Hello maph44,

I realized that I hadn't mentioned how we went about healing my nieces' skin of eczema after I posted. Atopic dermatitis refers to hereditary eczema. The prognosis is that there is no cure. Often when we layman here that there is no cure, we tend to assume that the body can't be healed and that the condition is something that must be lived with. I understood that a cure and healing were two different things. My goal was to work with the body and find healing for the girls; therefore we attacked the eczema in these three areas: internal, external, and foreign. What that means is that we focused on restoring a healthy balance to the immune system through good nutrition, rehydrated the dehydrated skin with a natural, vitamin/mineral enriched moisturizer and skin care regimen, and identified the allergen/irritants so that they could be rid from the girls environments.

It was important for us to address all three areas to ensure success. For example, addressing the internal and the external without addressing the foreign (the allergen culprit), would have seriously compromised the healing process. Although we had found a moisturizer that worked with the girls' skin to promote healing, we would not have been truly convinced of the success of the product if the allergen culprit had remained in the girls environment. If we didn't understand the importance of identifying the allergen and ridding it from the girls' environment and although we had witnessed the skin begin to heal with the external remedy, we could have misread a re-occurring flareup as a sign of product failure. In actuality, especially when healing (different from suppression) of the skin is witnessed through a chosen external solution, a re-occurring flareup is a sign of a present allergen/irritant in the body. For example; by the time the third niece was born, we already knew what skin care line to use for her sensitive skin. When she developed her first flareup at 9 months old, it immediately alerted us to the introduction of an allergen/irritant into her environment. In her case, it was a reaction to gerber pears. We immediately removed the culprit from her environment and continued with the same skin care regimen used on her from birth. Because we knew that the skin care line promoted healing, we didn't go purchase a new cream to address the breakout. We simply continued with the same regimen and the area of breakout healed in three days.

You identified the culprit of your contact dermatitis as a leather sandal. You addressed the foreign by ridding it from your environment; however, it is equally important that you also address the internal and the external so that health can be restored to the skin (as you know personally). In this case, you want to be sure that the success of the external (moisturizer/oil/lotion) is not being compromised by the internal (poor immune health). This may or may not be the case for you; I'm just giving you an example of how the process works. You've already begun to address the internal with the Primal Defense, you've been searching for natural alternatives to address the external skin health, and you identified your allergen and rid it from your environment. In essence, you've been doing the three step process instinctively. It's common sense (wisdom). If, along with the primal defense, you have incorporated a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, and plenty of water, then I would say that finding the right external remedy may be the only missing piece. However, and considering that you are detoxifying the body, the flareups could be a result of the toxin release as you stated.

We are developing an extensive library of nutritional and natural healing health books. My Grandmother kept a Home Medical Encyclopedia which I have now inherited and used to do much of my research on the body and diseases of the skin. I have heard of the Maker's Diet. Thanks for the reminder; I will definitely be adding it to my library!

I forgot to mention the skin care remedy that worked for my nieces. In particular, it was the Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk lotion. In addition, the almond oil (for the scalp area), the diaper rash ointment, the buttermilk bath soap, talc free powder, and the vitamin E bath oil from the Burt's Bees skin care line was also used. We still use this skin care line today. Some sufferers have sensitivities to fragrance; so this may not be the best option for them. Finding the right natural skin care regimen is a process that may take some time to find in some cases; however it is worth the work when the right solution is found.

I also forgot to mention that another misconception that layman make regarding hereditary eczema is that the flareup is inherited. In actuality, they inherit a system that is prone to breakout. The flareup is indicative of the presence of an allergen/irritant overwhelming the system and is signaling that the immune system needs rescuing. This is why the three step process works in either contact or atopic dermatitis.

I hope this helped

aunty