Sophistishe: Finding Zen in Being Human

I’ve been reading up on Wet Wrap Therapy and I think I’m going to try it on Jayden’s eczema. He’s well past the rashy stages, but his skin remains dry unless we keep him slathered in emollients multiple times a day. We especially make sure we rub him down before bed to make sure he doesn’t wake up scratching, but lately he’s been doing the opposite. As you can imagine, it is stressful on all of us not being able to sleep through the night. Since Wet Wrap Therapy is done before bedtime, we figured we give it a try. Those who have tried it have seen significant results. I mean it just makes sense. After a bath, his skin’s always so smooth. I know some people are against daily baths, but if you moisturize the skin directly after a bath, it will not dry out. Some people rub an emollient on their feet and put on thick socks right after a bath before bed. It’s kind of the same concept…just wetter.

So this is what I’m going to do. I’ll draw him a bath with chickweed herbs. Chickweed is a useful herb used to treat eczema, rashes, wounds, and pimples. It helps with inflammation and infection if any. After patting him dry, I’ll gently rub him down with some aloe vera gel, another skin soother, followed by Alba’s Unpetroleum Jelly. Unpetroleum jelly is like Aquaphor but without the icky ingredients. With wet wrapping, wet bandages are applied on affected areas and dry bandages are then applied on top to seal the moisture. Pajamas can be used instead of bandages on smaller children. What I will do is dress him in a moistened pair of thin thermal pjs (pictured). To seal in the moisture and make sure he stays warm, I’ll zip him up in footed pjs. Of course since it’s summer, we’ll have to moderate the temperature of the house so that he doesn’t get too cold or hot.

In addition to his nightly wet wraps for the course of 1-2 weeks, he’ll regularly take probiotics and cod liver oil and I’ll report back with the results. I’m feeling pretty good about this. Wish me luck and feel free to share any eczema stories you’d like in the comments . I do wish to continue my natural remedies. I’d rather do this than having a doctor throw a tub of Eucerin and Hydrocortisone our way. I have used a cream once and that was Elidel for a red flare up on his cheeks. That I considered an emergency, dry skin I do not. I try to avoid parabens and steroids at all costs. It’s just what I prefer.

Why yes, there is a lil’ black Zoya polish on his nails. He’s been itching to get into my polish and I finally caved. He sat and admired my work as I dabbed his nails. For at least thirty minutes, he wouldn’t do anything to mess them up. When he’s a little bit older, I’ll explain the whole boys and nail polish = no. But for now, he can enjoy it. His masculinity is the least of my worries. He’s got plenty of years to work on that. And no, I’m not working with vitacost.com, but it sure would be nice since I buy all of my healthy schtuff there.