When Katie went on holiday, she had no idea that a simple conversation with a fellow passenger would change everything for her younger son’s skin.
Alfie, now 10 months old, had been struggling with severe eczema since he was around 12 weeks old. His skin was affected from head to toe with his face, neck, torso and legs often red, inflamed and dry. Nights were the hardest, as Katie recalls:
“He was forever itching his skin, waking up scratching at his chest and tummy, and then he’d be irritable all day. It was heartbreaking watching him suffer – I knew exactly how painful it was because I went through the same as a child.”
Eczema runs in Katie’s family. She was hospitalised with it as a baby and still carries scars from years of steroid cream use. Determined to avoid the same path for Alfie, she tried cutting dairy from her own diet while breastfeeding after doctors suspected he has a cow’s milk protein allergy. Katie experimented with multiple different ointments and bath lotions, eventually turning to hydrocortisone cream when nothing else seemed to work.
By the time the family went on their summer holiday in August, Alfie’s skin was at its worst. “His legs and torso were really inflamed and his ankles painfully dry,” Katie says.
That’s when fate stepped in. On the flight, Julia Vearncombe, the passenger sitting next to Katie, offered to hold Alfie for a moment to help. She noticed his dry skin and correctly identified he had eczema. As the founder of Skin:Genius whose range includes two products specifically for dry, flaky and inflamed skin, Julia offered Katie her Cream Come True product which she carries with her at all times.
“We tried it straight away was initially taken by how lovely it smelled. It sank into Alfie’s dry skin and wasn’t greasy or waxy like many other creams I’ve tried,” says Katie. “Over the course of the holiday, I used it generously – at every nappy change to start with – and within a week, Alfie’s skin had completely transformed. The redness faded, the dryness eased and for the first time in months, he was comfortable.”
The difference in Alfie’s wellbeing was dramatic. He stopped his constant scratching and started to sleep through the night. He became much calmer and happier and Katie’s anxiety eased. She now only applies the cream twice a day to keep symptoms at bay.
“Alfie’s skin is soft and soothed and we even get compliments on how nice he smells!” says Katie. “The fact that Cream Come True is organic and natural gives me peace of mind knowing I’ve found something that works without harming Alfie’s delicate skin.”
At Alfie’s recent 10-month review, Katie was advised he can start to reintroduce cow’s milk products when he turns one. For now, she is simply relieved to have found a gentle, effective way to manage his eczema.
“It was fate that I was sat next to Julia on that plane: the seating plan proved to be a gamechanger for Alfie and our family. I’m getting ready to return to work as an HR adviser in November and it’s such a relief knowing Alfie’s eczema is under control.”