How Long Has It Been?

A couple of weeks ago I was watching my littlest playing at the kitchen table in her little sundress. It occurred to me, as I watched her chubby little arms, that it was the first time since she was 10 months old that she had bare arms, legs and feet and her skin wasn't scabby/bloody and rough. Then I remembered her first summer when she was five-six months old, I put her in little rompers with bare arms, legs and feet but even then, she had those horrible eczema patches on her body. So this summer was the first time since she was a newborn that she had clear skin! I started crying when I realized that. Makes me want to cry right now, too!

I may not have it all down yet but I'm getting better at managing her allergies. I don't even care right now if she never outgrows them (I reserve the right to change my mind on that). I'm so glad that she's happy and healthy! She is a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure!

Maybe not...

So I remade the salve yesterday without the vitamin E oil. Coconut oil, olive oil, beeswax plus the EOS - LLP and LLM (M being melaleuca or tea tree oil). I applied them on her legs last night which were shredded a few days ago. She slept pretty well during the night. This morning, when I dressed her, I did the same thing. LLM on her legs and knees and LLP on the bottoms of her feet. Twenty minutes later, her legs are bloody. What I don't know is why. Is she itching from the salve? That seems the most obvious answer. But what could be causing the problem now.

I'm beginning to think that putting anything on her skin is just a bad idea. She can't tolerate any traditional lotion/cream which is why I began to make some. But it seems she can't tolerate the homemade ones either. So far only Manuka honey has been really successful but I can't have her bandaged up like a mummy all the time.

I just read an article about a child who can literally only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or he becomes violently ill. I can't imagine what that family has gone through. Actually I CAN imagine it after dealing with Katherine. I'm just so sad for this poor family and realizing how easy I have it compared to others.

I need to find my positive outlook again. I know I used to have it....I just need to find where I left it.

The list grows

At 2am, after finally giving my daughter some Benadryl, I started running through my mind all the things she'd eaten/come into contact with recently that could cause the new itching. The poor child has a very limited diet that I closely monitor so it couldn't be food, could it?

I thought perhaps it could be the new salve that I had made. Camp Wander has posted a wonderful salve recipe and I made up a batch this weekend. I included the optional vitamin e oil because it's so healing. In fact, in my early 20s, I burned my leg on a motorcycle. I began putting vitamin e oil on the burn every day when I changed the bandages and continued applying vitamin e oil everyday until it was healed. I never had a scar. So I totally believe in the healing abilities of vitamin e oil on the skin.

I had been having some success with my little one's skin using the LLP oils (Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint) on her feet. So I added the oils to the salve and we rubbed it on her skin everywhere she was itching.

Then things gradually started to get worse. I thought perhaps it was the dairy she's been eating (more than usual since that's a once-in-a-while food). But that doesn't usually cause itching. I was stumped.

Until 2 am. Apparently that's when I do my best thinking.

Last year, I made a coconut oil body butter - just coconut oil and vitamin e oil. It made her skin worse and I assumed it was the coconut. A few months ago, I ordered some vitamin e oil to put on her feet. Made everything worse. I assumed it was the wheat germ listed on the ingredients. So I ordered pure vitamin e oil (which, to be fair, I thought I had ordered the first time around). But I hadn't used the oil on her until making the salve.

The only thing all these have in common is vitamin e. So I looked up "allergy to vitamin e" and it turns out that this causes dermatitis. And vitamin e is found naturally in things like peanut butter, mayonnaise, and eggs. Hmm...all of these things are on her deadly list.

I'm annoyed that I have to throw out all the salve I made and start over (mostly because it seems a waste of money). But I will do it anyway. Anything for my little one.

Now comes the question of how to avoid vitamin e. That one's a little trickier than the rest of the laundry list.

Attempt #468

I've tried the "blogging thing" several times over the last several years but life keeps getting in the way and I feel like I don't really have the time. I'm finding that I need an outlet of some kind, though. I've never been one to keep a journal before. But I think I'll try blogging...again. Just for me. We'll see how long it lasts.