Baths can have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits and can be super helpful for managing your kiddo’s skin symptoms, like the itch.
Here are some of my favs:
👉🏻Apple cider vinegar can balance skin pH levels and manage infection and inflammation. Dilute 1/4 to 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar in warm bath water. Soak for 10-20 minutes.
👉🏻Epsom salt may help decrease itching, inflammation, and redness and assist with detoxification. Use 2 cups for a full bath, 1 cup for a half bath, and 1/8 cup for a baby bath. Dissolve in warm bath water. Soak for 10-20 minutes.
👉🏻Baking soda may help prevent eczema flare-ups, reduce symptoms, draw impurities and toxins out of the skin, and boost immunity. However, it’s also alkaline, so it may strip the skin of its protective natural oils and disrupt the skin flora, especially if overused. 1/8 to 1/4 cup of baking soda. Dissolve in warm bath water. Soak for 10-20 minutes.
👉🏻Colloidal oatmeal can have potent anti-inflammatory, anti-itch, and antioxidant benefits for the skin. Grind 1 cup gluten-free oats for a full bath and 1/3 cup for a baby bath (use a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder). When the oatmeal dissolves by putting a small amount in a glass of warm water, you’re ready to add the oats to a bath. Add oats until the water is milky in color. Soak for 10-15 minutes.
👉🏻Rice starch has antioxidant properties and may reduce skin irritation, improve and repair the skin barrier, promote healing, and balance sebum production. Add 2 heaping Tbsp of rice starch to a baby bath, 4 heaping Tbsp to a medium bath, or 7 heaping Tbsp to a normal-sized bath. The water should look milky in color. Soak for 10-15 minutes.
👉🏻Dead sea salt. Dissolve Dead Sea Salts into warm bath water: 2 cups for a full bath, 1 cup for 1/2 a bath, and 1/8 cup for a baby bath. Soak for 20 minutes.
👉🏻Plain water versus bleach baths. A safe dilution of bleach in bathwater isn’t potent enough to kill S. aureus on the skin. If bleach baths have helped your child, it might actually be due to the water and not the bleach. Do not increase a bleach bath dilution; it can damage the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and lungs and even cause permanent damage to these delicate tissues.
*Always read labels to make sure it’s safe for your child. Using food-based ingredients on the skin can increase the risk of developing food allergies. If your child is already eating the foods and tolerates them, there’s less of a concern. If your child hasn’t eaten those foods yet or has allergies to them, avoid use on the skin.
What baths help your kid get some relief? LMK👇🏼
Foods that help heal leaky gut
If you’re trying to heal your kid’s gut, a great place to start is with gut-healing foods.
Here are some to add to your kiddo’s diet if they’re not in already:
Protein (chicken, beef, fish, beans, dairy, nuts, seeds, soy) - amino acids from protein are building blocks for all structures in the body down to the cellular level, including cells in the gut lining, improve the integrity of the gut barrier, and important for mucin synthesis
FODMAPs (garlic, onions, cauliflower, celery, cassava, beans) - increase stool volume improve calcium absorption, increase production of short-chain fatty acids, and of good flora like bifidobacterium and others
Probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, fermented veggies) - anti-inflammatory, strengthen the gut mucosal barrier, lower hyperpermeability, and produce short-chain fatty acids
Vitamins A and D (orange and red veggies and fruits, cod liver oil, egg yolk, mushrooms) - positively impact mucosal barrier integrity, the immune system, and gut flora
Fiber and short-chain fatty acids (starchy and nonstarchy veggies, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, butter, and ghee) - anti-inflammatory and regulate intestinal barrier function
Polyphenols (rainbow assortment of veggies and fruit) - antioxidant, lower intestinal permeability, and oxidative stress, and increase mucus secretion
What gut-healing foods are in your kid’s diet? LMK!
PMID: 36677677
Can food allergies be reversed or prevented?
When there are food allergies, the fear of reactions can cause major stress, tons of anxiety, even depression, and food fear leading to an ever shrinking diet and under nourishment for so many kids.
If your child has chronic skin rashes, they’re at greater risk for developing food allergies because they can more easily get sensitized to allergens through their leaky skin.
In fact, leaky skin associated with eczema is a known risk factor for developing food allergies.
Food allergies affect the entire family. The statistics are alarming. There’s been a 300% increase in food allergies in children over the past 20 years!
If your kid has food allergies, you might be wondering if they can be reversed. If you’re thinking about having more kids, you also might what to know if they can be prevented.
Here are some good places to start.
If your child already has food allergies:
👉follow your doctor’s guidance about what to keep out and what is safe to keep in
Whether or not your child has food allergies, and for you if pregnant or nursing:
👉Avoid eating processed junk food
👉Increase gut microbiome diversity by eating pre and probiotic foods, and taking a probiotic supplement (kids with food allergies have lower levels of certain healthy gut bacteria)
👉Eat the broadest diet possible including common allergens that are tolerated (the broader the diet = greater gut microbiome diversity)
👉Supplement with Omega 3s (EPA and DHA)
👉Get vitamin D levels optimal and supplement if needed
👉Minimize exposure to air pollutants
👉Support skin and gut barriers. Two primary ways food allergies develop are through leaky skin and leaky gut.
What Qs do you have about your kid’s food allergies? LMK!
https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu16060838
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2024.03.010
Chronically High IgE Levels, Eczema, & Allergies
Food is not the root cause of your child’s rashes
What it's like working with me
Wondering what it's like teaming up with me on this journey to help your kiddo? 🌈
❤️ You've got backup: We totally get the struggle of seeing your little one dealing with their chronic skin rashes. It's like a constant battle, right? We know the drill – the frustration, the worry, and the endless cycle of trying everything under the sun. It's a maze, and you're not alone in feeling overwhelmed. But here, you've got support. No more guessing games with your kid's skin – we're here to guide you through.
❤️ Keep the hope alive: After what feels like forever in the trenches, it's kind of hard to believe relief is on the horizon. We'll dig deep, find the root causes, and set you on a path to real healing. A day when your family isn't all about your kiddo's skin is just around the corner.
❤️ This is your safe space: Watching your kiddo go through chronic skin struggles is tough. It's an emotional rollercoaster, and sometimes you might feel like you've lost control. But guess what? You've stumbled upon a safe haven right here. Ask away and share your worries – we're here to genuinely listen.
❤️ You're not flying solo: We're a bunch of parents, caregivers, and families all on similar healing journeys with our little ones. We get it. We're committed to helping your kiddo not just get by but thrive. You're not alone – we've got your back, and we're holding your hand every step of the way.
Ready to kickstart this journey?
For private support and guidance, BOOK NOW! Let’s talk about the best next steps for your child to heal their skin!
If you’re more of a DIY enthusiast, join Conquer Your Child’s Rashesᵀᴹ (CYCRᵀᴹ) Online:
👉Ongoing access to my full step-by-step process to heal your child’s skin
👉The option to access a private community membership for ongoing support and to take advantage of Live Monthly Q&A coaching events
👉The ability to get a personalized plan for your child based on their comprehensive digestive stool test results and unique health history, and a private session to walk you through it all!
With CYCRᵀᴹ Online, you can start your child’s journey to healthy skin literally right now!
Colic
Does your baby have colic?
Colic is often associated with eczema.
Colic is an indication of gut inflammation and dysbiosis (imbalanced gut bacteria and other gut problems).
Colicky little ones may have fewer Bifidobacilli (a strain of good gut bugs) in their guts.
This isn't a coincidence if your little one is colicky and has skin rashes. Gut health is intimately tied to skin health. If your little one is colicky and doesn't have skin rashes, they may be at greater risk for developing them.
Colic is also a sign of possible food allergies and sensitivities.
Colic can be associated with reflux.
Here's what you need to know about reflux:
Reflux (and colic) can be a sign of pre-existing gut problems.
Reflux medications (acid reducers and acid blockers) aren’t an ideal solution.
They are associated with nutrient depletion and the development of osteoporosis, depression, and deficiencies of vitamin B12, and a variety of minerals.
Acid suppressors can cause SIBO, IBS, an increased risk of gut pathogens, and other gut problems.
Reflux can be due to low stomach, not high. Lowering acid levels further with meds makes the problem worse.
These medications do not resolve the root cause of the problem.
Step #1 to addressing colic or reflux in your baby shouldn't be meds. While I do not recommend elimination diets, if there is reflux, it makes sense to explore commonly triggering foods and try removing them from baby's diet, and yours if breastfeeding to see if it helps:
Gluten
Dairy
Caffeine
Alcohol
Chocolate
Garlic
Onions
Mint
Spicy foods
Fried foods
Fatty foods
Citrus
Tomato-based products
Highly processed foods
Junk food
Carbonated beverages, including fizzy water
A diet of whole, real foods, rich in plant foods and high in fiber, often can resolve the problem.
Stop the eliminations if you’ve removed foods for 2-3 weeks and there’s no real improvement. Food isn’t the problem.
If that’s the case… Step #2 is exploring what's happening INSIDE the gut (GI Map comprehensive digestive stool testing is my go-to for this) and resolving those microbiome imbalances!
References
https://adc.bmj.com/content/archdischild/84/4/349.full.pdf
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/1175207
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30177353
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30177353
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4377897/