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Remember my two year old with the little bumps and itchy hands? The doctor didn't know what it was and guessed at eczema or allergies, but you said the problem was blocked oil glands and that he needed EFA supplements.
I didn't start the oils right away because the bumps seemed to let up, but then his hands severely dried out and were cracking. I know how painful those open cracks are, so you can imagine my anguish when my little boy was constantly showing me these cracks and saying "boo-boo." I then started the oils immediately. Following your instructions for Essential Oils, I taxed my brain over all the labels on all the different oils to get the correct balance of omega 3 and 6 and adjusting to his weight. Well, within days his hands were improved and within 2 weeks they were back to normal -- nice and soft.
I've read that it's a deficiency of Omega 6 that causes blocked (or dried up?) glands. But, most Americans get plenty of 6's since it's found in animal products and processed foods. It would make sense for my son to be deficient in 6's since his diet has been mostly "whole" fruit/vegetable/grain. Anyway, that's what I've come up with at this point.
Thank you so much, Walt. As anyone knows, you just can't stand it when your child is in pain, and I always get answers here.
Peggy
In Reply to: 2-year old with bumps on hands -- Problem resolved! posted by Peggy on August 02, 1999 at 20:38:49:
I'm normally very, very good about getting enough EFAs. I eat a fair amount of fish (salmon is a favorite), take fish oil capsules, and put "Udo's Choice" EFA oil in my salads. I may have missed a week or two, but... as I'm typing this, the palms of my hands are recovering from a really nasty attack of these 'water blisters'. I've had this 2 or 3 times in the past. The doctor I saw didn't really know what causes these water blisters, although he said it's somewhat common apparently. Personally, I wonder if it is a stress reaction or a reaction to something I came in contact with. When I was a child I was HIGHLY susceptable to poison ivy - several times I had the worst case the doctors had ever seen. The blisters I have now are similar, but they stay local to my hands and don't itch quite as much as poison ivy. The palms of the hands are usually the LAST place poison ivy will spread too, not the first. (Common lore has it that you can't get poison ivy in snow season, or on the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, your eyelids, or testicles. WRONG ON ALL COUNTS, I'm here to tell ya!)
My doc gave me some hydrocortisone when I went to him for the first breakout, which helped a little. But eventually the blisters and itchiness went away seemingly of their own accord. I wonder if this is what happened with your son - if you had done nothing would the results have been the same? I wonder; I don't know. Draining those water blister bastards helped the itchiness, but it's unbelievable how quickly they fill up again. They also spread very rapidly for the first few days. Does this sound like what your son had?
Shoot, the only thing that SEEMS to help is to soak my hands in water until the skin is soft and then - yuck - peel the top layer off. It's easier than it sounds, because the blisters appear to do a good job of separating off and killing the top layer of skin. I'm SURE peeling one's own skin off is a moderately good way to get an infection, so I'm not exactly recommending this course of action. It hurts too, especially when applying antiseptic. After doing this my skin gets really dry until some new skin grows back. Maybe the EFAs simply helped your son's skin grow back faster after the blisters 'killed' the top layer.
In Reply to: Had a similar problem twice - but can't say it was EFA deficiency. Walt - your thoughts? posted by Lincoln Brigham on August 02, 1999 at 21:39:26:
Not the same thing. They were not blisters. They were very tiny bumps with nothing in them. You couldn't even break them open; there was nothing to break open. If you tried, I think you would just end up pulling the bump off. (I know because I was getting them too.) Sometimes they looked kind of translucent and as if they would be fluid-filled, but they weren't. Sometimes the palms of his hands would seem to flare up and get all splotchy red as well. But, like I said, that phase passed then they became severely dry with some cracking at the creases where his fingers bend. I suspected from the very beginning that it was an oil problem.
I've had problems with drying and cracking of my own hands for a couple years now. I'm not disciplined about taking the oils myself and still have problems with the dryness. But, I've faithfully been supplementing my son, and his healed promptly.
Peggy
In Reply to: Nope, posted by Peggy on August 03, 1999 at 02:05:01:
n/m
In Reply to: 2-year old with bumps on hands -- Problem resolved! posted by Peggy on August 02, 1999 at 20:38:49:
Thanks, Peggy, for your testimonial!
Now, why could I know what to do and I didn't even get to see the problem? The "experts" who DID see it had no clue.
This is one of the things that bugged my licensing board to no end. Rather than trying to learn anything, they opted to just get rid of me.
Congratulations for resoling the problem. NOW, the thing to think about is: "Why did this little guy show this at such a young age?" This tells me that he is going to have to be a student of his nutrition all his life. When he is a teenager, he will likely try to rebel against this & will have to learn the lesson all over again. He lives lower on the Bell Curve for these nutrients than most of us.
Since there are many chronic conditions related to a relative deficiency of these substances, he needs to be on the lookout for those other conditions too. He may not be so lucky to have it show up on his skin where it is easy to see.
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Had a similar problem twice - but can't say it was EFA deficiency. Walt - your thoughts? posted by Lincoln Brigham on August 02, 1999 at 21:39:26:
Hi, Lincoln.
Your conditions are related but not the same. This is a different condition in children than in adults.
In adults it is more likely related to the storage of stress effect in the hypothalamus and is more related to "hyperhidrosis".
Even though the essential oils might help here as well, topical vitamin E cream is just as likely to help.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Had a similar problem twice - but can't say it was EFA deficiency. Walt - your thoughts? posted by Walt Stoll on August 04, 1999 at 11:50:28:
n/m
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