The doctor told her to keep her sick baby in the sink. Then a shocking thing happened. Being a new mom is ineffable holding cute little fingers, watching Pinky cheeks, touching soft lips, hairs, and so on. A new life with a cute little one. However, not every time feel like that when you see your baby suffering.
A mother whose son spent the first year of his life with a mysterious burn like rash on his skin was shocked to discover just what was causing it to last as long as it did. The first year is tough. I used to joke that it was like being a Nam. No offense to true Vietnam vets. Of course you’ll have stuff flying at you 24/7.
There’s never enough sleep, there’s never enough support. It can get ugly, but it will pass. And although the days last forever, the years are very short and go by fast. For a mother, her baby is everything, and to see her baby cry and not being able to do anything to sue them is the most dreadful thought for a mother. Something like this happened with a mother when the doctors were not able to give her any clue about what was wrong with her baby.
Being a mother is an absolute blessing. And another incredible gift that God gives to moms is what’s called a mother’s intuition. And this very gift is what saved little Isaiah Smith. Stephanie Smith was in a bizarre state when her son Isaiah was suffering from some skin problem, which doctors were not sure how to be cured. Initially, the doctors claimed it to be eczema, but after much medication, the problem persisted and the doctors gave up on him.
This is when she had to step forward and try her hands on for the cure for her baby’s skin condition. Isaiah had a very bad skin rash when he was three months old. The skin was first red and rough, which later broke out with bleeding and leaking of a white discharge. When Stephanie, her husband and their six year old daughter kicked off 2013, they were joyful. Mom Stephanie was about to give birth to a baby boy, but when that boy named Isaiah was just three months old, the nightmare began.
Isaiah developed a red rash on his cheeks. Stephanie took him to a pediatrician who explained that her son probably suffered from contact dermatitis. As soon as Stephanie returned home, she switched all of the family’s shampoos, creams and deodorants to hypoallergenic ones and did away with scented household products that could possibly cause allergies and eczema. Isaiah’s skin infections remained, however, the little boy’s face was covered in severe blisters and his skin was cracked. After several visits to the hospital, doctors diagnosed it as severe eczema and prescribed cortisone.
Stephanie and her husband could hardly have suspected it then, but the medicines and treatment that their son was using had the opposite effect. The more coda zone the boy got, the worse his eczema became the family’s life began to revolve around Isaiah’s plight. He was in constant pain and cried day and night. His parents felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. Seeing their child suffering like that broke their hearts.
But over time, Stephanie began to listen to her maternal instincts, and that led her to a realization that changed everything. In 2013, Stephanie gave birth to her second child. He came into the world as a healthy and happy boy. And Stephanie and her husband, the little guy, Isaiah. He was loved dearly by his mother, father, and big sister.
But when Isaiah reached three months, Stephanie noticed that something wasn’t right with her son. She noticed a red rash on Isaiah’s cheeks and took him to the doctor. The diagnosis was contact dermatitis. Stephanie went home and got rid of every household product in the house that contained potentially allergenic chemicals. She threw away shampoo, deodorant, and perfumed soaps.
But despite this, Isaiah’s eczema flared up. An allergist diagnosed Isaiah with eczema and prescribed antibiotics and a mild form of cortisone cream. Still, the boy’s skin just got worse and worse. Eventually, it got so bad that the family had to bring Isaiah to the emergency room. Once there, doctors wrote out prescriptions for even more cortisone and antifungal medications.
The nightmare continued. Isaiah was in constant pain, and Stephanie had to sleep next to her son every night to comfort him. While Stephanie searched for answers, Isaiah continued to struggle with eczema. He lost his hair and was constantly tired. He was in and out of the hospital, but the only thing that seemed to happen was that the physician prescribed stronger cortisone cream.
At this point, Isaiah’s whole body was covered with severe eczema. His parents had to wrap his hands in gauze so he wouldn’t scratch himself. And because water was the only thing that calmed him, Isaiah’s parents often wrapped their son in wet towels and put him under cold running water. They repeated this treatment daily. Their son’s skin improved, but only for short periods.
He lost weight, was dehydrated, and smelled like metal. At the same time, Isaiah was given even more cortisone. It was a vicious cycle, and the boy spiraled into deeper and deeper pain. They soon discovered that Isaiah had all of the symptoms of red skin syndrome. Stephanie and her husband realized that the cortisone had, in fact, made their son’s eczema worse.
Instead of helping Isaiah get better, the cortisone creams had compounded everything. And this whole time, Isaiah’s doctors had missed the connection. When Stephanie tried to convince doctors to stop prescribing cortisone, they wouldn’t listen. The hospital staff seemed to think she was crazy, but still, she trusted her gut and the truth of what she had read. Then, thankfully, a pediatrician listened to Stephanie.
He gave Isaiah intravenous fluids and nutrients. Ten months after Stephanie put a stop to her son’s cortisone treatments against the recommendations of several doctors, Isaiah began to show signs of improvement, his skin became better and he started gaining weight. Despite this, several doctors continued to suggest cortisone, but not for long. I think people finally realized how serious we were about not using them. Everyone seemed to back off as his health was improving so much, Stephanie wrote on her blog.
Now for a few years, Isaiah is eczema, free and feeling well. After he stopped cortisone treatments, Isaiah got his life back and everything has gotten better. So great to see. Being a mother is an absolute blessing and another incredible gift that God gives to moms is what’s called a mother’s intuition. And this very gift is what saved little Isaiah Smith.
Now that the family has put the tough times behind them, they hope their story helps raise awareness of red skin syndrome. They also want more doctors to understand cortisone allergies, which can have devastating consequences. Eczema isn’t contagious. Even if you have an active rash, you can’t pass the condition onto somebody else. If you think you’ve gotten eczema from somebody else, you likely have another skin condition.
However, eczema often causes cracks in the skin, leaving it vulnerable to infection. Common skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis are seen in people with normal immune systems as well. Sometimes, skin disease is one of the earliest symptoms of a primary immunodeficiency disease and can lead to further clinical or laboratory evaluation to identify immune deficiency. Suffering with eczema on the body is bad enough, but eczema on the face causes greater distress due to the inability to hide the skin and to also suffer the discomfort it brings. However, there are natural ways to treat and prevent face eczema.
Let’s have a look at a few of them. What causes eczema on the face? More often than not, it’s the result of something that has come into contact with the face that has caused an irritation and resulted in itchy. Inflamed skin, this could be due to makeup, general dirt and grime, heavily scented skin creams, dust and other irritations. It can also be due to intensely stressful situations and finally, diet.
When you feel your face become itchy, you should wash the area if possible immediately. This will remove the irritant and or soothe the skin if the problem is internal directly. After washing, apply a non scented skin cream, preferably organic, to avoid the skin drying out. To avoid the outbreak of eczema in the first place, try to keep a note of when your face becomes itchy and what came into contact with it. Perhaps you’re allergic to some of the beauty skin products you use or hair products.
Those who suffer from eczema usually have a number of allergies to various substances, and lots of skin and hair products fall into this category. Stephanie tells as only she can what happened to her son. She did so because her story can possibly help other mothers whose children are also suffering from the same problem. That’s why it’s important to share this story with others. Maybe it can help another child and a desperate mother.
Wouldn’t it be disastrous if your doctor tells you he doesn’t know what’s wrong with you? It’s great that Stephanie was obstinated enough to fight for her child. We should make sure with our baby’s needs. Read all ingredients on their food and avoid the allergen. Be sure you know the names of the allergen, like milk products, for example, may be listed as Cason or whey.
