Why I built Dockleaf

There were sleepless nights of itching and scratching. There was a cupboard full of creams and ointments, each one promising relief. None of them gave us answers.

So I started reading, for months. I learned about the many things people link to flare-ups: food, including intolerances, gut health and processed foods; things in the environment, like pollen and mould; even stress and the nervous system. Slowly, I came to see my daughter’s eczema as a sign of what was going on in her body as a whole, not only in her skin.

That changed what we did day to day. I took more care over the food she ate, and over the pans I cooked it in. In the summer I dried her clothes indoors, so pollen couldn’t settle on them.

I needed to know what was actually helping, and what wasn’t.

Keeping track of all of that, as a parent of two children under five, on top of everything else a parent has to do, was close to impossible. Notes went missing. Days blurred into each other. By the time we saw someone, I couldn’t remember what had changed, or when.

I wanted something that would take the weight of tracking off my shoulders, and help me spot possible patterns sooner, so I could talk them through with her doctor. That’s how Dockleaf was born.

Every child’s eczema, and every adult’s, is different. Dockleaf won’t tell you what’s causing it. What it can do is help you keep a clear record with very little effort, notice what might be linked, and go into appointments with more than a memory.

If that sounds like something you need too, you can request a beta invite.

Nate, Founder of Dockleaf