Beyond the Creams: Root-Cause Solutions for Eczema with Andra McHugh

Welcome to The Perfect Stool: Understanding and Healing the Gut Microbiome. This is your host, Lindsey Parsons, and today I'll be speaking to Andra McHugh, podcaster, health coach, and founder of Eczema Kids, where she helps families overcome childhood eczema naturally without relying on pharmaceuticals. Through her eczema elimination program, Eczema Kids podcast, and product line, she empowers parents with holistic nutrition, detox, and lifestyle strategies to reverse eczema and restore their children's health. But before our conversation, if you haven't yet followed or subscribed to the show, be sure to do so. And if you want to get transcripts of the podcast, pop over to my website, HighDesertHealthCoaching.com, and sign up for my newsletter. You'll also get my free ebooklet, Finding Your Root Cause Through Stool and Organic Testing, when you sign up. And if you haven't yet done my quiz on which stool or functional medicine test would help you get to your root cause, you can find a link in the show notes and take that. Now on to the show. Welcome to the podcast, Andra.

Thanks, Lindsey. I'm really excited to be here.

So can you tell me what got you into working with children who have eczema?

Yeah, with most stories, right, it starts close to home. And at the time, 2 of my 3 children had severe, severe eczema. My third daughter was just born with it. They told me as I took her home from the hospital, she had a neonatal rash and it just got worse and worse and worse. And then her skin just drier and drier and drier. And then about a month in, her skin was just falling off head to toe. And simultaneously, my 2-year-old was looking the exact same way. And I took them into the pediatrician as one does when you have sick kids. And that's like, you know, I just, I don't know what to do here. It seems like eczema from my Googling. They're like, yeah, and this is really bad, really extreme. You need these 2 separate prescriptions for steroids, put both on both. Wear gloves yourself because they're admittedly toxic, throw some bleach in their bath, and then we'll just work with you on managing this. Cuz this is a chronic lifelong thing. And I was there holding my 2-year-old's hand, holding my month-old baby in my arms. I was like, that's just not gonna work. That's not gonna be good enough. And so that's what really started this journey.

Wow.

Yeah.

My son had eczema when he was a baby and I can't remember if it was like he literally came out with it, but it was very soon after birth.

Yeah.

So you're thinking like already in the womb, they already have like this problem. Is that literally happening? But it went away quickly. And were your kids born vaginally or C-section?

C-section. So I have 4 now.

Mine too.

Yeah. And so now I've had 4 cesareans, right?

Yeah.

The third one, I really tried for that not to happen and it still did. And so I know that was a big part of it. And then with my third one specifically, I came. I was a, a dental assistant and I was working in one of the biggest hospitals here in Denver. And I just have to figure that, that had a lot to do with it as well because of the constant exposure to chemicals and radiation and all the things that dentists, people in that industry are exposed to.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I'm, I'm, I'm assuming that my son's eczema went away as I started to breastfeed him and that, that probably helped with it. Is that something you've, you've noticed is helpful?

Yeah, absolutely. But I nursed, you know, my baby. Babies as long as I could exclusively. And then it helped a lot in turning around my third daughter's eczema cuz I was nursing. And so there was a lot that I could do, you know, all the supplements that I could take. And, but you gotta make sure that you're not going overboard or things like that. Right? Like that you're not detoxing yourself cuz then you're like putting that in the baby. But yes, that certainly helps. But I, at, on the same, the same token, they're all of my clients, everyone that comes to me has has done everything. They're eating right. They are exclusively breastfeeding. A lot of them have had unmedicated home births. A lot of them live on organic farms and it's still, we're still talking, we're still having this eczema conversation. So it's an, it's interesting.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah. And I, my son was not exclusively breastfed. I could not produce enough milk or he was so sleepy and he had jaundice in the beginning and that just started him off slow and he would just fall asleep during every feeding. So I had to supplement or else he would not have survived. But I mean, darn it, those hour-long feedings between the two breasts and the bottle, like literally, and then you were like, and now I'm supposed to start an hour and a half from now again, or, or an hour from now.

And now you just, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know. Okay. So is there a way to distinguish eczema from other skin issues?

Like, especially with my 2-year-old, I thought it was ringworm at first. It just started at this little spot on her inside of her thigh and I was working full-time, so she was with a nanny and. The nanny had ringworm, so I was like, well, cool. Like, I'm sure she has ringworm and just went from there.

Yeah.

I just, I would say it just is something that doesn't go away, right? You can get a rash or something from something acute, like a bug bite or, or whatever, a quick exposure. But if it's not going away, if it feels a little more chronic, that's a big signifier. It's eczema. And then psoriasis presents in a, in a, in a different way. And it's not as common in, in the pediatric community. But yeah, I would just say if it's, if it's something a little more longstanding than a couple of days, that's something to look at.

And does it get like scaly and itchy?

Eczema, and I think in Latin it means like the rash that itches, right? So usually itch is a strong component there. There's just so many different kinds of eczema. Like there's like this weepy eczema, which I found to be a little more like lung-based. And then there's just the dry, itchy, mobile type of eczema. And that's a little more liver-based. So it can present in a lot of different ways and As I said, like a lot of times it just moves throughout their body and a lot of people experience it as like flares and then it comes down and flares up again and parents can't quite identify what's flaring them. So is— there's not just one main thing except for that it doesn't just completely resolve.

Yeah. And does it typically start like in cracks? Like I remember my son's was in the crack in his arm. Is that— Typically like cracks on the arms and legs. Sure.

Yeah. And behind the knees, right? Like anywhere that's like moist and, and warmer. Yeah. Because it, yeah. Anyone, if you have, if you're contending with eczema, right, you have a, a higher count of staph on your skin. Like you just do. Mm-hmm. And so yeah, anywhere that that bacteria can thrive. But that said, it's not, and you know, like the reason that we're having this conversation is it's not a skin condition. Yeah. It really is. A gut problem and an immune system problem that's presenting on the skin. But yes, a lot of times it starts in those, those areas, the creases of the elbows, the creases of the knees, neck.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Ari, your ringworm story. I actually, my son, when he was probably about 3, had something on the back of his leg and I thought, oh, the eczema's come back. And then the, the woman who ran his daycare was like, he's got ringworm. You need to get rid of that. And he, he can't come back till it's gone. Like it's super contagious. And I was like, oh, okay, well I'm glad you identified that for me. And sure enough, Okay. Bring warm stuff. Took care of it lickety-split. Yeah. Yeah. But then later on when he was maybe like 10 or 11, say, you know how when you have a baby, they tell you back in the day they used to say use only Dreft as, as a clothes washing detergent. Now there's a lot of natural detergents, so they don't just say Dreft, I assume. But, but I, I followed that advice and then at some point I'm like, okay, like he's 10 now. I can probably start putting a little fragrance back into my laundry so it smells like something. So I just, you know, just a tiny little bit of like Whisker Tide or something in with that and just wasn't thinking about that at all. And so he started having this rash all down his mouth and we spent 9 months going from dermatologist to dermatologist, putting on different creams, whatever, nothing. And then I was like, wait a second, the laundry detergent, he's drooling on his pillow. It like all of a sudden occurred to me and I, I changed it back and went away and all. In a flash.

Oh, so lucky. Yeah. I mean, things like that are so aggravating for them because, right, they just have a compromised skin barrier. And so they're reacting to things that we should be able to withstand. And yeah, I just put lavender in our laundry to make it smell good.

Yeah. No, I've, I've long since renounced anything in my laundry. I'm like, okay, it'll just smell like whatever natural substances you want. So what's the approach that most dermatologists take towards eczema versus your approach?

I mean, the, the pediatrician said to me, use steroids. The basic, the protocol is suppress and kill, right? So, and it's just unfortunately long-term use of corticosteroids, it weakens the skin barrier even more. And the problem is like, one of the problems is they have a compromised skin barrier to begin with. So what happens is, is you start the steroids and it you do see relief often immediately. And you know, there's families out there, there's, I don't know what else to do. Like they've tried everything, they've gone down every avenue and they're barely eating anything. And so they're like, okay, let's give steroids a try. And they finally find relief. But then when they start to wean off and they start to, you know, try to get off of it, it comes back full force 'cause your body becomes dependent on it. Right. And you just need stronger and stronger doses to get the same effect. And then eventually it either stops working completely or you just can't outpace the drug. And then, you know, and there's also, biologics, which are being prescribed to kids younger and younger and younger. Like I've had toddlers that are being biologic. Wow.

That's crazy. Cuz that stuff can put you at risk of getting cancer. I mean, you don't wanna start that in childhood.

Sincerely. I mean, and they're, they're starting it. I had a client age 2 that they were giving that to her and, and it's just broke my heart and it broke her parents' heart too. They were in a very they had also just tried every single thing and, and they were in a very severe condition and they just didn't know what else to do. So yeah, that's, it's, it's suppress and kill steroids, biologics, antibiotics maybe, and, and bleach baths.

Okay. And so what is, what is your approach?

We don't do any of that. We, that's, if that's where you're coming from, then we just start to wean off of that. But what we do is we start where like any mere mortal parent can is in the kitchen because you're feeding your kids constantly. And so you can just start at their very next meal and you're just gonna want to make sure that they're eating low inflammation, low histamine, properly combined and properly prepared food. Ultimately we're creating a digestible meal for them every time. Meal and snack.

And are there certain foods that tend to be triggers for it, for eczema?

Yeah, certainly the, you know, the common allergens that people start off with, like the gluten and the dairy. Obviously excess sugar spikes the blood sugar and drives up inflammation. Nuts is textbook, eggs textbook eczema triggers, soy. So yeah, we do eliminate those initially because, you know, like if you've got a compromised gut lining or even just like a bruise on your arm and if someone someone keeps punching it routinely, that, that bruise is never ever gonna go away. So we are just dialing it back a little on the allergens that we know that there's at the very least an IgG sensitivity there. And, you know, we throw in some other fun things like pepper, like pepper's kind of high histamine, also just like a heat-inducing food and it just doesn't play well with kids with eczema or anyone with eczema really. So it's like some extra things like that. Ferments would be another one where they're hailed as like gut mecca, but really if you're starting at this place where you have severe eczema or any eczema at all and you need to repair and seal your gut lining, you're gonna wanna lay off these like heat-inducing foods for, for a minute. And yeah, and then we're just, we're really just eating whole real foods that are cooked properly, no seed oils, and combined properly so that you can digest them and absorb the nutrients that that they're meant to absorb.

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Yeah, absolutely. Because, and even allopathic doctors recognize this atopic triad. It starts with eczema and then it can easily lead into asthma. And this happens a lot. A lot of times doctors will also say, cross your fingers and, and pray, just hope that it goes away. And, and when it just seemingly goes away, that's what happens. That if you're not addressing it, the inflammation isn't just going away. Now it's starting to present as asthma in a lot of cases. And then into adulthood, if it's still not addressed, then it often morphs into hay fever. So yeah, it's super, super common to see those, those linked.

Do you find that there's a common gut health route to eczema then for, for kids?

Yeah, 100%. You know, that there's a bunch of things going on, but it's starting with this, this compromised skin barrier or gut lining, you know, gut skin barrier. Right. And so everything is leaking out and then And then that's triggering this inflammation and like mast cell activation systemically. And then there's a detoxification problem and there's liver stagnation and lymph stagnation. And then this stuff, the toxins that we're supposed to be able to take out of our bodies through normal channels is coming out through the, through the skin. But absolutely. Starts in the gut. Yeah.

And so are you finding something specific though? Like, is it like excess Staphylococcus or Candida or something like that? Or do you know?

Themes that I see in, in the tests that I look at is there's a lot of H. pylori, you know, H. pylori overgrowth happen and it's, it happened with my 2-year-old as well. And I would say 10 outta 10 of my, the client, you know, I, I look at GI Map. Results often. And yeah, there's just usually H. pylori is a component. It's just, it overgrows because, right, there's not enough beneficial bacteria. Like there's obviously a dysbiosis and, you know, C. diff is another one that comes up a good bit, interestingly enough. And again, it's not cuz these people are like traveling overseas or doing anything crazy. It just, when you don't have enough of the beneficial bacteria to ward off the pathogens, they can just easily take root there. And who knows how they get there, but you know, they just, they grow if the conditions are right. And then, then that's when you're, you're starting to see symptoms.

And do you find that there's a common route to children?

Yeah. A lot of times there's an immune assault. Like a lot of times parents will tell me, you know, they had hand, foot, and mouth or something like that. And then Once that resolved, they started getting eczema and, or, you know, just a bad case of pneumonia or a couple ear infections, you know, whatever it is. And they had to have a couple of rounds of antibiotics. And for some, you know, just like myself with my third daughter, it's like they were just born that way. And obviously I had a million doses of antibiotics during my cesareans just by way of surgery. And yeah, there's an immune assault of some degree. And the thing is, and you know, and sometimes parents beat themselves up about it and it's like, well, if you're one case of pneumonia or whatever it is away from eczema, like it's gonna happen. Like that bucket's gonna tip over at some point. It just happened to be right then.

Yeah. So are there any specific probiotics that you recommend for kids with eczema? And does that change, like for babies versus toddlers?

Yeah. The, the bifido. Bacteria and probiotics, those I need to be more prevalent in younger people's systems. So those are always lacking. And then there's just a bunch of keystone bacteria that are supposed to be present in every person's gut. But like, you know, babies, right? Like the reason that we nurse them initially is that they don't, you know, they don't have this big robust gut and like the digestive system, right? Like they're not, they're not able to digest very much food and it grows. And even toddlers, right? You're still— they're not supposed to be eating junk and all this crazy stuff because they don't have the capability. Even totally healthy kids don't have the ability to process these like super processed, fried, crazy high sugar things that we're throwing at our kids. So, right. Like, as just as we grow up, our, our digestive systems get more robust. So, but definitely for the younger set, just those bifidobacteria is just like really important.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I know there's the Bifidoinfontis is the one that they start with. So do you recommend it like for an infant or up to a certain age where that's just the only strain or do you, do you think multiple strains of bifido are, are, you know, multiple strains and I like to rotate.

I tell my clients, when you end one bottle, like I usually give them 3, you know, when you end one bottle, start with something else, you know, and finish that bottle and then start with something else. Or we have a plan. Sometimes we do like Saccharomyces boulardii first and just start to crowd out that bacteria depending on what their, their test results say. But I do testing last, like a lot of, most of my I'd say 80% of my patients like resolve their issues just with our standard supplement plan, with the diet, with the environmental changes, with the nontoxic skincare routine. Like, right. It's this whole holistic plan addressing all the inputs that we possibly can. Cuz good news, right? If you have a small child with eczema, you can control a lot, right? You can, you are the keeper of the home and you're the CEO of the house, so you can, you can control a a lot of what's going on and what they're exposed to and in their environment and so forth. So we do all of that. And then supplements are certainly a big part of that plan because if you're experiencing eczema, you're like we were talking about before, we're not digesting our food, we're not absorbing the nutrients from our food wholly. So there's going to be some deficiencies there and we have to address those. And probiotics is just one of those. And Then though, the people that have gone through it have been practicing and have been diligent for a few months and they're seeing some results undoubtedly, but if they're not completely clear, like within 3 or 4 months, then that's when we look at testing just, you know, to try and just take down that systemic inflammation and just resolve some of the reactions and then from there I see just much more helpful test results. So point is we, we don't start there. Most can be addressed without going through that process, but for the, the really rooted cases, you know, and my kids included, we had to go through quite a robust testing protocol to really get, get down to the root. So yeah, kids, luckily, like I, I see adults too, but in mainly this like pediatric population, they turn it around really quickly. In general, their cells are repopulating so quickly, they're regenerating so fast and they just haven't had a lot, you know, enough time on this earth to mess up so bad. Like it gets super, super messed up. Luckily, even in severe, severe cases, you know, you can turn it around doing things at home. So that's the good news. And then we go to testing if it's, we need a little bit more.

And in terms of inputs on the skin, what are the kinds of things that people might be putting on their babies', children's skin that could be contributing?

Yeah. If you go to the drugstore or even health food store lotions, they're gonna have, right? Cuz they need lotion cuz their skin is just super dry. So that's where we start. First we take out gluten and then we moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. And that's the right idea, but you just a lot of these lotions like CeraVe or some of the really clean brands, they have seed oils and then CeraVe and Aveeno, things like that. They have plastics in it, straight up plastics. And then a lot of eczema-focused lotions have oats in them. And I found that to be really not helpful for eczema-prone skin. They use it as a soothing, a soothing ingredient. But when you ingest oats, your body reacts to it a lot like it would gluten. It really spikes the blood sugar and it's a little irritating. And so the, like our little eczema friends, like honestly cannot handle it. So it's, it's that kind of stuff. So we use just bioavailable, whole real, we have a tallow lotion that I really, really like cuz that's just rich in vitamins A, D, E, and K. We use herbal oils because it comes from this Ayurvedic practice called Abhyanga that been going on for thousands of years and people do it preventatively and it really just helps move the lymph. And also just due to the lipophilic properties of the oil, it drives in the anti-inflammatory and the antimicrobial and lymph moving properties of the herbs into the actual tissues themselves. It's like taking supplements into the skin. So we do that kind of stuff to just help the skincare. Cuz you, you absolutely have to start there. Skincare is a, is a big piece because we have to address where we are now and make them more comfortable.

Yeah. So I was curious, cuz this is what I use for me. It's like miraculous. Is this a good one? Eucerin?

Well, no, cuz that's got petroleum products in it.

Oh, okay. I mean, for me it's like the only thing that keeps my hands from drying out. It is true. Yeah. First ingredient, well, second ingredient is petrolatum, but then mineral oil, ceresin, lanolin, alcohol.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I forgot to talk about petroleum.

Yeah. So not good for petroleum.

No, no, ideally not. Cuz like, like our goal is to make your body not have to work so hard, like to not have to detox from anything that you're putting in it or on it. Mm-hmm.

Okay.

All right. I'll send you a tallow. It's, it's amazing.

Okay. Hey, this is Lindsey here. Just letting you know that if you're tired of dealing with digestive issues like bloating, indigestion, soft stool, diarrhea, constipation, reflux, IBS, IBD, or the numerous health conditions that come about when your gut is off, like brain fog, weight gain, UTIs, fatigue, mental health issues, or complex conditions like fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, that's my specialty. With my 3 or 5 session gut health coaching packages, We'll discuss different stool and functional medicine tests to find out the root cause of your symptoms. I'll interpret the results and provide clear explanations, empowering you to make informed choices for your gut and overall health. And together we'll develop a customized action plan based on your test results so you can find relief and regain your health and vitality. I come from a functional medicine perspective, trying to incorporate the latest peer-reviewed research and educating you on protocols used by functional medicine practitioners, but devoting lots of time and support to my clients the way a doctor simply can't. If you're interested in a 3 or 5 session coaching package, you can sign up for complimentary 30-minute breakthrough session. Or if you can only afford one appointment at a time, you can book an initial 60-minute consultation. Links for those are in the show notes. Now back to the show. So do you think your recommendations for dealing with eczema change at all for adults versus kids? Do you work with any adults?

Not a lot. Not a lot really, because I find with adults, Adults, you have to go at it a little bit longer just 'cause your time on this earth has been longer and, and likely living with this condition for a little longer and you've likely tried a few more pharmaceuticals to address it. So it just takes them a few more months. You know, our cells don't regenerate as quickly as kids do. So for all those reasons, it just takes a little bit longer. But basically the process is the same. You know, the diet recommendations are the same. It's nice adults can swallow capsules, so that helps. Like with the, the supplements, but really, really it's the same. The environmental protocol is the same. The skincare protocol is the same. Yeah. It's just the same problem. It's the same root.

Yeah. And so with kids or adults, are you recommending antimicrobials if they do have something like H. pylori or you see C. diff in there, or are you sending them to doctors to get antibiotics? How do you handle that?

No, I mean, I'll like Saccharomyces and repopulating and then IgG. Sometimes licorice, sometimes mastic gum.

Oh, okay. Yeah.

Those type of things, but nothing— I gave my kids biocidin at the time when we were really, really struggling. Nothing too intense, right? We're, we're really wary cuz you know, they— kids can experience die-off pretty intensely. And so I certainly wanna make sure, you know, nobody's experiencing that. Too much cuz that can start a new flare. But, and then also like Epsom salt baths is like a huge part of the, a real part of the therapy cuz that's helping them detoxify and remineralize at the same time cuz they're undoubtedly low in magnesium.

So, and, and sulfur perhaps.

Yeah, absolutely. So, so that kind of stuff, you know, we just do every, make as everything I can food-based and stuff like that. And like Epsom salt-based so that babies can do it and toddlers can do it.

Yeah. Is there anything I haven't asked you about that I should have?

I just really want, if you're listening to this and you're in this boat, I just really want you to know that this is not like a chronic condition that you're just gonna have to manage lifelong. Mm-hmm. Like there is absolutely a way out. You can absolutely recover from this condition no matter how bad it is.

And, and what about in terms of diet? Are, are these kids typically gonna have to avoid gluten and dairy in the long term, or are they getting back on those foods after they've healed?

Yeah, absolutely. Like if they have an IgE allergy, a true allergy, which you likely know those already, if your kid is experiencing any of those, like you, you've likely already been to the hospital for a reaction like that. So if that's the case, if they have an IgE allergy to like dairy, that's gonna be off the table. But otherwise, If there aren't any IgE allergies, absolutely. The plan is to bring everything back in. My kids experience 100% food freedom and my clients do too. Eventually it just, it takes a little bit of time, but that's the, the absolute goal. Cause right, to be a healthy human being, you should be able to respond and navigate different environments, different foods. Like you don't wanna live on Cocoa Puffs, but you should be able to have one, have a bowl and be okay. Right? So in our home, we, we certainly practice the 80/20 rule. I buy healthy food and I prepare healthy food, but they're involved in all the curriculars and all the things, and you get rewarded with sugar for everything that you do, like outside of the house. So they, they do it was the bane of my existence as a parent.

The soccer games with the, and, and anybody who played soccer, like our age when they were a kid, were like, well, we always had orange slices. That was what you got after soccer. But, but now it's like, yeah, every parent rotates and, and you're just like, what horror show is it gonna be this week for the soccer snacks? And then like my husband was the coach and I'm like, okay, now we're, we're in control of the snack menu and we're gonna tell them what's acceptable. And they still don't listen. They still bring the crap. Oh, fruit. Sure. Well, let's just bring those Welch's fruit snacks then.

Oh yeah. Like that's healthy. It says vitamin C on the package. I know. Like I, I always, it's such a bummer. Cause like, right. You're just, I've just take on the financial burden. I'm like, nevermind. I will just do it. Right. Cause I just cannot, you know, for the most part, I let them do whatever, but if it's something like that, that I can control then yeah. And then when it was, when it was an issue, you know, there's just so many ways around it. I just made sure that they had. We homeschool now, but back then we didn't. And they had a box of like the Yum Earth lollipops and things like that in the classroom just for every birthday and things like that. They can still have sugar. They can still have sugar even when they're healing, just not massive amount of sugars. And the things that we're really avoiding are like the dyes and just the straight up poison, right? That even the government is like, okay, let's stop giving this to our kids.

So, yeah. Yeah. Well, when I was raising my kids, I, my other, my previous job was advocating for healthier food in the Montgomery public schools in Maryland, and we got all of the dyes except for, I think the caramel color was the only one we didn't get rid of cuz that was in the meat and you're just like, you can't even touch that. But like we got all of the food dyes out of the food and some of the major companies like, like Doritos had to be reformulated because of us and another district in Virginia because those were such huge districts. They made a white Dorito. No way. Without the red, red dye 40 for those school districts basically that then were distributed in all the schools.

No way. Why wouldn't they? Then if they're already doing that, why wouldn't they?

Yeah, why wouldn't they expand it? Because people are attracted to colors, whatever, you know, the same reason that whoever it is, is it Kraft or somebody, is pulling BS about, you know, we can't, we can't do the same thing in Europe as we do here, or here as we do in Europe, because Americans like their Fruity Pebbles to look like, you know, rainbow, really bright colors. Well, they'll get used to it.

I mean, come on, I mean, it's fine. So yeah, there's just there's, there's always things. But yes, that's the goal, ultimate food freedom, because it's just more fun. And my 3-year— my youngest is 3 now. He definitely, with 3 older sisters, eats way more sugar and ice cream and all the things than he should, and he's okay because, because he eats healthy food for the most part.

Yeah, that was my philosophy as a parent. Like, if I can get 3 healthy meals into them, then if they have some ice cream after dinner, like, I can live with that.

Totally, totally. Yeah. And the Yeah, the birthday party's like, okay, go ahead, go nuts.

And then, although, although, good story. My, uh, older son who's now a junior in college, he at some point in his life, somewhere around maybe I'd say 12, 13, 14, you know, he started getting acne and I said, yeah, you need to cut out the sugar if you wanna get rid of that acne. And he did like overnight, he does not eat sugar anymore. Like he stopped it. And that's it. He like once a year he'll have sugar.

No way. Well, you know, that's, it's quite the drive. I love that. Yeah.

Vanity. Vanity is very, very effective.

I mean, that's amazing. There's just still some kids, it drives them nuts, but they aren't willing to stop the dairy and the sugar.

Oh, I see. I see poor kids. Yeah. I see poor kids walking around in the street with like super severe acne and I'm just gluten, dairy, sugar. I wanna just walk up to 'em and say, just, just try eliminating those three and see what happens.

No, no. I like wrote out a thing for my nephew once cause I was like, ah, this just seemed, yeah, it was just so bad. And I was like, I can see this impacting your life.

And yeah, I, I wouldn't walk out in public if I had that kind of thing. So I don't know how they do it, but I mean, all the kids have it, so they're all just like, you know, looking at each other.

Yeah, it's fine. It's just part of the, part of the thing. But yeah, that's, I mean, but like eczema has become that way too. It's like, it's just so common and to me it's such a shame. Right?

Like, do you know what the prevalence is?

I've heard as high as 1 in 3. Isn't that astonishing?

Yeah.

Right.

It is.

It's, it's just sad. Right. And a lot of, so are you familiar with Tiny Health? Mm-hmm.

Yeah. So I mean, they do the, the gut testing on moms before they even have their babies. Yeah. Which I think is probably part of it because having the right bifido strain in your gut microbiome that you can pass onto your baby from the get-go, even in utero.

Oh, absolutely.

It's probably part of the picture. So I mean, I, I, do you recommend to people, do you talk to anybody before their, before their next child, for example, and suggest they do that or?

Well, yeah, right. Like once I'm talking to them, they're already in it. But yeah, I mean a lot of them are planning to have more kids and now they know, now they know how to set themselves up for pregnancy. I, I recommend like doing a kitchari cleanse, you know, before you even get pregnant.

It would be what cleanse?

The best, like a kitchari cleanse. Like it's an Indian food. It's just like basmati rice and split mung beans and then herbs like turmeric and cumin and coriander, things like that. It's really good. But this is like commonly baby's first food in India. But it's just like, if you could just eat that for a week and that's also hard. Like for myself, no, I can't do it. But I was eating like a good amount of kitchari when I was nursing my baby that we were really struggling. And then she ate a lot of kitchari just 'cause turmeric, things like turmeric and ginger. Like you just, if you can write that into your diet as much as possible, the better off you'll be. But anyway, just like if you could do something like that, ideally before you're even pregnant, and then yeah, certainly pay attention while, while you're pregnant. There's just so much that you can do. But I know, yeah, I'm a child of the '80s. I had a gazillion rounds of antibiotics. I ate Kraft macaroni and cheese with the powder cheese and skim milk. Didn't we all exclusively? On plastic plates all the time. So like, it just, yeah, when you make a copy of a copy, right? It's just not quite as sharp. So like, yes, it's a, it's a deeper inquiry into our own health to be sure. And you're nursing at the time, then you absolutely are addressing that simultaneously. And, and if not, then it is eye-opening for the whole family. And then ultimately everyone in the whole family is healthier because you're creating healthier meals because you can't be a short order cook.

Like you, that's a, yeah, no, that's a no-go.

Most diets are out. You're making 3 dinners each dinner. You can't do it.

So everybody must eat the same thing in my house.

Yeah.

So I noticed on the shelf behind you, you've got your products. So how did you end up developing a line of products for this? Did you find a manufacturer and stuff?

And now I have a manufacturer, but I, and that wasn't my intention when I started this company. 3 and a half years ago, I just started with the podcast and, and the method. Like I have an eczema elimination method and take it through. So that's what I did and the coaching and, but people were asking for it. But this is the stuff that I developed for my kids. This is what I treat them with. And with our lotion bill was high, like it was like a big budget item, right? And so I started making it. It's still, it's still high because the ingredients are really expensive, but just even if you're willing to pay, it doesn't matter how much money, they still just don't have the right ingredients to ultimately combat eczema. And now we all just use the lotion because I make it and it's just like the best for your skin. It's so, it's so, so great. And like I mentioned, the herbal oils, like you're supposed to be using those preventatively, you know, supposed to, it's, it's really, really good for you, eczema or not. And then I have a, an itch spray that addresses staph and itch, and it has some Chinese herbs in there. They're commonly prescribed to Asian women in hospitals for vaginal issues. So it's just, it addresses the yeast and the staph and the itch, and it's really, really helpful. So now we just use it for bug bites and like, I even my dogs, like they, one of my dogs has dry skin. And so I put it on her and it really, really helps. So, and I, I made my own sunscreen, same thing, like I just need to do it. And then we have some dream spray cuz it's just fun and we use that because kids. So yeah, it was just a labor of love and then people were starting asking for it. So then I started making it and selling it and, and yeah, now I have a manufacturer and, and that's fun.

Where can people find you and your products and all that?

You can find me at eczema-kids.com is my website and my store and I host the Eczema Kids Podcast too. And if you're, yeah, listening and nodding your head, like there's so much to learn there and you can just find that anywhere.

Awesome.

Podcasts are—

well, thank you so much for coming and sharing all this information with us.

My pleasure. Thanks for having me on.

Well, I hope that was useful for both parents of children with eczema as well as the many adults with eczema who are listening. You can support the podcast by buying supplements at a discount from my Fullscript dispensary, ordering tests at a discount from my Rupa Health Lab Store, or using my affiliate links to iHerb, which is available worldwide, or Amazon.. And just a note that you can use my Amazon link to buy anything. So as we approach the holiday season, I'd appreciate it if you'd bookmark my link and use it not just for supplements, but for gifts and everyday items to support the podcast. And in case anyone wondered, one does not get rich as a health coach. So any affiliate income that I can bring from Amazon and other affiliate programs helps to support the podcast and the work I do with clients, which is very time consuming. So I'd love it and really appreciate it if you'd bookmark my Amazon link and use it for regular purchases. If you'd like to connect with me online, you can follow my High Jester Health Facebook page, join my Gut Healing Facebook group. Or join my newsletter list at highdeserthealthcoaching.com, as well as follow me on X, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. Links for those are in the show notes. Thanks for joining me today. Here's wishing you the perfect stool.