I explained to Jenna that the only way to trace the source of Abdel Karim's misery was to eliminate as many irritants to his system as possible, and then add them back in progressively to measure how his body reacted to them. I outlined a program of avoidance for Abdel Karim that was to last at least 21 days. However, Jenna felt this was too excessive. So, I told her to try it for a week and then come back and see me. I was hoping that by the end of the week he would have had some positive results that would convince her to continue.

I made a natural herbal soap for Abdel Karim by simmering soapwort herb in water for two hours and then straining it. His mother was to bathe him using only this soap. She was also to purchase an unscented and unperfumed detergent to wash his clothes and bedding in. I gave Jenna a copy of an elimination diet, which started by eliminating most allergenic foods from her son's diet. His diet would consist of only vegetables, oats, apples and chicken for one week. For his skin irritation, I created an herbal salve of pure vegetable oil infused with essential oil of rosemary. I also mixed an herbal tea made of burdock root, yarrow and marshmallow, which is designed to detoxify the blood and assist in digestion and elimination. He was to drink either a cup of tea three times a day or to take two capsules of the powdered herbs, also three times a day.

To administer the powdered herbs from the capsules, which were too large for Abdel Karim to swallow I that recommended that Jenna mix the herbs into a candy-ball made with black seed, which is also a popular anti-eczema herb. To make the black seed "candy" with powdered herbs she would take one tablespoon of black sesame seeds, grind them in a grinder (coffee grinder, but not one that is actually used for coffee), mix them with a teaspoon of sesame seeds, tahini and honey until she could form a ball. Then she would add oatmeal, oat bran or carob to create a firmer ball. Abdel Karim could eat this each day as a treat. I also recommended a B-complex vitamin, which would help Abdel Karim's body deal with stress - often a factor in eczema.

I also mentioned to Jenna that a lack of potassium could cause milk and milk product allergies. Eating red meat and milk products can interfere with a person's uptake of potassium, so she should limit Abdel Karim's intake of these foods. In order to increase in his potassium intake, she should include potatoes (the peelings mostly), tomatoes, bananas, dulse, kelp, soybeans, parsley, rice bran, apricots and dates in his diet. Juice sources of potassium include: carrots, dandelion leaves, beet tops, blueberries, cabbage, coconut, endive, lettuce, mint leaves, parsley, spinach, green peppers, pineapple (fresh only), swiss chard and wild black cherry.

Jenna called me the next day to ask if she could give Abdel Karim some orange juice. I said, "No. Orange juice is one of the most common offenders in cases of eczema." Jenna called me the next day to ask if Abdel Karim had to take the herbs every day. I explained to her that herbs only work on chronic problems when they are taken regularly over a period of one to six weeks. Jenna called me on the third day to say that the diet was very hard for her to follow and that she was not yet seeing any results. I explained to her that she may not see much of anything until the end of the week, but that she should be patient. Jenna called me the fourth day to say that Abdel Karim was getting worse and she was convinced he must be allergic to one of the herbs he was taking. 

A week later Jenna came to my office looking disappointed. "Nothing worked," she said. I asked about what she had done and realized why "nothing had worked." Jenna had "improvised" here and there in the instructions I had given her because she felt I was being too strict. She did not feel she was changing the program "much", but the effects of so many little changes added up and in the end she was not really doing much of the recommended therapy for her son. She admitted to me that she had let him drink orange juice almost every day because he really liked it and cried for it. She didn't think a little glass would matter. She had not had time to buy the unscented laundry soap and she let him have some ice cream on the fourth day because his cousins were having some and she didn't want him to be left out. The third day he went swimming in the hot sun and his eczema flared up. She stopped the herbs on the fourth day because they "seemed to be making him worse." However, she had forgotten that she herself had told me that exposure to sun makes his condition worse; he had been in the sun all day the third day of his program. The only thing Jenna really used for the entire week was the topical oil.

Jenna had hoped that I could provide her with an easy cure for her son's problem and was hoping the topical cream would perform a miracle for her. However, natural healing is usually not so easy. I explained to Jenna that natural healing takes time and that it is also holistic. To be effective, Jenna needed to be strict for a few weeks with Abdel Karim's diet and environment and also to combine many alternative therapies, rather than rely on just one. She also needed to continue the chosen therapy for three to six weeks before she would be able to see any significant effect. Jenna seemed reluctant to try again. Although she had not really followed the instructions I had given her, nor given much of the herb mixture to her son; the program and all the effort it would take intimidated her. Her husband was also making it difficult by opposing her choice of natural therapy and siding with Abdel Karim when he wanted a treat.

I told her that she could perhaps just use the herbs and oils for six weeks and see if they helped. It certainly would not hurt and it would at the very least, improve his condition. However, Jenna was still convinced that her son was allergic to the herbs and decided to go back to using drug medications on her son.

I was very disappointed and sad for Abdel Karim, however, by coincidence the next week, another mother brought her daughter in for the same problem. Sara's daughter, Abigail, had almost the same symptoms and situation as Abdel Karim. However, Sara was more familiar with alternative therapies and gladly followed the program I gave her. After four days of the program, Abigail underwent a "healing crisis" (when a body releases toxins into the system in the process of eliminating them) and her eczema flared up for two days. However, by the end of the first two weeks her eczema was in remission and her skin was smoother than it had been in months.

Abigail's mother eventually returned her to a "normal" diet, but continued to use natural soaps, natural juices and kept milk product intake to a minimum. She also avoided soymilk, as she discovered that her daughter also had a reaction to it. Seeing Abigail's success encouraged Abdel Karim's mother to try the program again. After two weeks on the program, Abdel Karim also showed great improvement. However, his mother discovered that she was not able to return him to a completely normal diet, as Abigail had been able to do. Abdel Karim's eczema flared up after he consumed milk products, citrus products and most packaged foods. He also had bad flare-ups after playing soccer in the heat. However, the flare-ups were worse when his clothes had been washed in strong detergent. So, Jenna switched her laundry detergent to a hypoallergenic brand permanently. 

Abdel Karim is greatly improved today and only occasionally has episodes of eczema. When he does, his mother uses his medicated cream to relieve him, although she uses the natural therapies to keep it in remission most of the time. He no longer takes the herbs, but is more careful about what he eats and is exposed to.

Karima Burns is a naturopath and herbalist. She has published her own newsletter about natural healing for four years and has studied many aspects of natural healing from herbs to homeopathy to aromatherapy for the past 12 years. She is an herbal consultant and teaches people about natural healing from her home in Saudi Arabia. This is a journal of her experiences with her clients.