A two-year-old boy whose severe reactions left him ‘allergic to Christmas’ has overcome his skin condition thanks to a ‘magic’ cream.
Lukas Wojciechowski has suffered with eczema since he was two weeks old. It was sometimes so severe he could barely be touched.
He couldn’t be near tinsel, cuddly toys or even Santa’s coat because synthetic materials produced painful rashes on his hands.
Lukas Wojciechowski’s severe reactions left him ‘allergic to Christmas’. But he has overcome his skin condition thanks to a ‘magic’ cream
He had a flare up on Christmas Day last year that was so severe he woke up with weeping, angry, open sores on his legs and spent the day in tears.
But earlier this year his mother heard about Balmonds Skin Salvation cream on Facebook and within a month his skin had started to clear up.
This year, for the first time, he has been able to enjoy the festive season, and has already been to see Santa in his grotto three times.
Lukas has suffered with eczema since he was two weeks old, sometimes being so severe he could barely be touched. Pictured: Lukas’s skin earlier this year
His mother Shannon Harle, 22, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, said: ‘It stopped the itch, healed the wounds and moisturised his dry skin.
‘It’s definitely a magic cream.
‘I posted in one of groups on Facebook about my son’s skin and someone who works for Balmonds messaged me about sending me a sample to see if it would help him.
‘This time last year he was allergic to Father Christmas but this year, we’ve already taken him to see him three times.
This year for the first time he has been able to enjoy the festive season, and has already been to see Santa in his grotto three times. Pictured: Lukas visiting Santa and ‘Elsa’ with his sister, Elisia
‘I’m looking forward to Christmas Eve and him being able to cuddle up on the sofa in his pyjamas, without squirming in pain.
‘He used to cry in pain every time he tried to take a step. Now he’s running around the house singing Christmas songs – it’s absolutely wonderful.’
Lukas’ eczema began when he was two weeks old as a small patch of dry skin on his ankles and quickly became severe.
By the time he was a month old, his legs and ankles were covered in scaly, rough skin and he needed to wear tights to go outside – even in summer – as grass and the sunshine made it worse.
Earlier this year his mother Shannon Harle, 22, heard about Balmonds Skin Salvation cream on Facebook and within a month his skin had started to clear up. Pictured: Lukas, aged two, and with his mother (left)
The tips of his toes were so raw and peeling that he looked as if he had sunburn and Lukas would scratch the weeping skin on his legs until it bled.
Stay-at-home mother of four Ms Harle discovered the cream, which costs £7.99 for a 30ml tub, in March. Pictured: Lukas
It meant the toddler held back from learning to walk as even smooth laminate flooring in the family’s home would break the already sore skin on the soles of his feet.
Steroids prescribed by the toddler’s GP initially worked but then pain returned.
Christmas 2018 was one of the toughest times, as the cold weather makes his skin worse.
Ms Harle said: ‘He couldn’t eat chocolate from his advent calendar or wear the fluffy pyjamas his grandma bought him to cuddle up in at Christmas.
‘While most two year-olds are getting excited about the twinkly lights on the Christmas tree, we had to keep him away in case his skin reacted to the decorations.
‘Christmas Eve wasn’t magical for him as he spent most of the night rubbing his legs together in bed, like usual. So on Christmas Day, he woke up with weeping, angry, open sores on his legs.’
Stay-at-home mother of four Ms Harle discovered the cream, which costs £7.99 for a 30ml tub, in March.
Christmas 2018 was one of the toughest times, as the cold weather makes his skin worse
She puts it on every day before bedtime.
Within a month of using the cream the painful skin on Lukas’ legs had cleared.
He is now a happier toddler and is obsessed with the cuddly toys he previously couldn’t play with, and is excited about his third Christmas.
Ms Harle said he is enjoying festive activities with his siblings that he missed out on last year.
He has two sisters Elisia, four, and Isabelle, and a step brother Bailey, five.
They live with Ms Harle’s fiance Ben, 26, a medical supplies worker, in Kettering.
Ms Harle said: ‘It’s so lovely seeing him sat barefoot around the tree with his brothers and sisters.’