Hello Tina,

Congratulations on your discovery! Sharing that information with others may help other mothers in their efforts to find natural relief for their child's skin irritations. Thank you for sharing.

Your question regarding relapsing is an important question. My understanding of eczema is why I don't fear relapses or reoccurrences. Being able to articulate this in a manner that will bring understanding to others has been my attempt; however, it is difficult to express this in words without causing confusion. In the year that I've been posting messages, I've tried to alleviate the fear that eczema brings by bringing understanding to what the message eczema signals represents. If I can remove that fear, then I can remove the blinders that keep people from seeing eczema as what it really is: the body's message (through symptom manifestation) to the sufferer to address their immune health through proper nutrition and to identify the instigating factor (foreign/toxic/allergen/irritant) producing the flareup. How eczema is viewed by sufferers is the key to success.

Regarding relapsing, as long as you've identified the instigating factor for the fungus/yeast buildup in your son and have removed that instigating factor from his diet or environment, then a reoccurring flareup once the olive leaf extract is taken away should not be a concern. This is the difference between suppression of the symptoms and healing of the symptoms that I often speak of. If a relapse is a result of symptom suppression (not addressing the instigating factor of the eczema), then the relapse is indication that the foreign element (instigating factor) has not yet been addressed and remains in the system. What that indicates is that suppression took place, not healing. When the relapse occurs sometime later (weeks/months/years) and after skin healing has been achieved by addressing the foreign instigators along with the immune health, and the skin health (through natural skin care), then the "relapse" equates to a "new occurrence". What that would simply signal is a need to address the instigating factor (allergen/irritant culprit) and to refocus on the individual's nutrition for immune restoration.

It's all about perception. If you perceive eczema as an incurable disease for which there is no known cause; and as a result simply look for ways to relieve the symptoms, then relapses or reoccurrences bring much fear and frustration. However, when you know that there are instigating factors that bring about eczema flareups; and as a result that eczema is very curable, then panic at a reoccurring flareup doesn't exist. That reoccurrence would simply signal the need to address an individual's immune health through proper nutrition and to identify the allergen/irritant culprit of the flareup. This is why I don't fear eczema.

When eczemas are viewed as warning systems (like a smoke alarm in a house) to the body signaling toxic invasions and a need to address the immune health, a reoccurring symptom manifestation of eczema does not take on the same fear that most people with eczema get when a reoccurring flareup manifests. When an individual knows that they have received skin healing (not like symptom suppression); as a result of identification and removal of the allergen/irritant, skin rehydration through natural skin care, and implementation of a healthy Diet to restore immune health (balance), then a reoccurring flareup (at a later date) simply means that a new toxic invasion has occurred. In that case, the natural skin care used to achieve successful results would not change. You would simply need to identify the culprit (foreign toxic agent) of the breakout and re-address the health of the immune system with the proper nutrition.

For example and regarding my nieces, should they have a new flareup we wouldn't have to search out new skin care or medicine to achieve healing; we would simply have to identify the new toxic agent/allergen and refocus our attention on their immune health. By the same token and in the case of your son, you seem to have found the skin care routine (including the olive leaf extract) that will promote your son's skin healing. Therefore a new flareup would indicate the need to remove the instigating factor (allergen culprit) from his environment, to continue with your proven natural skin care regimen, and to focus attention on restoring the health of his immune system with the proper nutrition.

Also in the case of your son, something significant happened 4 days ago to trigger that flareup. With what I've learned regarding eczema, a total body eczema flareup is usually indicative of a food allergen or an airborne allergen to pet dander for example. Your suspicions of a yeast fungus need to be addressed. In that case, his fiber intake will need to be increased as the sugary juices or yeast producing food items are eliminated for a period. His system is still out of balance and that balance needs to be restored.

Trying to put into words what I know from experience and research is difficult at times. This is my dilemma in trying to articulate what I mean regarding the perception of eczema. I hope that this brought more understanding and less confusion.

aunty