Poison Ivy "fun" and update on bedwetting experiment

If you're not allergic to poison ivy and/or don't have a child with wetting issues, then this post will probably not interest you.  But if so ... read on!

sunflowers in our garden

I'm sitting here in a perfectly quiet house.  (OK, the quiet was just shattered by one of Tabby's roosters outside the window - but that's OK!)  My family is at church and I don't know the last time I have been home alone.  I stayed home because well - I feel like a leper.  I have nasty oozing poison ivy all over the backs of my swollen legs..  No need to go and freak people out and drip all over the place!  :(

This disgusting stuff flared up a few days ago and I can not wait until it goes away.  I'm guessing I got it when I went into the woods to cut our goats some branches with leaves for a treat.  (They've cleared out everything they can reach on the trees in their area.)  Goats actually eat poison ivy - I wish we could let them loose on our whole property!

"You there!  Bring us shrubbery!"

Sundrop - she's about 2.5 weeks old now and sooooo cute!

As uncomfortable as this feels, and awful it feels to walk, I have to say it's only reached near torturous itching level a few times for which I am extremely thankful.  I believe that is from the treatments I am using:

1) I am taking high doses of Vitamin C (1000 mg) and Pantothenic acid (500 mg), every two hours.  (I read about this in my go-to health care book Be Your Own "Doctor": An Informative guide to Herbal Home Health Care by Rachel Weaver M.H.)

2) Bathing my legs twice a day in original blue Dawn dishwashing liquid.  (Soak for 10-15 minutes.)  This stuff helps dry it up, clears off the oils, and helps keep spreading down. 

3) When I bathe my legs - I use the hottest water I can stand.  Studies show that hot water can help alleviate itching for up to 3 hours, because the nerve network in the skin get so overloaded by the heat of the water.

4) Putting on a clay paste 2-3 times a day.   I mixed this up by using a half cup of bentonite clay, 8 drops of peppermint essential oil, and enough water mixed in to make a paste.  (Bentonite clay is fantastic for drawing out toxic stuff.)  Spread on thickly.  It feels SO good when I first put it on - peppermint is wonderfully cooling.  Then it starts to tighten as it dries and that feels good at first because it's like it's itching my skin for me.  I don't really like it as much when it's totally dried.  But, it's way more effective than the typical calamine lotion that is used for drying the oozing ("weeping") areas.  (I found out about this paste in Alternative Cures: The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems by Bill Gottlieb.)

One thing I wish I had was jewelweed.  This plant sounds like it heals poison ivy faster than any other treatment!  It is typically found in shady, moist areas near poison ivy.  (God gave us the antidote right by the culprit.)  I would like to try growing jewelweed to have on hand.

By the way, bentonite clay has so many good uses.  Among other things, I use it in both the toothpaste and deodorant I make.

tractor from my sister-in-law Nikki - it's just screaming for something to be planted at it's base!

This past spring, I wrote about a book I read entitled It's No Accident: Breakthrough Solutions to Your Child's Wetting, Constipation, UTI's, and Other Potty Problems by Steve J. Hodges, MD.  I was talking to a friend yesterday that said my mention of the book had helped her help her kids with this issue.  That reminded me I had never reported what happened with our "experiment."

As I had mentioned, my 6 year old son still struggles with wetting most night.  He HATES this.  The doctor that wrote this book said that almost all nighttime wetting problems are caused by constipation.  (And your child can still be constipated even if they are going once a day.)  So I shared some of the information I had read about with Hunter, and what the doctor recommended as a solution.  The easy stuff was high fiber foods, more water, more physical exercise.  The harder - a 3 month treatment of pediatric enemas for quicker results, or a much longer treatment of daily Miralax.

Hunter bravely choose the enemas.

When we started, I also started Solomon on enemas as he is never dry at night anymore.  (He used to have some dry nights, even as a baby, so I figured he must be constipated some.)  Only a few days into it, Solomon began screaming and crying at enema time.  So I immediately stopped them with him, and gave him a dose of Miralax every day for awhile.  Within days he had stopped wetting at naptime.  Wow.  (Nighttime hasn't happened yet, but he's still 2 and that's OK.)

Hunter endured daily enemas for the 1st month, every other day for the 2nd month, and twice a week for the 3rd month.  The result?  He's dry at night - occasionally.  Poor guy - he just cried about it when we wrapped up the 3 months.  BUT it was not a total failure - he has been happy with a couple other results.  He no longer frequently complains that his "waist hurts."  And, he no longer has "surprise daytime accidents."  So those are very big benefits.

Still though - why is he still wetting?  (It seems it happens after 3:00 a.m. and he is a deep sleeper.)  At this point I am wondering if it's just plain old genes.  Apparently in my husband's family, at least some of the kids were pretty late in being able to stay dry all night.  I need to go back and skim parts of the book to see if I've missed anything else.

I have come across some parent's swearing by Dr. Christopher's Kid-e-Dry incontinence formula.  (It's an herbal tincture.)  So we are trying that now.  No results yet.  I also bought some liquid calcium-magnesium, that other parents say their kids have to have or they wet.  I haven't tried that yet with Hunter, but will soon.

If nothing else, it won't last forever. 

rooster frequently fighting - now that will last forever ...