Have you ever tried to catch a two year old who is covered in lotion? Come to think of it, have you ever tried to catch a two year old? I have tried to do both. The lotion adds an extra element of difficulty to the process.

Where am I going with this? Well, I was chasing my son last night and it came to me in a flash of brilliance. Here was another topic for my blog. This topic is so serious and life altering that I have to fill it with useless comedy so that parents and future parents don’t scream in terror. It’s the curse of the dry skin. A curse that many Korean adoptees are forced to live with their whole life.

On a daily basis I feel like I’m fighting my inner snake. (I was going to add a picture of a snake for the drama, but I just couldn't do it.) If I forget to apply the magic white lotion to my arms and legs, my skin starts to take on a scale-like texture. It’s worse in the winter, but still a regular part of my life in Spring, Summer and Fall.

My son not only has dry skin, he has been diagnosed with eczema. He gets the red itchy patches in the under-side of his joint areas (which I’m told is quite common in Asians) and wherever else it feels like breaking out.

Anyhow, here are some tips from my doctor:

• Try not to use the steroid cream unless you it’s absolutely necessary.
• Put a humidifier in the bedroom so the air isn’t too dry.
• Limit the time in the bathtub and stay away from bubble bath.
• Be careful with scented soaps and lotions.

Our doctor suggested that we use Eucerin lotion. It’s a pretty powerful lotion (non-irritating and fragrance free). It also makes one very slippery toddler. My son loves it though. He holds out his arms and legs and tells me “more”.

Chances are his eczema will go away as he grows older, but I doubt the dry skin will. It’s the curse of the dry skin and it will follow him into adulthood.