What's bugging kids?

Did you know Eczema affects 1 in 5 children?

One of the top reasons that pediatric clients come to see us here at Foundations Wellness is Eczema. Eczema (also known as dermatitis) is a non contagious, inflammatory skin condition that causes dry, itchy, scaly, red skin. During a flare up the skin can be cracked, sore and raw. Eczema skin may be prone to impetigo or superinfection with staph or strep bacteria. Who wants to have one issue that leads to another?! We certainly don’t want that for our clients.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, eczema affects 1 in 5 children.

Of these kids, 60% will develop symptoms within the first year of life. These symptoms can range in severity and as you can imagine, quality of life can be greatly impacted.

Itching
Pain
Difficulty sleeping
Missed social engagements

Kids can be downright miserable with eczema.

Depending on where the eczema is located, it can have a significant impact on social-emotional development and well-being on top of the physical symptoms.

Why Does this Happen?

While we often want to troubleshoot changing body wash detergents, etc. that is likely only scratching the surface of the real issue. Leading integrative and holistic pediatrician, Dr. Elisa Song says in her book Healthy Kids, Happy Kids, "eczema is a multifaceted concern that may have many underlying triggers. Food allergies and sensitivities, environmental allergens, mold, psychological stress and other factors all play a role."

What can be done?

At Foundations Wellness our top priority is to DIG DEEP to determine those triggers and help decrease inflammation in the body. This is done using safe, natural and holistic interventions to help resolve the itchy, dry patches while working on rebalancing the gut microbiome. We use non invasive testing to show us what particular things may be triggering the inflammation in each child as each child is different. Addressing the diet is also a must. We work with patients to develop a plan to remove inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, citrus and nuts. We will also dive deep to determine possible triggers in the child's environment as there are many things that may impact the gut microbiome that may not even be realized. Many times psychological stress is a part of the picture so working on the vagus nerve is also important.

The good news is that here at Foundations Wellness, we are seeing GREAT IMPROVEMENTS in kids with eczema by focusing on these priorities. This is something that takes hard work, diligence and patience but we are dedicated to your child's wellness and partnering with you every step of the way!