Hello everyone! This blog post will be different from my usual posts but I feel strongly to share about my family's journey in helping my baby brother's eczema as it may help others who also face eczema!
Most of you may know that my baby brother Darren is soon turning 1 years old this March. He has been such a joy to our family, always bringing laughter and happiness. Sadly, what most of you may not know is that my brother battles with eczema. When he was 2 months old, his eczema kicked in :( His skin started to become dry and thickened. It flared up in inflamed, red, sometimes blistered and weepy patches and he could not stop scratching!
The red patches were everywhere on his body, on his legs, arms, face and even his neck! It actually got so bad that he scratched till his skin bled. My parents bought many renowned moisturisers to help my brother but to no avail... When we held Darren's arms and legs to prevent him from scratching, poor baby Darren would cry in agony and pain. Seeing Darren in such severe pain, my family's heart broke into a million pieces...
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| His whole body is red :( |
My mum has been breastfeeding Darren ever since he was born but eventually she had to introduce baby formula as a supplement for my brother’s diet when he turned 3 months old. Darren’s skin allergies progressively worsened, becoming even more serious.
Of course, my whole family was pained by Darren’s intense cries for help to ease his physical pain and discomfort and sought help.
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| sigh :( |
I remember that my parents initially brought baby Darren to the Dermatologists and Paediatricians and confirmed that my brother suffers from Atopic Eczema. Atopic eczema is a chronic, itchy skin condition that is very common in children but may occur at any age. It arises because of genetic and environmental factors and will make the skin more susceptible to irritation by soap and other irritants such as the weather, temperature, etc.
Through tests done at KK Hospital in early January, it was confirmed that my poor baby brother suffers from food allergies. Only after months of Trail and Error could my parents uncover the potential causes and sources of irritants and allergens.
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| Terrified to even touch it |
Soon it was identified that my brother is extremely allergic to egg and cow's milk. Even if the traces of egg and milk was air-borne, Darren's eczema would kick in. This caused a reduction in his skin’s immunity towards irritants and allergens and made his skin even more sensitive.
As my mother was advised by the Dermatologist to continue breastfeeding, my mum recorded her diet and Darren's diet in her notebook daily. Even after trying different baby formulas, moisturisers and creams, his eczema condition showed no improvement. My parents got so desperate and distressed, they even resorted to the occasional steroid creams treatments! Using prolonged steroid treatment will lead to potential side effects.
Even after strictly eliminating egg and cow's milk from their diets, Darren's relapses occur frequently and persists.
My parents considered removing potential chemical irritants that Darren may be exposed. They conducted intensive research online and joined several FaceBook groups, sharing with other parents with similar experiences. My mum shared Darren's struggle with eczema with her business contact and on his business trip to Bangkok, he bought 2 bottles of PiPPer Standard’s Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener in hopes to help my mum.
My family and I have always been saddened by Darren's terrible eczema. When I saw some pictures of children who have even more serious and drastic eczema, it seriously brought tears to my eyes... I can't imagine the amount of pain it must have brought to the precious child and the heartache it caused to the child's loved ones.
I am too scared to include pictures of baby with extremely harsh eczema as it is indeed horrifying...
Just google 'severe eczema baby'... :(
Thus, I had an idea to share about
PiPPer Standard's Laundry Detergent
as it really did significantly help my brother battle eczema after my family switched to this brand.
PiPPer Standard's Laundry Detergent
as it really did significantly help my brother battle eczema after my family switched to this brand.
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| A healthy baby is a happy baby :) |
Side note: I am not in any way, officially affiliated with PiPPer Standard
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| Eucalyptus |
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| Lemongrass |
PiPPer Standard’s products definitely helps Darren as the products are derived from natural sources, (pineapple) without any chemical toxins which are harmful to the body.
My mother believes that a healthy environment starts from home and decided to switch the whole family to use PiPPer Standard's products. We noticed that the Pineapple Power is highly effective in cleaning!! The Eucalyptus and Lemongrass scents in PiPPer Standard’s products are also very fragrant. I read from the back of the bottle that the scents are from natural essential oils which is not only healthy but also environmentally friendly!
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| Clear Skin! |
After my parents and I extensively researched (pardon the technical terms), we found out
that PiPPer Standard's products are an independent 3rd party that
is hypoallergenic certified by Dermscan Asia. It also contains no
known allergens specified under the allergy patch test approved by the U.S.
FDA.. PiPPer Standard’s products are made from biodegradable formula
and the stain remover is certified to contain no known allergens!
When my mother attended a baby fair in January this
year, intentionally to buy PiPPer Standard's products, my mother agreed for the
family to participate in a video to give a testimonial. After the interview, I
was introduced to an upcoming Learning Camp sponsored by PiPPer Standard, in
support of Singapore Polytechnic and MightyKFC to nurture a loving and learning
environment for community children. I've decided to join this learning camp on
the 17-18th March and I will be blogging about it so do stay tuned for
that!
Lastly, here are some tips my mother has to conquer eczema:
- Note Child’s diet and observe if particular foods trigger allergies.
- Seek guidance from your doctors.
- Look out for labels; good products (such as PiPPer Standard) typically contain a comprehensive listing of contents.
- Keep dry skin moisturised .
- Unfortunately it is a Trial & Error process to find potential irritants and allergens specific to your child. Find good and suitable products to reduce potential triggers.
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I decided to write this blog post as my mum and I believe that by sharing what my family have been through and learnt using PiPPer Standard’s products, can help parents and their children who are going through similar challenges and pain. It is truly very heartbreaking to see so many suffering from eczema, hopefully this blog post can lend a helping hand to many who are distraught!
Huge Thank You to PiPPer Standard!!!
not in any way officially affiliated to PiPPer Standard
♥,
Jermaine x
Jermaine x
2 comments
Dear Jermaine, my heart breaks when I see babies like your baby brother Darren who are experiencing pain instead of laughing and discovering all new and exciting things life has to offer. I went through a difficult period with my newborn 3 months ago. I was able to breastfeed for only four months and then I had to change to infant baby formula. However, right after changing the nutrition of my baby, he started experiencing gas and bloating which was very unusual. One could see that he was not feeling at ease. I started researching online and I read this article here , which made me realize that maybe my baby was having an allergic reaction to the infant baby formula. I immediately changed the formula to goat milk formula and sure enough, my baby is not experiencing gas or bloating anymore. However, seeing him not feeling at ease broke my heart. I can only imagine how difficult it is for the families in which there are babies with eczema. I am really glad that the Pipper detergent helped because the biggest struggle is not knowing what is actually causing the rash.
ReplyDeleteLots of hugs and kisses to your baby brother
Kate
Hi Kate, so sorry for the late reply. My brother actually went for a skin prick test and we determined that he was allergic to cow's milk and egg! After we cut that out from his diet, his eczema got much better! Hopefully this can help you :) A skin prick test can really help eliminate any allergens in your baby's diet!
Delete♥,
Jermaine x