Case Study-Naturopathic Treatment of Pediatric Eczema

Naturopathic Treatment Plan by Dr. Coleen Murphy ND, LAc.

 

Background

Skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis are fairly common in children and are often treated with pharmaceutical interventions such as cortico-steroids, anti-inflammatories and immune suppressants. Families looking for holistic solutions to eczema will find that naturopathic doctors have the diagnosis and treatment capabilities to treat the root cause of eczema in a way to supports and builds the immune system while calming the inflammation response.

 

History

In this case study of one of my patients, a 5-year old boy presents with a moderate case of eczema which is painful and itchy. The child is having trouble sleeping and the family MD has prescribed cortico-steroids both orally and topically. The family is concerned this is a systemic issue since there are known food allergies in the child and the family has a history of auto-immune conditions. They want to treat this naturally and want to get to the root cause of the problem since they know that external skin manifestations are often signals to deeper, constitutional health challenges.

 

Diagnosis and Treatment

At the first appointment, existing labs were reviewed, IgA/IgE food allergy panel and stool analysis was ordered. The tests showed sensitivity to gluten and dairy and the stool sample showed dysbiosis in the intestinal flora with significant candida overgrowth.

 

The treatment plan included:

-Diet modification

-Pre-biotic and pro-biotic supplementation and diet recommendations

-Vitamin and mineral supplementation

-A custom herbal tincture blend to take internally

-An herbal topical healing salve to reduce itch and heal the skin damage

-Custom bath recipe

-Homeopathy-acute and constitutional

-Review and modification of externally used home products that may be irritants

 

Results

As you can see from the pictures, the results speak for themselves. These results did take six months but in that time frame we were successful to nurture a growing immune system, implement the naturopathic principle of ‘treat the cause’ all while respecting the bodies innate self-healing mechanism.

Auto-immune conditions like eczema and psoriasis arise from within, when the body attacks itself. Treating autoimmunity with anti-inflammatory drugs does not address the root cause of the problem and weakens the immune system today, and in the future.

 

Conclusion

The naturopathic treatment plan for this patient is unique to the individual and is not presented as a quick fix. Sticking to the plan can be tough for a 5-year old, especially the diet modification, but when the child begins to see the results they are motivated to follow through and learn a valuable life lesson.

It is possible that once the source of inflammation is removed and the GI tract is completely healed, this child may eat wheat, gluten and/or dairy again in some form without problem in the future.

Skin conditions are often a sign that we need to improve our diet, and increase the amount of good fats in our diet such as coconut oil, olive oil and omega/EPA/DHA rich foods including avocados and fish is good for everyone, but especially for psoriasis and eczema sufferers.

 

Copyright 2017 Dr. Coleen Murphy ND, LAc.

www.natmedworks.com

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