EczemaBlues started as a blog by Mei aka MarcieMom, with the mission to turn eczema blues to bliss. It is inspired by Marcie who had eczema from two weeks old, and discovering how difficult it was to find helpful information for parents, MarcieMom set out to build a practical yet lighthearted blog that would be a parent’s companion.
We share science-based information from expert interviews and research studies, digesting eczema knowledge for you. We also feature heartfelt sharing from other eczema families & devotionals because just knowing you are not alone helps. Plus there’s funny stuff like cartoons and a satirical column to help parents get through the day.
A few questions frequently posed to MarcieMom:
Why Eczema Blues?
Having eczema is no joke – Marcie’s Dad has it and his mother and brother also have eczema. I was a first time mom, who just relocated back to Singapore and alone at home most of the time. Marcie was a baby who scratched her scalp with blood-stained fingernails (even before other babies know that they have fingers). That was certainly NO JOKE.
I think of those days as the “dark times”. I questioned God “Why make a small baby suffer from severe itch? Is it to mold me? Is it for a bigger purpose?” Nothing makes sense. Few people understand how severe eczema is and how helpless the parents are, often offering ‘miracle solutions’ when there are none.
What I needed most then was confiding in someone. Someone who would understand, affirm that I was doing everything right and that the stress I faced was real. This blog aims to be that companion. Hopefully by visiting this blog, a little feeling of blissfulness can keep you from feeling blue.
How is Marcie now?
Marcie’s eczema is under control now at 11-year old but she has developed habitual scratching and skin picking habits. On and off, she gets various types of rashes and skin infections and continues to have dry skin. We are thankful that the days of sudden full body flare-ups are over.
Who was taking care of baby Marcie?
My spouse and I, and with God’s blessings, the infant care teachers when I started work. Sending Marcie to infant care at 11-month old was a tough decision. The first 3 weeks were tough with blood stained collars and even a ‘hole’ in her scalp. But once Marcie adapted to the environment and started playing with friends, she didn’t even have to wear mittens. Marcie later attended preschool Columbia Academy.
How long has this blog been running?
This blog started in January 2011. There are over 850 posts published, covering topics that are helpful for parents with eczema children. I took a break from Feb 2016 because I didn’t want to post for the sake of posting (as the blog had in-depth posts on all relevant topics). Fast forward to 2021, I am surprised that mothers are still not getting the help to care for their eczema child. And I’m looking into ways this blog can be of help. Please let me know what is one area you need help with in the support group page.
What products are you using for Marcie’s dry eczema skin?
We really believe in holistic treatment. From occasional topical prescriptions, to moisturizers, swimming, antimicrobial cleanser, shampoo (for occasional scalp eczema treatment), sunscreen (to prevent eczema flares under sun), dry wrap and making the effort for exercise and healthy diet. We share our experiences with each product we come across here.
More about Marcie’s Mom?
I feel strange publishing my life on the web and this blog is more personal than I have ever been online. When I started this blog in 2011, I was very resistant to social media and selling anything on this blog. However, now in 2021 and with the experience of the covid-19 pandemic, I find that we really need community. I would also like to be appreciated and rewarded for all the time and money that go into maintaining this blog. If you are able to, do consider buying me a coffee 😘 & you may see some paid collaborations going forward.
I enjoy designing and cartooning. It is a blessing that 10,000 of my bookmarks have been sent to Africa for missions and my cartoons have been included in a few church bulletins. I have also illustrated children book “A to Z Animals are not Scratching!” and co-authored a book “Living with Eczema : Mom Asks, Doc Answers”. My latest interest is in journaling.
I also love our Singapore library and often borrowed baby sign language videos for Marcie when she’s young to distract her from scratching. My favorite drink is latte and it’s burning a hole in my pocket after it’s warmed my stomach.
70 replies on “Our Story”
The 7 Best Creams for Eczema, According to Dermatologists
Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Hand Unscented Lotion. …
CerVe Moisturizing Cream. …
Curel Hydra Therapy. …
Avene XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cream. …
SkinClinical Extreme Healing Daily Treatment. …
Mustela Stelatopia Emollient Balm. …
Cetaphil Daily Hydrating Lotion.
Thanks(mygenericpharmacy)
My baby is diagnosed with eczema on her face. Can I use physiogel AI cream on her FACE as she is only 1 month old? Pls advuse. Thanks
Hi! Thanks for dropping by my blog, sorry that it’s a bit of a mess now as I’m changing the layout.
And yes, you can use AI cream on baby’s face; do remember not to use wet wipes on face due to the potential ingredients in wipes that may irritate skin
Hope her skin gets better soon, take care!
Dear Marcie,
It is great that you to find this website so that mummies and daddies for kids with eczema can get the support they need.
I myself am an eczema sufferer for 8 years, went through TSW for 2 years. I am now much better, healing in the natural way. Many of my friends have asked me about my journey and I started blogging too in order to capture my learning and experiences to share.
Few months back, I started on an eczema diet, avoiding a lot of itch trigger food and it is really helping me. Was surprised to find that even broccoli can trigger itchiness.
Hope you and the rest can find some guide/help to help your kids too, I’ve detailed the food that I avoided here :
http://skinshare.sg/blog/category/diet/
Take care, we shall all stay strong for our children!
Thanks Bee, and happy to hear that your eczema has improved, take care!
Thanks Mei. My eczema diet site has been updated :
http://skinshare.sg/blog/category/eczema-diet/
Hello Mei! My daughter suffered from severe weeping eczema when she was 4 months old. The only remedy that the doctors prescribed was the usual: stronger steroids, bleach bath, and put her on antibiotics for 14 days. I was distraught at the thought of having her exposed to so much chemicals at such a young age, I decided to do my own research for an alternative remedy. Anyways, I posted the before and after pictures of my daughter after the regiment I used on her through a mommy facebook page and I received so many inquires about what I did. I decided to write a couple of blog posts hoping to help other mom’s or people with eczema. I am not a real blogger, thus, I am not sure how I can make others see my site. I found your website to be quite popular amongst the eczema community so I am just going to leave my blog link here hoping that it will help other people too. Hope that’s okay. Thanks!
Christina
https://byeeczema4ever.blogspot.com/
Thanks Christina for dropping by and sharing with us your journey 🙂
Hi Mei, I landed on your blog while researching for allergy related topics for my son. And the many personal stories of real parents of allergic children had really made me want to thank you for initiating such a wonderful blog.
I myself am a mother of two. Whilst my older daughter seems to be rather allergy free, my younger son has been suffering from severe eczema from around 4-5 month old. recently I just found out he is also allergic to egg, sensitive to wheat, soy, dairy and some others, and quite possibly allergic to peanut as well. (based on test alone)
I very much feel the pain of all the real parents who had shared their stories on this blog. My son’s face and body were quite constantly covered in blood due to the intense itching and scratching at the peak of his severe eczema. He had motor skill delays due to very limited floor time (whenever we gave him tummy time, he would start scratching) every bath time was a huge effort as we had to race against time to put on steroid cream and moisturisors before his little hands did much damage to his tiny body.
Little man’s eczema had improved at his first birthday but it was after following some tips by a NZ doctor called DR Rodney Ford that I had seen some remarkable improvement on him. I know my son is mildly allergic to wheat but the dermatologist actually said its ok to continue eating and allergy test was negative for milk. DR Rodney Ford suggested eczema especially facial eczema is almost always related to food and gluten is a major suspect after the usual egg nuts dairy etc. So I stopped him from eating wheat products and changed his formula from HA to allerpro. Within 3 days, most of his eczema was gone!
I can’t wait to tell more parents who are dealing with their kids’ severe eczema about this! Now I am not so worried about my son’s skin problem. I am now more worried about his food allergy issue ( eggs and peanuts) and possible asthma onset in the future.
Thanks Christine for your sharing, and for your kind urgency to inform all parents of the allergy! Yes, sometimes when we find out the trigger, the eczema improves and that’s why I always advocate allergy testing. My heart also goes out to all those who cannot afford such tests, or have access to them. Wishing all the best to your family! My daughter has just started grade school, and it’s a whole other journey for our family, i.e. more of social skills and not letting scratching habit interfere with school.
Take care, big hugs!
Mei
Hi Mei!
Came across to your site while researching on severe eczema for my little baby boy.
He was diagnosed with eczema since he was only 3 weeks old. And since then it never really had clear up. In fact, the older he got – it got worse. He suffered eczema in his face, head, neck, stomach, back, hands, elbow even his foot. At first it was only small dots, and then fully covering his body.
We have tried everything from steroid, tacrolimus ointment, even antibiotics from our doctor. He already use eczema-specialist lotion and soap (mustela stelatopia). I also only bath him using filtered water. But his eczema just wont go away.
I breastfed him for 2 months then one of my pediatrician told me to stop for a while and gave him just neocate. I was so devastated to see my little boy suffer like that. Moreover, I did a strict diet (dairy, seafood, nuts, several veggies like: tomato, pineapple, melon, watermelon and corn). We did a blood test to figure out what had caused his eczema. But it came out that my baby is only allergic to goldenrod plants – which is uncommon in my area (Jakarta).
Looking through your website really help me feeling so much better. I know Im not alone. I know my baby will get better. I believe it. Hopefully he will outgrow it sooner than I expected. And I could say “turning blues to bliss”.
Cheers!
It is very sad when something like this happens to a baby so young. I am writing this to sell my product, but I discovered the active product from children with an overactive immune response and because ENDOR cream does not contain anything that can cause any side effect, it is safe to use on babies and unlike steroid creams, you can use it as often and as much as it is necessary. Please try it and I can assure you that it will quickly stop the itchy skin and after only 10 days, you will see a positive effect.
Best wishes Iraj
Thanks Cecilia for your message and it is nice to ‘hear’ it is filled with hope – maintaining optimism is important. It is good news that your baby is not allergic, maybe repeat again after six months if he’s still an infant now. I like to use a chlorhexidine-based shower foam every alternate/2 days to regularly kill staph bacteria + dry wrap when the skin is dry or red, seems to help. These are the regular ‘treatment’ for my daughter now, she’s 6 and skin is much better.
Take care, big hugs,
Mei
Hi Cecilia,
How is he now? Outgrow?
My 5 weeks old son is having it.
Thanks,
Zaw
Hi Zaw! Is there something about Cecilia’s sharing that resonate with you and you would like to find out more? Let me know and I’d try to reach out to her 🙂
Hi Everyone, I know I have mentioned ENDOR cream before, but this product is the only product that gets your own immune system to produce the product that calms it down as well as teaching it to produce it itself in the long term. Also it will stop the itchy skin almost immediately and stops the eczema sufferers from damaging their skin further.
The most important thing about ENDOR cream is that it does not contain steroids or any product that can cause any side effects.
Please try it and share your experience with everyone.
Best wishes
Iraj
Frankly, we have not reach the stage of commercialization and to be profit driven.
Our intent is to help all sufferers of skin diseases and so far, we have about 2 dozens of users who reported positive results. Our next program is to alleviate the
sufferings of about 180 senior citizens in an old age home in Malaysia and we will be visiting them in the month of Oct 2015. Most of them suffered from bed sores, chronic wounds and other skin diseases.
Volunteers are most welcome to join to assist in the application of the essential oil to the inmates. We have sent the limited quantity of the products to the home before and the results are amazing. This visit, we will bring sufficient quantity to treat each and every of the inmates at the home.
Dear Mei,
I will be pleased to contribute 100 bottles of nano technology 100% herbal skin conditions essential oil to any sufferers of any skin conditions be it Eczema, Psoriasis, Rosacea,…
The positve results from using the essential oil is that 99% of the cases will experienced cessation of itch (within 24 hours after application)and the drying of the skin ulcers, hence no more scratching and no more blood and no more infection. However, I cannot conclude whether it is a long term cure for chronic skin diseases such as Eczema. Furthermore, it took very long for the scars and skin marks to fade away, especially for those who suffered for decades. I also cannot guarantee that there will be no relapse.
Do let me know if any of the Eczema community needs my products and where to deliver the product.
thanks for the offer, is there a link to the product so that readers who come across your comment can read more? thanks!
I am a scientist. I specialise in autoimmunity. I discovered an amazing product produced by the immune system in children with an over active immune disease. This product brings your immune system back to normal. I have now found the precursors for this product and have put it together in a topical cream called ENDOR cream. It works by providing the basic ingredients for the active immune product and your body converts them into the active. So there are no side effects, no steroids, no antibiotics, no biologics. Nothing that can cause any side effects at all. You can use as much of it as your body requires and in just 10 days you will see a definite improvement in your eczema.
The reason that I am contacting you is because ENDOR cream does not have any side effects and it is safe to use on babies and children. The beauty about my product is that, over time, it teaches your own immune system to learn to make this and in effect your eczema will be treated by your immune system and be cured.
Please let me know if this is something that would interest your blog readers.
Thanks Dr Iraj for your introduction; perhaps you can share more about the active compound in your product. I visited your site but couldn’t tell from the ingredients listed which are:
Aqua, Glycerin , Cetearyl Alcohol , Stearic Acid , Ceteareth 20, Dimethicone, Oleic Acid, Panthenol , Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic acid, Dehydroacetic acid, sodium citrate
The above are mainly water, occlusive, humectant, preservatives?
I don’t blog specifically about products, but feel free to share studies on your products in the comments, cheers,
Mei
Hi Mel,
This is the beauty about this product. There are no active ingredients, just the base ingredients to the active product that your immune system can convert into the active.
I discovered this when I was working in London at St Mary’s Hospital with children suffering from an over active immune response. This product is able to calm the immune system and allow the natural heating process to take effect. By providing the base ingredients to the body to convert into the active product, we are in effect training the immune system to learn to produce this product and may, in the long term, learn to source the base ingredients from the body’s own resources. This would suggest that the body may, over time, learn the ability to source its own base ingredients for the manufacture of the active ingredient and ultimately lead to a cure for autoimmune diseases.
The most important thing about ENDOR cream is that as you so put it, contains nothing that can do any harm, and it really works.
please let me know if you need more information.
Iraj
Hi Mei.. Am glad i stumbled on this site. Am impressed. Great work Mei!
My daughter is 6 and she was diagnised of Eczema since birth in UK. We then moved to india which has helped and is now better. Am now shifting to singapore for work and am wondering if her eczema would be a trouble getting admissions to normal schools.Am in a dilemma to decide moving to singapore. Any ideas would help. Thanks in advance.
Hi Bugs!
Thanks for dropping by! I don’t think eczema would affect her admission to school – eczema is not officially listed as a chronic condition in Singapore, so I think there’s no official obligation to declare it. Of course, the thing is we would want the teachers and school to know as our child may need some time off to freshen up (Singapore can be quite hot, and definitely sweat easily) and also not to participate in cleaning the classroom (if allergic to dust mite).
My child is still in kindergarten, so I won’t know specifically about grade school. On moving to Singapore, I think the pros for eczema is that there are many competent pediatric specialists in this area and appointments can be fixed fairly quickly unlike in UK (or so I’ve heard!). Not much pollen same as in UK/US, so maybe less of pollen allergy.
The cons is the weather, the sweat if that is a trigger. The curriculum in non-international school is very packed, which means time off say to come later to school if your child sleeps poorly at night, time to change uniform if sweaty would mean your child misses the teaching and you’d have to help her catch up.
Take care!
Mei
Thanks for your quick response Mei. That really helps.
I would like to share this info with the anxious parents in this forum. I tried making Neem leaves in to a paste and applied on my daughter’s eczema areas for 10 mts before bath and it seem to be really improving. You can add some organic turmeric to it as well.
Interesting share Bugs! 🙂 Keep us updated when you decided to come to Singapore!
Hi Mei
I found you over at Talkhealth and Circle of Moms and popped over here to your blog (which I’m now following).
I have 4 children who have varying degrees of atopic conditions. My son had severe eczema and so I too am very familiar with the stress of managing his care through the night and day.
I love to connect with other families going through the same situation. I like to share what we have learned through our journey and make new discoveries through the people I’ve connected with.
Hi Lisa!
Thanks for dropping by! I went to your blog too 🙂 Eczema is truly a difficult journey and it always help to know that someone in this world shares the same experience, and can empathize!
Take care, have a good week, and chat more here, or over SoMe!
Mei
Hi there! my son developed eczema at 4 months and the eczema soon covered his entire body. He spent all of his time scratching, couldn’t sleep at night, couldn’t even play with his toys during the day because he was so miserable with the itching. It was heartbreaking. Doctors prescribed steroid cream that I wasn’t willing to use, but after lots of research I discovered that eczema can be caused by detergent sensitivity. detergents are in absolutely everything, including personal care products, cleaning products, and even pre-washed foods. By removing all of the detergent products from our home environment our sons eczema began to clear up and after a month or so it had completely disappeared! I now have my son back, he is a happy, healthy 16 month old, with no need for creams or extra moisturisers. His skin is completely clear other than if he comes into contact with a detergent covered piece of fabric, but this is quickly and easily cleared up. We even discovered that foods we thought he was allergic too was actually caused by detergents used in the processing of the foods eg he breaks out if he eats a bag of pre-washed spinach but not if he eats spinach that hasn’t been washed. I discovered all of this from a website called solveeczema.org, and I really hope that if you get a chance and haven’t already came across it that you have a look because it truly has worked miracles for us. I know how upsetting it is to have a child with severe eczema and just want to help any parents in any way that I can. Thanks for reading!
Thanks Lauren! It’s good to hear that your child’s eczema resolved with detergent 🙂 There are many triggers to one’s eczema and not all the time, it’s possible to figure out, so I’m really glad you did!
Take care n thanks again for sharing,
Mei
Hey Mie, just stumbled across your blog and it’s pretty nice to hear about your little girl’s story. It’s great Marcie has found relief from this horrible skin disease.
All the best.
P.S. You’re from Shanghai right? I currently study there too. We could have a drink we ever happen to be in the same place. 🙂
Hi Harrison, thanks 🙂 I’m not in Shanghai.. have a good weekend!
Came across you blog after nursing baby at 5 am. Baba started with dry patches on his scalp and face at 6 weeks old. Now has eczema all over :(. He’s just turned 6 months and is already a pro-scratcher. At every opportunity he will scratch his face and scalp raw, and already tugged out most of his hair. Thankfully his prescription emollients and topical steroids combined with some Scratchsleeves ( we are Malaysians living in the UK, stumbled across these mitts that don’t come off ) are helping. Baba is looking a lot less like bald Chucky and from a distance looks like he has cute rosy cheeks.
Just want to say I’ve enjoyed reading your blog, especially love the cartoons!
Thanks Pekingduck and Baba 🙂 I know it’s so so tough to take care of a scratching baby! Grab as much rest as you need, and keep a positive spirit, sending hugs your way!
Mei
Hi Mei, It’s been over a year … And what a year it has been. The good: Baba sleeps through the night. The bad: he is mildly allergic to eggs and seafood (nooo!), and had been wheezy on a monthly basis earlier this year so likely to have asthma also. The scary: just after one of the bouts of wheezing he developed Kawasaki Disease a couple of months ago.
Baba was diagnosed with Kawasaki Diaease after five days of high fever with a swollen neck gland. On day 4 he started developing rash, cracked lips, red palms and soles and red eyes. The next day we took him to hospital as he was not feeding and was still feverish despite four hourly antipyretic medicines and an antibiotic. Baba had the treatment, immunoglobulins by drip that evening.
We initially thought he had mumps and the GP advised us to look after him at home. After joining the Kawasaki support group, we found that initial misdiagnosis is very common. Though it is rare the risk of complications to the heart is said to be 25% if not diagnosed and treated within 10 days. We are so thankful to the doctors that the spotted it immediately and Baba received his promptly. His heart is fine.
Incidentally after the immunoglobulins drip his eczema cleared up for a month and we did not have to apply any steroid. Apparently immunoglobulins is a treatment for severe eczema in kids. Fast forward to this month, he is again itchy scratchy n wheezy. We are back on the routine again (cream, cream, inhaler)…just so grateful to have our Baba back!
Hope our message will help to increase awareness of the link between eczema and Kawasaki Disease.
Thanks so much for your sharing and raising awareness of the link with Kawasaki Disease, shall check it out! Hugs and I’m smiling cos you’re always so positive, despite still having to manage eczema + asthma on a day to day basis, hugs!
Have a good week!
Mei
Thanks, and hugs back x. We stilll love your cartoons! Here is a scientific paper reporting on eczema (atopic dermatitis) and Kawasaki Disease http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3211629?dopt=Abstract
Thanks for the link on Kawasaki disease 🙂
Marcie still needs someone to sleep with her and mostly to hold her hands and stop her from scratching herself.
Q: How long did you co-sleep with her and how did you manage afternoon naps?
I had to co-sleep with my daughter since she was 2-3 months (I brought her to our bed from her crib when I heard moving (scratching) while we all were ready to sleep. I held her hands during afternoon naps while letting her sleep on my lap since then. Now she is gonna turn 8 months soon. I want to change this habit for me to do housing chores and for her to get good sleeping habit. I still cannot return to work as still cannot find solution to leave her in daycare or having babysitter. We are middle income family and have to think a lot for having intervention starting from having her own bed (when it is not sure she will sleep alone again) to having materials which makes my life easier. Again, should I change the habit of holding her?
Hi!
I do hold my girl’s hands sometimes – now she’s older, I sometimes tell her (after moisturizing again, turning aircon cooler) that I won’t sleep with her if she’s still scratching.. and then she stopped..
Usually, we co-sleep half the night now, she sleeps on her own first, and when she wakes up scratching, then we’d help her.
Take care,
Mei
Hi Marci Mom and other moms of babies with eczema. I’m BethWV, and I am a 40 year old mom of two sons (2 1/2 and 10 months.) Neither have eczema, thankfully. But I do. I’ve had it since I was 3 days old (originally diagnosed as “Laundry rash”.) I stumbled across your blog looking for information about my own condition, but I felt compelled to post to moms out there suffering through the same pain, frustration, fears, etc as my parents felt (I’m sure) when I was a small child. I have eczema over 90 percent of my body, and as a child was allergic to every food except pork, rice and grapes. But as an adult, I am happy, relatively healthy (except asthma and eczema) and grateful for my itchy life. My food allergies improved significantly as I got older. Sure, there were and are hard days, but you and your children will be OK. You aren’t alone. And if you ever want to talk to an adult who may have experienced what your children are going though, I am willing to give you my 2 cents for what it’s worth. Peace be with you all. Love, BethWV.
Hi Beth! Thanks for your sharing! And you’re most welcome to comment and help out to any parent here!
Take care!
Mei
Hi, I would love to make some questions I don’t know if you still have time. Thank you!
Hi there! Can ask over here or at the Eczema Google Plus community!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/117884122675439165710
Wishing a stress-free start to 2015!
Mei
Hi there,
I have been having eczema for a few years now and was searching in the internet for more natural methods to minimize flareup and chanced upon your blog.
I have also created a blog to share my experiences with other sufferers out there. Recently I discovered a very good lotion which helped a lot with my contact dermatitis and it’ll be great to share with the rest of mummies to help their little ones. It is really a tough battle with daily eczema flareup and I am also trying to manage it on a daily basis. Hope this will help as how it has helped me a lot in the past few months, read up more in my blog:
http://www.skinshare.sg/2013/05/how-to-relieve-contact-dermatitis-with-shielding-lotion/
Hi Bee,
Glad you found something that works for you 🙂
Take care!
Mei