Exema

April 19, 2003

Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

painful and irritating. He has had it since he was about 18 mos. but it has

been much worse since we moved from the West Coast to the East. I have tried

aromatherapy oils, massage oils, over-the-counter soaks, and a hfs natural

alternative to hydra-cortisone called Florasone. The latter worked for a bit

but only to control it not to clear it up. I really want to avoid cortisone

cream but I am sick of my son being so unhappy (not to mention unpleasant!).

We are more or less vegan-the only dairy he consumes is organic yougurt and

I cut this out of our diet for a full 3 mos with no change. I use a natural

laundry detergent, mostly vinegar to clean, we have no pets. The only thing

I can't change right now is the fact that we have chlorinated water...which

I suspect is a big part of his problem. Any advice??? His daycare has been

pressuring me to use the cortisone cream. I am about to if I can't think of

a natural alternative. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active and has not

suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think it is due to

all the raw garlic I make him eat! Any help would be appreciated.

Madeline

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April 21, 2003

Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James & Phyllis Balch has some

natural recommendations for treating eczema (it is listed under dermatitis in

this book). They are too lengthy to list completely, but you may want to

look at any food allergies - eczema & intestinal problems tend to run in the

same families.

Also consider rubbing a chamomile cream or diluted chamomile tea on his skin.

You can also try tea tree oil, or a mixture of goldenseal root powder with

vitamin E oil and a little honey (if you don't avoid honey) and apply this

topically. Good luck, & there are a lot of other suggestions in the book I

mentioned.

Christa

April 21, 2003

On Sat, 19 Apr 2003, Madeline White wrote:

> Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

> painful and irritating. He has had it since he was about 18 mos. but it has

> been much worse since we moved from the West Coast to the East. I have tried

> aromatherapy oils, massage oils, over-the-counter soaks, and a hfs natural

> alternative to hydra-cortisone called Florasone. The latter worked for a bit

> but only to control it not to clear it up.

Have you taken him to an allergist or a dermatologist? Since the most

obvious solutions (including cutting out dairy, which I notice you tried)

haven't worked, this may take more in-depth investigation. I know many

different kinds of allergies can cause or exacerbate exema, so that might

be a particularly useful avenue to look into. Also, it's worth getting a

formal diagnosis, or second opinion if you already have a diagnosis.

Skin problems aren't always what they seem, and even doctors can misread

them. My husband's family has a long history of misdiagnosed skin

problems to prove that. If you don't like the treatment the doctor

suggests you can always ignore it, but knowledge is power and an accurate

diagnosis is key to finding the right treatment.

Good luck finding a solution. I feel for your little guy. I hope his

skin clears up soon.

----

Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered

three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the

purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each

nonexisted in an entirely different way ...

-- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad "

April 21, 2003

<<My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really painful and

irritating ..<snip>.. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active and has

not suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think it is

due to all the raw garlic I make him eat!>>

FWIW, I have very serious skin reactions whenever I touch onions or

garlic. If you've tried everything else, why not try no garlic for 3

days to see if that helps?

Liz

April 22, 2003

Madeline

A friend of mine said that her husband had a horrible, chronic skin problem

for years (exema or psoriasis) and it went away almost immediately when he

started taking Noni Juice. I wonder if this might help your son. She said

that the Noni Juice sold in stores is not pure and it makes a real

difference. Her husband got his from an independent distributor. If you

are interested, I can get the information for you.

~Marvelyn

> Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

> painful and irritating. Any help would be appreciated.

>

> Madeline

April 22, 2003

Hi Madeline,

FWIW, my mother-in-law had exema very badly. A friend of hers who also had

exema, recommended that she try giving up wheat (in all its different forms).

She did and now she has no problems with exema.

God's Peace,

Gayle

" Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic

with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong ... for sometime in your

life you will have been all of these. " Author Unknown

April 22, 2003

When you eat a lot of garlic, garlic oil can be excreted through the skin.

That's one of the reasons why it helps prevent fleas when you feed it to

pets. The garlic could be iritating your child's skin. I agree with Liz,

try laying off the garlic for a while.

Phil

" It's easy to say, 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my

problem'. Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those

people my heroes. " - Fred Rogers

April 23, 2003

Out of curiosity - did your son take any antibiotics before he was 18 months

or did you receive antibiotics during labor or while pregnant. My doctor

wants to give me antibiotics via IV while in labor but I read that doing so

could cause my child to have the problems your son is having.

-

" Madeline White " <madeline_killian

Saturday, April 19, 2003 1:33 PM

Exema

> Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

> painful and irritating. He has had it since he was about 18 mos. but it

has

> been much worse since we moved from the West Coast to the East. I have

tried

> aromatherapy oils, massage oils, over-the-counter soaks, and a hfs natural

> alternative to hydra-cortisone called Florasone. The latter worked for a

bit

> but only to control it not to clear it up. I really want to avoid

cortisone

> cream but I am sick of my son being so unhappy (not to mention

unpleasant!).

> We are more or less vegan-the only dairy he consumes is organic yougurt

and

> I cut this out of our diet for a full 3 mos with no change. I use a

natural

> laundry detergent, mostly vinegar to clean, we have no pets. The only

thing

> I can't change right now is the fact that we have chlorinated

water...which

> I suspect is a big part of his problem. Any advice??? His daycare has been

> pressuring me to use the cortisone cream. I am about to if I can't think

of

> a natural alternative. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active and has

not

> suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think it is due

to

> all the raw garlic I make him eat! Any help would be appreciated.

>

> Madeline

>

> _______________

> Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

>

> For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at

http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

http://www.vrg.org/family.

>

April 23, 2003

Thank you, Marvelyn. I am interested. What is Noni Juice? I am in

Canada-Toronto area, so perhaps a website would be most useful if you have

it. Or the name of a reputable company. I'll do some searching on the

Internet myself. Thanks! Madeline

> " Marvelyn and Trey Granger " <cgranger

>

>Re: Exema

>Mon, 21 Apr 2003 23:34:47 -0500

>

>Madeline

>

>A friend of mine said that her husband had a horrible, chronic skin problem

>for years (exema or psoriasis) and it went away almost immediately when he

>started taking Noni Juice. I wonder if this might help your son. She said

>that the Noni Juice sold in stores is not pure and it makes a real

>difference. Her husband got his from an independent distributor. If you

>are interested, I can get the information for you.

>

>~Marvelyn

>

> > Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

> > painful and irritating. Any help would be appreciated.

> >

> > Madeline

>

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April 23, 2003

Liz

I hope that is it! He loves garlic and I encourage everyone in the house to

take a clove of raw garlic mixed with honey everyday. Anti-bacterial,

anti-viral and all that. It would make my life tremendously easy if it turns

out to be as simple as that. I'll try it and let you know. Either way, I

appreciate the advice. Madeline

> " E. R. Bakwin " <bakwin

>

>Re: Exema

>Mon, 21 Apr 2003 13:56:20 -0500

>

><<My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really painful and

>irritating ..<snip>.. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active and has

>not suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think it is

>due to all the raw garlic I make him eat!>>

>

>FWIW, I have very serious skin reactions whenever I touch onions or

>garlic. If you've tried everything else, why not try no garlic for 3

>days to see if that helps?

>

>Liz

>

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April 23, 2003

* My doctor wants to give me antibiotics via IV while in labor

*

Did you test positive for Group B Strep? I know that this is the recommended

treatment for GBS. I tested + in my second pg, but decided against the

antibiotics, although I know that this goes against medical advice. I did

read some interesting studies done by major hospitals that found that, if you

had no other risk factors for passing GBS onto your baby, they found 0%

transmission to the baby during delivery. As I recollect, risk factors for

passing GBS onto the baby include fever during delivery, prolonged rupture of

membranes (something like your water breaking & you not delivering for over

12 hrs.), and some other things that I can't remember now.

Just thought that I'd post my 2 cents in case you are wrestling with the

antibiotics for this reason.

Christa Novelli, MPH

April 23, 2003

He didn't, I did. In about my 5th month I was plagued by what I believe was

a kidney infection. Nothing showed up on the first two tests and by the time

I had the 3rd, I'd been unable to sleep for a week. So, when they said there

was *something* (hadn't I told them all along?) and suggested an antibiotic,

I agreed. (They had first prescribed a sleeping pill which I refused to

take.) If I knew then what I know now, I would never have gone to a doctor

but rather a naturopath. As it turned out, I needed 2 rounds of antibiotics.

I really regret it but my midwife was not as supportive or informative as I

would have hoped and she was my first encounter with alternative medicine.

It has been a while, but is your doc suggesting the IV because you tested

positive for group " B " strep? If so, I have read that there are alternative

precautions though can't remember exactly where-3 years seems like a

lifetime! Perhaps someone else would know??? In any case, good luck!

Madeline

> " admartin " <admartin

>

>Re: Exema

>Tue, 22 Apr 2003 20:31:58 -0400

>

>Out of curiosity - did your son take any antibiotics before he was 18

>months

>or did you receive antibiotics during labor or while pregnant. My doctor

>wants to give me antibiotics via IV while in labor but I read that doing so

>could cause my child to have the problems your son is having.

>

>-

> " Madeline White " <madeline_killian

>

>Saturday, April 19, 2003 1:33 PM

> Exema

>

> > Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

> > painful and irritating. He has had it since he was about 18 mos. but it

>has

> > been much worse since we moved from the West Coast to the East. I have

>tried

> > aromatherapy oils, massage oils, over-the-counter soaks, and a hfs

>natural

> > alternative to hydra-cortisone called Florasone. The latter worked for a

>bit

> > but only to control it not to clear it up. I really want to avoid

>cortisone

> > cream but I am sick of my son being so unhappy (not to mention

>unpleasant!).

> > We are more or less vegan-the only dairy he consumes is organic yougurt

>and

> > I cut this out of our diet for a full 3 mos with no change. I use a

>natural

> > laundry detergent, mostly vinegar to clean, we have no pets. The only

>thing

> > I can't change right now is the fact that we have chlorinated

>water...which

> > I suspect is a big part of his problem. Any advice??? His daycare has

>been

> > pressuring me to use the cortisone cream. I am about to if I can't think

>of

> > a natural alternative. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active and has

>not

> > suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think it is due

>to

> > all the raw garlic I make him eat! Any help would be appreciated.

> >

> > Madeline

> >

> > _______________

> > Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

> > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

> >

> > For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website

>at

>http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to

>http://www.vrg.org/family.

> >

April 23, 2003

Gayle

I am very afraid of that! What will we do with no wheat? We live in a

non-veg friendly area and if I can't get to a hfs in another town at least

there is always ww pasta or bread at the local grocery store. It seems like

such a big commitment, though, if it would clear it up, I'd be there! Does

anyone know of any books on wheat free diets or have any of you had

experience with one?

> " Gayle N-F " <quintmom

>

>Re: Exema

>Tue, 22 Apr 2003 09:11:45 -0400

>

>Hi Madeline,

>FWIW, my mother-in-law had exema very badly. A friend of hers who also had

>exema, recommended that she try giving up wheat (in all its different

>forms). She did and now she has no problems with exema.

>

>God's Peace,

>Gayle

> " Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,

>sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong ... for

>sometime in your life you will have been all of these. " Author Unknown

>

April 23, 2003

We have made it through 2 years of wheat and dairy free for ds. Since I

know that I can't make it to the hfs daily or even weekly, I've made sure

that I stock up on wheat free pastas, and we've discovered polenta, either

home made or in tubes from hfs or Trader Joe's. It's even organic. When we

make it to the hfs, I do buy wheat free " bread " , but ds only likes it fresh,

not toasted and he won't tolerate it frozen.

-

" Madeline White " <madeline_killian

Wednesday, April 23, 2003 2:34 PM

Re: Exema

> Gayle

>

> I am very afraid of that! What will we do with no wheat? We live in a

> non-veg friendly area and if I can't get to a hfs in another town at least

> there is always ww pasta or bread at the local grocery store. It seems

like

> such a big commitment, though, if it would clear it up, I'd be there! Does

> anyone know of any books on wheat free diets or have any of you had

> experience with one?

> " Gayle N-F " <quintmom

> >

> >Re: Exema

> >Tue, 22 Apr 2003 09:11:45 -0400

> >

> >Hi Madeline,

> >FWIW, my mother-in-law had exema very badly. A friend of hers who also

had

> >exema, recommended that she try giving up wheat (in all its different

> >forms). She did and now she has no problems with exema.

> >

> >God's Peace,

> >Gayle

> > " Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,

> >sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong ...

for

> >sometime in your life you will have been all of these. " Author Unknown

> >

April 23, 2003

We went to an allergist for my daughter's eczema. We thought she was allergic

to soy, but it turned out to be dairy. They just did the skin testing on her

back for the most common food allergies. It didn't hurt her and it was so

helpful. I stopped eating soy for a long time (because I was nursing) and it

wasn't even the problem. Although wheat is a common allergen, so is soy, dairy,

nuts, etc.

-

Madeline White

Wednesday, April 23, 2003 1:34 PM

Re: Exema

Gayle

I am very afraid of that! What will we do with no wheat? We live in a

non-veg friendly area and if I can't get to a hfs in another town at least

there is always ww pasta or bread at the local grocery store. It seems like

such a big commitment, though, if it would clear it up, I'd be there! Does

anyone know of any books on wheat free diets or have any of you had

experience with one?

> " Gayle N-F " <quintmom

>

>Re: Exema

>Tue, 22 Apr 2003 09:11:45 -0400

>

>Hi Madeline,

>FWIW, my mother-in-law had exema very badly. A friend of hers who also had

>exema, recommended that she try giving up wheat (in all its different

>forms). She did and now she has no problems with exema.

>

>God's Peace,

>Gayle

> " Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,

>sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong ... for

>sometime in your life you will have been all of these. " Author Unknown

>

April 23, 2003

> My doctor

> wants to give me antibiotics via IV while in labor but I read that doing so

> could cause my child to have the problems your son is having.

Why does your Dr. want to give you antibiotics while in labor?

I'm a doula and childbirth educator and have suggestions to avoid IV's while

in labor.

Peace,

Laura

April 24, 2003

On Wed, 23 Apr 2003 ChristaNovelli wrote:

> * My doctor wants to give me antibiotics via IV while in labor

> *

>

> Did you test positive for Group B Strep? I know that this is the recommended

> treatment for GBS. I tested + in my second pg, but decided against the

> antibiotics, although I know that this goes against medical advice. I did

> read some interesting studies done by major hospitals that found that, if you

> had no other risk factors for passing GBS onto your baby, they found 0%

> transmission to the baby during delivery. As I recollect, risk factors for

> passing GBS onto the baby include fever during delivery, prolonged rupture of

> membranes (something like your water breaking & you not delivering for over

> 12 hrs.), and some other things that I can't remember now.

My niece contracted Group B strep during labor and ended up spending her

first week of life in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). I don't

believe my sister had any either of the risk factors mentioned. So the

risk is real, as are the consequences if it's not treated. Plus, the

week-long stay in NICU interfered with my sister's attempts to get

breastfeeding started and my niece ended up being bottle-fed for her whole

infancy, contrary to her parents' desires.

Not every strep-B+ mother is going to have to go through the same thing,

of course, but I wanted to mention my sister's experience as an alternate

viewpoint.

----

Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered

three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the

purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each

nonexisted in an entirely different way ...

-- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad "

April 24, 2003

**My niece contracted Group B strep during labor and ended up spending her

first week of life in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). I don't

believe my sister had any either of the risk factors mentioned. So the

risk is real, as are the consequences if it's not treated. Plus, the

week-long stay in NICU interfered with my sister's attempts to get

breastfeeding started and my niece ended up being bottle-fed for her whole

infancy, contrary to her parents' desires.

Not every strep-B+ mother is going to have to go through the same thing,

of course, but I wanted to mention my sister's experience as an alternate

viewpoint.**

The two risk factors that I mentioned were not the only ones looked at in the

studies I read, I just can't remember the others. Anyway, doing the iv

antibiotics is the recommended course; I just didn't feel comfortable with

it. I can't say that my choice is the only way to go, just another option to

look at. I am so sorry to hear about your niece, but glad that she didn't

have any lasting damage. I may have just been lucky. One person does not a

case study make!

Christa

April 25, 2003

> They just did the skin testing on her back for the most common food

> allergies. It didn't hurt her and it was so helpful.

FYI,

Skin tests have many false positives and negatives. You might want to retest

using a blood test. They are much more accurate.

Peace,

Laura

April 27, 2003

Madeline,

I have eczema, and my children suffer occasional bouts of it. There are

a couple things I have found to help very much. I don't use anything

with any petroleum in it on my skin. You may be surprised to know that

most plastics, most detergents (including dish detergent, which he may

ingest residually,) and most soap, skin care, and foods have petroleum

derivatives in them. Any food colorings with numbers in them (re: red

40, blue lake #4, etc, ) are petrol based' my oldest son has flare ups

and hyperactivity when he has ingested these things, any soap with food

coloring, even essential oils irritate my skin. I have yet to find any

soap that doesn't cause me to flare up, or get a yeast infection. To

find out which products cause him issues, there are two things I have

done; use only warm water to cleanse his skin, and a mix of a

concentrated calendula tea, raw aloe vera gel, and witch hazel to clean

his diaper area ( I can send you the recipe if you like) and then

slather him in organic unscented coconut oil, (spectrum makes a good

one) Also, the sun is excellent for clearing up all kinds of skin

problems. Half hour at a time and you won't need sun block. I also use

heliotherapy, which is sun lamps, basically tanning, but he is probably

too young for that. If he is itching his brains out, run a tub of very

hot water and dump half a pound of rolled oats in the bath tub; let him

get in when it is cooled to luke warm. Good luck!!

Love,

Natalie Joy &

her boys

Madeline White [madeline_killian]

Saturday, April 19, 2003 12:33 PM

Exema

Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

painful and irritating. He has had it since he was about 18 mos. but it

has

been much worse since we moved from the West Coast to the East. I have

tried

aromatherapy oils, massage oils, over-the-counter soaks, and a hfs

natural

alternative to hydra-cortisone called Florasone. The latter worked for a

bit

but only to control it not to clear it up. I really want to avoid

cortisone

cream but I am sick of my son being so unhappy (not to mention

unpleasant!).

We are more or less vegan-the only dairy he consumes is organic yougurt

and

I cut this out of our diet for a full 3 mos with no change. I use a

natural

laundry detergent, mostly vinegar to clean, we have no pets. The only

thing

I can't change right now is the fact that we have chlorinated

water...which

I suspect is a big part of his problem. Any advice??? His daycare has

been

pressuring me to use the cortisone cream. I am about to if I can't think

of

a natural alternative. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active and has

not

suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think it is due

to

all the raw garlic I make him eat! Any help would be appreciated.

Madeline

_______________

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April 29, 2003

Thanks Natalie. And everyone who offered advice for my son's exema. We had

been doing a lot of what was mentined but cutting out the garlic-I had never

thought of it- really seemed to help. It didn't cure anything but it cut

down on what I would call 'flare ups'. If it stays this way, I think I can

make it til summer when the sun and salt water really clear it all up.

Here's hoping. In the meantime, I'm going to start looking for a 'natural'

doctor type around here. That way, if things get really bad, I'll have

someone to take him to.

FWIW, he came down with pink eye last week-it went through the daycare.

Being off the garlic, he was probably more susceptible...LOL! Anyway, not

keen to give him antibiotic eye drops, I thanked the doc, filled the

prescrip, and went home and continued treating him with the homeopathic

remedies (drops and pellets) I had picked up at the hfs. In 2 days, there

was a huge improvement. He's all better now. I really want to save the

antibiotics for when/if he really needs them...so far, so good.

Thanks again for all your advice. I sometimes wonder what I would do without

the collective wisdom of this group.

Madeline

> " Natalie Yarbrough " <natalie

>

>RE: Exema

>Sat, 26 Apr 2003 20:28:01 -0500

>

>Madeline,

>I have eczema, and my children suffer occasional bouts of it. There are

>a couple things I have found to help very much. I don't use anything

>with any petroleum in it on my skin. You may be surprised to know that

>most plastics, most detergents (including dish detergent, which he may

>ingest residually,) and most soap, skin care, and foods have petroleum

>derivatives in them. Any food colorings with numbers in them (re: red

>40, blue lake #4, etc, ) are petrol based' my oldest son has flare ups

>and hyperactivity when he has ingested these things, any soap with food

>coloring, even essential oils irritate my skin. I have yet to find any

>soap that doesn't cause me to flare up, or get a yeast infection. To

>find out which products cause him issues, there are two things I have

>done; use only warm water to cleanse his skin, and a mix of a

>concentrated calendula tea, raw aloe vera gel, and witch hazel to clean

>his diaper area ( I can send you the recipe if you like) and then

>slather him in organic unscented coconut oil, (spectrum makes a good

>one) Also, the sun is excellent for clearing up all kinds of skin

>problems. Half hour at a time and you won't need sun block. I also use

>heliotherapy, which is sun lamps, basically tanning, but he is probably

>too young for that. If he is itching his brains out, run a tub of very

>hot water and dump half a pound of rolled oats in the bath tub; let him

>get in when it is cooled to luke warm. Good luck!!

>

> Love,

> Natalie Joy &

> her boys

>

>Madeline White [madeline_killian]

>Saturday, April 19, 2003 12:33 PM

>

> Exema

>

>Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is really

>painful and irritating. He has had it since he was about 18 mos. but it

>has

>been much worse since we moved from the West Coast to the East. I have

>tried

>aromatherapy oils, massage oils, over-the-counter soaks, and a hfs

>natural

>alternative to hydra-cortisone called Florasone. The latter worked for a

>bit

>but only to control it not to clear it up. I really want to avoid

>cortisone

>cream but I am sick of my son being so unhappy (not to mention

>unpleasant!).

>We are more or less vegan-the only dairy he consumes is organic yougurt

>and

>I cut this out of our diet for a full 3 mos with no change. I use a

>natural

>laundry detergent, mostly vinegar to clean, we have no pets. The only

>thing

>I can't change right now is the fact that we have chlorinated

>water...which

>I suspect is a big part of his problem. Any advice??? His daycare has

>been

>pressuring me to use the cortisone cream. I am about to if I can't think

>of

>a natural alternative. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active and has

>not

>suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think it is due

>to

>all the raw garlic I make him eat! Any help would be appreciated.

>

>Madeline

>

>_______________

>Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

>http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

>

April 29, 2003

I don't know exactly what herbs are in it but I strongly recommend

using a hepi cleanse douche. A good freind who tested GBS positive

used it and 3 weeks later tested neg. Three weeks after that she

was still neg.

Now, for planning to use antibiotics during labor. That's not

evidence based care. In other words " it ain't broke, yet your

doctor wants to fix it " . The situation in which being GBS positive

is a risk is if you've experienced premature rupture of membranes.

In that case you can safely go up to 12 hours before there is a

legitimate cause for concern. To place you on IV antibiotics when

it is not medically indicated is as I said before not evidence based

care and can in fact do harm. The fluid IV can increase your fluid

levels to the point that it will decrease your heart rate and/or

that of your baby. That's when the cascade of interventions

begins. A dropping heart rate leads to the physician rupturing your

membranes and/or pitocin which leads to an epidural which leads to

your labor slowing which is dangerous because you're GBS positive

which than leads to the surgical birth of your baby. This may sound

like a gross exaggeration but sadly, it happens every day.

I encourage you to look into hepi cleansing, I encourage you to

refuse all vaginal exams which are also not medically indicated and

will give the GBS bacteria a free ride right up to your cervix when

it probably wasn't there to begin with (Trust me, if you're in labor

you'll know it you don't need a digital exam to tell you).

ask your doc what their c-section rate is, better yet, consider

switching providers, after all you're buying a service, it should

meet your needs. Most importantly I strongly encourage you to read

anything and everything you can get your hands on about GBS, pre-

natal care and birth choices.

I wish you and your babe health and hapiness.

Peace, Stephanie

, " admartin@e... " <admartin@s...>

wrote:

> Out of curiosity - did your son take any antibiotics before he was

18 months

> or did you receive antibiotics during labor or while pregnant. My

doctor

> wants to give me antibiotics via IV while in labor but I read that

doing so

> could cause my child to have the problems your son is having.

>

> -

> " Madeline White " <madeline_killian@h...>

>

> Saturday, April 19, 2003 1:33 PM

> Exema

>

> > Please help. My 3 year old (just turned) son has exema and it is

really

> > painful and irritating. He has had it since he was about 18 mos.

but it

> has

> > been much worse since we moved from the West Coast to the East.

I have

> tried

> > aromatherapy oils, massage oils, over-the-counter soaks, and a

hfs natural

> > alternative to hydra-cortisone called Florasone. The latter

worked for a

> bit

> > but only to control it not to clear it up. I really want to avoid

> cortisone

> > cream but I am sick of my son being so unhappy (not to mention

> unpleasant!).

> > We are more or less vegan-the only dairy he consumes is organic

yougurt

> and

> > I cut this out of our diet for a full 3 mos with no change. I

use a

> natural

> > laundry detergent, mostly vinegar to clean, we have no pets. The

only

> thing

> > I can't change right now is the fact that we have chlorinated

> water...which

> > I suspect is a big part of his problem. Any advice??? His

daycare has been

> > pressuring me to use the cortisone cream. I am about to if I

can't think

> of

> > a natural alternative. Otherwise, he is very healthy and active

and has

> not

> > suffered from a cold/earache/flu since he was about 1. I think

it is due

> to

> > all the raw garlic I make him eat! Any help would be

appreciated.

> >

> > Madeline

> >

> > _______________

> > Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

> > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

> >

> > For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG

website at

> http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for

families go to

> http://www.vrg.org/family.

> >

May 16, 2003

hi,

i'm a bit off topic here but I am wondering if anyone has any ideas as to how

to obtain a hospital's c-section rate? i live in new york and i want to have my

baby at the elisabeth seaton birthing center (which has a 10% rate) but they do

transfer women with " complications " to st. vincent hospital with a (gulp) 30%

c-rate. I tried to do some research on the net but i didn't find much except for

a 1999 story on one hospital with a very low rate. Does anyone know of a website

group or such that can point me in the right direction. My first son was born

vaginally but i had to fight tooth and nail for it. I had to face an entire

staff that was intent on cutting me up injecting me and drugging me. I would

appreciate the input...

-

Stephanie

Tuesday, April 29, 2003 3:29 PM