Saturday, January 12, 2008

The "E" Word

It's the younger brother of the F word, and not nearly as foul, but the consequences of uttering it in a crowed room could clear the room just as fast. (OK, not really, but you get my point...)

I think my kid has Eczema.

I have been hearing a lot about eczema lately, it's been a heavy topic on the neighbourhood (not mine) list serve. I DREAD eczema, and anything that may possibly be food allergy related. The thought of food allergies in my family makes me tremble in my boots! OK, we mostly don't do dairy, and we've dealt with that just fine, but having to figure out if soy, wheat, fish or eggs needs to be eliminated from our diet sounds about as much fun as poking plastic (toxic plastic...there's another can of worms) forks in my eyes!

Seriously, all you gluten free-ers, and celiacs out there who successfully abstain from all the things that make you go coo coo, I have only the heartiest admiration for you. (And did you know that the spell checker has never even HEARD of you people?? You should tell them!!) I tried once to eliminate wheat, but I like to eat, and I have the will power of a gnat, and if you place a big bowl of chocolate and stomach cramps next to a big bowl of no chocolate and no stomach cramps, I'd choose the full bowl of coco coated crampy goodness any day!

So, now the kid has potential food allergies. Which means he's going to have to abstain, which means I too am going to have to abstain, and that just takes the fun out of everything! That'll darn near ruin christmas!

I think, I think the first step is to eliminate all the CRAP that he gets fed at daycare. We LOVE LOVE LOVE our daycare lady, and every little thing about her, but the food that G eats there is not quite what we're used to eating here. And understandably so, as this woman feeds a hoard at lunch, including my hollowed leg little trucker, and no one has time to pop homemade organic scones for 8 into the oven, while stirring the vegetarian lentil stew and wrangling 8 screeching kids. So the kids eat processed pizza from boxes. And foods of a similar vein. Now don't get me wrong, there's certainly no homemade organic scones baking in my oven, or veggie lentil stew simmering on my stove, but there is homemade bread from the bread machine. And vegetables, sometimes even grown in my own garden, and I think that's what we have to get back to.

If you were a daycare lady, would you be offended if someone sent their kid to you and started packing them their own lunch? I mean, that's the simplest thing to do right? She doesn't have to cook different for the whole brood, just feed my little rabbit his chopped up melon, and the other kids get their pizza and hot dogs and mac and cheese, and we'll all be happy!!

And in the mean time, I need something to clear this up. Suggestions?

5 comments:

Burgh Baby said...

I send lunch to daycare all the time. They serve the toddler equivalent of airline food that they buy from a service. Since I prefer that my kid eat something that resembles normal, healthy food every once in a while, I make her miss out on "potato smiles," chicken nuggets, and Spaghettios. I haven't figured out what to do about the donuts for breakfast thing just yet, but I'm working on it.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jen

Liam suffers from Exzema / impetigo / cold sores. It starts in dec and continues until May. It sucks. We have tried limiting sugar, milk, wheat,eggs.... and have settled on citric acids (grapefruit, oranges, clementines, juice etc) as the culprit. Not fun. We have a variety of creams that we apply with limited success. We have Neosporin, polysporin, Cortison, Bactroban, Abreva, etc etc. Nothing really works. I wish you much luck. Kristen

Howler said...

Pack your lunches - daycares are used to the growing number of food sensitivities (or should be!). Also FYI - when we took Cam in for RSV last year, we found out ecxema is connected to asthma; they often go hand in hand. Just a warning. (I've had asthma all my life, no ecxema)

Kendra said...

I was going to refer you to Kristen, my family eczema expert, but she responded on her own. I think that it's perfectly legit to pack griffin's lunch.
Kendra

Anonymous said...

I've had Asthma all my life too, and so much eczema as a kid I could not get a booster shot, the one that leaves a weird mark on your arm...I don't know if they still do that one anymore? But Grandma Lucas might have some words of wisdom...having dealt with me all my life.. I don't remember much other than being itchy in my elbows ( my worst spot)Mom and Dad were natural & Holistic before the masses caught on...maybe she has a trick up her sleeve?