My youngest son, almost two and a half, has suffered from eczema for most of his life. It's usually only in small patches on a few areas of his body, and seems to either go away or get worse as the seasons change. Recently, as this spring has been warming up, I've noticed that my son's skin looked about as bad as ever, and was really itching him. His skin was bumpy and scaly and had scabs all over from scratching.
I've been wanting to find a cure for him, but not wanting to do anything harsh such as highly medicated (and expensive) creams. After talking to a friend I decided to give tea tree oil a try. I took an empty jar and put a few tablespoons of olive oil in it, and added a few drops of the tea tree oil. Then once or twice a day I rub a small amount all over my son like lotion. Surprisingly, the oil gets absorbed by the skin right away and doesn't leave a greasy feeling. And amazingly, within a week my son's skin was SO much better. It's been about four weeks since we started doing this, and even though I don't always remember to use the oil every day, I'd say my son's skin is about 95 - 99% better.
I think I paid around $7 for a 1-ounce bottle of tea tree oil. Since it is highly concentrated, one bottle should last me quite some time. And since I already buy olive oil in bulk at Costco, using a few extra tablespoons a week is no big deal. So not only have I found an effective solution for my son's problem, but it was natural AND frugal.
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8 comments:
LOVE it...tea tree is amazing..so glad he's doing better!
Really? I'm interested in knowing more about this. My little guy is (hang on a minute while I count...) 7 mo old and has eczema/atopic dermatitis. The eczema outbreaks I can keep under control usually, it's related to food allergies, but the atopic dermatitis - the extremely dry, itchy skin - poor guy, he's constantly clawing himself. He reacts weird to Aquaphor and seems to have the best reaction to Eucerin/Olive Oil mixed together - but he's still so very itchy. So does it help a lot with the itching? Hmm, I'm wondering even if I can use it, because whatever I put on him ends up in his mouth usually. Do you think the very little ones would do ok with this? I know TTO can be pretty powerful.
I am new to tea tree oil and its benefits, so I don't want to come across as an expert. The first thing I would do is maybe google "tea tree oil for babies" and see if you find any warnings. It is my belief though, that as long as you are diluting it and not ingesting it, that it is safe.
As for the itching, I've noticed that my son is not scratching nearly as much. As for me, if you read my post a few weeks ago about a rash I am dealing with, it hasn't helped much. But I am dealing with some serious itching that so far nothing, other than time, is helping with.
Good luck! And if you find any helpful information to share, please let me know!
You must have been talking to Pure Mod Life...she uses that stuff like the dad on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" uses Windex:) And that's why we love her!! And yes it works wonders, it's even helped my family's dry scalp issues!
You got it!
His skin is way improved, for sure. Jenn, I noticed it helps the scalp, too.
I'm curious to know how the tea tree oil is doing for your son at present.
As an eczema sufferer, for over 50 yrs, I've tried many things including TT oil
but am considering it again. Thanks!
For some reason my ^google acct. name didn't post above with my question.
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