I am encountering this more and more as a physician, and it is very disturbing. When I was first diagnosed with rosacea 20 years ago, I was 25 and was told I was very young. Back then the typical age of onset was late 30s. Now I’m meeting more and more girls in their early 20s with rosacea, and yet even younger teens who’ve just been diagnosed with rosacea.

What on earth is causing this disease to present itself earlier and earlier? What is causing the rampant eczema that almost every baby I know has?

In my opinion it has to be the amount of toxins, chemicals and heavy metals our children are being exposed to since the time they’re born. Baby formula? The first ingredient is usually high fructose corn syrup followed by canola oil. Baby lotions…. have you ever read the ingredients? How about shampoo? Baby wash? Sulfates, fragrance, color, parabens, petrochemicals. How about our water? It’s full of dissolved solvents like medications and heavy metals. Baby food? Try reading the label on a jar of baby food. Is there actually any food in there? What about vaccines? It’s well known they have mercury in them, the most toxic metal on the planet.

Almost ALL skin conditions come from problems in the liver. Often problems in the liver come from overexposure to chemicals and a compromised gut. A compromised gut often occurs after a round of antibiotics. (The child will often feel ill after eating and may become chronically constipated.) This cycle will go around and around, becoming worse as the child gets older. A compromised liver will not produce the necessary bile to break down foods for proper absorption. This leads to vitamin deficiencies. By the time the child is ten she will already have irritable bowel issues, skin sensitivities, possibly allergies and asthma, as well as food sensitivities. Medical doctors will prescribe Miralax, steroid inhalers, allergy medicine, and topical steroid creams, all of which will continue to destroy the inner lining of the gut and causes more toxic load on the liver. These are band-aid solutions. These will not address the root cause of the problem.

Finally the teen will present with rosacea and everyone will be surprised. Unfortunately, the dermatologist will prescribe topical antibiotics and more steroid creams. The problem will get worse and could now involve acne. The teen will be told this condition is incurable, and her self esteem will plummet.

This is beyond cruel, when there IS a solution.

To heal, you must strip back the layers, one by one, and address any underlying gut or liver issues. This involves major changes to the diet (no gluten, no dairy) as well as gut HEALING foods. Next, the liver must be addressed.

The good news is that children are remarkable healing machines. (Compare the time it takes your child’s cut to heal compared to your own cut.) When small changes are made in the home and to the child’s diet, amazing things happen very quickly.

My own daughters were a bit skeptical when I started making changes to our family’s foods last winter. I was reading, researching and learning about the problems with our genetically modified, pesticide sprayed food and also the problems with dairy and gluten. The trick is to get your kids involved at young ages. Let them cook with you, make smoothies with you, and come up with recipes they’d like to try. This past summer my daughters planted and tended their own herb garden, and ate from it daily. They LOVE coconut milk and almond milk. Their favorite dinner is coconut curry chicken. We make almost everything from scratch… no more boxed or processed foods.

The results: my husband lost 30 pounds effortlessly, my rosacea, hypothyroid, asthma, allergies, and IBS all healed 100%, my daughter’s fructose intolerance healed, and we no longer have childhood issues of nightmares, anxiety, constipation, upset stomach. My daughter’s chapped, dry, eczema sensitive skin is 100% gone.

Changes takes time, but remember that small changes over long periods have a compounding effect.

For more information on your specific case, please make a virtual appointment with me through my Consultation link.