Why Simplicity
because complexity clouds our logical judgement
Battling Corey’s eczema has made me into the most self-assured mum I am today. But I wasn’t always like that. I was a nervous wreck for the first 6 months of his condition. My emotional health deteriorated along with his condition. I might have actually slipped into depression without realizing it but hey I’ll dive into that in future. For now, you are about to find out how I pulled myself out of this rut.
Today I’m a totally different mother from that one when Corey’s eczema was at it’s worst. I am able to care for him as well as I do is because I have a stable diagnosis from a professional allergist with decades of healing severe allergies and eczema.
His treatment plan is the simple anchor upon which I use to manage my son’s allergic conditions.
Someone logical, lighting the path of how to think and how to learn to cope with Corey’s condition
Meeting Corey’s allergist lifted a huge weight off my chest. Up till that point, I had done so many things, chased so many alternative therapies and slapped on way too many different moisturizers. Yet my baby never healed.
Here was a doctor who was straight forward, answered my questions on steroid creams succinctly. He even reminded me that he can only account for his treatment (not other doctors). You mean he could tell by just looking at Corey and me that I’ve been a headless chicken, seeing multiple doctors and seeking many alternative treatments?
He must know something I don’t.
I told myself I would give his treatment plan 3 months to see the effectiveness. And to fully evaluate its effectiveness, I stopped everything else I had been doing.
In those three months, he showed me what science could do, he also showed me how to use any medications and creams he prescribed safely.
The best part? I could leave the medical evaluation to him and concentrate on the areas of Corey’s diet, giving him a conducive environment to allow him to grow properly and thrive.
before seeing our allergist 
one month after starting on allergist treatment 
three months after
Allergies and eczema are complex, but our healing plans don’t have to complicated.
Corey’s allergist does his job of answering all my questions and doubts and giving me a simple, straight forward plan to follow.
I do my job of constantly asking questions and following the treatment plan laid out. Work on building a healthy diet, follow a simple (but extremely tedious repetitive) skincare regime and only avoid Corey’s proven allergens.
I am neither a proponent nor an opposition of steroid creams. What is important to me is to learn how to use doctor’s treatment safely and without side effects in the long run. And Corey’s doctor taught me exactly that.
We have a regular feedback loop of me updating him on Corey’s progression. We see him every few months to hash out new questions I have and to follow up on whether he thinks we should retest anything. If anything is amiss in between those appointments, I would check in with him via email.
Building trust with a doctor takes time. Give it a few months to evaluate whether a treatment works.
It wasn’t immediate trust though. I had to build that part of the relationship with Corey’s doctor too.
Early on, I went down that rabbit hole of thinking that everything was causing my baby eczema to flare. I insisted doctor test him for apple and eggplant because I was certain he was itchier after eating those.
The results came back negative. So I asked doctor why I kept feeling like everything I fed him was making him itchier, he told me that allergies and eczema are complex. And told me to simplify and only work with the proven allergens.
Today, Corey eats apples and eggplant without any issues and I no longer think about it. Whether he actually likes eating them is another story. But hey I’m glad I don’t have to cut random things from his already limited diet just because I suspect he was allergic to something new. I have a proper professional who can work with me to investigate and tell me with a majority of confidence whether I was dreaming or not.
Simple.
Why SPEAK
It started with just me, Joanne and another two mums. While volunteering with the Asthma and Allergy Association of Singapore, we found a few more families. Slowly, we grew, from 5 families to now 20 odd families. Our children are all under the care of different allergists from different hospitals and private practice.
We cannot diagnose other people’s suspected allergies because each case is different. But we can certainly offer support coping day to day once you have done a proper diagnosis on what your child is allergic to through registered allergists like we had.
There are many other groups which discuss alternative healing and “natural” methods of healing. The efficacy of these methods is not something we can comment on and neither do we want to. My own experience in joining these groups was an unhealthy decision for me and Corey. I went through all the miracle testimonies of each alternative therapy, tried some like total steroid withdrawal and bio-resonance which inaccurately diagnosed my baby’s allergens.
In setting up SPEAK, we would like to offer another perspective, one supported by science-based medicine.
Why rely on science-based medicine.
While we can neither confirm nor dispute whether alternative methods of healing work since it is not our job to diagnose anyone’s allergic conditions. Through our own experience workly closely with registered allergists, our children have healed and are thriving. Thus we are here to merely offering this other perspective.
We aren’t here to start a huge debate about the pros and cons of “natural” methods of healing. Science-based medicine may not be perfect either. Even doctors can/ have differing opinions. But there is no denying that science-based medicine has given us a proper diagnosis to work with. Otherwise, we’d be headless chickens running around while our children are suffering.
And the best part, science-based medicine has proper statistical diagnostic legs to stand on.
If ever in doubt, ask a qualified allergist tough questions till you are satisfied.
Decide for yourself….
I only have to look at Corey today and compare it to his condition when I was chasing every other alternative therapy, to know that I must have done something right.
Don’t just take my word for it. If you can read forums and hear other peoples’ healing testimony, why not also read about the different types of Allergy Testing from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Or read about science-based medicine of Food Allergies: fact, myth or pseudoscience. These articles are written by doctors and registered allergists.
https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/library/allergy-library/allergy-testing
There are methods of allergy testing that the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) believes are not useful, effective or may lead to inappropriate diagnosis and treatment. These include: allergy screening tests done in supermarkets or drug stores, home testing, applied kinesiology (allergy testing by testing muscle strength or weakness), cytotoxicity testing for food allergy, Rinkel skin titration method, provocative neutralization testing, Immunoglobulin G (IgG) testing for food allergy or sublingual provocation.
Share and like this post and help others who might find it useful!
Connect with me by liking our Facebook Page @projectsimplicitysg , follow me on Instagram @amandaprosimple or send an email to say hi at amanda@projectsimplicity.sg
If you would like to join my growing parent support group, you can find me and my fantastic allergy mums at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/speakallergysquad/
