Eczema: Summer Camp Series
The thought of sending a child with eczema to camp can feel a bit overwhelming. Who’s going to watch them so they don’t scratch? Who’s going to either apply cream to them or remind the child to do it themselves? Who’s going to make sure they avoid their triggers? Who’s going to ensure no one bullies them about their skin? And so on.
Thankfully there are camps just for kids with eczema and other chronic skin conditions! Can you imagine, a camp where there are other kids with skin just like theirs? They won’t feel alone and they’ll just want to have fun.
Here are a few camps I’ve found for children with chronic skin conditions, like eczema. Maybe one is near you! Some of these camps even have sponsorship programs that will pay all or some of the camper’s expenses.
Camp Discovery
Locations vary by year. Here is a list of 2013 camps:
Crosslake, Minnesota
Ages 10-14
June 23-28*
&
Ages 14-16
July 7-12*
Carnation, Washington
Ages 8-16
June 24-28*
Burton, Texas
Ages 9-15
August 11-16*
Millville, Pennsylvania
Ages 8-13
August 10-17
Hebron, Connecticut
Ages 8-16
August 11-17*
Livermore, California
Carnation, Washington
Stay tuned for the next post in this Summer Camp Series: Asthma Camps!
FROM: Eczema
I have a theory I would like to present to the public. After reading that the number of allergy problems, etc. is much, much higher in developed nations, than in non-developed nations, I have asked why this is so. Certainly, one of the differences would be the level of sanitation, and perhaps another might be the prevalence of growing one’s own food (in non-developed countries).
Now, I considered the fact that 300 years ago, the average human raised their own food, and had substantially less access to running water, to wash/rinse their hands, and their food. Yet, (this is key) their immune systems kept them alive, fighting the pathogens, germs, etc. found in the plain old dirt that was on their hands. Note, that the immune systems were not reacting to tree pollen, grass pollen, etc, etc., because these weren’t real threats.
Moving to the present day, very few of us get our hands in the soil, and a little dirt under our fingernails. This is the connection/theory I am trying to make. Logically, it seems that our immune systems, because they doesn’t have to fight the normal ‘bad guys’ of 300 years ago, they now reacts against things they shouldn’t. Allergies are very common.
As an expirement , and because I suffer from spring hay fever, I tried to test this theory. Right after breakfast, and before leaving for work, I went into the backyard, and clawed in the dirt, to get some dirt under my fingernails, and rubbed it off the tips of my fingers, sort of, in the grass. Then, I left for work, no washing my hands, for as long as practical. Guess what ? On those days, I did not have the itchy eyes, runny nose, and associated symptoms of my hay fever.
Therefore, I’m putting this out there. Call it the Motacek theory. Do other people find help from this ? Logically, it does make some sense, but the proof is in the results.
Hi – Sure, this fits along with the hygiene hypothesis that is already out there, but my personal belief is that it’s not just one thing that has damaged our immune system. I believe it is a multitude of things – vaccines, genetically modified foods, pesticides, etc. And it’s not just from one generation, but from previous generations being passed on down. We can start by cleaning up our diets and removing processed foods, eating non-gmo, organic foods, and taking probiotics to counteract vaccines. This is a start – hopefully we’ll be able to clean-up our bodies in a generation or two.