Here's my 2 cents worth *LOL* : I have two sons who have both had the problems you are describing to a certain extent. Part of the problem was traced to simple skin sensitivity, but the main culprit was pet allergy and dairy allergy. You might try taking milk, cheese, yogurt, etc out of his diet for 2 weeks and see if the skin problems and constipation ease up. You can purchase soy milk or rice milk that is enriched with calcium, A & D if you need to. My kids have since outgrown their dairy allergy, but do still tend to be dry. I agree with other posters to make sure he is getting enough fats in his diet. Little kids need more fat than adults for proper brain development and all that good stuff :). Here is how we handle bathing: Daily: 15 minute bath in water only. Just wash hair at the very end. Pat dry and immediately slather up with "Vanicream" (a dye free, perfume free, lanolin free, alchohol free...etc etc lotion that is available from the pharmacy, but you don't have to get a prescription for...it is what works for us. A one pound tub is around $12 here in Indy)It helps to seal the moisture in his skin. Laundry: always use "Free & Clear" detergents. We *don't* use any fabric softener, although we do put some white vinegar in a downy ball which helps make sure all the soap gets rinsed out and does have a softening effect on the clothes. Clothing: My kids do best with cotton clothing. Haven't noticed a problem with a little polyester in a blend, but wool does make them itch more than usual. Another question that hasn't been asked is: do you have a cat or dog in the house? You could very well be dealing with a pet dander allergy. We used to have housecats, but we had to give them up for adoption because my older one's eczema got so bad it would crack and bleed and then get infected. It could be dust mite allergy too. Anyway, I hope things are getting better for your little guy. Cheers, Carrie

Patann, I hope you have a humidifier of sorts in your home with the temps below freezing. That right away will help on so many levels. With that said, the amount of oils in a lotion plays a big part of it. Unfortunately, most formulas are proprietary with mentioning the AMOUNT of oil in the lotion/cream formulas. They only list ingredients in order of the most to the least. Try to look for something with the 2nd ingredient an oil of some sort followed by water. For my dry skin, I always use something that has 25% - 30% oil of some sort in the formulary. Glycerine is excellent on the skin as it draws moisture from the air and to your skin throughout the day. Dimethicone is added to formulas mostly for slip and to leave behind a silky feeling. It does very little in adding moisture to anything (and I feel should be avoided in hair products as it builds up on your hair and over time actually keeps moisture from absorbing into your hair. If you have ever detoxed your hair from it, and your hair feels like straw as soon as you strip that out you will know what I am saying. Paula is a huge fan of cones and there is a lot of debate over them in the formulary industry. They are cheap and not needed in hair products unless you have very course and curly hair). Cones can be good in hand creams however, at a higher amount because it works like a silicone glove if you are a nurse or someone that washes their hands often. For really dry hands have you tried Camille Beckman products? I haven't purchased her creams in years but they work wonders on my 84 year old mothers hands. Since I make my own products, I haven't tried much of what is on the market today. However, I do remember liking the Kiss my Face Olive and Aloe products. It was a good all over head to toe formula. Now days I use unrefined shea butter or EVOO on my wet face most of the time. I keep it simple as the less ingredients on the face the better IMHO. Basically, a very basic formula is all you need for your body. Even basic cetaphil or eucerin cream will work for dry hands and body but since they are heavy in mineral oils they will sit on top of your skin much longer than something made of different oils. If you want some luxury, LUSH puts out some nice body creams. Or you can just stick with something as simple as keeping baby oil or even shea oil, safflower oil, olive oil, cocoa butter, etc. in the shower and putting that on your entire body while rinsing off. Here is a link to Camille Beckman hand creams. You can sometimes find them in Hallmark stores. If you have a LUSH near you the smitten hand cream is nice along with the dream cream. Their url is www.lush.com Here is a link that might be useful: Camille Beckman

Haven't used any type of commercial fabric softener in decades. Occasionally I use vinegar to help remove smells. No need to worry about your clothes smelling like vinegar. They don't. I occasionally use vinegar to wipe down the cutting board, counter or wipe out the microwave. It's actually a disinfectant. And once dry, there's no smell. My sister uses vinegar to wash her floors. The cats won't walk on it while damp (they don't like the vinegar smell) but she knows when the floors are dry. The cats are in the kitchen. o vinegar smell. I fill the fabric softener dispenser in my current machine with white vinegar. The old one I used a Downey Ball and some would dilute the vinegar in the ball but I wouldn't. I'd fill the ball with white vinegar and toss it in. Worked great. And as I said, no vinegar smell. Think about it for a minute, it's diluted down so much there really isn't anything left to smell. And of course you're rinsing after too, most likely. I don't like smelly clothes which is why I hated commercial softeners and most detergents. Why do people think clothes have to stink before they can be clean? Amazes me. When clothes smell, it's time to wash them IMO. And for those who have static problems, you're issue is not caused by not using softener or not using enough, the problem is that you're over-drying your clothes. Cut back the drying time, save yourself money in two ways, less electricity (and possibly gas) and no softener. I use dryer balls to assist in drying (which they do). Supposedly they help with static which they might, but I can't prove it one way or the other. Grainlady bought some of the anti-static version and she says they help a lot. Since I don't have static issues since I quit over-drying the clothes, I really don't have need to try them. And FWIW my towels and jeans are as soft as anyone's. The occasional time they're a little stiff, I know I didn't rinse them well enough as already mentioned. So when I wash them again, I use less or no detergent depending on the amount in them. And some say dryer sheets are good for cleaning shower doors. I can't confirm.

Pat I only have the CeraVe moisturizing cream..I don't have the healing ointment. I have been thinking abiut it though for my dry cracked heels. I had two very tiny samples of Aquaphor healing ointment that I've been using the past three nights. I smear it on my heels and wear old socks that I cut the toes out of I can't sleep with my toes covered...anyway this stuff is working so I figure an ointment instead of cream is what I need. I suppose I'll try the CeraVe ointment lol. I'm really happy hubs saved all of his old white cotton socks with holes thru the years because I'm not washing them lol...its wear and toss. Haha I bought a pumice stone today and ill soak later and scrub with it than apply ointment. Pat my mother swore by ointments instead of creams or lotion and if she ran out she used vaseline. Her skin including elbows, knees, and feet were as smooth as a child's when she passed at 73. Same with her sisters they all had beautiful skin. Someone told me to try Corn Huskers but though I've seen it in stores I haven't a clue what it is. Oh and while I'm here I mentioned Aldi night face cream in one of these posts..Lacura...well its all I've used besides Dove on my face for two weeks and I have developed 5 sores on my face...they are healing fine but it had to have been a reaction to the Lacura. I tossed it.