Eczema in Kids

Eczema, or Atopic Dermatitis, is a common and frustrating condition for parents and their children. The main symptom is an itchy rash, which can be red, rough or irritated, scaly, and in a bad outbreak, the skin can be open and oozing. While there is no cure, there are ways to be proactive to minimize the symptoms by keeping the skin hydrated and minimizing “triggers”.

The typical places children get eczema is in the creases or insides of the elbows, knees, ankles, feet, neck, wrists, and in-between fingers. Eczema is different from other itchy rashes, including contact dermatitis, heat rash, seborrheic dermatitis, and psoriasis. The timing of when the rash started, where your child has the rash, and the pattern of when it flares up can help your pediatrician figure out if he or she has eczema or another skin rash.

TRIGGERS

Eczema is an itchy rash that comes from extremely dry, sensitive skin, can be caused by as many different things as there are people. Common triggers include:

• Skin that is not kept adequately hydrated
• Any body care products with fragrance – that is why we used essential oils to scent our product which heal the skin and provide aroma therapeutic benefits, instead of irritating it like fragrance does
• Laundry detergent that has fragrance or dyes, or any fabric softeners
• Harsh soaps
• Bubble baths
• Dust mites or pet dander
• Food allergies
• Overheating and sweating
• Wool, polyester, or lace clothing
• Wearing new clothing before it has been washed
• Any skin contact with a wide range of chemicals including chlorine (chlorine swimming pools), formaldehyde (sleeping on “wrinkle-free” sheets), hotel towels or sheets (rinsed in bleach, which is chlorine)
• Summertime (heat rash) or wintertime (dry air)

Your best bet for avoiding eczema flare-ups is to keep your child's skin well-moisturized. Since it is often hard to identify and avoid triggers, using Malcolm’s Miracle Anti-Aging Hand and Body Treatment can be an effective way to avoid eczema flares. It certainly has helped us!

To help avoid dry skin, give your child a short daily bath using lukewarm water and a very mild, moisturizing soap or soap substitute that has no artificial fragrance. Within 2-3 minutes after the bath, rub on Malcolm’s Miracle Anti-Aging Hand and Body Treatment until it has completely soaked into the skin (don’t just put it on and leave it, actually rub it in). Before Malcolm’s Miracle Anti-Aging Hand and Body Treatment, our only choices for hydration in these cases were greasy ointments like Vaseline and Aquaphor, which actually don’t hydrate, but work as an occlusive dressing by keeping any moisture in the skin from escaping, and must be kept on the skin for long periods of time to be effective.

Malcolm’s Miracle Anti-Aging Hand and Body Treatment works on the principle of HEALING the skin by ADDING moisture in a readily available, quickly soaked-in way, versus just trying to keep whatever moisture that is still in the skin from escaping.

PLEASE NOTE: Once your child’s eczema rash shows any signs of broken skin, the rash has become an OPEN WOUND, and wound precautions apply because of the risk of infection. Do not use any moisturizers in that location, but rather anti-biotics and physician-approved topicals. Keep in mind that any steroidal topical ointments thin the skin and further compromise the skin integrity making the risk of infection worse.

If your child has a bad eczema flare up, then you should consult your physician or pediatric dermatologist for the treatment that is appropriate for your child. Once the flare up is back under control, resume using Malcolm’s Miracle Anti-Aging Hand and Body Treatment as a good preventive measure.

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Cruelty-free Living

This year will be my 20th year of meat-free living. Considering that I live with, and love deeply, three very carnivorous people (my husband and two kids), I feel I have an interesting perspective because I live in both the meat and the vegetarian worlds in my own kitchen.

Most people are generally opposed to the idea of animal cruelty. They live in a meat-based culture, and they are willing to live with the inconsistency of loving and respecting animals on principle, but also eating meat and wearing leather, using products tested on animals, etc. When they find out I’m vegetarian, they find the need to apologize to me for eating meat, and tell me how they try to be vegetarian but still eat meat occasionally. If this sounds like you, then this is my response: instead of beating yourself up and feeling guilty each time you eat meat, why not reward yourself each time you DON’T eat meat? That way you gain power over your food choices and can CHOOSE POWERFULLY each time you are faced with a food choice. Even if you still eat meat occasionally, at least you DON’T eat meat a lot of the time too! In general, I find that when people see how possible it is to have a wonderful diet, wear beautiful clothes, use quality body care products, etc, without animal cruelty, they are more willing to make that powerful choice. If you’d like to learn more about a cruelty-free lifestyle, try clicking on the links below.

www.veganoutreach.org Promotes direct action for veganism. If you ever doubt that a small group of people can't change the world and make a SIGNIFICANT impact on animal suffering, then these amazing heros will prove you wrong!
www.caringconsumer.com Lists all cruelty-free companies so you can be a compassionate consumer. Make your dollars count!
www.vegsource.com Great place to get answers to all sorts of questions about vegan living.
www.vegan.com Great resource for vegan diets.
www.vegan.org Includes information on the McVegan Issue - VERY interesting website.
www.vrg.org Vegetarian Resource Group, a very established and well-respected group.

For great action resources:
http://www.peta.org/feat-abc_campaign.asp
http://www.helpinganimals.com/
http://www.peta.org

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Hemp

Many people do not realize that the makeup and personal care products they apply to their face and body are petroleum based. To understand why mineral oil is far from ideal as a health and beauty aid, we must first understand that all life on earth is essentially comprised of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Live plants and other organisms are based on living carbon. Life that existed millions of years ago is fossilized or ‘dead’ carbon. When we use cosmetics containing mineral oil we are basically trying to revitalize our living bodies with dead material. This doesn’t make sense. Only oils from living plants -live carbon sources- contain regenerative properties. So why is mineral oil in so many products? In a word: price. Aside from being a colorless, odorless carrier oil, its main advantage is that few other vegetable oils can compete economically. In the end, we as consumers are offered a remarkable lineup of cosmetics that have about as much benefit to the health our bodies as a box of Twinkies.

Hemp oil, on the other hand, has been found to be highly nutritious, essential hair and skin aid for promoting growth and slowing the aging process. Hemp has excellent healing and moisturizing properties for healing skin ailments and is used often to help people who suffer from eczema and psoriasis. In the plant kingdom, hemp contains the highest amount of the essential fatty acids (EFA’s) critical for our bodies’ health and clinically proven to have biochemical and therapeutic effects when topically applied.

Hemp seed oil's health benefits and unique versatility provide many advantages as an ingredient in personal care products. More than 75% of the fatty acids in hemp seed oil are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), known for their excellent emollient and lubricating properties. Hemp seed oil also has the lowest amount of saturated fatty acids, at 8%.

Clinical studies have shown PUFAs, specifically Omega-6 Linoleic Acid (LA) and Omega-6 Gamma-Linolenic Acid (GLA), when applied externally, can alleviate or even remedy skin problems such as dryness, atopic eczema and psoriasis. These tests have shown specifically that the effects of dry skin; scaling or cracking that can be caused by essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency can be reversed by skin care products containing Omega-6 fatty acids, thus reducing the potential of Trans epidermal Water Loss (TEWL). The proven anti-inflammatory properties of LA and GLA can further aid in the healing of minor skin irritation and disease. Hemp seed oil softens, soothes and promotes flexibility by working between surface cells, helping to lubricate, reduce flaking and revive the skin's intercellular lipids. Today, a range of personal care products containing hemp seed oil are available including body lotion, face and hand creams, lip care, make-up, hair care, liquid and bar soaps, shower gels, shaving products, massage oil, sun care and baby care.

While other oils such as flax, evening primrose, borage, sunflower and jojoba contain EFA's or gamma-linolenic acid, hemp seed oil has major advantages in that it is the only high EFA oil that contains both. Further, hemp seed oil contains what is considered to be an ideal ratio of Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids- 3:1, perfectly matching the needs of the human body, and the skin soaks it in readily as a result.

Although the cosmetic industry claims generic use of unsaturated or essential fatty acids as beneficial to the skin, only the EFA linoleic acid and its metabolite gamma-linolenic acid have clinically proven biochemical and therapeutic effects on the skin. Hemp seed oil contains 50%-60% linoleic acid and is the only high EFA oil that also contains GLA. Because its EFA profile so closely resembles the skin's natural lipids, hemp seed oil instantly counteracts the effects of degreasing and dehydration, conditions that produce dry skin. Its ability to quickly moisturize and condition the skin, make hemp seed oil a choice ingredient for today's performance skin care market.

The skin acts as a barrier to protect the body from excessive water loss and from penetration by foreign substances and pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. The optimal state of the skin is characterized by a balanced ratio of skin lipids to skin moisture. The health of skin depends largely on moisture retention provided by the stratum corneum, the outer layer of the epidermis. The weakening or failure of this natural barrier can be caused by sun, dry air, harsh soaps, free radical damage or the slowdown of cell metabolism with aging. The result is changes to the lipid composition of the epidermis and reduced moisture retention capability. Lipids are composed of fat-like substances including sterols, free fatty acids and ceramides. Chemically speaking, ceramides are a class of substances that contain different polyunsaturated fatty acids that make up about 18% of the upper lipophylic layers of the stratum corneum. Ceramide 1, found in the Omega-6 linoleic acid, is of critical importance to the moisture control of the skin. Due to its superior EFA profile which closely resembles the skin's natural lipids, hemp seed oil, when topically applied, replenishes skin with these essential components, thus increasing moisture retention.

Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, have become an increasingly important class of cosmetic raw materials from a standpoint of both performance and consumer appeal. The proteins used in personal care products have traditionally been derived from collagen or keratin. Recently, however, there has been an increasing demand for proteins that are vegetable derived. Whole hemp seed contains about 23% protein. Hemp seed protein contains all nine (out of 20) essential amino acids and features a high content of the two sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cystine, usually under-represented in vegetable proteins.

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Socially Responsible Business

According to Wikipedia, corporate social responsibility is defined as a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large.

We at Malcolm’s Miracle take this responsibility very seriously. We believe that whatever you put out in the universe comes back to you tenfold, and this applies to the way that business is conducted. Employees and vendors should be treated with the same respect and consideration as customers, and ALL profit-seeking companies have an obligation to give back to their communities.

CSRwire.com US news wire service specializing in CSR
CSRwire.ca Canadian news wire service specializing in CSR
CorporateRegister.com Includes a global directory of companies with CSR reports
Socialinvest.org Social Investment Forum, advancing socially and environmentally responsible investing
www.thehungersite.com For every click, their sponsors give money that supports anti-hunger, breast cancer research, rainforest, animal rescue, lots of good stuff.

SUMMERTIME TIPS FOR SENSITIVE SKIN

So you and your kids put on your sunscreen every day. And you don’t stay out in the sun too long. And you wear sun-protective clothing, a hat, and sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun, too. But your skin is STILL dry, and you still get dry skin rashes. You don’t have to suffer! There are LOTS of things you can do for your skin in the summertime: 

• Protect your skin during water play: before going into fresh, salt, or chlorine water, protect your problem areas with an occlusive dressing of un-petroleum jelly. Your skin is like a sponge, so use the jelly like saran wrap to protect your skin from being dried out. When you get out, rinse your skin off immediately (or wash it, to get the chemicals or minerals off), and dry immediately. Apply Malcolm’s Miracle within two minutes of drying and massage until it is completely soaked in. You might need another layer if your skin is very dried out. Try to limit the time and frequency in water – since water, like salt and chlorine, will dry the sponge (skin) out.
• Protect your skin from detergents and soaps:  Try not to use ANYTHING with artificial fragrance or perfume. This is one of the most irritating things to put on sensitive skin! For you or your kids who take baths, take a SHORT bath – in water that is warm (NOT HOT!!). Try to minimize bubble baths (that have no fragrance in them, of course), and within two minutes of drying, apply Malcolm’s Miracle Anti-Aging Hand and Body Treatment, especially in problem areas like the inside of elbows, wrists, necks, backs of knees and hands and feet.
• Protect your skin from hidden textile chemicals: even if you only wear natural fabrics, only use mild or natural laundry detergent, AND rinse your clothes twice, you can still be exposed to all sorts of skin irritants from OTHER contact sources. Carpets and new clothes have TONS of skin-irritating chemicals on them (have you ever seen the inside of a textile factory?) Eczema is closely related to allergies, so if you suffer from eczema outbreaks, then after touching other common allergens, like grass and pets, be sure to wash clothes and skin immediately (see washing tips above).
• Fabric in general soaks up the skin’s own protective oils, so before going to sleep (and putting your skin against fabric all night long), apply Malcolm’s Miracle, especially to problem areas, massage in thoroughly, and apply our Ultimate Moisturizing Gloves and Socks for super-hydration. Our Ultimate gloves have a tiny bit of spandex in them, so they fit snugly and won’t fall off during the night. Even if you only wear them for 30 minutes, you will still get great results.
• Some summertime eczema outbreaks come from HEAT RASH. Best ways to treat heat rash are: keep the skin, especially the effected areas, COOL, and give it AIR. Don’t cover it with clothes if possible, and wash or wipe off salty sweat as soon as possible. Ice will help reduce inflammation and irritation, too.
• Don’t go to sleep with chemicals, salts, or allergens left on the skin. At night the pores open, and if there is something irritating on the skin, it’s a recipe for a rashy outbreak. If you can’t wash it off, then at least try and wipe off problem areas before sleeping.

Good luck and here’s to as FEW outbreaks as possible over the coming months!

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