I’m a mom who writes about our family’s journey with food and environmental allergies, asthma and eczema — in short, our journey with allergy.
I have a biology degree, a computer science degree, and a diploma in music. I’m a learner, thrive on intellectual discussions, love science, really enjoy reading well-written non-fiction, and appreciate the craft of writing. Before having children, I used to be active all the time and enjoyed hiking, camping and paddling in the summers and cross-country skiing in the winters. I’ll return to those pursuits more often as my children grow. According to profiles in The Tipping Point, I’m primarily a Connector but nowadays, with things related to kids, oftentimes regarded as a Maven. I like making connections with people and discovering our similarities. I’m passionate about ideas and patterns, and dare to wonder if a very motivated person could actually change the world!
After implementing the suggestions and problem-solving heuristic on the solveeczema.org site, and making significant changes to our household environment and lifestyle which included removing synthetic detergents, filtering our indoor air, removing our carpet, being judicious about the types and sources of foods we eat (to control for food allergy, food-grade detergents in food, and pesticides in food), our results were significant. For our daughter, completely eczema-free and clear skin without needing steroids. For our son, much better skin and seeming reduction in severity of / delay of developing asthma (though we are still working hard on issues that make him more sensitive than his sister). For me, asthma that is under control without use of steroid inhalers. For my husband, what appears to be decreased sensitivity to his environmental allergens (pollens) and less severe allergic reactions to them.
Our experiences with synthetic detergents changed my perspective on the larger discussion around chemical inundation in our modern environments and impacts on both human and animal population, helped me to start to take seriously the responsibility of humans to steward the earth, and compelled me to start sharing my experiences and advocate for my children and others like them.
See the following links for a more in-depth explanation of what brought me to this place and why this blog exists.
Our Story, Part I: Finding and Believing solveeczema.org
Our Story, Part II: Results After Switching to Soap
Our Story, Part III: How Eczema Made Me a Granola Mom
Our Story, Part IV: What’s this Blog About?