be bad (in this case: infant eczema) can turn out to be good later in life, you never know. If there is anything positive coming out from this process, maybe it will teach me more about life, patience, and even help more people who have the same problems.

Therefore I start this site.

Here I will share information of:

- interesting products I found in relation to infant rashes and eczema

- natural ways of treating, or curing infant eczema (to avoid as much as possible the use of cortisone)

- natural ways of release itching and protect skin

In the future it will also be possible to buy a few interesting products I found directly from this site.

Hope all those will help me and you and more others like us, to find ways to help our babies overcome their rashes and eczema. That’s the wish which starts from here.

 

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