What's Wrong with Her Face?!?

You tend to be a lot more relaxed with your second kid.  A lot.  So Wednesday night seemed like a great time for Lucy (she turns 1 on Christmas) to try TWO new foods at once.  I know, I know - you're supposed to only try one new food for a week and then add another.  But whatever.  Second kid.  So she got corn and chicken for the first time Wednesday night.  Both organic.  She was doing really well with the few little bites I gave her, so I gave her a second little pile.  Then I noticed the area right around her mouth was turning red.  I made note of it, thought maybe she had been rubbing it or teething and moved on - continued making the rest of dinner, putting dishes in the dishwasher, feeding Ellis, starting a load of laundry, answering work emails....ya know, multi-tasking mommy stuff.  I looked at her again, and thought "maybe that's spreading" but wasn't sure.  I kept being busy, then Jade walked in door and exclaimed "What's wrong with her face?!?".  Now Jade is usually my barometer for when to freak out.  He is always so calm and cool and collected.  And also, he's a guy, so they don't always notice the details.  But when he immediately saw it and freaked out, I knew I wasn't imagining the spreading redness.  I took her food away, which made her mad.  As soon as she stopped eating, it spread very quickly over her entire face and white welts began to appear.  She was getting fussy and clawing at her face.  Eeek!  I grabbed my Lavender while calling the doctor's answering service. 

While I waited for the nurse to call back, I rubbed the lavender over the welts and posted a question in my oily Facebook group asking for oily recommendations.  A few mommies answered right way (love my oily friends) and then the nurse called back.  Jade was getting ready to run to the store for Benadryl - this half-a-hippie doesn't have any over the counter meds in the house anymore but I was scared and ready to give her whatever she needed.  But then the nurse said NO Benadryl for kids under the age of 6 and told us unless she was severe (swollen lips, gagging, excessive drooling, trouble breathing), then all we could do was push fluids, give her a bath and watch for signs of severe distress.   Um, OK - oils it is then!  I'm not waiting for this to get worse!

Jade took her upstairs for a bath and I gathered the oils my oily friends had suggested.   Funny that everything they suggested made total sense and I realized I already knew what they were saying. I also have several resource books I could have referenced.  But in the moment of crisis (OMG is my baby having anaphylaxis), you forget everything you know.  This is why I'm an HR lady and not a paramedic or ER doctor.

Of course, if this ever happens to you, CALL YOUR DOCTOR.  I am not a doctor (I might have already mentioned that), this is just what we did after they basically told us there was nothing we could do but watch and wait.  I am not a watcher and waiter.  I'm a doer!  So I did my oily thing and she was totally back to normal within an hour. 

Lavender - I applied just 1 drop spread around her cheeks where the redness and welts were.

Frankincense - I applied to the bottom of her feet because when in doubt - FRANK! Frank is your friend! 

Copaiba - I layered this over the frankincense; it has anti-inflammatory effects.  For you science nerds, Copaiba contains the highest amounts of beta caryophyllene (55 percent) of any known essential oil.  Beta-caryophyllene is a sesquiterpene widely distributed in essential oils of various plants. Several biological activities are attributed to beta-caryophyllene, such as anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and local anaesthetic activities

Purification - I applied to her spine; this a a blend of oils with purifying and cleansing properties and my intention was to use it to draw the toxin (allergen) from her system.


Maybe it was the bath, maybe it was the fluids, maybe it was the oils, or maybe a combo of all three that helped her. Either way, I am so thankful I have these amazing oils to use. When you're told there's nothing you can do, that's not always true - you can use oils!

I applied all of these oils "neat", which means straight out of the bottle. Dilution with a carrier oil like coconut or olive oil is usually recommended for babies, but Lucy has been oily since birth and I know what she can tolerate.

Whew - no more corn for this little cutie for a while!

 

 

 

To read more about these oils or order them, click here.
To get oily tips and tricks, go like my Facebook page Oily Living.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.