Imagine being able to spare 51,680 children this:
And this:
It would be a no-brainer, wouldn't it? If a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group trial found a simple, affordable, solution that meant 51,680 children would not manifest the specific food intolerences that are known to lead to Atopic Dermatitis, or Eczema, as it is commonly known.
That clinical trial exists. From 2014. You can read it Here. Women were given a multi-strain probiotic from 36 weeks gestation and their babies until the age of 6 months.
The results: "The statistically significant differences .. were mainly in sensitization to cow's milk and hen's egg proteins at 6 months. Atopic eczema occurred in 9/171 (5.3%) children in the probiotic arm and 21/173 (12.1%) in the placebo arm (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.91)."
Just using Thailand's numbers alone (where I currently live) with it's birth rate of 11 births per 1,000 people and a current population of 69 million, that's 51,680 children who could have been prevented from the food intolerances that lead to this terrible affliction. This year. alone. And 51,000 plus families who could be spared the hideous expense of Big Pharma's 'solutions'. How much money are we talking? The global numbers don't bear thinking about.
These images are of my friend's baby son. He is 3.5 months old. The Thai mother was not given probiotic supplementation in her last month of pregnancy. The little boy was delivered by C section, had a minor tongue surgery at 2 days old and was given routine post-surgery antibiotics. He is exclusively formula fed and recently had his 3 month vaccines. His parents have been beside themselves, doing their best and seeking medical intervention. The 'medical' solution? Topical creams and cortico-steroids. Even the parents changing to a so-called dairy free formula has not helped.
How much has this young couple spent on bandages, doctors visits, cortisone formulas, itch creams and the rest in 6 weeks alone? $500. And remember that pharmaceuticals and doctors here in Thailand cost a fraction of what they cost in the so-called developed world. Project that out over YEARS and multiply it by the number of children afflicted and you have your reasons why the simple probiotic supplementation doesn't even get discussed.
It couldn't be that simple, could it?
You can't begin to measure the distress to a child who itches-burns-weeps and bleeds. Who doesn't sleep well. This little guy has to wear bandages to bed, so his skin doesn't stick to his clothes. He hasn't been pooping. He's obviously easily fractious and so are his parents. He needs to have his hands restrained.
Now the study I have quoted above specifically says that probiotic treatment does not help actually treat eczema, just prevent it. But many other studies and anecdotes suggest probiotics do work as a treatment. And so we are trying.
After 5 days of simply supplementing tiny amounts of probiotics in his formula, we're seeing HUGE improvement on his arms and legs. We have only been using naturally fermented coconut water kefir (1 teaspoon per bottle) and a tiny amount of Saccharomyces boulardii x 2 daily. How do his feet and legs look now? The open wounds have already closed, the scabs are gone and the skin tone on his limbs is much better. We've been topically applying - very sparingly! - about 6 times per day - an oil blend of virgin coconut oil, moringa seed oil, vetiver essential oil and pure vitamin E that I made for him.
Next week we're going to change it up to add some new bacterial strains. And are actively looking for a better formula for him.
When you hear me rant and be disparaging about western doctors and Big Pharma, it comes from experience. Because I was this child too. I suffered with horrendous eczema from birth until I was 19 years old. And then I consulted an incredible naturopath in Melbourne, Australia - Dr Alan Hope. I spent 6 months on probiotics and a stringent liver detoxing diet - not fun, I can assure you. But at the end of that time, my lifetime's food intolerances disappeared. And so did my eczema. I maintain a great diet and regularly now eat eggs, although I prefer to be dairy free. The eczema has never returned.
I have some skin scarring, residual lung issues from over-use of cortico-steroids as an infant, and also some serious bone issues that I am told I will need more surgery for. The steroids used to treat eczema are documented to cause bone necrosis in later life, which makes the continued use of them for babies not just negligent, but evil in my opinion. I'm working on my bone issues naturally to create a different reality.
In reading up on clinical studies about probiotic bacterial strains and eczema, I came across the study I have quoted above. And it made me mad. Because it didn't unleashed a flurry of follow-up studies to refine the specific effective bacterial strains, or the timing of delivering them, or the reason some children are so very deficient. Eczema treatment has not changed in 50 years, despite the research. While I want to despair at the Big Pharma world milking the sheeples dry while their children suffer, I am reminded again that we live in an age of information. What my mother could not have known in the 1960s is now easily located with an hour and good search engine technique.
The take home from this article? If you're pregnant - you can proactively HELP TO PREVENT food intolerances and eczema in your child by supplementing with probiotics. By reading, learning, sharing, talking and trusting in the simple natural healing processes of the body, we can reduce the suffering of others and we can change people's lives.
Simple natural medicine is more possible, more accessible and better understood than ever before. It's up to US to read, learn and try new things, rather than waiting for or relying on a Dr who is coming from an outdated paradigm, which is propped up by Big Pharma who is soooo wedded to mega-profit that useful clinical studies are ignored, sidestepped and buried in the bowels of the internet.
