4 years and 4 doctors couldn't compete with Google

Since The Phi was a baby we have been dealing with skin and allergy issues with her. We hoped she would outgrow it by 5, but she didn't. We have seen a pediatrician, 2 different allergist and a dermatologist trying to find something to help. Despite the daily medications and steroid creams, nothing has really worked. Recently her skin was going through one of her dry spells. It's not the typical dry skin, but so extreme that it cracks and bleeds. It itches her so badly she scratches until it bleeds. Her arms and legs were worse than I had seen in a while. The back of her knees, and the top of her feet were gashed up. Just getting into the tub for a bath made her cry in pain. I wish I had a picture to share. It looked something like this......


I kept on with her usual daily lotion regime and nothing helped. It had been a few weeks of The Phi suffering. While we were in Santa Barbara I just couldn't take it anymore. I turned to google and typed in "best doctor for eczema". The results brought up a place called the Eczema Center in San Diego. A place dedicated to helping children with eczema. I started reading through their site and they had a section on the therapies they use. One of them was something called "wet wraps". Yes it is what it sounds like. Putting wet bandages on the skin. I then went and googled "wet wraps" and found a ton of people who had used wet wraps for dry skin issues. Then I found a Mom who's son had severe eczema. So bad he was admitted into the hospital. The hospital used wet wraps to treat him and this Mom found a simple way to use this treatment at home. It was as simple as wet tube socks. It seemed so simple but I had to try it. So that day we headed to the store and bought a pack of men's tube socks. That night I followed the instructions. I soaked 4 socks in her bath water. After I got The Phi out of the tub I applied her steroid cream and a heavy dose of her lotion. Then I wrung out the socks and put one on each arm and one on each leg. Then I put a dry tube sock over the wet ones, put on her pajamas and put her to bed. In just 2 days I saw amazing results. Her skin was soft and hydrated. Her cuts were healing because she was not scratching them at night. She was more refreshed in the mornings from getting better sleep at night. It was amazing.

Okay here is my rant....

4 damn year and 4 freakin doctors and not one, NOT ONE ever recommended this simple solution. Such a damn simple way to help my kid who has been suffering for years. No medicine, no steroid cream, just lotion and wet socks. After all the different medications and lotions doctors have prescribed, good ol' Google found something that worked. Something that finally brought some relief to The Phi.