‘You have changed my boy’s life’: Mum of Gabriel says he is ‘different kid’ after new treatment helps to heal severe eczema

Special treatment from Portugal is helping to heal a Peterborough boy’s severe eczema - which has afflicted him since he was just one-month-old.

Gabriel’s eczema has been so severe since he was a tot that he had  “liquid pouring from his face, day and night.”

His mum, Ines Dias, had taken Gabriel, 3, to see numerous doctors and dermatologists, and even to a private clinic, over the past three years.

Tests and investigations confirmed he has an extremely severe form of eczema.

The Peterborough Telegraph first highlighted Gabriel’s plight on its front page on 15 June - after Ines launched a GoFundMe campaign to get her boy last-resort treatment in Portugal.

Since then, £9,210 has been raised by kind-hearted fundraisers for the Gladstone Street boy - but Ines said she’s only received some £4,000 so far.

However, that money has allowed Ines to receive treatment for Gabriel and fly him to Portugal twice, once for his first appointment and next week for a check-up after his first round of treatment.

The doctor in question is a specialist who uses native Portuguese plants and natural creams to treat skin conditions and burns.

Gabriel must have follow-up sessions every three months in order for the treatment to yield tangible long-term benefits.

The cost of the subsequent trips and treatment sessions is, Ines said, significant - hence the plea for funding.

Ines told the Peterborough Telegraph: “He started to recover about a week ago and, since then, his skin has been clearing little-by-little, so he’s still got some bits on his face and leg but it’s going away slowly.

‘He is like a different kid’

“I feel so much better and happier, the way he acts now and his sleeping is so different. He is like a different kid. He is much more active than he was, and happier, too.

“The doctor sent the treatment to me by post and he told me to come and see him next week, so I am going to travel next week with Gabriel so the doctor can see him eye-to-eye.

“It has been a liquid treatment that has worked really well on him, I applied it once last week and it changed him completely.

“Since then, I used it once again on Wednesday a little bit. Then, I’ve used the normal creams I’ve had from before.”

Ines said she is “just so grateful” to everyone who has donated, adding: “it’s also changed my life completely. It’s really helped and it’s literally changing my boys life so a really big thank you to them.”