Eczema, flu symptoms etc

Benjamin woke up this morning with flu symptoms (well started yesterday) but only more obvious today. His temperature isn't overly high, but is elevated. But has everything from cough/runny nose to a runny tummy! With all the talk out there of "swine flu" it makes one more nervous of what one would usually think of as normal viruses! I don't know what exactly he has, but since it's always possible it's the said flu, we're keeping him (and the rest of us) home & indoors until we know what it is. Just hoping we'll not all be down with it soon!

I was thinking the other day that perhaps I should rename this "my eczema blog", but since so much of what I do all day & night relates to Benjamin's eczema, I think "my daily life" is quite accurate enough, even when I go on a fair bit about eczema! LOL So anyway, regarding this subject (beware! might be long!!!) .... Benjamin's skin was getting quite out of hand after the prescribed steroids (from dermatologist appointment nearly a month ago). Although "more potent" they seemed to be less effective than hydrocortisone (which is considered very mild, by doctors). We had been thinking about trying some form of manuka honey on his skin and eventually ordered some creams last week, on Mon/Tue. Before they arrived, I decided to try the Emulsiderm bath emollient for Benjamin (prescribed to use when skin was broken) since his scratches (which were very many) were looking rather sad an infected. I'd been reluctant to bathe him in something like that (antibacterial stuff) since he often gets water in eyes/mouth, but thought maybe it would help heal his skin. Well, at 1:30am that night (Tuesday last week) he woke up very upset & miserable. I figured it was nothing out of the ordinary, so we kept trying to settle him and keep him from scratching/rubbing feet together. Peter & I took turns, without much success. We both tried to fall asleep cuddling him, so we could hopefully get some rest at the same time, but nothing was working. Finally at 3am I was just about going crazy - was too tired to think, and couldn't understand why he wouldn't settle. Well, I then took Benjamin into the bathroom and took his pyjamas off and THIS is what I found!! (I've put the photo in as a link instead of here visible, since it looks rather bad.) Anyway, in all the areas where he had existing eczema, it was flame red patches and some purple (esp on face). He looked very ill and was nearly getting delirious, as if he was about to go into a fit with itching. I've *never* seen him like this before, and was certain we'd soon end up in hospital with him! Thinking it was perhaps a reaction to the Emulsiderm, I got a cloth wet with Aveeno bath oil and washed him down and re-applied his beeswax cream, and by 3:45am he was sleeping peacefully and did so until his usual just before 7am waking. His skin was still quite angry in the morning and I was very pleased when the post lady brought some Calendula cream that Leah sent for us to try! :-) It seemed to really calm him down that day and the redness went down a lot. The next day (Thursday) we received the Manuka honey creams (Madeleine Ritchie from NZ company) and started putting them on him. By that evening the results were already amazing - the cracked & bleeding wrists were healing up. And 24 hours later even better. And these two photos below, taken 2 days after starting the creams (with manuka honey, propolis, vit E, calendula, evening primrose oil, etc) show the results:

So we have been quite impressed with the improvement to his overall skin condition. Steroids had been the only thing that "zapped" the eczema, yet his skin always looked damaged afterwards, and the returning rash (after stopping the steroids) was always very agressive. However, despite good creams, we obviously have to work out what's causing the eczema. Because on Monday this week it started coming back (though gradually, rather than all at once). But having noticed that he got several patches of it on his arm, the exact arm that he had resting on the carpet at the top of the stairs for 1-2 hours that day (doing jigsaws), it seems obvious that it must be a "contact eczema", rather than dietary etc. Not that we can know for sure yet, but having been able to remove the eczema so drastically from his skin, I was able to monitor him closely to see when/where it reappeared.

I've come across a theory about detergent allergy and using only pure soap for *everything* in the house, which I'm trying to implement. It's quite complicated & involved (both to put into practice & to explain!) so perhaps I'll blog about it next time.

Random photos here for now, and I'm off to bed.

Looking very grown up!

Sister to brother chat! :-)

Impossible to get all 3 of them smiling at the same time! lol

Getting to be a very big boy - and mega teething too, even if no teeth in sight!

Always happy when next to his mummy! ;-)

Very yummy fingers

More photos etc

Seems I always end up here rather than in bed! Guess it's the only quiet time of the day, though even evenings (and middle of the night!) are full of disruptions! But at least children are mostly asleep in the evening! :-) Anyway, I uploaded all these photos last night but was too late to add any words, so I'll try again now.

Clement had an appointment at the hospital this past Wednesday for some tests. This was the first of two, following on from his urine infection last month. So we had to be there at 9am. I had felt quite stressed about it for weeks now, but thankfully it all went well. And much to my relief, Clement didn't cry at all! phew! They had to catheterize him first (there on the children's ward). And then about an hour later the x-ray department were finally ready for me to take him down there. They gave me a lead coat to wear as well as collar on my neck! Guess I've never been near an x-ray machine - but it seemed odd to have all this protective gear on me, and my little baby lying 3 inches below this huge machine! Anyway, they injected some dye into his bladder and then were able to see the direction the urine went. And thankfully all was OK, no reflux or anything else abnormal to be seen. So thankfully, all looks good so far. But I think they'll still want to do a similar test, but injecting the dye into his veins next time. :-S And of course continuing antibiotics, at least until we see the consultant at a later date. Oh yes, and they also weighed Clement at hospital and he's now 16lb 4oz - at only 3 months! One heavy boy! :-)

And there's my 2 boys, with Clement already interested in Lego!

Abigail joining in the fun

Last Saturday afternoon we decided to go for a walk near Evanton. It was beautiful sunshine and we had a nice time. The above photo is the ruins of the old parish church of Kiltearn, where Thomas Hog was once minister.

view of the water and surrounding scenes

Abigail and her dear Daddy! :-)

Clement sleeping in the sling - and Benjamin was asleep in the pushchair! It was an enjoyable afternoon - even if after 2.5 (of the 3 miles) my knee gave out/twisted and I fell on the road! I was trying to get out of the way of a car (on single track road) and nearly fell flat! Thankfully I was able to protect Clement (who was in sling) and he didn't even fuss or complain! And the lady in the vehicle was very kind and offered to give me a lift back into the town (where our car was parked), which was a big relief! I felt quite sore at the time, and was glad to not have to walk back - at at least by morning I felt much better!

a bright little (or big!) Clement

Benjamin and Clement in matching trousers I made them! Though C has got rather baggy bottoms! LOL I tried to reduce the size of a larger pattern and it didn't quite work! So I guess he'll be wearing them as shorts next summer! :-) Though at the rate he's growing, they'll probably not fit him then!

Giggling, as he frequently does!

He loves Thomas the Tank Engine already! In fact, I first noticed it when he smiled at a poster of them when he was in hospital - at only 9 weeks!

After the hospital appointment on Wednesday, in the afternoon Abigail & Benjamin helped me make Blackcurrant Jam! The fruit came straight from our garden too! Peter has a bush out front that gets loaded with blackcurrants each summer.

and it turned out that having willing helpers when making jam is a real plus - young arms that are full of energy to do the constant stirring that is necessary for 30 minutes! :-D

looking at the colour of the juice on the spoon!

and the finished jars of jam - even if a bit tatty looking! :-) But taste is lovely!

Bed calls me - goodnight! :)

Just another week

Yep, that's my lovely little boy! :-D He's already 3 months old today! It's amazing how much a baby can grow in only 3 months, and all the things they can learn to do, so quickly. He still loves being on his "boppy" cushion, though is favourite activity is now to go *over* it, as you can see above, he's pushed himself over the cushion so he's hanging upside down a bit!

We've recently had a "heat wave" here in the UK! No, Americans wouldn't agree with the idea - but it's been hot! We often weren't able to get the temperature below 80F at night, even with all the windows open *and* the front & back doors too! So the above photo shows chubby Clement chilling out, with just a nappy on! He was able to keep cool with minimal clothing on, but poor Benjamin was always requiring layers of clothes on. Every time I tried to let him wear less, he scratched soo much that the clothes had to go back on to keep him from bleeding. :( So I'm glad that the cool weather has returned just now, as it means we're not pouring sweat at night!

My two boys, both looking at their mummy!

Abigail in the garden, enjoying the sunshine

Benjamin also enjoying the sunshine, even if rather unusually dressed! I have to say though, the 100% cotton tights we get from Cotton Comfort (eczema clothing people) have been such a help! They're loose fitting and cool, yet protect his legs/feet. But admittedly, people must wonder why the poor child is dressed like that - especially when it's hot!

Speaking of unusual clothing, here's Benjamin again, modeling his mitten sleepsuit that I made for him! I've finally managed to re-design the pattern how I want it - with full zip in the back (to keep him from getting his hands inside!) and now with closed mittens, which are essential when he's got a flare-up on his hands/arms and face (which we have at the moment).

Last week we finally saw the dermatologist at the hospital - having been waiting since March for a referral. It was reassuring that she was impressed with our care of him and keeping him from getting infected, as well as understanding of how eczema works and what needs to be done etc. But at the same time, that doesn't help us to sort out how to improve matters, or get any more sleep! So she didn't seem to add very much to what we already knew/were doing - apart from giving us more potent steroids (Eumovate). We've been using them for just over a week but not sure they're any better than the hydrocortisone. It seems it's the dermatology nurses who work with people to sort out long term management of eczema, but they were so behind on seeing people that we had to see the doctor first. So maybe if we can get in touch with one of the nurses they might be more useful!

The little smiler again! .. and in the background is the box from my new sewing machine! :-D I've treated myself to a brand new Brother Innovis 10A - a computerised sewing machine! It's lovely and sews very quickly too - and can go through many layers of fabrics with ease!

diving over the cushion again!

Little bookworm! He's getting quite good with his hands and can hold toys/books all by himself. Thomas is a favourite of his, already! ;-)

Just another photo, taken sometime last week.

Now, I must get myself to bed. Fairly busy day on Friday (today, though it's now early hours of Saturday as I type). We had our monthly homeschool meet up, which we always look forward to. And then we went to a lovely big park nearby, which I didn't know existed. It was huge and had lots of nice things to play on, though Benjamin was too nervous to do much (he's recently become rather scared of groups of people). Abigail had lots of fun anyway - apart from when she lost us for several minutes (having run off on her own to try everything out)! :-( There were just toooo many people there - I was scared too, as I couldn't see her anywhere. But thankfully I eventually spotted her, standing on her own looking for me! There was also a miniature railway, which they had a ride on - Benjamin liked that, of course! And then A & B both fell asleep in the car on the way home, meaning it was nearly 11pm before they got to bed tonight! So all a bit exhausted, I think. Goodnight. :)