My update and post on eczema has brought on many comments from parents who understand and who are going through what dealing with an eczema child is like. Through parents from various countries who share openly about the difficult situations they are coping with and finding parallel in many areas of coping and handling eczema, it brings to mind that we are not alone in this ‘fight’ against the eczema beast.

I have dedicated most of my time and effort since my last post on helping the Angel with her eczema. No effort or time is spared to ensure that we achieve eczema-free days. We keep to a daily regime of routine and attention that have brought us so far to our mostly eczema-free days. The month of April was the sweetest time of our lives since our return!

There are still bad days when our quality of life is severely affected but those have been the occassional days rather than the norm until recently!!!

Fighting the eczema beast in Singapore has been a steep learning curve at times but through love, patience and karuna (and constantly asking for more of these three qualities in my life), we have managed to bring life to a normalcy.

I throw my life out of tangent, socialise only with those who understand my constraints, do the minimal required in a day, and focus entirely on the Angel.

Having not kept up with blog reading, I recently read a post from Mel (Perspective of Life in a Different Pasture) who has very kindly dedicated a post on ‘Coping with Eczema‘ to me when I asked about how she coped with her eczema child in Singapore. Many, many thanks for such a generous gesture, Mel!

I cope with the Angel’s eczema (sans steroid, sans medication) through a few simple ways :

1) Carrot juice - the juicing continues! All I can say is that, the daily carrot juice does its own wonders on the Angel’s skin. Two sticks of carrots and an apple a day. Trust me, but they are the mainstay to eczema-free days!

2) Fish oil - the Angel is back on fish oil. According to Dr Hugo, it is in the Angel’s filggarin that is causing all that dryness. Whether or not fish oil is helping, I know that the carrot juice is doing its bit!

3) Stress-free - I see how stress brings on the onset of the itch-scratch cycle. I keep away from stressful situations (there are just some places that create a lot of stress for either of us) and plan the day carefully, especially when going out of the comfort zone of home. I learn to say ‘no’ when it is better to stay home and I learn to do less but yet achieve more (when you have eczema-free days, you have achieved loads!) in a day.

4) Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize - the Angel is kept moisturized daily (I’m currently using Aqueous Cream and QV but most moisturizer works) and I found the most effective sunscreen that works and which we use even when at home (Avene Sun Protection for Children 40 SPF)! Expensive but worth every penny of our money!
5) Time and attention - Almost all of my time and attention is dedicated to the Angel. Without the time and attention, the simple understanding of the habit of the mind of my eczema child, it will be almost impossible to achieve eczema-free days. It is also CRUCIAL that people who spend time with your eczema child knows how to handle it as well. I have seen how others can perpetuate the scratching habit and make achieving eczema-free days REALLY an arduous journey.

6) Herbal Rinse from Weeds (picked from fields in Singapore) -  My parents conscientiously pluck a certain wild weed growing at open fields in Singapore and attest to everyone that it is the daily herbal rinse from this particular weed that is healing the Angel’s skin. I do agree that the weed has a cooling effect on the skin and also provide the Angel a mental deposit to overcome her scratching but I cannot ascertain that it is the reason for her beautiful skin.

While I’m writing this, the Angel’s skin has recently been quite broken and badly scratched up. The circumstances leading to her scratching really deserve another post of its own but for now, parents who are dealing with eczema children in Singapore, I’d suggest the above to achieve more eczema-free days!

Categories: Where We Live, Eczema
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