I have been allergy aware all my life as we have a strong family history of asthma , hay fever and eczema. My second child in particular has suffered from eczema since infancy and still has flare-ups now, at 26. This has inspired me to offer advice on coping with this condition, based on my experience as a mother , sufferer and nurse. These skin problems have also led to me offering a range of knitwear suitable for people with sensitive skin, who cannot tolerate wool.
ADVICE TO SUFFERERS>
Avoid stress where possible.(!)
Use alternatives to soaps ,or specialised emolient soaps and shower creams.
Avoid over- heating , this definitely seems to aggravate the irritation
Moisturise your skin frequently with unfragranced , pure substances.
Wear cool loose clothing made from natural fibres, and use cotton bedding washed frequently at high temperatures - dust mites are another common irritant.
Many sufferers find food supplements helpful -Starflower oil for example ( rich in GLAs )
I hope these tips help, if you have any more please pass them on !
Here are a few knitwear items in my shop suitable for wool allergy sufferers.
I suffer from asthma and hayfever, both my kids had eczema until about 3yrs old and i'm praying neither develop asthma or hayfever. I recently did an allergy test, i'm allergic to dust mites and cockroaches? not sure about the cockroaches thing but the mites certainly aggrivate my asthma.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look up starflower, never thought of using supplements - thanks for the tip Sue x
I to have always had problem I am lucky my children seemed to have mostly escaped it. I haven't seen the advice on starflower oil before thanks for sharing that
ReplyDeleteStarflower oil supplements can take several weeks to shpw any benefits - be patient and persevere !
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments !
I'm following you now...Really interesting stuff. Luckily I don't have any allergies apart from suntan cream!
ReplyDeleteDottie, have you tried 'Green People' suntan cream it's a natural product available in some pharmacies and Health Food stores ?
ReplyDeleteHi Sue. No allergies here luckily!!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know that I've passed on a Sunshine award to you and your blog. I've put up a post with a link and an explanation why in my blog. :)
Great post Sue. Both my children suffered with eczema starting as babies. My son had a terrible time when he was about three but then seemed to grow out of it, and my daughter has taken a bit longer as she still gets the odd patch at nearly-nine!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest tip (apart from using my balm) is always to keep fingernails short and hands covered when sleeping to minimise scratching. Scratching can cause infection and you want to avoid that! Organic cotton gloves are great for babies and kids to wear to bed and you can also get all-in-one eczema sleep suits which stop access to the body. It sounds extreme but it is just like a big babygro and stops night scratching.
Hope that helps someone!