Little boy hospitalised with chicken pox was left with livid red eczema on his face and was stared at by strangers – until he tried a £10.95 cream

A little boy who was stared at in the supermarket as the livid red eczema on his cheeks looked as if he had been smeared with strawberry jam is enjoying a clear complexion, thanks to a £10.95 over-the-counter cream.

Born on 10 November 2017 with beautiful, baby soft skin, Arlyn Smith’s eczema was triggered by a serious bout of chicken pox at 15 months, according to his mum, Lynsey, 32, a teacher.

Despite their best efforts, his parents could not find anything to ease their son’s suffering until someone at work told his dad Robert, 31, a customer service advisor, about a range of natural skincare products which worked for Arlyn “more or less instantaneously.”

Lynsey, of Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, who also has a daughter, Cleo, seven months, said: “We started using this zinc and calendula cream – costing around £10.95 for 30ml – in May, every night before bed.

“It worked pretty much instantaneously. Within a couple of days, we noticed a huge improvement.

“While the zinc cream improved his skin, it was also drying it out after a while, though, so we used that at night and in the day we used moisturising creams.”

She added: “Now his cheeks are still a little red, but they’re nothing like they used to be.

“Sadly, we think Arlyn might end up with some scarring, because he just had open wounds on his face for months.

“It was disgusting, but we’re hoping now that he is on the mend.”

Poor Arlyn’s chicken pox – which his parents believe was the source of his skin problems – were so bad that he was hospitalised because they became infected.

Lynsey said: “His skin never recovered from chicken pox.

“He actually ended up in hospital because they were infected.”

She added: “He was on maybe four rounds of oral antibiotics from then on, because the infection just kept spreading.

“After he recovered from chicken pox, his skin flared up and he was put on different courses of antibiotics, which calmed it down.

“But in August last year, he broke out in eczema almost overnight.”

She added: “At first, we thought it was down to his back teeth coming though and the fact he was putting his hands in his mouth and touching his skin a lot, but it was clearly more than that.”

Prescribed several different remedies, including steroid creams, Arlyn’s parents worried about using such strong medication on his skin at such a young age.

Lynsey said: “We went back and forth to the doctor, but the skin on his face just seemed to get worse and worse, to the point where he had oozing red sores all over his cheeks.”

In August 2020, Arlyn was diagnosed with atopic eczema, which causes itchy, cracked and sore skin, and perioral dermatitis – a rash that tends to occur around the mouth.

In his case, it became infected several times, causing impetigo – a highly contagious skin infection often starting with red sores or blisters, that burst and leave crusty, golden brown patches.

Facing a six month wait to see a dermatologist, Arlyn’s parents were worried sick for their little boy.

Lynsey said: “We’d have weeks where his skin would calm down, then it would go back to being awful again.

“I ended up refusing to give him antibiotics because they weren’t working. His face wasn’t getting any better and he was just building up a resistance to the drugs. ”

By the time his doctor’s appointment came through in June, Covid meant everything was online.

“By then, we were trying different antifungal creams, antibiotics, antibiotic creams and nothing was working,” said Lynsey.

“It didn’t help that he would scratch his face in his sleep. He even had eczema on his eyelids. It was horrible.”

Salvation came in the form of Lyonsleaf natural skincare products, which were recommended to Robert by a colleague, when he talked about Arlyn’s skin at work.

Lynsey said: “We figured they were worth a try.

“We weren’t sure which products would suit him best, so we tried some sample pots first.

“By this stage, his skin was so bad that if I took him to the supermarket, people would stare at him.”

She added: “Once, someone dropped off a parcel and asked me what was wrong with his face. It’s so awful and rude. I’m glad he’s young because if he was older, it could have really affected his confidence.

“And it broke my heart to see his little face so red and sore.”

To Lynsey and Robert’s amazement, after a bit of experimentation, they found the perfect Lyonsleaf remedies for Arlyn’s problem and within days his skin improved beyond all recognition.

She said: “It is amazing to have found something that doesn’t mean slapping steroids on his skin.

“I think there were times when our son’s skin bothered us more than it did him, as we felt so helpless.

“Now we are just so grateful that we found the right cream and I’m very hopeful that he’s on the mend.”

For more information, visit: lyonsleaf.co.uk