As some of you might know, I have had very bad problems with eczema around Hannah's mouth, to the point where the skin was flaking, it was creating raw open wounds, and scabs. I tried different things and the only thing that helped much at all was hydrocortisone cream and that is a low level steroid so you can't use it long term.

Finally, in desperation, I made a doctor's appt. to get her evaluated. A couple of days before the appt. I happened to notice some leftover extra virgin (cold pressed and unrefined also) coconut oil and slathered some on her skin. The difference was apparent almost immediately. By the next day, her rash started to noticeably fade and heal up. The healing was so pronounced that I called the doctor's office and asked if there was any point in coming in. I ended up cancelling her appt. and continuing the coconut oil daily.

After meals I wash her face with a mild, organic oils soap solution (honey chunks, thanks Rach! :) ) and apply the coconut oil

She has gone from open wounds, major flaking, and scabbing to just minor irritation around her mouth. Coconut oil also works great on the diaper area. My son was looking a little red today and so I cleaned him well and applied coconut oil to his diaper area. Sure enough, soon he was looking better.

I also use it on myself and use it on the rest of my kids' bodies. Amazing stuff!

After I happened upon it and it worked so well, I was naturally curious as to why it worked so well. I look around a little bit and found this site:

http://www.coconut-connections.com/skin_care.htm

This talks about the medium chain fatty acids and the fungal and bacterial destroying properties. It's fantastic and I love the fact that I don't have to worry about her getting harmed if some gets in her mouth while I'm applying it.

I just wanted to share this for the benefit of anyone else with kids who had skin problems who were looking for a natural solution.

ETA: If you're going to use it, make sure to get unrefined extra virgin! Refined oils apparently don't work the same way.

awesome thanks!
FYI: it awesome for your hair too, put just a dime size amount in your hair while it is damp, start at the ends and work your way up to the roots and massage into the scalp. Your hair absorbs it and it will help keep your ends sealed and smooth so you can go a bit longer in between hair cuts.

right now I us morracan oil for my hair but am in the process of switching to coconut oil!
Amazing stuff!

Very cool! Thanks! I am going to try it out on Owen's dry skin! Thanks for the tips ladies!

Thanks Ruth! I've used olive oil around Azalia's mouth where she would get dry skin from drool and it worked great too. I wonder if it has some of the same properties as the coconut oil? Hmm, I'll have to look into that.

how interesting, can you buy it to drink? I mean coconut milk? I wonder if it would have the same healing affects? Esp. for our little ones with skin and stomach troubles?

How cool is that, Sinead sufferes a lot with dry eczema and all the doctors give her is creams that do not rub in well.

I will look into that one and see if I can get some for her. I have heard also that goats milk soaps works too but not tried this yet.

I was tickled to see this since a lady at church told me the exact same thing on Sunday. She had really bad eczema on her face and it's been there for the last 6 months, but on Sunday I noticed it was all gone and asked her about it. She said she'd been washing her face with only water and using coconut oil. I don't have any idea if she used un-refined oil, but whatever it was it really worked. :)

Jayne...I wondering the same thing...if anyone knows about 'edible' positive effects, let us know!

so, you said it works on diaper rash issues too? where can i find this? TIA!!

all I know is that it is EXTREMELY good to cook with. supposivly better than any other oil out there.
this is what I have found:

Coconut oil lowers cholesterol. Most saturated fats will cause your bad cholesterol to raise. This is the primary reason why coconut oil, which is mostly saturated fats, has been used less in cooking. Recent studies have shown that coconut oil helps our body metabolize cholesterol faster. This results in lower overall cholesterol levels. People who use coconut oil as their primary cooking oil and then stop, have been show to have higher cholesterol levels after switching to a different oil.
Coconut Oil is a fountain of youth. Coconut oil lowers cholesterol because it stimulates the thyroid gland. When the thyroid works properly, it uses cholesterol to make chemicals that are vital for preventing disease and also slow down the aging process.
Coconut Oil may help you lose weight. As noted above, coconut oil helps improve thyroid function. A thyroid that isn't working properly is one of the main causes of obesity. Cultures that use coconut oil for cooking have a lower rate of obesity.
Coconut Oil can prevent cancer. Healthy thyroid function has also been linked to reduced cancer risks. Studies have shown the occurrence of cancer to be lower, and in some cases nonexistent in areas that rely on saturated oils. They have also shown that the number of cancer cases increases with the addition of unsaturated oils to the diet.
Coconut Oil prevents infections. Coconut oil contains 40% lauric acid. This is a fatty acid that is also found in breast milk. The body converts it into a substance that fights bacterial, viral, and protozoal infection in infants. Providing your body with these chemicals improves your immune system and you get sick less often.
Coconut Oil has been used for centuries. Coconut oil has been used in tropical areas and even modern cultures for many years. Only recently have people started switching to unsaturated oils for cooking. This has mostly happened in the western world, were obesity, high blood pressure, cancer, and other problems have increased. Cultures that still use coconut oil in their cooking have fewer of these problems.

all I know is that it is EXTREMELY good to cook with. supposivly better than any other oil out there.
this is what I have found:

Coconut oil lowers cholesterol. Most saturated fats will cause your bad cholesterol to raise. This is the primary reason why coconut oil, which is mostly saturated fats, has been used less in cooking. Recent studies have shown that coconut oil helps our body metabolize cholesterol faster. This results in lower overall cholesterol levels. People who use coconut oil as their primary cooking oil and then stop, have been show to have higher cholesterol levels after switching to a different oil.
Coconut Oil is a fountain of youth. Coconut oil lowers cholesterol because it stimulates the thyroid gland. When the thyroid works properly, it uses cholesterol to make chemicals that are vital for preventing disease and also slow down the aging process.
Coconut Oil may help you lose weight. As noted above, coconut oil helps improve thyroid function. A thyroid that isn't working properly is one of the main causes of obesity. Cultures that use coconut oil for cooking have a lower rate of obesity.
Coconut Oil can prevent cancer. Healthy thyroid function has also been linked to reduced cancer risks. Studies have shown the occurrence of cancer to be lower, and in some cases nonexistent in areas that rely on saturated oils. They have also shown that the number of cancer cases increases with the addition of unsaturated oils to the diet.
Coconut Oil prevents infections. Coconut oil contains 40% lauric acid. This is a fatty acid that is also found in breast milk. The body converts it into a substance that fights bacterial, viral, and protozoal infection in infants. Providing your body with these chemicals improves your immune system and you get sick less often.
Coconut Oil has been used for centuries. Coconut oil has been used in tropical areas and even modern cultures for many years. Only recently have people started switching to unsaturated oils for cooking. This has mostly happened in the western world, were obesity, high blood pressure, cancer, and other problems have increased. Cultures that still use coconut oil in their cooking have fewer of these problems.

Ditto-ing Esther here! We bought it to cook with, You can also eat it on toast, straight from the jar.

LOL, Kate, I posted in your potty training thread suggesting coconut oil for your DD's diaper rash. I guess that we were on the same wave length!

You can get the extra virgin coconut oil at GNC or pretty much any health food store.

We LOVE coconut oil. We first bought it for making popcorn but then I started using it for a TON of stuff. I have to agree with all posted here.

how expensive is it??

you can buy it pretty cheap online. I haven't checked in the stores yet.

I think that my 12 oz jar was um, maybe about 8.00 or so? My 16 oz container that I have that came from GNC was about $13.00. It's not really that expensive, considering the price of upscale natural baby products! :) (My Burt's Bees Baby buttermilk skin lotion is around $9.00 for only 7 oz and the Burt's Bees diaper rash cream was somewhere in that ball park too)

I think this is a great price but I'm not sure how much shipping is.
http://www.organic-creations.com/servlet/the-1203/unrefined-organic-extra-virgin/Detail

A big "Thank you" Ruth!! We've only done 5 rounds with the coconut oil but Goober 3's skin is not as red, dry or scabby. AWESOME!! Thank you for passing on the info and thank God for making such a SUPER fruit!!!

A big "Thank you" Ruth!! We've only done 5 rounds with the coconut oil but Goober 3's skin is not as red, dry or scabby. AWESOME!! Thank you for passing on the info and thank God for making such a SUPER fruit!!!

Awesome! I'm so glad that it helped you out.

I've been using organic coconut oil in DD's diaper rash now for 3 days with no change. It's fairly bad and now I think she has a UTI...she cries suddenly, I'm guessing when she urinates...help!

Thanks for the info Ruth.