Unsolvable skin issues

The most difficult thing in the world is having a problem without a solution. No matter your age, people want answers. In today's day and age of having information at your fingertips it has become common for people to just google their symptoms in order to attempt to self diagnose their issue. Once doing this, some will attempt to treat their ailment themselves based on the information they have. Others will seek out the advice of a medical professional. The majority of the time, the answer they are looking for becomes clear based on trial and error or a diagnosis. With that comes a treatment to resolve the issue they are having. But what happens when self diagnosis, trial and error, or the answers given by medical professionals do not work?

At this stage of the game the frustration can lead to anger because you are unable to figure out what is wrong. With skin issues this can be extremely troubling because when your skin isn't right daily life becomes a task. Your skin is your largest organ and your bodies first line of defense to the outside world. As a result when your skin issue cannot be resolved through conventional means you are left being ether very uncomfortable or in serious cases, constant pain.

This is where the idea for Contact Sports Soap came from. As a father of four boys, life is a wild and crazy ride. Days are filled with school, activities, sports and everything that comes with having a house full of testosterone. As a father it is your job to set the example of what a man should be through gentle but sometimes stern guidance in order to develop these little sponges into young men who will hopefully grow into productive and responsible members of society. Being a dad also means protecting your family from anything and everything so they feel safe. But what happens when one of your kids has an unsolvable skin issue? This was the dilemma we faced with our second child when he was only 3 years old.

When he was 3 he developed a rash on his legs right around the same time he started potty training. He was still in diapers so we assumed it was just a simple diaper rash. I was away for an extended period of time while training for work and my wife agreed to treat it as you would any diaper rash, lots of Desitin. As the days turned into a week without resolution we decided to take him to the pediatrician. It was recommended to use an antibiotic ointment mixed with Desitin but there wasn't much concern that it was anything more than a diaper rash.

After another week, we were again back at the doctor worried because the prescribed treatment had not worked. We were given different topical creams to try of which, none worked. When we ended up back at the doctor a few weeks later we were referred to a dermatologist because it was clear this would require more than just the average treatment. Weeks turned into months of trips to the dermatologist trying every cream and ointment under the sun along with diagnostic testing. When no good answer was available we were then referred to a pediatric dermatologist who did not have any solution. The best we could get was a steroid cream that would at least calm his skin down somewhat but never fully resolved it. After trying everything they could think we were told it would be necessary for a skin biopsy to check for rare forms of juvenile skin cancer. This is a parents worst nightmare to even have to consider the possibility of one of your children possibly having cancer. After that test came back negative (Thank God) we were only left with using the steroid cream. The cream left his skin issue tolerable but with how damaged his skin was he would cry every night we put it on because it would burn. Without the cream though his condition would get worse and his flair ups sometimes covered over 50% of his body. It is not the easiest thing as a parent to know you are causing your child pain even when you know it is for their own good.

We became close with a family from preschool around the same time. The dad was in chemical sales and would listen to me talk about the difficulties our son was having. After we had seemingly tried everything he told me he had a chemist who had a topical probiotic which had shown promise in correcting skin flora issues. Skeptical at first we eventually decided to give it a try and created a soap formula containing the probiotic. We had our son sit in a bubble bath of the soap every night before bed. Within two weeks, our son's rash had completely resolved itself. It turned out that our unsolvable skin condition could be corrected with the use of something as simple as topical probiotics.

Oftentimes, skin inflammation is caused by an imbalance in the natural flora, good bacteria and yeast, that naturally protect and support healthy skin function. When your skin is inflamed your body’s immune system has to work overtime which can weaken it over time. Topical probiotics work to help restore and strengthen the skin’s barrier to the outside world and have natural moisturizing & calming properties which are also beneficial. 

Once we fully understood the benefits of topical probiotics and found through testing that they could prevent a multitude of skin infections we realized how much the formula we made for our son could help others. Athletes and fitness enthusiasts often face skin irritation, rashes or infections due to the environments they find themselves in. With the introduction of topical probiotics to the sports skincare market we realized how much our formula could help others who not only had unsolvable skin issues just like our son but people who battle skin infections because of their active lifestyle. We strive to help people correct skin issues without the need for topical medications.

Our son is one of the most loving, caring and gentle kids you will ever meet. He has been that way since he could talk. Now at age 7 he is the first to offer to help clean the house or take care of other chores. He tries hard in school and is also very skilled in jiu jitsu. This kid is the first to try to involve others in whatever he is doing and his small stature is no comparison to his immeasurable heart. We say all of this not to boast. Trust us, he has his moments like all little boys do but without him, Contact Sports Soap would not exist and we wouldn't be able to help so many people correct and prevent their own skin issues.