Kettering boy who was 'allergic to Christmas' visits Santa for the first time

Lukas Wojciechowski suffered with a burning rash of severe eczema on his legs and feet, meaning his first two Christmases were spent in tears.

He couldn't be near tinsel, cuddly toys and even Father Christmas as synthetic materials - including Santa’s felt costume - caused painful flare-ups on his hands.

But he has now been to see the big man for the first time and has decorated a tree after his eczema was made better by an oil-based moisturiser called Skin Salvation.

His mum Shannon Harle, 22, said: “This time last year he was allergic to Father Christmas but this year, we’ve already taken him to see him three times!

“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 appeared to worsen his condition.

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.

It meant the toddler was held back from learning to walk as even the smooth laminate flooring of the family’s home would break the already sore skin on the soles of his feet.

Christmas 2018 was one of the toughest times, as the cold weather makes his skin worse.

Shannon 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.”

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 was previously prevented from playing with.

Shannon said he is enjoying Christmas activities with his siblings that he missed out on last year.

She said: "It’s so lovely seeing him sat barefoot around the tree with his brothers and sisters."