Like most young children, Callum absolutely loves to snuggle with his teddy bear and favourite blankies. He has 3 very special blankies, 2 which were made for him by a friend which he has had since birth, and the other specially chosen and embroidered with 'el snottio' from his lovely child-minder. With all of these items, the world is quite literally 'coming to an end' if he doesn't have them!
The problem with teddies, and blankies is that they harbour bacteria and cause reactions with the skin very very quickly. They get dragged on the floor when carried, and collect all the dirt/ dust, they have the pus from weeping eczema sores, and so on.
Imagine, Callum is sleepy/ sad/ just wanting some comfort, so he cuddles up to one of his comforters, one of 'his things' is to snuggle in tight to the comforter, and then lie his head on it. This invariably means that his cheeks are immediately exposed to possible allergens and bacteria, and will result in a sore cheek that needs to be treated fairly quickly. And this isn't an occasional occurrence, it happens every single day!
To overcome this constant battle and keep Callum's cuddles safe, all teddies need to be frozen once a week for a minimum of 2hrs to kill any dust mites, and the blankies, bed sheets and so on, all need to be changed every 2 days and cleaned on a boil wash to remove the bacteria from weeping sores and any dust mites that might be making themselves at home.
Even if we go away on holiday, we still need to continue with this routine to keep Callum as protected and comfortable as possible, especially as it's usually at the worst possible time that infected eczema will strike!
So we all know how much of a task it is to pack for a family of 4 going away for a week, all the paraphernalia that you need to take with you, and the argument with the other half over how it simply has to fit in the car whether liked or not (yes you may chuckle quietly whilst agreeing wholeheartedly, we've all been there!). Now I'm not saying we have to take the freezer with us as opposed to the kitchen sink (stop laughing now!), but we do need to take our Fairy washing powder, conditioner, and enough sheets, blankets and towels for Callum for a week, including spares in case he gets ill. It simply isn't worth the risk of 'seeing if he'll be ok' and then having to deal with the fall out from a major reaction, and the discomfort he will have to go through.
Packing for your upcoming holiday doesn't seem quite so bad now does it! :)
