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ARP: Week 30

 

Focus: Moving the body gently and in new ways.
Repetition: I am connected to all life around me, I am a part of earth, I am made of soil, the creatures and plants are sharing this journey with me, I am connected to the heavenly beings. I belong to community. I am never alone. I feel the life and love all around me.

Moving Your Fascia

Remember your fascia, and try to stretch, point your toes, twist your body, dance if possible, move your arms, neck, shoulders, etc. throughout the day. When you are sitting, move and stretch your toes; going to the mailbox, flail your arms, stretch your fingers, move your body when you are doing anything. If your mobility is limited, move what you can as often as you can — stay small and consistent.

Eczema

Let’s talk about eczema! We will discuss baby eczema, but you can of course apply these to your beautiful adult self as well.

Nervous system work for babies includes:

  • No sleep training.
  • Always responding to cries with skin-to-skin contact and cuddles, no “crying it out.”
  • Co-sleeping, or laying/feeding to sleep.
  • Calm tones of voice, reassuring tones, no quick changes in attitude or temper to baby or near baby.
  • Leaving and walking away from baby slowly, always thinking of their need to be near you, and helping them learn slowly and over time that you are not far and will always return.
  • Slow, stable, steady — making space for feelings, allowing the feelings to be heard and expressed, then moving in when ready for co-regulation.
  • Laughter and smiles.
  • Loving eye contact.

Lymph drainage and fascial movement for babies:

  • Gentle bouncing, often.
  • Dry brushing with a natural fibre soft brush, soft luffa, or natural washcloth (brush skin gently from the outer appendages, covering the neck, arms, legs and trunk, moving toward the heart, and ending at the heart).
  • Baby-wearing as you move freely.
  • Encouraging toddlers to jump barefoot in the grass or on the ground.
  • Encouraging toddlers to dance, climb, and stretch.
  • Massaging babies and toddlers.
  • Bouncing littles on your knees.

The more movement, the healthier your little one will be.

Eczema Baby Food

Please see our guide for “Baby’s First Foods,” and know that any food can be a trigger, so it is okay if baby cannot eat all of those foods — there is no hurry to incorporate new foods. You already have that part down.

Fruit is a huge trigger, and small children do not need fruit or honey — they do not need sweet. Traditional societies only focus on fat and protein for their babies. A “trigger” food is not a cause — it is just a food that can bring on a flare.

Some trigger foods should never be eaten by little ones: citrus, tomatoes, grains/grain flours/milks of any kind, lectins including A1 dairy, pasteurised dairy, seeds (nuts and legumes are seeds), sugar, chocolate, high-oxalate foods, seed oils, and soy.

Eggs are a beautiful food for babies and children, but if they are a trigger, leave them out until a lot of healing has happened; you may then follow the guide for “Reversing Food Intolerances.” Some high-histamine foods will not be tolerated. Know your child’s individual triggers, as they differ from child to child.

Itch Relief

Itching is an internal issue, so while we work on rebuilding the terrain of your little one, use these for temporary relief:

  • Earthly Anti-Itch Soap.
  • Oatmeal bath.
  • Peppermint hydrosol.
  • Seaweed bath (if staph isn’t present, add honey).
  • Dead sea salt bath.
  • Wet wraps (but be attentive with this — staph loves moisture, so keep an eye out for whether this is right for you, and listen to the body).

Baths

Eczema bath for babies, kids and adults: You must use filtered water for a bath, as municipal water can be irritating. Slowly test each bath out to see which one works for your little one individually (for example, my son did really well with just the oatmeal bath, and that’s all we had to do). Keep the water lukewarm, never hotter, because heat can dry the skin out.

For breastfeeding mamas, it is always recommended to do breast milk baths — 1-2 oz in a tiny bath, with baby staying in as long as possible, then patting dry.

Here are multiple types of baths to try. Remember to start small and dilute, and please always patch test with the heavily diluted mixture. This list goes from gentle to strong, so please go slowly.

  • Option 1: Kefir bath (add 1/2 cup of kefir to a lukewarm bath — this is very gentle and effective).
  • Option 2: Oatmeal (put uncooked oatmeal in a cotton cheesecloth or bag and let the water run through the bag to steep like tea).
  • Option 3: Baking soda bath (1/2 cup per bath).
  • Option 4: Seaweed bath (you can use seaweed in cheesecloth or buy a seaweed product for baths).
  • Option 5: Add apple cider vinegar to the bath (dilute to a minimum of 1 part ACV to 25 parts water).
  • Option 6: Add about 1 cup of dead sea salt to a bath.
  • Option 7 (only if staph is present): 2 tablespoons Manuka honey and 3 drops oregano oil, mixed well into the water so it doesn’t collect (no essential oil), or alternatively make a strong tea from fresh oregano and add a few drops to the bath, increasing as tolerated.

Continue to address staph for 60-90 days after symptoms have resolved. Always continue any type of lubricant that works for your eczema patches for 60-90 days after the patches have cleared.

For weeping eczema patches: apply Manuka honey or seaweed (mix seaweed with hot water into a paste, and use once it cools) to the eczema area, and cover with cabbage, plantain weed, lettuce, burdock, or sage leaves, which are healing. If you have no leaves, use plastic wrap (necessary), wear cotton over it, and wash off in the morning, then apply an edible oil or animal fat. Continue to apply whatever works for 60-90 days after the last patch is clear.

Ointments

See which one works for your little one — every single body is different, and their microbes and skin require different ointments. Here are a few, but please patch test and listen to the body. Apply after a bath, when the skin is clean.

  • Kefir as lotion.
  • Zoebeebeauty Charcoal and Oat Salve (try this one first).
  • Tallow (Fancy Farms makes a baby face cream if you want to buy one).
  • Zoebeebeauty The Green Cream — spirulina and zinc.
  • Shea butter.
  • Ozonated oil (olive oil with 99% oxygen).
  • Black seed oil.
  • Emu oil.
  • OmNutra Staph.

The Sun

The sun is an incredible tool for eczema. Please get a minimum of 1 hour of sunrise morning sun (UVA). When UVB is present, usually after 9:30am depending on where you are located, make sure to do small, short bursts of UVB sun exposure. UVA is healing, and UVB is healing as well, and can really help eczema. More is not better — burning will make it worse, so keep it to a short, small burst until it’s tolerated. Please see our guide, “Safe Sun Exposure Explained.”

Babies under 6-12 months do not fully have their sweat glands developed yet, so it’s important that they do not overheat with eczema. All babies and children benefit from being “aired out,” so being naked outside is very important and healing for our bodies. Keep them cool and in the shade, and do tiny, small bursts of sun exposure midday (in UVA), then back into the shade — do not allow burning to occur.

Supplements

  • Fermented cod liver oil (for kids and adults).
  • ION Gut Health for Kids — Dr. Zach Bush (minerals, fulvic acid).

Laundry

No scents, “parfum” or perfumes, no fragrance, no harsh chemicals, no bleach, no Oxy Clean. We have an easy and incredibly inexpensive laundry soap recipe available (search the page). This is necessary for everyone in the home. Always do an “extra rinse” or two to make sure all soap is off the clothes if using a store-bought detergent. Suggestions for store-bought laundry detergent: Grandma’s Laundry Soap (find on Amazon), or Branch Basics.

Cleaning

  • Dust often (dust plays a huge part in irritation).
  • Use lint roller sheets before bed (use only natural fibre with no chemicals — “stain resistant” or “fire retardant” — for bedding).
  • Wash sheets as often as possible, and do not dry on hot (it makes the sheets too absorbent and dry).
  • Vacuum your home often.
  • Use air filters for your home.

Invest in an air filter for continued dust removal for irritation (this really helped my son) — found on Amazon; you don’t need the expensive Air Doctor, I use a Winix. Change and clean it often. Alternatively, use plants to clean the air, specifically Areca Palm, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, and the Money Plant. The plants metabolise the particles in the air.

To use plants, follow the recommendations below for a 1,000 sq ft home, adjusting accordingly for your space:

  • Areca Palm: 10 shoulder-height plants (1 per 100 sq ft, or 4 per person in shared areas).
  • Sansevieria: 12-16 waist-high plants in bedrooms (6-8 per person).
  • Money Plant: 10-12 trailing vines throughout high-chemical areas (1 per 100 sq ft minimum).

C-Section Babies

If baby was born by C-Section and/or is formula-fed, please see “Week Twenty Six” for a plan to replant birth microbes.

Expected Reversal

Everyone is different, so be sure to give your little one a couple of years for reversal. You should have evidence of improvement, even if only a little, after finding and removing triggers and incorporating the baths and ointments that work best for your child’s skin. You may even find improvement after the first summer. Please note that winter itself can be a trigger, so if it pops back in a little, it does not mean you are doing anything wrong or that things are not working — just continue with what you already know works, and anticipate a new level of reversal the next summer. A great way to think of levels of eczema reversal is “by the summers.” If your child does not find healing in a few summers, it is time to look at heavy metals, although there is no reason to start there — the terrain of the body must be rebuilt before it can handle a big cleanse of any kind.

Microbes That Antagonise Staph

As you build your little one’s terrain with the foods needed, tighten their gut junctions with the Intense Gut Healing Phase, and rebuild their little body with healing foods, you can begin to explore the microbes below, which are known antagonists to staph.

A few specific, commercially available strains are known to inhibit Staphylococcus species. Among the Lactobacillus species, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (found in Culturelle) is widely used in probiotic supplements for its beneficial effects on gut health, Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 is available in supplements like BioGaia, and Lactobacillus casei Shirota is found in the probiotic drink Yakult. Among Bacillus species, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 and Bacillus licheniformis ATCC 14580 are used in some probiotic supplements, though more commonly in animal feed. Enterococcus faecium E100 is used similarly, mostly in animal feed and as a direct-fed microbial. And among Streptococcus species, Streptococcus salivarius K12 is available in probiotic lozenges and sprays such as BLIS K12, designed to support oral health.

 

 

I am so proud of you!!!