Re: Dear auntie....

First of all, I want to tell you that I am tremendously grateful for your time and advice! And please don't fret about the time frame -- respond as you can. I feel as though we've been fighting a daily battle for several years, and a slight delay in your response won't decrease our stamina any. =)

Your message raised several additional questions, and reminded me of several things I forgot to mention.

• I am intrigued by the idea that the culprit (or at least a player) in our saga might be our water. It *is* truly awful, but I hadn't considered its effects on the *outside* of our bodies. (Well... beyond the fact that I haven't had a "good hair day" since we moved into this house six years ago. =D) I know nothing about water or filtration systems, except the fact that some of them filter with salt... which can become a problem in and of itself. I want to research this, but don't know where to begin. Do you recommend by looking at reverse osmosis... or something else?

• Your point about cortisol is huge, I think. We have noticed that when he gets upset, he starts to scratch. And often, just the suggestion of bedtime itself is enough to upset him. That would explain why he's better off (itch-wise) in our bed, where he prefers to be. Long-term, though, him sleeping in our bed not an acceptable solution, so I'll have to put some effort into making bedtime in HIS bed relaxing and fun. Hmmmm.... =D

• I am also intrigued with the idea that hydroxyzine might be playing a different role than the one we intend it to. It's true that the more he itches at night, the more we give it to him as a "preventative". (It was prescribed for him as an "anti-itch"). I don't mind at all giving it up -- and I think he will be happy to drink tea before bedtime. I also like the idea of increasing his vitamin c intake. (He will, too -- kiwis are among his favorite fruits).

• About 9 months ago, one of his more severe skin breakouts caused something in his rash that look suspiciously like a yeast infection, so our doctor prescribed a round of Diflucan. (We'd tried the "lesser" anti-yeast drugs with his thrush once or twice, to no avail). And last time we were in the office, last month, the doctor said he found no sign of candida re-infestation. When he looked at my son's tounge, he said it looked very clean. "Too clean" he said, and said to be sure to give probiotics.

I'm assuming that you said to elminate cheddar cheese because of the candida. So I also wanted to mention that I make his smoothies with milk and fruits to cut down on the sugar. If I'm to working toward a loose "anti-candida" diet, should we cut out dairy altogether? I could probably substitute rice or soy milk for the cow's milk, and he wouldn't mind at all. The same goes for cheese -- I think the attraction is the cookie cutter shapes we cut them in, not the cheese itself.

• I did read the eczema section on wholehealthmd.com, and am working on finding recipes that will implement some of the foods into our family's diet. We have a Whole Foods that's not too far from us, as well as a HEB Central Market that my son declared "HIS" grocery store. =) I'm making a grocery list that includes many of your suggestions, and we'll make a trip on Wednesday.

--Lisa Tweet