Eczema

So I always felt badly for kids I saw with eczema. Looked painful and unpleasant, and I always thanked God that C never had to deal with it. Little did I know. Sure enough, around two months ago, I noticed that there was a rough dry patch behind her knees. It soon spread and started turning red and raw. Then scabby. I also noticed that where the earlobe met her jawline, she had what looked like a scabby crack. Argh. The pediatrician confirmed it: eczema. Argh. No doubt caused in part by her shabby diet (more on that in another post).

The ped recommended the usual. Hydrocortisone, a steroid. But then she stopped herself because she knew me better. Haha. What I didn’t tell her was that I was already on it. I had ordered Heimlich Clear Cream, which had gotten AMAZING reviews, from Amazon and was waiting for it in the mail. In the meantime, when we got home, I cracked open a homemade calendula salve I had bought a couple of years ago from a tiny homeopathic store in Switzerland. It had been touted as a cure-all for skin ailments, and I had just found it again going through my medicine cabinet. Because I knew I had to wait a couple of days for the Heimlich Clear Cream, I thought, what the heck? Might as well give this calendula salve a try. Astoundingly, in a 48-hour period, C’s eczema had cleared up considerably. But then I received the Heimlich Clear Cream, which I was determined to use since I had just spent $30 on it. And even more astoundingly, over a weekend, C’s eczema had cleared up completely. The only thing left is some slight discoloration behind the knees, no doubt discoloration from the scabbing.

Curious, I looked at the ingredients. You guessed it: calendula. Plus arnica, a powerful natural anti-inflammatory. Coincidence?

I laugh now when I read reviews about Heimlich Clear Cream on Amazon. There is so much skepticism out there, evidenced by comments like, “This cream must contain steroids…Medically speaking, the results cannot be explained by the company’s listed ingredients.” That kind of comment obviously comes from a reviewer so biased by Western medicine that s/he is incapable of entertaining the possibility that homeopathic remedies may be just as effective as Western medicine sometimes.

Anyway, if $30 is too steep a price for you, California Baby makes its own calendula cream, which is apparently pretty effective as well. Less than half of what Heimlich costs, but as effective? Would love to hear from someone who’s used it.

• http://www.amazon.com/Heimlich-Natural-Clear-Cream-Delicate/dp/B003CNUN2C/ref=sr_1_1?
• http://www.amazon.com/California-Baby-509-2-Calendula-Cream/dp/B0010Z4N8E/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1300075190&sr=1-1ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1300074900&sr=8-1

In the meantime, C and I are happy campers!!!!