Forbidden fruits

Today a Lazza icecream seller materialised on the road in front of our apartment, and soon girls from the hostel in front were seen buying icecreams. The kids, on their watch tower in the balcony, began clamouring for it too.
Later, we told them. Mira is easy to pacify. But not Ash. A child who has been living without most goodies that kids his age eat, he couldnt resist this. He was on the verge of tears. I looked at the broken skin on his cheeks and brows, and said: Later, when your skin is better. It is with a heavy heart that we refuse him eatables.
Two days back, he spied V taking chicken for lunch. Nothing evades his eyes. My inlaws have strictly instructed us that we not buy/make anything he cant eat. (The ayurvedic medicines he is taking mean that he has to forgo non-veg food and cold stuff like icecreams; less tubers, less pulses, less chilli & tamarind, no afternoon naps, and only boiled water. Even otherwise, his eczema makes him allergic to most food including milk and wheat products.) They went on a sabbatical when Ash was with them. But not V. Like many Indian men expect, his needs should be the household's priorities. If the man of the house needs a low-fat diet, the rest of the family should also go for a fat-free diet. But if the woman of the house needs a low-salt diet, she better make it separately for herself.
"Can I at least see the chicken, Appa?" Ash asked, with tears welling up in his eyes. He had a look, and then told his dad: "Will you get me chicken that wont itch?"
V told me later that day how rotten it had made him feel.

p.s. I plan to try a neem bath for him after reading an article about how neem benefits eczema.

Back with a whimper

Being a lean week at work, I took 3 days' leave beginning Monday to look after Ash. Saturday's UV radiation itself had done him a world of good. The cracked skin began to heal and new, fairer skin began to show up.

On the doctor's advice, we got bold enough to try introduce all food except peanuts and soybean in his diet. The first day we tried seer fish and he seemed ok. Of course the night itching continued to some extent. But yesterday's diet experiements with fish, french fries and tomato sauce went awry. Maybe it was the preservatives in the sauce. He itched like hell yesterday and the skin began to look worrying again. I guess we have to shelve our experiments till he is better.

He has completed 3 UV sessions. The nurse told us yesterday that Ash was a brave lil fellow to stand in the UV chamber alone when even 10-yr-old kids cried in fear. Our only worry is if he will open his eyes or remove the adult goggles provided - but I think he is enjoying wearing the goggles the most - so V keeps bellowing instructions. The doctor will see him after tomorrow's therapy.

Today he jumped out of bed at 7 am wanting to go to school, but after a while changed tack. Achacha mogham murinjirikuvaa (my face is all bruised), he explains. He has also changed the diet rules. "Chochchil maarathilla (This itching wont go). I will eat and scratch myself," he tells me when I tell him that he can have something after his itching is gone.

As for me, I did not get much rest or time to read even the newspaper while I was on leave. The kids, excited to have their mother at home for a change, had a whale of a time in the afternoons. While the maid napped, I managed at the most a 3-minute nap to be awakened by a shriek or a slap.

I also tried to make up for the lack of attention I gave Mira in the last week when Ash was the focal point of our attention. She has been coming to me with an imaginary itch, some which she claims are caused by mosquito bites, and expects me to rub in some ointment. We shudder to think what we'd have gone through if it were Mira who had the eczema and not Ash. Ash, save for his occasional tantrums, is an uncomplaining child and suffers in silence. Only, in recent times he cannot seem to take the suffering in silence anymore.

Ultraviolet therapy

Ash began UV phototherapy treatment for his eczema flare-up today. The doctor feels that 2 weeks of it will visibly clear the eczema, which right now is severe on the face and scalp and leave them cracked, weeping and scaling endlessly. She sent him into a UV chamber with goggles and his briefs on. It hardly takes 2-3 minutes, and he looked a little better than when the doctor clicked his pictures in her room before the therapy. He will probably be an interesting case study for them when they hold conferences and workshops!

Well, the treatment is at SMF under Dr. Sarveshwari, a dermatologist who studied under Dr. Patrick. Our plans for an emergency appointment yesterday with Dr. Patrick did not work out, since the doctor is a man with many other engagements and meetings. Ash's condition was the pits, so I tried Dr. Maya Vedamurthy who a few folks vouched was an excellent dermatologist. She is unavailable till next Wednesday.

And with Ash shivering and his teeth jabbering the moment we wet his skin a bit before applying the emollient, V decided to check with his peadiatrician at SMF. Dr. Thomas suggested that we meet Dr. Sarveshwari, and if need be, admit him in the children's hospital on Monday which right now is overflowing with in-patients.

Dr. Sar saw him at her clinic yesterday night and said that the situation can be redeemed only by phototherapy for 2 weeks. If he gets no better, he has to take steroid shots. UV therapy is safe for children and pregnant women, she said. Unlike direct exposure to sunlight, which has many harmful rays other than ultraviolet, this is a safe treatment option for severe eczema.

Ash followed instructions and handled the therapy well. He did not mind being shut in the chamber and the room encasing it. It needs to be done every alternate day. Hopefully he can resume school after a week.

Later...

Ashwin's skin has been looking pretty miserable of late that we decided not to send him to school till he looks a bit better. Instead we took him, after I dropped Mira at school, to Dr. Patrick Yesudian in the morning. His secretary usually gives appointments for the week on Mondays - it is easier done in person at the clinic than over the phone (044-26411254).
She told us the earliest appointment was for tomorrow, but told us she would squeeze us in through today's appointments. So in the lull between two appointments, we found our way into the great doctor's room. He told us that we keep his moisturised at all times and the moment it went dry. The bathing could be once a day (well, us Malayalis like to bathe at least twice a day even if it is in water-starved Chennai) and we could just wet him at other times before applying the cream.
The emollient cream he had prescribed in the last visit was Cetraben. We were advised to alternate with Fudic acid ointment mixed in liquid paraffin and and Topgraf 0.03% mixed in the same at night. Fudic acid apparently has v. mild cortisone content while Topgraf/Tacrolimus ointment has nil and the latter is recommended for long-term use. The antihistamine to induce sleep was Phenergan and the antibiotic to help heal oozing sores was Roxithromycin/Roxic liquid. For the scalp, any mild shampoo and for bathing Oilatum soap. He merely increased the dosage of a couple of medicines, added an ointment for a week's use only and advised Vaseline Intensive lotion, if we manage to find it in the foreign goods shops. The doctor advised we send him to school since he would itch less if he is kept active and engaged.
We then went to Ash's school hoping to meet his teacher, which apparently is not allowed during class hours. So we met the Principal, who said that Ash take rest for a week since he would sweat in class or during play and itch more. She told us he would outgrow it in a few years - it is good we have put him in a school where the staff is understanding about the problem. They apparently have a pupil in the senior school who has grown out of his eczema.
As we talked, Ash walked from the Principal's side to the window and watched his peers play in the play area. He entreated us to take him there as we left the room. We told him he could a few days later when his itching is gone.
Later is one of the oft-used words in his vocabulary. Like when we went fireworks shopping pre-Diwali two days back. As V went in to pay, Ash examined the chocolates and stuff on display. When V tried to drag him away, he said: "Appa, lemme just see them. I dont want to buy them now."

Meeting Dr Patrick

Update: Dr Patrick is no more. He died some 8-9 years ago.

We finally met up with Dr. Patrick Yesudian yesterday evening. In case any of you in Chennai with an eczemic child wants to meet him, he is available Monday to Friday between 10 am -1 pm and 4-7 pm (except on Tuesday evenings when he is at Apollo hospital) in the first floor apartment of PA towers on PH Road, in the Pride Hotel premises (ph: 26411254). He charges a modest fee, though not nominal as Dr. Thambiah's.

Being a very rainy day, there are not many people in the waiting room. We reach on time, so we dont wait beyond 5 minutes. It is my first visit since V had been bringing Ash earlier. An old gentleman, he is patient and spends some 10 minutes with each patient. He doesnt treat my eczemic child like he has got a contagious disease - a couple of dermatologists we met earlier examine the way they would a leper - and demonstrates on Ash's arm, using his own bare hands, how to apply the creams and lotions.

He tells us once again that eczema is a dry itchy skin condition that should go off by the time the child is 7 if he is lucky. He looks at the reports - our misadventures with various doctors - and tells that an eczemic child is bound to test positive for food allergens and stomach lesions, so our allergy reports and abdominal scans are a waste of time and money. If we go by the allergy report, the child would have to be on a starvation diet! The best would be to try each food and stop only those which causes an itching within 2 hours of eating.

So we have shelved the Ayurvedic medicines for now. Ash is back to eating chicken, fish and icecreams. The way he pounced on all the taboo food has been very sad to see. To think the child desisted food for 5 months just because we told him it will make his body itch.

The dr also gave us a booklet from the National Eczema Society of the UK. V got it copied and I am studying it. He doesnt have the patience to read two paras of anything other than newspaper articles and his CA literature.

Does Yesudian mean Yesu nalla idayan (the lord is a good shepherd)??

Tailpiece: As I get him ready for school, Ash spots a framed picture of Jesus holding a lamb in his arms and asks me: Is that going "To market, to market to buy a fat sheep?"

Doctor quest

Today we decided to make the pilgrimage to Dr. Capt. Thambiah's, since Ash's skin condition especially the scalp after a night of scratching looked pretty bad. He got ready for school but in the end we decided not to send him. Instead, after dropping Mira, we found our way to the clinic of Dr. Thambiah on Poonamalle High Road. The small narrow lane opposite the Das Prakash Hotel led to an old, dilapidated colonial bungalow. I dont think it has been painted for ages and it looked like a haunted house. I could see the doctor in one room on the left while a serpentine queue extended from outside his room to the back of his house.
The morning practice timings are 8.30 to 11 am according to the board hung in the front and we had no hope of making it before that. We decided to come off. Moreoever, going to him each time standing in this perennial Q would be tiresome to say the least.
So we drove to Dr. Patrick Yesudian's clinic next to the Pride Hotel on PH road. Only to be told by his secretary that appointments are full for this week. She very kindly gave us an appointment for Monday next.
But what am I going to do with this itching lil boy until then?
p.s. The house is all quiet again, if the presence of two kids can make it any quieter. The last of our guests left yesterday night.
***
I post this, and then go for a cup of coffee in the canteen. On my way, I meet a colleague whose 9-year-old son also suffers from eczema. It is seasonal and severe too in his case. George and his father have had eczema too as kids. So it is hereditary for them.
But eczema doesnt run in our family, and Ash is a first-generation recipient. George tells me that Dr. Thambiah is a senile maverick. He is 80, a bachelor and doesnt spend more than a minute with each patient. Well, he would have to if he has to see some 150 patients in 3 hours. There must have been some 50 people in the queue when I went there. The consultation fee might seems paltry but apparently he makes up for it in the medicines he prescribes and which have to be bought from his own pharmacy next door.
George swears by Dr. Patrick. He however advises me not to mention to him that we had tried alternative therapies for eczema. Long back he had told V: "Dont try Siddha and Ayurveda and stuff. In the end you will come back to me."
Prophetical.

Doctor horizons

A couple of people had advised me to take Ash to Dr. AS Thambiah, a reputed elderly skin doctor near Das Prakash Hotel on PH Road here. And I have been trying to push the case with V, who is disenchanted of late by allopathic treatment for eczema since it offers no cure, only ways to control and manage it. I tell him that Dr. Thambiah is believed to have one leg in the grave and that we show Ash to him at least once before he leaves this world.

So I look up Sulekha pages today - getting bold after a successful bid at finding a mosquito screen provider through it - and get his ph. no. and address. Looking at the Yahoo Answers page, I dont have much hope about getting through the line. But surprise of surprises. A male voice picks up immediately as I call. What more, the doctor himself. He tells me that he is available Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5 pm at the clinic and it is first come first served. There is a pretty terrifying queue, I hear and the doctor tells me to come early to beat the queue. "The consulting fee is Rs. 30, three-zero," he tells me and cuts the line.

Thirty! In these days. No wonder the queue is so long.

We need to show Ash to a good dermatologist at the earliest and Dr. Patrick seems to be out of station. Let me see what he will have to say about my little boy's condition.

Missing each other

My mom is in Changanassery for two days to be with her grandson. She finds him a lot more disciplined, talking sense and talking clearly. The tantrums - or rather demands to get him this or that - continue. The itching is only occasional and his skin looks much better.

One thing I have forgot to mention is that we have stopped all the medication that we got for him from Trivandrum. When my inlaws took Ash for a 2nd opinion about his persistent itching with an Ayurveda doctor friend in Changanacheri, he found that Ash was being given siddha medicines and not proper ayurveda as we believed them to be. He advised us to stop them right away, including the oils. Instead he gave an allopathic ointment, probably with cortisone content, for temporary and has taken a blood test for lead content in his body. The test will be done in Bombay, so we have to wait for the results now.

I must say prayers help a lot too. The climate and cleaner air in Kerala too, I guess.

Mira's absence maketh his heart grow fonder for her. When his granpa gets him a toy, he now requests him to buy one for his kid sister, from whom he snatched away toys until now even when he didnt want to play with them.

And today, Mira tells me that she wants to go to granpa's house to be with Ash. She is bored sitting at home with the maid. Her new school will not start until July (V has finally consented to let me seek admission in WCC's nursery school when I offered to drop her at school in the mornings). Meanwhile we have to use all our resources to keep her occupied - to the terrace, to the groundfloor to see the watchman's daughters, for a walk, for an outing etc. etc. The outing is not easy with V's late hours except on Sundays. Last Sunday she went to the church and the beach, and has been clamouring for more church trips ever since.

Apart from looking after her doll, she has progressed to looking after me. She towels my hair, combs it but give up half way. "Amma, you have too much hair" and asks me to braid it myself. She insists that I read the newspaper while she applies creams and lotions on me.

As V watches her sweep and keep away things and pretend to cook, he remarks: "She is not going to be like her mother."

Diet dilemma

Ash had his follow-up appointment with the allergy specialist at Child Trust today. It was my first visit to the hospital, so I bungled up a bit and forgot to report at the Medical Records Room so that they would send the file to the doctor's room. With the result that we had to wait over an hour.
Ash's allergy test shows 2-10 allergy for wheat, rice, milk, fish, chicken, gluten (for shrimp it is 55) when the values should be less than 0.35 whatever. The doctor was horrifed to see that Ash showed a high allergy to house dust mites (over 100) and suggested a skin testing before going for an immunisation programme at his home clinic. He tells us that the medicines are imported, hence it is an expensive treatment.
At this rate Ash cant eat anything. The dr said we avoid wheat and milk and continue to give rice, our staple food.He has asked us to continue the oral steroids for him. We need to consult Ash's peadiatrician before we embark on anything, since he had been skeptical of the allergy tests in the first place.

Yours severely

Today morning we had a heated debate on the best way to treat Ash's skin ailment. It has meant untold suffering for the poor child (an adult would have hit the roof if so afflicted) inspite of our applying oils all the time, bathing him in neem water and shikakai powder (which he hates as it burns his bruised skin) and giving medication thrice a day. But so far there has been no respite and the child continues to be a ghost of his former self - scales peeling off on his face everyday, hair falling and the eyebrows almost disappearing.

I and mil strongly suspected that it was some allergy - medication or food - that was the root cause. V said it was the Enterogermina acting on his body and making all the bacteria come out. I said we go to the allergy clinic of Dr. Nagaraju in Child Trust Hospital here but V didnt sound keen on allopathy again. His parents too supported an indigenous cure though mil thought allopathy would be wise for external application. In two hours, V made various suggestions:

• that I call up the Siddha doctor (since my Tamil is better than his) and ask her what to do now,
• that we call up the Ayurveda dr and ask for an oil to apply,
• that he fly him to Trivandrum to an Ayurveda skin clinic next Friday,
• that we visit a Kottackal doctor living nearby, who was out of station the last time we went to him
• that we take him to the allergy clinic.

But I was skeptical of

• calling the Siddha lady because she would say that we persist with the oil she has given
• Dr. Shaji wouldnt give any oil
• next Friday was a long way off
• why visit too many doctors and subject Ash for experimentation.

He finally left for work in a huff but cooled down in an hour's time to call me and say that he wanted to take Ash to the allergy clinic.

The doctor, when he saw Ash, was shocked beyond words as he said he hadnt seen such a severe case. He took a photograph for records. He said the allergy could be because of cow's milk and prescribed some tests, the results of which are not ready yet. For now, he prescribed a steroid tablet among some other regular syrups to bring down the inflammation. He advised against Siddha, same as our regular paediatrician Dr. Thomas when V met him in the evening for a 2nd opinion on the tablets.

We need to bring his skin to its former state before resorting to possibly Ayurveda, which most Keralites swear by.

Clothes maketh the lady

I have a problem in hand. My daughter refuses to wear any of her home wear stuff. Either her best clothes or none at all. She will rather walk around the house n*ked (one has to be wary of Web sense censoring words) than wear any of her old clothes - and one thing V cant stand is a little girl exposing herself in today's wicked world. She doesnt mind wearing her brother's homewear clothes though.

I have no such problems with Ash - once in a while he insists on his Superman t-shirt but otherwise he is least bothered about what he is wearing. It is actually tougher to get him to get out of something he is wearing, whereas Mira changes hers at the drop of a drop of water.

I guess I will have to give away all her old clothes and introduce the older outing clothes for homewear. Sigh! But I am still hoping that she will get over this phase.

***

WE have been running from pillar to post to find a cure for Ash's affliction. Early dawn today, V took a sleeping Ash to a Siddha doctor called Uma Maheshwari in Tiruvallur in the company of the family (a first cousin) who recommended her to us. The doctor meets patients from 5 am to 1 pm and they managed to be the second in the line. The fee is nominal but the journey is long and arduous. She gives medicines for a week only.

Ash didnt itch after we applied the oil she gave. Now we need to get his stomach clear of all the allopathic stuff he has been taking - she thinks it has prolly affected his liver which is why his lips are getting darkish and his eyes are getting darker. No seafood, no tea and coffee, she prescribes. No other diet restrictions.

p.s. The Ayurveda treatment can wait, V says, though the medicine landed by courier. We are not sure how we can get him to take 300 ml of bitter kashayam everyday for 6 months.

Rising from the ashes

Ash had his third tryst with his new dermatologist yesterday at Apollo. His skin condition had worsened so much that we were back to applying oil instead of all the fancy creams. His whole body was full of bruises and scars from frequent itching and scratching.

The doctor has changed his medicines and ointments - Elovera cream (which has Vit E and Aloe vera) to be applied twice a day, Flutibact ointment which I suppose will manage the itching, T-bact to be applied in his nose area at night to prevent bacteria coming out of his body (!!) and of course this bacteria-manager called Enterogermina, imported from Italy and costs Rs.34 a vial (it tastes like water but Ash calls it juice) to be consumed once a day. Mira's peadiatrician had also prescribed the vials for her latest episode of infection. Looks like it is the new favorite of doctors, but I dunno how the economically weaker sections can afford to buy them.
I know the medicine details wont interest many of you reading this blog, but I am doing it for those who google for info on ointments and medicines for eczema.

Ash will also not be going to Kerala now. The activity sessions that Ash attends to improve his attention span cannot afford a break now. He need to do it at a stretch for 3-6 months. We have also been asked to help him with a home program on that - throwing balls, wheelbarrow walking (walking on his hands), shape and color sorters, clay making (rather 'Play dough') and so on. We need to cut down TV time, which has not been easy.

Behind the mask

Ash and me on Christmas day last year - with the Christmas gifts from his uncle and aunt ...
***
Ash and me did a few hospital rounds today afternoon. An upset tummy that meant I had to give his stool and urine samples at SMF main before waiting (45 minutes into my appointment time) for an abdominal scan for him at the SMF children's hospital. The scan revealed some "mesentric lymph nodes" which the doctor told me was an infection in the stomach.

We then proceeded to Apollo to meet the paed. dermatologist, who told me that Ash's blood tests all seem okay. So the reason for his poor growth could be all the steroid creams we have been dabbing on him all these years. He has asked us to avoid egg-nuts-berries in the boy's diet. He should be made to wear only cottons, have the shortest possible bath (using Oilatum plus in the bathwater instead of soaps) and pat dried instead of scrubbed dry. The new creams for him include Dermavive (Made in Australia and imported here; at the cost it is sold in India I dont think I can afford to apply it liberally all over his body as suggested on the tube!), Topgraf (Tacrolimus ointment) and a probiotic called Enterogermina to be consumed once a day. Apparently kids with atopic dermatitis suffer from recurrent gastritis too.

Reached home at 8 p.m. after going to three hospitals at three different locations in the city.

Atopic

Ash had an appointment with Dr. Muralidhar Rajagopalan, a paediatric dermatologist at Apollo hospitals, Chennai yesterday. He told us that the kid's hyperactivity, short stature, and poor eating habits are all likely linked to his atopic dermatitis. He suggested some 8 blood tests, including one on Vitamin D function, to understand the problem better and prescribe how best to cope with his problem. The tests alone came to a whopping Rs.8000. (A still-sleeping Ash was taken early morning today to give 4 vials of blood.)

To think that this doctor had been coming to our company clinic for the past 10 years or more, and I have never bothered to use the free medical service! (There's a saying in my mother tongue: The jasmine in your own garden doesnt have any fragrance) And now I pay Apollo's cut-throat fees becuse the doctor has quit our Welfare Centre and concentrates at Apollo alone. He tells us that Dr. Patrick is not a peadiatric dermatologist. Anyways, I hope this guy can cure Ash's affliction. If he cant, I am planning to try Ayurveda when I go to Kerala next. It might surely have a remedy for karappan and raktadosham.
***
p.s. Mommy dear left for Kerala yesterday night. The kids who had been threatening each other with Appacha ninno until recently was trying to coax (the way we coax them to prefer Chandanapally's laidback, scenic, rustic life in place of dreary old Chennai) each other to go with her. Ash was heard telling Mira: There is kokkoko (hen), Bumo (Bruno our lab) there, go go. And when the granny was ready to go both seemed willing to go with her. But only as far as the railway station. When I asked her at the station whether she would go, Mira said: I am afraid of hens.

School hunt

A lean day at work. So making up for the past few days' silence.
We are on the look out for a temporary good playschool for Ash, where he will have enough montessori-model activities to burn his energy. On the doctor's suggestion, we had come across a school called Saraswati Vidyalaya in Choolaimedu which has an interactive, airconditioned, disciplined playschool. V met the lady-in-charge of the nursery section, one Ms. Padma, who told me today that Ash can be admitted on a trial basis for a week. If he adjusts well and is happy there he can continue till the school closes for summer vacation in mid-April. They are not too keen on a temporary admission but we have already paid the school fee and donation at UCA. Whatever, we have to pay Rs.5000-odd as admission and term fees. The school timing is from 8.30 to 12 noon for KG. They also have a daycare which functions till 6.30 pm. That is an option we could think of when our maid woes get unmanageable.
Vinod went to Ash's old school to convey that he wont be coming any more - just told them that he is going off to Kerala for a while. They were a bit sad to hear it. The teacher said he had been a good boy, who grasped fast and did well. She showed his classwork and art work and stuff. His books have been returned.

On the eczema front, Ash's itching seems to be worse of late - dunno if it any food allergy or the change in medication - Zensoft, Flutibact and Cetaphil in place of HHsone and Atogla. Might have to meet Dr. Patrick again. To our consolation he had observed that eczemic kids are smaller and fail to thrive until they get the better of their affliction. Which made V wonder if the doctor himself, a small wiry man with dry skin, is eczemic.

Eczema

Google searches for creams/ointments for relief from eczema seems to throw up my blog at times. (It is interesting to note the kind of searchwords that throw up my blog.) So if it helps people, here is what I know from our experience in providing relief to our eczemic son.

Atogla: a skin emollient that soothes and nourishes the skin. We apply it on his face and body soon after bath, without towelling him too much. A dermatologist told us that eczemic people have less moisture content (than the usual 10% ) in their bodies, so moisture retention is a must. Not all medicals shops have it though it is manufactured in Chennai. I get my stock from 7 Hills Medicals in Anna Nagar. It costs Rs.100 for the cream; the lotion is more expensive. The cream is what Ash's dermatologist has recommended.
Eumosone M has also been recommended by paediatricians but I guess it has steroid/cortesone content and not too good for long-term, daily use.
Right now we use an ointment called HHsone, mixed in liquid paraffin at bed time or if he itches real bad. There is also a teaspoon of a syrup called Lormeg to be taken at bedtime.
Ever since we found this wonderful doctor called Patrick Yesudian on PH Road (behind Kumaran hospital, though getting his stupid secretary to give an appointment is a feat), Ash has found great relief from his affliction. Until then he had been a dermatologist's delight. He told us not to stop any food - seafood, egg, citric fruits whatever - unless he shows an allergy/itching within two hours of consuming it. So nowadays Ash takes everything except cocoa products. He still itches when he takes chocolates but I cant deprive him of the pleasure of having them once in a while, itching or no itching. When he is old enough to understand that it is not right for him, let him stop of his own accord.
Ash's skin condition had flared up sometime back - probably caused by the Bournvita and other cocoa-based health drinks we were giving him. I think there has been a miraculous change once we stopped that. But it must be a different thing that causes allergy in another eczemic person.
The doctor also recommended that we let him wear full-sleeved shirts and trousers - something like a night suit so that he wont scratch himself pink. We are yet to do that - still looking out for night suits. We also needs to prevent him from playing in sand/mud - which is not difficult living in an apartment.
And I didnt know until recently that eczema was the same, age-old disease called karappan in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. That means there will be a cure in Ayurveda too. To think I had baffled elders in Kerala by calling it eczema!

Blog nauseum

My blog fishing today caught two of Blogger's blogs of note - Raising Yousuf and Notes from Inside My Head. I am oversatiated devouring blogs in the effort to sight a few more good ones - I think I will soon be sick of the sight of blogs. I do things to the point of nausea and Ash has inherited it from me, V says. He starts eating an orange and soon he gets so interested in it that he wont rest until he finishes the entire lot in the fridge. Ditto about his recreational activities.
Speaking of oranges, I must add that we are not able to control Ash's food habits. Citric fruits, seafood, and eggs are taboo for him while wheat products, milk and sugar have to be taken in limited doses. The problem is that Ash suffers from infantile eczema and any taboo food aggravates his allergy (itching).
Ash's condition has got pretty bad of late, especially at night. The poor boy doesnt complain but nowadays tells us where to apply the ointment/lotion/cream - Oilatum, Eumosone, Atogla etc etc. He bathes in a basin of water that has a few drops of emollient instead of a soap.
The rashes began two months after his birth and the dermatologist, who diagnosed it as atopic/seborrhic dermatitis, said it would disappear by the time Ash turned 3 years old. IT hasnt. I am told the symptoms lessen with age, I hope it does. Two of our friends' kids also suffer from it, and I am told it afflicts boys more than girls.
I ask the doctor what causes it and he says, Nobody knows. I guess it is a legacy of our new lifestyles, environmental pollutions and some such... Dry skin and some skin ailments run in my side of the family but then nothing so acute. The older generation is just not able to understand it and says it is the treatment that I took - all the extra-precautionary medicines and injections and scans durin the ante-natal checkup at MMM - that has caused it. I keep quiet because I have no better explanation to give.