Abbie Bradford, RN, FDNP, Clinical Herbalist

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Sandpoint, ID
Abbie Bradford, RN, FDNP, Clinical Herbalist

✨Team of Holistic Pediatric Eczema Experts
✨Helping children resolve eczema and associated symptoms - naturally! www.myvibranthealth.net

07/09/2026

“___ food made my child’s eczema flare... so we just cut it out.”

We hear this all the time

And while it’s tempting to think you’ve found the answer, I want to offer a different perspective:

If a food changes your child’s eczema, that is incredibly valuable information. But it is not the solution

It’s a clue

Think of eczema like a check engine light. If pressing the gas pedal makes the light come on, you wouldn’t stop driving forever—you’d want to understand why the engine is struggling

Food works the same way

If eggs, dairy, wheat, or another food consistently worsens your child’s skin, your child’s body is telling you something. It’s revealing that the immune system is reacting in a way it shouldn’t

The real question isn’t:
“What foods do we need to avoid forever?”

The real question is:
“Why is my child’s immune system reacting this way in the first place?”

This is where we need to investigate the root causes

Things like:
• Gut health and the microbiome
• Intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”)
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Environmental triggers like mold or toxins
• Immune dysregulation
• Chronic infections or microbial imbalances

Food isn’t usually the villain

It’s often just exposing an underlying imbalance that was already there

Our goal is never to help families build a longer list of foods to avoid

Our goal is to help children become resilient enough that their bodies no longer overreact to foods that should be nourishing them

Because avoiding foods can be helpful temporarily

Understanding why those foods cause symptoms is what creates lasting healing

Have you noticed certain foods affect your child’s eczema? Comment READY if you’re ready to get to the bottom of your child’s symptoms so they can disappear for GOOD

07/03/2026

This is something many many of suffering families are told by very intelligent doctors and specialists

The parents are trying to research what they can do for their child, they find out there can be a gut connection — but when they bring it to their doctor, they get totally dismissed and leave feeling very confused

If this is something you’re ever told, you can know right then in that moment this provider is not going to be able to truly help your child heal

Why? Because this tells you they have no clue what’s actually going on inside your child’s body causing their eczema

They’ll continue to present steroids and possibly injections to help manage the symptoms, but nothing they offer will ever truly provide lasting relief and healing

There is loads of research showing the gut-immune-skin connection. Unfortunately it hasn’t made its way into mainstream medical teachings and it may not ever, because they’re not usually looking for real answers to chronic conditions

Unless your provider is getting education outside of the conventional system, they’re not going to be educated about these connections

Gut health is absolutely a priority because what is going on there affects the immune system, the detox systems and therefore the skin.

An overburdened system = emergency exit routes get used (like the skin)

It’s not the only factor at play for a lot of kids, which is why we also test for environmental concerns like mold

But there are clear answers when you start asking the right questions

If you’ve been told that gut health has nothing to do with eczema and want a clear, personalized look at what’s going on for your child, reply below and we’ll be in touch with how we can fully resolve your child’s symptoms

06/24/2026

When most parents think about eczema, they think about the skin.
But the reality is that eczema is rarely just a skin issue

Many of the children we work with have a long history of:

• Picky eating 
• Food aversions 
• Limited diets 
• Constipation 
• Reflux 
• Sleep struggles 
• Food reactions 
• Frequent illnesses

These things often aren't separate issues happening at the same time.
They're clues

A child who is only willing to eat a handful of foods may not simply be "picky"

👉🏻Sometimes they're avoiding foods that are harder to digest
👉🏻Sometimes nutrient deficiencies are affecting taste and appetite
👉🏻Sometimes underlying gut inflammation is influencing what feels safe to eat
👉🏻Sometimes years of discomfort around food, digestion, itching, or reactions have created a complicated relationship with eating

When we only focus on getting a child to eat more vegetables or "just try one bite," we can miss the bigger picture

There can be real imbalances internally that tell their bodies to not want certain foods, even seemingly healthy ones

When they don’t have enough stomach acid and aren’t breaking down their food very well, their system tends to have aversions to harder to digest foods like meat

When they aren’t breaking down their food very well, large food particles cause inflammation lower in their digestive tract. This can in turn cause food sensitivities, which can lead to overgrowths, overall microbial imbalances and keep their immune stuck in a heightened state

These overgrowths excrete a lot of waste, and in small bodies —> that can overwhelm them and come through their skin as eczema

The immune dysfunction present can keep the cycle in a loop no matter what you do on the surface

The goal isn't forcing food
The goal is understanding why food feels hard in the first place

This is one of the reasons we look so closely at gut health when supporting children with eczema. Data from the right testing helps guide us to correct imbalances

Because healing isn't just about calmer skin

It's about helping a child feel better in their body as a whole and truly achieving balance throughout the WHOLE system💫

06/10/2026

My baby turned one last week 🤍

And while there are a million things I could say about how fast it went, the truth is — this year stretched me in ways I never expected

As a holistic pediatric practitioner specializing in eczema, gut health, food sensitivities/allergies, mold, and all the things that can impact a child’s well-being, I spend my days supporting families through hard seasons

But becoming a mom myself gave me a completely different lens

Here are 10 things I learned (or wish I knew) as a first-time mom

If I’m being transparent, we’ve had a hard year in some ways

I couldn’t have imagined what juggling a busy practice and motherhood would actually look like — or how much harder it feels when health things pop up, even when pediatrics is literally your profession and you have a lot of tools

Motherhood has been a gift that humbled me

It’s expanded my empathy for the families I work with in ways I didn’t know were possible

I wrote a Substack sharing more of our story and parts of our journey and struggles that I wasn’t sure I was ready to share publicly

Would it be helpful to read someone else’s real experience if you’ve struggled with your own little one? 🤍

What resonated for you? What else would you add?

04/20/2026

Going down the mold rabbit hole can be really draining mentally so I wanted to keep this on the feed for those who need it (I’ve heard from so many of you these kinds of talks are so helpful to stay grounded)

Invite the healing plan in
Ask for the right people + interventions to be shown to you

Stay grounded in the knowing that knowledge is POWER that you can take action on

Not knowing there’s an environmental issue at hand (and how common it is) can keep your child stuck in eczema flares + the never ending cycle

It’s not the priority issue for every case, but for many it is

Homes are not built to be mold resistant. In fact, it’s almost quite the opposite.

Much can be done about the environmental problem to be able to move forward

Was or is mold apart of your child’s eczema journey?

03/16/2026

Your child’s sensitivity to the world around them is a sign we need to pay attention to

The biggest contributors we see are:

- Histamine Overload
- Full Detox Bucket

Many times it’s both combined, as one feeds into the other

Both of these areas likely need support, in addition to finding the true causes underneath

Utilizing a professional clinical stool test like the GIMAP (sorry, Tiny Health) and a urine mycotoxin screening, we are able to see a BIG load of what can be driving these both

Starting with foundations, histamine support and gentle detox support — we can allow the body to calm, quiet + come back into balance

I know it’s stressful right now when it feels like the triggers are endless or you just have no idea what it is

They don’t have to be sensitive forever — as long as we listen☺️

03/05/2026

Food allergies have a cause — it’s not a mystery

The immune system is overwhelmed and confused

Doing the deeper work to unload their immune + detox systems is the key to unlock true healing

We need to test their gut to see what imbalances are present there

And then check what is making the immune system even MORE hyperactive in their toxin burden by looking at mycotoxins from environmental exposure

It can take time and it can also be somewhat quick

Doing this deeper work is the greatest gift to their immune system and their future💛

Address

Sandpoint, ID

Website

http://www.myvibranthealth.net/

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