Client ‘C’ - Childhood Eczema Case Study
Eczema is one of the most common conditions we support here at Hey Hey Mae. Parent's call us in distress, rightfully so, because their children are suffering from itchy and painful eczema. That is where we started with Client “C”. During our first call on April 18th, 2-year-old C’s parent’s concerns for him were:
Severe eczema all over body
Inability to sleep due to itching
Pretty consistent dry congestion in nose
Hadn't gained much weight over the course of a year
He was typical eczema client, with a side of a Tylenol reaction that was used to treat several days of a high fever, which ended with a rash. They’d been to several practitioners, tried a variety of scans and their corresponding recommendations, the pro-metabolic diet, did an HTMA, adrenal cocktails, colostrum, Shilajit…you get the picture. The theme of C’s second year was full-body pajamas, sinusitis, RSV, grouchy, limited-talking, food reactions, itching, and struggling with sleep.
We talked through his history, when symptoms began, where they were worse and I brought up the possibility of mold exposure, which made sense to his parents. They recalled a couple places they stayed that were musty and a past home that potentially had some mold issues. We walked through the timeline of rash development, cradle cap, pimples in his neck, occasional vomiting, rancid stools and chose to order an Organic Acids Test, GI-Map Stool test, and a food sensitivity test.
While we waited to get test results back, at the start of May, C had a reaction to what seemed to be the sun on an out-of-town trip. We suggested grabbing some Genexa Kid’s Allergy and limiting sun exposure to help his skin calm, for the time being. It did the trick!
Testing confirmed what we suspected: a bit of mold in the body, and a lot of fungus in the form of candida. Testing also confirmed:
Oxalates were a food compound his body was struggling to process
His blood sugar regulation was affected
Methylation markers suggested methylation differences
Bacterial levels were overall elevated
His body was struggling to clear the extra waste from fungus and bad bacteria
His family removed the foods from his MRT-176 food sensitivity test right away, which had him sleeping through the night again, immediately. Using stool and organic acid test results as a guide, we then worked through a 3-phase protocol over 3 months. The protocol included chewable “candy” enzymes and vitamins, a binder and a few herbal tinctures that disappear in a small cup of water, to support his body’s rebalancing and draining of unhelpful bacteria and fungus. He ate a low-mold diet, which is super toddler friendly and free of heavily processed foods and excess sugars.
Mom reported this week that all signs of eczema on his skin are gone, his language has exploded, he’s no longer mostly grouchy or crabby, and his belly has also deflated and doesn’t look as bloated as before. We’re in the wait of retesting, to be sure we’ve taken care of some of the harmful bacteria and fungus and have begun to reintroduce foods, but the hardest work for C's family is done.
My favorite part?
Besides how adorable, comfy and happy C looks now - his parents shared with me that a past pediatrician told them C would always struggle with eczema. That pediatrician said “just get used to it” and offered up the standard steroid as a single solution. While not all kiddos see resolution in 3 months, all have seen improvement or complete resolution within 6-12 months and there has always been a true root cause discovered underneath. For C, it was fungal overgrowth, bacterial imbalance and past mold exposures his body was struggling to keep up with.
In our practice each week, I chat with 10 or so folks on clarity calls who have gotten to the end of their rope in traditional medicine or told there are no answers. I’ll always be thankful that functional testing is there for us, to look at the body from another angle. To ask “why” instead of stopping at “this isn’t able to be helped or there is no diagnosis.” The Hey Hey team loves digging through facts and our knowledge of the human body’s function to find the root issue of dysfunction as we support the body in proper function. Always so glad to talk with you and yours about a healing path!
