Apples and Carrots

We took Finley to see Dr Dwywer who is a GP in Grahamstown (as well as the district surgeon) reknowned for his alternative health practices. Finley was due for his 6 month checkup and we wanted to get the eczema on his cheeks checked out as well since it just wasn't going away and was seemingly becoming worse. Fin was also finding it difficult to fall asleep since his cheeks would become more itchy at bedtime and he would lie there rubbing it with the back of his hand. We were a little concerned about it because infant eczema can put him at an increased risk of developing other atopic illnesses like asthma and hay fever.

Three things that are great about Dr Dwyer:

• He treated Finley like a 'real' patient, talked to him, engaged with him and respected what he was trying to communicate (whether he was uncomfortable in a certain position and wanted to stand instead of sit or wanted to look out the window for a bit instead of being examined, etc.)
• He used laser accupuncture as part of his treatment for Finley's eczema. He used a handheld laser that resembled a pen, and held it on various pressure points on Fin's body. The whole process took about 10 minutes and was not invasive in any way. It was actually the calmest Finley has been during a visit to the doctor.
• His prescription did not involve any moisturizers, creams (often vaseline or aqueous cream is recommended but this actually makes it a lot worse) or topical anti-inflammatory medications. His most valuable suggestion was "Eat apples and carrots. Lots of them." The apples and carrots have lots of vitamin A (beta carotene) and vitamin D which is all Finley really needed. His advice was to use vitamin E oil or olive oil or aloe vera on his cheeks if they became really dry but otherwise to just leave it.

Twenty four hours after the laser therapy, Finley's cheeks were so much better I could hardly believe it! I've been really good at consistently eating apples and carrots, so that it gets into my breastmilk (since Fin doesn't seem at all interested in eating solids himself these days) and after another laser therapy session, the eczema on his cheeks has completely disappeared. He still has some patches on his back, but I think it is just a matter of time before that disappears as well. Hooray for Dr Dwyer! Hooray for Apples and Carrots!

Three more things that we like about Dr Dwyer:

• Brad likes that he has long hair
• I like that he praised us for starting Finley on banana and avo as first foods (instead of rice cereal, as so many people recommend, still can't figure out why!)
• He seems to have similar views on our style of parenting which means he understands where we are coming from and we don't need to defend our choices

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